1     
PUBLIC TRANSIT EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

2     
AMENDMENTS

3     
2023 GENERAL SESSION

4     
STATE OF UTAH

5     
Chief Sponsor: Jon Hawkins

6     
Senate Sponsor: Michael K. McKell

7     

8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill makes changes to provisions related to collective bargaining for employees of
11     a public transit district.
12     Highlighted Provisions:
13          This bill:
14          ▸     excludes confidential employees, managerial employees, and supervisors of a public
15     transit district from certain employee rights and benefits, including the right to:
16               •     self-organization;
17               •     form, join, or assist a labor organization; and
18               •     bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing;
19          ▸     defines terms; and
20          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
21     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
22          None
23     Other Special Clauses:
24          None
25     Utah Code Sections Affected:
26     AMENDS:
27          17B-2a-802, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 69, 406
28          17B-2a-813, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 448
29     

30     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
31          Section 1. Section 17B-2a-802 is amended to read:
32          17B-2a-802. Definitions.
33          As used in this part:
34          (1) "Affordable housing" means housing occupied or reserved for occupancy by
35     households that meet certain gross household income requirements based on the area median
36     income for households of the same size.
37          (a) "Affordable housing" may include housing occupied or reserved for occupancy by
38     households that meet specific area median income targets or ranges of area median income
39     targets.
40          (b) "Affordable housing" does not include housing occupied or reserved for occupancy
41     by households with gross household incomes that are more than 60% of the area median
42     income for households of the same size.
43          (2) "Appointing entity" means the person, county, unincorporated area of a county, or
44     municipality appointing a member to a public transit district board of trustees.
45          (3) (a) "Chief executive officer" means a person appointed by the board of trustees of a
46     small public transit district to serve as chief executive officer.
47          (b) "Chief executive officer" shall enjoy all the rights, duties, and responsibilities
48     defined in Sections 17B-2a-810 and 17B-2a-811 and includes all rights, duties, and
49     responsibilities assigned to the general manager but prescribed by the board of trustees to be
50     fulfilled by the chief executive officer.
51          (4) "Confidential employee" means a person who, in the regular course of the person's
52     duties:
53          (a) assists in and acts in a confidential capacity in relation to other persons who
54     formulate, determine, and effectuate management policies regarding labor relations; or
55          (b) has authorized access to information relating to effectuating or reviewing the
56     employer's collective bargaining policies.
57          [(4)] (5) "Council of governments" means a decision-making body in each county
58     composed of membership including the county governing body and the mayors of each
59     municipality in the county.
60          [(5)] (6) "Department" means the Department of Transportation created in Section
61     72-1-201.
62          [(6)] (7) "Executive director" means a person appointed by the board of trustees of a
63     large public transit district to serve as executive director.
64          [(7)] (8) "Fixed guideway" means the same as that term is defined in Section
65     59-12-102.
66          [(8)] (9) "Fixed guideway capital development" means the same as that term is defined
67     in Section 72-1-102.
68          [(9)] (10) (a) "General manager" means a person appointed by the board of trustees of a
69     small public transit district to serve as general manager.
70          (b) "General manager" shall enjoy all the rights, duties, and responsibilities defined in
71     Sections 17B-2a-810 and 17B-2a-811 prescribed by the board of trustees of a small public
72     transit district.
73          [(10)] (11) "Large public transit district" means a public transit district that provides
74     public transit to an area that includes:
75          (a) more than 65% of the population of the state based on the most recent official
76     census or census estimate of the United States Census Bureau; and
77          (b) two or more counties.
78          [(11)] (12) (a) "Locally elected public official" means a person who holds an elected
79     position with a county or municipality.
80          (b) "Locally elected public official" does not include a person who holds an elected
81     position if the elected position is not with a county or municipality.
82          (13) "Managerial employee" means a person who is:
83          (a) engaged in executive and management functions; and
84          (b) charged with the responsibility of directing, overseeing, or implementing the
85     effectuation of management policies and practices.
86          [(12)] (14) "Metropolitan planning organization" means the same as that term is
87     defined in Section 72-1-208.5.
88          [(13)] (15) "Multicounty district" means a public transit district located in more than
89     one county.
90          [(14)] (16) "Operator" means a public entity or other person engaged in the
91     transportation of passengers for hire.
92          [(15)] (17) (a) "Public transit" means regular, continuing, shared-ride, surface
93     transportation services that are open to the general public or open to a segment of the general
