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SB-1101 Transportation: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: transportation zones.(1999-2000)

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SB1101:v92#DOCUMENT

Senate Bill No. 1101
CHAPTER 1080

An act to amend Sections 130051.12 and 130110 of, and to add Section 130051.24 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 30, 2000. Approved by Governor  September 30, 2000. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1101, Murray. Transportation: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: transportation zones.
(1) Existing law requires the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to establish retirement benefits for employees in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement.
This bill would include in this requirement employees in any organizational unit of the authority that is in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization.
The bill also would require retirement benefits for employees of the authority and any organizational unit of the authority in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization that was created on or after January 1, 1999, for the purpose of representing managerial employees or supervisorial employees, to be established pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the authority or any organizational unit of the authority and that labor organization.
(2) Existing law authorizes the authority, as the successor entity to the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, to establish transportation zones, as defined, only in those areas where the authority determines by a majority vote that the authority or the included municipal operator cannot otherwise provide adequate and responsive local transportation services in a cost-effective manner. Existing law also requires the authority to establish organizational units, including an organizational unit with the operating responsibilities of the Southern California Rapid Transit District relating to exclusive public mass transit guideway projects and the operation of bus routes.
This bill, as to any transportation zone, as defined, approved on or after January 1, 1999, that assumes any of the operating responsibilities of the district, as specified above, on or after that date, would require the transportation zone to assume and be bound by the terms and conditions of employment set forth in any collective bargaining agreements between the authority and any labor organizations affected by the creation of the transportation zone as well as the duties, obligations, and liabilities arising from, or relating to, labor obligations imposed by state or federal law upon the authority, except as specified.
The bill would require, for a period of 4 years, commencing with the date of transfer of service by the authority to the transportation zone, or at the expiration date of any collective bargaining agreement that is in effect during that 4-year period, whichever is later, that employees of the transportation zone, together with like employees of the authority, constitute appropriate collective bargaining units. Upon expiration of the specified period, employees of the transportation zone, at the option of the transportation zone, would be authorized to constitute appropriate collective bargaining units that are independent of the collective bargaining units of the authority.
The bill would require the authority to retain, for the period specified above, the power of final approval of labor contracts negotiated by it and the transportation zone with those labor organizations representing collective bargaining units consisting of both employees of the authority and the employees of the transportation zone. Upon expiration of the specified period, the authority would have no final approval power over any labor contract negotiated between the transportation zone and a labor organization representing the employees of the transportation zone.
The bill would require the transportation zone to maintain, as a cosponsor with the authority, any retirement system established and maintained as specified, until participation in the retirement system or retirement benefits is modified under the collective bargaining process. The transportation zone would be authorized to appoint at least one member to the retirement board of the retirement system.
The bill would require the transportation zone to maintain the health care provisions contained in any assumed collective bargaining agreement, until those provisions are modified through the collective bargaining process. The bill would provide that the transportation zone may not be held liable for financial obligations to any health care provider that arose prior to the direct transfer of employees from the authority to the transportation zone.
The bill would specify that the transportation zone is not an organizational unit of the authority.
To the extent the provisions of this bill would impose additional duties and responsibilities upon local governmental entities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 130051.12 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

130051.12.
 The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall, at a minimum, reserve to itself exclusively, all of the following powers and responsibilities:
(a) Establishment of overall goals and objectives.
(b) Adoption of the aggregate budget for all organizational units of the authority.
(c) Designation of additional included municipal operators pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 99285.
(d) Approval of final rail corridor selections.
(e) Final approval of labor contracts covering employees of the authority and organizational units of the authority.
(f) Establishment of the authority’s organizational structure.
(g) Conducting hearings and the setting of fares for the operating organizational unit established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 130051.11.
(h) (1) Approval of transportation zones.
(2) In determining the cost-effectiveness of any proposed transportation zone, the authority may not approve or disapprove a transportation zone based upon consideration of rates of wages and other forms of compensation or hours and working conditions of employees of the proposed transportation zone.
(3) Any determination of efficiencies that may be derived from the approval of a transportation zone shall include consideration of maintaining the prevailing rate of wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment contained in current collective bargaining agreements applicable to the authority as required under subdivision (d) of Section 130051.11.
(4) A proposed transportation zone is not required to demonstrate lower operating costs than those of the existing operator or operators of the service to be transferred to the zone, but shall demonstrate that the net cost will not be greater than the current service.
(i) Approval of the issuance of any debt instrument with a maturity date that exceeds the end of the fiscal year in which it is issued.
(j) Approval of benefit assessment districts and assessment rates.
(k) Approval of contracts for transit equipment acquisition that exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000), and making the findings required by subdivision (c) of Section 130238.

