House Bill No. 535
Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________
A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act revising the collective bargaining provisions for public employees to provide that a public employee has the right to choose not to join or financially support a labor organization; providing that a public employer's refusal to bargain in good faith with a labor organization does not constitute an unfair labor practice; substituting "member-only bargaining" for "collective bargaining" and "labor organization" for "exclusive representative"; eliminating the terms "collective" and "collectively"; amending sections 39-3-406, 39-4-107, 39-29-111, 39-31-101, 39-31-103, 39-31-201, 39-31-202, 39-31-203, 39-31-206, 39-31-301, 39-31-304, 39-31-305, 39-31-306, 39-31-307, 39-31-308, 39-31-309, 39-31-310, 39-31-312, 39-31-401, 39-31-402, 39-32-109, 39-34-101, and 39-34-106, MCA; repealing sections 39-31-204, 39-31-205, 39-31-207, 39-31-208, 39-31-209, 39-31-210, 39-31-211, and 39-32-113, MCA; and providing an effective date and an applicability date."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:
Section 1. Section 39-3-406, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-3-406. Exclusions. (1) The provisions of 39-3-404 and 39-3-405 do not apply with respect to:
(a) students participating in a distributive education program established under the auspices of an accredited educational agency;
(b) persons employed in private homes whose duties consist of menial chores, such as babysitting, mowing lawns, and cleaning sidewalks;
(c) persons employed directly by the head of a household to care for children dependent upon the head of the household;
(d) immediate members of the family of an employer or persons dependent upon an employer for half or more of their support in the customary sense of being a dependent;
(e) any persons not regular employees of a nonprofit organization who voluntarily offer their services to a nonprofit
organization on a fully or partially reimbursed basis;
(f) handicapped workers engaged in work that is incidental to training or evaluation programs or whose earning capacity is so severely impaired that they are unable to engage in competitive employment;
(g) apprentices or learners, who may be exempted by the commissioner for a period not to exceed 30 days of their employment;
(h) learners under the age of 18 who are employed as farm workers, provided that the exclusion may not exceed 180 days from their initial date of employment and further provided that during this exclusion period, wages paid the learners may not be less than 50% of the minimum wage rate established in this part;
(i) retired or semiretired persons performing part-time incidental work as a condition of their residence on a farm or ranch;
(j) any an individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as these terms are defined
by regulations of the commissioner;
(k) any an individual employed by the United States of America;
(l) resident managers employed in lodging establishments or personal care facilities who, under the terms of their employment, live in the establishment or facility;
(m) an outside salesperson or marketing representative paid on a commission, contract, or salary basis who is primarily employed in selling or marketing products or services in the food distribution industry for a food broker, wholesaler, or association;
(n) a direct seller as defined in 26 U.S.C. 3508.
(2) The provisions of 39-3-405 do not apply to:
(a) an employee with respect to whom the United States secretary of transportation has power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 304;
(b) an employee of an employer subject to the provisions of part I of the Interstate Commerce Act;
(c) an individual employed as an outside buyer of poultry, eggs, cream, or milk, in their raw or natural state;
(d) an outside salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily employed in selling advertising for a newspaper;
(e) a salesperson, parts person, or mechanic paid on a commission or contract basis and primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, or farm implements if the salesperson, parts person, or mechanic is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling the vehicles or implements to ultimate purchasers;
(f) a salesperson primarily engaged in selling trailers, boats, or aircraft if the salesperson is employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling trailers, boats, or aircraft to ultimate purchasers;
(g) an outside salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily employed in selling office supplies, computers, or other office equipment for an office equipment dealer;
(h) a salesperson paid on a commission or contract basis who is primarily engaged in selling advertising for a radio or television station employer;
(i) an employee employed as a driver or driver's helper making local deliveries who is compensated for the employment on the basis of trip rates or other delivery payment plan if the commissioner finds that the plan has the general purpose and effect of reducing hours worked by the employees to or below the maximum workweek applicable to them under 39-3-405;
(j) an employee employed in agriculture or in connection with the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways not owned or operated for profit and not operated on a sharecrop basis and that are used exclusively for supply and storing of water for agricultural purposes;
(k) an employee employed in agriculture by a farmer, notwithstanding other employment of the employee in connection with livestock auction operations in which the farmer is engaged as an adjunct to the raising of livestock, either alone or in conjunction with other farmers, if the employee is:
(i) primarily employed during a workweek in agriculture by a farmer; and
(ii) paid for employment in connection with the livestock auction operations at a wage rate not less than that prescribed by 39-3-404;
(l) an employee of an establishment commonly recognized as a country elevator, including an establishment that sells products and services used in the operation of a farm, if no more than five employees are employed by the establishment;
(m) a driver employed by an employer engaged in the business of operating taxicabs;
(n) an employee who is employed with the employee's spouse by a nonprofit educational institution to serve as the parents of children who are orphans or one of whose natural parents is deceased or who are enrolled in the institution and reside in residential facilities of the institution so long as the children are in residence at the institution and so long as the employee and the employee's spouse reside in the facilities and receive, without cost, board and lodging from the institution and are together compensated, on a cash basis, at an annual rate of not less than $10,000;
(o) an employee employed in planting or tending trees; cruising, surveying, or felling timber; or transporting logs or other forestry products to a mill, processing plant, railroad, or other transportation terminal if the number of employees employed by the employer in the forestry or lumbering operations does not exceed eight;
(p) an employee of a sheriff's department who is working under an established work period in lieu of a workweek pursuant to 7-4-2509(1);
(q) an employee of a municipal or county government who is working under a work period not exceeding 40 hours in a
7-day period established through a collective member-only bargaining agreement when a collective member-only
bargaining unit represents the employee or by mutual agreement of the employer and employee when a bargaining unit is
not recognized. Employment in excess of 40 hours in a 7-day, 40-hour work period must be compensated at a rate of not
less than 1 1/2 times the hourly wage rate for the employee.