94     public defined by age, disability, or low income.
95          (b) "Public transit" does not include transportation services provided by:
96          (i) chartered bus;
97          (ii) sightseeing bus;
98          (iii) taxi;
99          (iv) school bus service;
100          (v) courtesy shuttle service for patrons of one or more specific establishments; or
101          (vi) intra-terminal or intra-facility shuttle services.
102          [(16)] (18) "Public transit district" means a local district that provides public transit
103     services.
104          [(17)] (19) "Small public transit district" means any public transit district that is not a
105     large public transit district.
106          [(18)] (20) "Station area plan" means a plan developed and adopted by a municipality
107     in accordance with Section 10-9a-403.1.
108          (21) (a) "Supervisor" means a person who has authority, in the interest of the employer,
109     to:
110          (i) hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or
111     discipline other employees; or
112          (ii) adjust another employee's grievance or recommend action to adjust another
113     employee's grievance.
114          (b) "Supervisor" does not include a person whose exercise of the authority described in
115     Subsection (21)(a):
116          (i) is of a merely routine or clerical nature; and
117          (ii) does not require the person to use independent judgment.
118          [(19)] (22) "Transit facility" means a transit vehicle, transit station, depot, passenger
119     loading or unloading zone, parking lot, or other facility:
120          (a) leased by or operated by or on behalf of a public transit district; and
121          (b) related to the public transit services provided by the district, including:
122          (i) railway or other right-of-way;
123          (ii) railway line; and
124          (iii) a reasonable area immediately adjacent to a designated stop on a route traveled by
125     a transit vehicle.
126          [(20)] (23) "Transit vehicle" means a passenger bus, coach, railcar, van, or other
127     vehicle operated as public transportation by a public transit district.
128          [(21)] (24) "Transit-oriented development" means a mixed use residential or
129     commercial area that is designed to maximize access to public transit and includes the
130     development of land owned by a large public transit district.
131          [(22)] (25) "Transit-supportive development" means a mixed use residential or
132     commercial area that is designed to maximize access to public transit and does not include the
133     development of land owned by a large public transit district.
134          Section 2. Section 17B-2a-813 is amended to read:
135          17B-2a-813. Rights, benefits, and protective conditions for employees of a public
136     transit district -- Strike prohibited -- Employees of an acquired transit system.
137          (1) As used in this section:
138          (a) (i) "Employee" means an individual employed by an employer.
139          (ii) "Employee" does not include a person employed as a supervisor, managerial
140     employee, or confidential employee.
141          (b) "Employer" means a person that employs an employee.
142          (2) The rights, benefits, and other employee protective conditions and remedies of
143     Section 13(c) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, 49 U.S.C. Sec. 5333(b), as
144     determined by the Secretary of Labor, apply to a public transit district's establishment and
145     operation of a public transit service or system.
146          [(2)] (3) (a) Employees of a public transit system established and operated by a public
147     transit district have the right to:
148          (i) self-organization;
149          (ii) form, join, or assist labor organizations; and
150          (iii) bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.
151          (b) Employees of a public transit district and labor organizations may not join in a
152     strike against the public transit system operated by the public transit district.
153          (c) Each public transit district shall:
154          (i) recognize and bargain exclusively with any labor organization representing a
155     majority of the district's employees in an appropriate unit with respect to wages, salaries, hours,
156     working conditions, and welfare, pension, and retirement provisions; and
157          (ii) upon reaching agreement with the labor organization, enter into and execute a
158     written contract incorporating the agreement.
159          [(3)] (4) If a public transit district acquires an existing public transit system:
160          (a) all employees of the acquired system who are necessary for the operation of the
161     acquired system, except executive and administrative officers and employees, shall be:
162          (i) transferred to and appointed employees of the acquiring public transit district; and
163          (ii) given sick leave, seniority, vacation, and pension or retirement credits in
164     accordance with the acquired system's records;
165          (b) members and beneficiaries of a pension or retirement plan or other program of
166     benefits that the acquired system has established shall continue to have rights, privileges,
167     benefits, obligations, and status with respect to that established plan or program; and
168          (c) the public transit district may establish, amend, or modify, by agreement with
169     employees or their authorized representatives, the terms, conditions, and provisions of a
170     pension or retirement plan or of an amendment or modification of a pension or retirement plan.
171          [(4)] (5) A pension administrator for a retirement plan sponsored by a public transit
172     district or a person designated by the administrator shall maintain retirement records in
173     accordance with Subsection 49-11-618(2).