SEC. 2.

 Section 130051.24 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

130051.24.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1) The “authority” is the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
(2) A “transportation zone” is a public agency or a public benefit corporation of which public agencies are the sole members established on or after January 1, 1999, that assumes any of the operating responsibilities described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 130051.11 on or after that date, regardless of whether the transportation zone is an included municipal operator, as defined in Section 99207, or an included transit district, as defined in Section 99208.
(b) (1) Except as authorized under paragraph (2), a transportation zone shall assume and be bound by the terms and conditions of employment set forth in any collective bargaining agreements between the authority and any labor organizations affected by the creation of the transportation zone as well as the duties, obligations, and liabilities arising from, or relating to, labor obligations imposed by state or federal law upon the authority.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the authority is engaged in collective bargaining with labor organizations representing employees who are subject to transfer to the transportation zone between the date of approval of the transportation zone and the date of the transfer of service to the transportation zone, the authority may consult with the transportation zone regarding matters within the scope of labor representation.
(c) (1) For a period of four years, commencing with the date of transfer of service by the authority to the transportation zone, or at the expiration date of any collective bargaining agreement that is in effect during that four-year period, whichever is later, employees of the transportation zone, together with like employees of the authority, shall constitute appropriate collective bargaining units. However, the transportation zone may be a separate employer for other purposes.
(2) Upon expiration of the period described in paragraph (1), employees of the transportation zone, at the option of the transportation zone, may constitute appropriate collective bargaining units that are independent of the collective bargaining units of the authority.
(3) If independent bargaining units are established as authorized under paragraph (2), the transportation zone may enter into agreements with labor organizations as a separate employer, regarding wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.
(4) The transportation zone shall maintain single employer collective bargaining units for transportation operations and maintenance employees. Those bargaining units shall contain classifications for employees that are identical to those that existed for the joint collective bargaining units of the authority and the transportation zone under paragraph (1), unless modified by mutual agreement between the transportation zone and the affected labor organizations.
(d) (1) The authority shall retain, for the period described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), the power of final approval of labor contracts negotiated by it and a transportation zone with those labor organizations representing collective bargaining units consisting of both employees of the authority and the employees of the transportation zone. However, the authority may not grant any final approval of a labor agreement unless it has first consulted with the transportation zone.
(2) Upon expiration of the period described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), the authority shall have no final approval power over any labor contract negotiated between a transportation zone and a labor organization representing the employees of the transportation zone.
(e) (1) A transportation zone shall maintain, as a cosponsor with the authority, any retirement system established and maintained under subdivision (b) of Section 130110, until participation in the retirement system or retirement benefits are modified under the collective bargaining process.
(2) The transportation zone may appoint at least one member to the retirement board of the retirement system. If the size of the board is increased pursuant to this section, an equivalent number of representatives of the labor organization representing the employees shall be appointed to the board to ensure that the board maintains an equal number of employer and labor organization members.
(3) Prior to the transfer of any service to a transportation zone, the plan administrator for the retirement system shall permit the transportation zone to perform an actuarial financial examination of the assets and liabilities of the retirement system and the benefits accrued under it.
(4) The liability of the transportation zone for obligations under the retirement system shall be limited to benefits accruing to employees of the transportation zone.
(f) (1) The transportation zone shall maintain the health care provisions contained in any assumed collective bargaining agreement, until those provisions are modified through the collective bargaining process.
(2) The transportation zone may not be held liable for financial obligations to any health care provider that arose prior to the direct transfer of employees from the authority to the transportation zone.
(g) Labor relations in a transportation zone shall be governed under Article 10 (commencing with Section 30750) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 10, except that whenever a duty or power is imposed upon or granted to the authority under those provisions, the duty or power, for the purposes of this section, shall be deemed to be imposed upon or granted to the transportation zone as well as the authority.
(h) Nothing in this section prohibits a transportation zone from contracting for managerial services that are not provided by any classification of any bargaining unit.
(i) A transportation zone is not an organizational unit of the authority.

SEC. 3.

 Section 130110 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

130110.
 (a) For employees of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority not in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization, the authority shall establish retirement benefits pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 30400) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 30430) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 10.
(b) Retirement benefits for employees of the authority and any organizational unit of the authority in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization shall be established pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 30450) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 10.
(c) Retirement benefits for employees of the authority and any organizational unit of the authority in a bargaining unit represented by a labor organization that was created on or after January 1, 1999, for the purpose of representing managerial employees or supervisorial employees, shall be established pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement between the authority or any organizational unit of the authority and that labor organization.

SEC. 4.

 Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.