(r) an employee of a hospital or other establishment primarily engaged in the care of the sick, disabled, aged, or mentally ill or defective who is working under a work period not exceeding 80 hours in a 14-day period established through either a collective bargaining agreement when a collective bargaining unit represents the employee or by mutual agreement of the employer and employee when a bargaining unit is not recognized. Employment in excess of 8 hours a day or 80 hours in a 14-day period must be compensated for at a rate of not less than 1 1/2 times the hourly wage rate for the employee.
(s) a firefighter who is working under a work period established in a collective member-only bargaining agreement entered
into between a public employer and a firefighters' organization or its exclusive representative labor organization;
(t) an officer or other employee of a police department in a city of the first or second class who is working under a work period established by the chief of police under 7-32-4118;
(u) an employee of a department of public safety working under a work period established pursuant to 7-32-115;
(v) an employee of a retail establishment if the employee's regular rate of pay exceeds 1 1/2 times the minimum hourly rate applicable under section 206 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and if more than half of the employee's compensation for a period of not less than 1 month is derived from commissions on goods and services;
(w) a person employed as a guide, cook, camp tender, or livestock handler by a licensed outfitter as defined in 37-47-101;
(x) an employee employed as a radio announcer, news editor, or chief engineer by an employer in a second- or third-class city or a town."
Section 2. Section 39-4-107, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-4-107. State and municipal governments, school districts, mines, mills, and smelters. (1) A period of 8 hours
constitutes a day's work in all works and undertakings carried on or aided by any municipal or county government, the state
government, or a first-class school district, and on all public contracts let by them, and for all janitors (except in
courthouses of sixth- and seventh-class counties), engineers, firefighters, caretakers, custodians, and laborers employed in
or about any buildings, works, or grounds used or occupied for any purpose by such the municipal, county, or state
government or first-class school district. A period of 8 hours constitutes a day's work in mills and smelters for the treatment
of ores, in underground mines, and in the washing, reducing, and treatment of coal. This subsection does not apply in the
event of an emergency when life or property is in imminent danger or to the situations specified in subsections (3) and (4).
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) do not apply to firefighters who are working a work period established in a collective
member-only bargaining agreement entered into between a public employer and a firefighters' organization or its exclusive
representative labor organization.
(3) In counties where regular road and bridge departments are maintained, the county commissioners may, with the
approval of the employees or their the employees' duly constituted representative, establish a 40-hour workweek consisting
of 4 consecutive 10-hour days. No An employee may not be required to work in excess of 8 hours in any one workday if
he the employee prefers not to.
(4) In municipal and county governments, the employer and employee may agree to a workday of more than 8 hours and to a 7-day, 40-hour work period:
(a) through a collective bargaining agreement when a collective member-only bargaining unit represents the employee; or
(b) by the mutual agreement of the employer and employee when no bargaining unit is recognized."
Section 3. Section 39-29-111, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-29-111. Retention during reduction in force. (1) Subject to the restrictions in subsections (2) and (3), during a reduction in force, a public employer shall retain in a position:
(a) a veteran, disabled veteran, or eligible relative whose performance has not been rated unacceptable under a performance appraisal system over other employees with similar job duties and qualifications and the same length of service; and
(b) a disabled veteran with a service-connected disability of 30% or more whose performance has not been rated unacceptable under a performance appraisal system over other veterans, disabled veterans, and eligible relatives with similar job duties and qualifications and the same length of service.
