This notice was just sent out via sprint fax. June 30, 2000 TO: Mayors, Council Members and City Managers RE: Compulsory and Binding Arbitration. SB 402 (Burton). New Amendments * 6/29/2000. Continue Opposition! On Thursday of this week, amendments were made to SB 402. The bill rests on the floor of the Assembly where it was *parked* last year at the end of the session. A series of meetings have been held between the proponents of the bill, police and fire unions, and members of the law enforcement management community. There was no agreement reached in those meetings. The recent amendments appear to be an attempt to put a *happy face* on the bill before it is sent to the Governor and then let him wrestle with whether to sign the measure. The amendments do the following: Permits the chief law enforcement officer of an employer to notify the arbitration panel created under the bill of his or her intent to remove from consideration any issue included as part of a last best offer of settlement, upon the basis that it would foreclose his or her ability to protect the public, including his or her ability to eradicate any existence of law enforcement corruption, deploy law enforcement personnel during an emergency, staff patrol cars, control weapons usage, or impose discipline. Upon receipt of the notice from the chief law enforcement officer, the employee organization may: Withdraw the last best offer of settlement that addresses the issue notice for removal from consideration; Serve notice of intent to dispute the basis of the noticed removal of the issue included as a part of the last best offer of settlement. If the employee organization has withdrawn a last best offer of settlement, the arbitration panel proceeds to those issues that have not been removed or withdrawn. An employee organization that intends to dispute the basis for withdrawing an item from arbitration, may seek a hearing in a court of competent jurisdiction to determine de novo whether the issue included as a part of a last best offer of settlement forecloses the ability of the chief law enforcement officer to protect the public. The amendments are an attempt to put window-dressing on a bad bill. Two issues to remember when writing, calling or FAXing your Assembly Member: The bill still imposes compulsory and binding arbitration for settlement of labor disputes with police and fire employees. This means that at least 60 percent of a full-service city*s budget is under the authority of an outside, arbitrator with no accountability to the taxpayers. In spite of the amendments to make it look as though the scope of arbitration is narrowed for law enforcement officers, all salary, fringe benefits and other terms and conditions of employment for firefighters are subject to arbitration. Please contact your Assembly Member TODAY or over the weekend and reconfirm your opposition to SB 402. Frances Medema Policy Analyst League of California Cities 1400 K Street Suite 400 Sacramento, CA 95814 phone: 916/658-8218 fax: 916/658-8240 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
