House bill eyes public employee unions
Sen. Dennis Baxley speaks during the Marion County Delegation at the Klein Conference Center at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.
In his file photo, Sen. Dennis Baxley speaks during the Marion County Delegation at the Klein Conference Center at the College of Central Florida in on Oct. 7, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, filed the measure (HB 1197) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Tuesday.
Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, filed the Senate version (SB 1458) on Tuesday.
Both bills would bar payroll deductions for dues and require union members to pay dues directly to their unions. The dues change would not apply to unions representing law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers and firefighters.
Both bills also would require unions to report membership information. Unions whose membership is less than 50 percent of the eligible employees would have to petition the state Public Employees Relations Commission for recertification as the representative of workers in the bargaining units.
Those requirements would not apply to unions representing law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers and firefighters.
Support community journalism
The first goal of the Ocala Gazette is to deliver trustworthy local journalism so corruption, misinformation and abuse are not hidden from the public or unchallenged.