(2) An employee is not entitled to preference in retention under subsection (1) unless he the employee is a United States
citizen.
(3) The preference in retention under subsection (1) does not apply to a position covered by a collective member-only
bargaining agreement."
Section 4. Section 39-31-101, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-101. Policy. In order to promote public business by removing certain recognized sources of strife and unrest, it is
the policy of the state of Montana to encourage the practice and procedure of collective member-only bargaining to arrive
at friendly adjustment of all disputes between public employers and their employees."
Section 5. Section 39-31-103, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-103. Definitions. When used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Appropriate unit" means a group of public employees banded together for collective member-only bargaining
purposes as designated by the board.
(2) "Board" means the board of personnel appeals provided for in 2-15-1705.
(3) "Confidential employee" means any a person found by the board to be a confidential labor relations employee and any
a person employed in the personnel division, department of administration, who acts with discretionary authority in the
creation or revision of state classification specifications.
(4) "Exclusive representative" means the labor organization which has been designated by the board as the exclusive
representative of employees in an appropriate unit or has been so recognized by the public employer.
(5)(4) "Labor dispute" includes any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of employment or concerning the
association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or
conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.
(6)(5) "Labor organization" means any an organization or association of any kind in which employees participate and
which that exists for the primary purpose of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of
pay, hours of employment, fringe benefits, or other conditions of employment.
(7)(6) "Management official" means a representative of management having authority to act for the agency on any matters
relating to the implementation of agency policy.
(8)(7) "Person" includes one or more individuals, labor organizations, public employees, associations, corporations, legal
representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.
(9)(8) (a) "Public employee" means:
(i) except as provided in subsection (9)(b) (8)(b), a person employed by a public employer in any capacity; and
(ii) an individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of or in connection with any unfair labor practice or concerted employee action.
(b) Public employee does not mean:
(i) an elected official;
(ii) a person directly appointed by the governor;
(iii) a supervisory employee, as defined in subsection (11) (10);
(iv) a management official, as defined in subsection (7) (6);
(v) a confidential employee, as defined in subsection (3);
(vi) a member of any state board or commission who serves the state intermittently;
(vii) a school district clerk;
(viii) a school administrator;
(ix) a registered professional nurse performing service for a health care facility;
(x) a professional engineer; or
(xi) an engineer intern.
(10)(9) "Public employer" means the state of Montana or any political subdivision thereof of the state, including but not
limited to any town, city, county, district, or school board, the board of regents, a public and quasi-public corporation, a
housing authority or other authority established by law, and any representative or agent designated by the public employer
to act in its interest in dealing with public employees. Public employer also includes any local public agency designated as
a head start agency as provided in 42 U.S.C. 9836.
(11)(10) "Supervisory employee" means any individual having authority in the interest of the employer to hire, transfer,
suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, and discipline other employees, and having responsibility to
direct them, to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing, the
exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature but requires the use of independent judgment.
(12)(11) "Unfair labor practice" means any unfair labor practice listed in 39-31-401 or 39-31-402."
Section 6. Section 39-31-201, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-201. Public employees protected in right Right of self-organization -- choice as to union support. (1) Public
employees shall have protection and shall be are protected in the exercise of the right of self-organization, the right to form,
join, or assist any labor organization, the right to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing on
questions of wages, hours, fringe benefits, and other conditions of employment, and the right to engage in other concerted
activities for the purpose of collective member-only bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, free from interference,
restraint, or coercion.
(2) A public employee, on an individual basis, has the right to choose not to form, join, or assist or financially support any labor organization, free from interference, restraint, or coercion."
Section 7. Section 39-31-202, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-202. Board to determine appropriate bargaining unit -- factors to be considered. In order to assure ensure
employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this chapter, the board or an agent of the board shall
decide the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective member-only bargaining and shall consider such factors as
community of interest, wages, hours, fringe benefits, and other working conditions of the employees involved, the history
of collective member-only bargaining, common supervision, common personnel policies, extent of integration of work
functions and interchange among employees affected, and the desires of the employees."
Section 8. Section 39-31-203, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-203. Deduction of dues from employee's pay. Upon written authorization of any public employee within a
bargaining unit, the public employer shall deduct from the pay of the public employee the monthly amount of dues as
certified by the secretary of the exclusive representative labor organization and shall deliver the dues to the treasurer of the
exclusive representative labor organization."
Section 9. Section 39-31-206, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-206. Labor organization to guarantee certain rights and safeguards prior to certification or recognition. (1)
Certification or recognition as an exclusive representative shall a labor organization must be extended or continued, as the
case may be, only to a labor or employee organization the written bylaws of which provide for and guarantee the following
rights and safeguards and whose practices conform to such the rights and safeguards as:
(a) provisions are made for democratic organization and procedures;
(b) elections are conducted pursuant to adequate standards and safeguards;
(c) controls are provided for the regulation of officers and agents having fiduciary responsibility to the organization; and
(d) requirements exist for maintenance of sound accounting and fiscal controls, including annual audits.
(2) The board shall hear and decide all disputes arising under subsection (1)."
Section 10. Section 39-31-301, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-301. Representative of public employer. The chief executive officer of the state, the governing body of a
political subdivision, the commissioner of higher education, whether elected or appointed, or the designated authorized
representative shall represent the public employer in collective member-only bargaining with an exclusive representative a
labor organization."
Section 11. Section 39-31-304, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-304. Negotiable items for school districts. Nothing in this This chapter shall does not require or allow authorize
boards of trustees of school districts to bargain collectively upon any matter other than matters specified in 39-31-305(2)."
Section 12. Section 39-31-305, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-305. Duty to bargain collectively -- good faith. (1) The public employer and the exclusive representative labor
organization, through appropriate officials or their representatives, shall have the authority and the duty to bargain
collectively. This duty extends to the obligation to bargain collectively in good faith as set forth in subsection (2) of this
section.
(2) For the purpose of this chapter, to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the public
employer or his the public employer's designated representatives and the representatives of the exclusive representative
labor organization to meet at reasonable times and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, fringe benefits, and
other conditions of employment or the negotiation of an agreement or any question arising thereunder under the agreement
and the execution of a written contract incorporating any agreement reached. Such The obligation does not compel either
party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession.
(3) For purposes of state government only, the requirement of negotiating in good faith may be met by the submission of a negotiated settlement to the legislature in the executive budget or by bill or joint resolution. The failure to reach a negotiated settlement for submission is not, by itself, prima facie evidence of a failure to negotiate in good faith."
Section 13. Section 39-31-306, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-306. Collective Member-only bargaining agreements. (1) An agreement reached by the public employer and
the exclusive representative labor organization must be reduced to writing and must be executed by both parties.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (5), an agreement may contain a grievance procedure culminating in final and binding arbitration of unresolved grievances and disputed interpretations of agreements.
(3) An agreement between the public employer and a labor organization must be valid and enforced under its terms when entered into in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and signed by the chief executive officer of the state or political subdivision or commissioner of higher education or by a representative. A publication of the agreement is not required to make it effective.
(4) The procedure for the making of an agreement between the state or political subdivision and a labor organization provided by this chapter is the exclusive method of making a valid agreement for public employees represented by a labor organization.
(5) An agreement to which a school is a party must contain a grievance procedure culminating in final and binding
arbitration of unresolved and disputed interpretations of agreements. The aggrieved party may have the grievance or
disputed interpretation of the agreement resolved either by final and binding arbitration or by any other available legal
method and forum, but not by both. After a grievance has been submitted to arbitration, the grievant and the exclusive
representative labor organization waive any right to pursue against the school an action or complaint that seeks the same
remedy. If a grievant or the exclusive representative labor organization files a complaint or other action against the school,
arbitration seeking the same remedy may not be filed or pursued under this section."
Section 14. Section 39-31-307, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-307. Mediation of disputes. If, after a reasonable period of negotiation over the terms of an agreement or upon
expiration of an existing collective member-only bargaining agreement, a dispute concerning the collective member-only
bargaining agreement exists between the public employer and a labor organization, the parties shall request mediation."
Section 15. Section 39-31-308, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-308. Initiation of factfinding -- designation of fact finder. (1) If, upon expiration of an existing collective
member-only bargaining agreement or 30 days following certification or recognition of an exclusive representative a labor
organization, a dispute concerning the collective member-only bargaining agreement exists between the employer and the
exclusive representative labor organization, either party may petition the board to initiate factfinding.
(2) Within 3 days of receipt of such a petition, the board shall submit to the parties a list of five qualified, disinterested
persons from which the parties shall alternate in striking two names. The remaining person shall must be designated fact
finder. This process shall must be completed within 5 days of receipt of the list. The parties shall notify the board of the
designated fact finder.
(3) If no a request for factfinding is not made by either party before the expiration of the agreement or 30 days following
certification or recognition of an exclusive representative a labor organization, the board may initiate factfinding as
provided for in subsection (2) above."
Section 16. Section 39-31-309, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-309. Factfinding proceedings. (1) The fact finder shall immediately establish dates and place of hearings.
(2) The public employer and the exclusive representative labor organization are the only proper parties to factfinding
proceedings.
(3) Upon request of either party or the fact finder, the board shall issue subpoenas for hearings conducted by the fact finder. The fact finder may administer oaths.
(4) Upon completion of the hearings, but no later than 20 days from the date of appointment, the fact finder shall make
written findings of facts and recommendations for resolution of the dispute and shall serve the findings on the public
employer and the exclusive representative labor organization. The fact finder may make this report public 5 days after it is
submitted to the parties. If the dispute is not resolved 15 days after the report is submitted to the parties, the report must be
made public.
(5) When a party petitions the board to initiate factfinding, the cost of factfinding proceedings must be equally borne by the parties. When the board initiates factfinding, the cost of factfinding proceedings must be equally borne by the board and the parties.
(6) Nothing in 39-31-307 through 39-31-310 prohibits the fact finder from endeavoring to mediate the dispute in which the fact finder has been selected or appointed."
Section 17. Section 39-31-310, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-310. Submission of issues to arbitration. Nothing in 39-31-307 through 39-31-310 prohibits the parties from
voluntarily agreeing to submit any or all of the issues to final and binding arbitration, and if such an agreement is reached,
the arbitration shall must supersede the factfinding procedures set forth in those sections. An agreement to arbitrate and the
award issued in accordance with such the agreement shall be are enforceable in the same manner as is provided in this
chapter for enforcement of collective member-only bargaining agreements."
Section 18. Section 39-31-312, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-312. Nonnegotiable items for state prison. Collective Member-only bargaining agreements entered after July 14,
1982, may not contain provisions prohibiting or restricting the use of inmate labor as provided for in 53-30-151."
Section 19. Section 39-31-401, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-401. Unfair labor practices of public employer. It is an unfair labor practice for a public employer to:
(1) interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in 39-31-201;
(2) dominate, interfere, or assist in the formation or administration of any labor organization; however,. However, subject
to rules adopted by the board under 39-31-104, an employer is not prohibited from permitting employees to confer with
him the employer during working hours without loss of time or pay;.
(3) discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment in order to encourage or
discourage membership in any labor organization; however, nothing in this chapter or in any other statute of this state
precludes a public employer from making an agreement with an exclusive representative to require, as a condition of
employment, that an employee who is not or does not become a union member, must have an amount equal to the union
initiation fee and monthly dues deducted from his wages in the same manner as checkoff of union dues; or
(4) discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he the employee has signed or filed an affidavit,
petition, or complaint or has given any information or testimony under this chapter; or
(5) refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with an exclusive representative."
Section 20. Section 39-31-402, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-31-402. Unfair labor practices of labor organization. It is an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to:
(1) restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the right guaranteed in 39-31-201 or a public employer in the selection
of his a representative for the purpose of collective member-only bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;
(2) refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with a public employer if it has been designated as the exclusive
representative labor organization of employees;
(3) use agency shop fees for contributions to political candidates or parties at state or local levels."
Section 21. Section 39-32-109, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-32-109. Unfair labor practices. (1) It is an unfair labor practice for a health care facility to do one or more of the following:
(a) interfere with or restrain or coerce employees in any manner in the exercise of their right of self-organization;
(b) initiate, create, dominate, contribute to, or interfere with the formation or administration of any employee organization
that has collective member-only bargaining as one of its principal functions;
(c) discriminate in regard to hire terms or conditions of employment when a purpose of such is to discourage membership
in an employee organization that has collective member-only bargaining as one of its principal functions;
(d) refuse to meet and bargain in good faith with the duly designated representatives of an appropriate bargaining unit of its
employees. For the purpose of this subsection, it is a requirement of bargaining in good faith that the parties be willing to
reduce in writing and have their representative sign any agreement arrived at through negotiations and discussion.
(e) unilaterally exclude from work or prevent from working or discharge any one or more employees when the purpose of
such the action is in whole or in part to interfere with or coerce or intimidate an employee in the exercise of rights assured
ensured in this law.
(2) It is an unfair labor practice for a labor organization or its agents to:
(a) restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the right to:
(i) form, join, or assist any labor organization;
(ii) bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; or
(iii) engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective member-only bargaining or other mutual aid or
protection;
(b) restrain or coerce an employer in the selection of his a representative for the purpose of collective member-only
bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;
(c) refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with an employer if it has been designated as the exclusive representative
labor organization of employees;
(d) use agency shop fees for contributions to political candidates or parties."
Section 22. Section 39-34-101, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-34-101. Arbitration between firefighters and public employers. (1) This section applies only to firefighters and their public employers.
(2) If an impasse is reached in the course of collective member-only bargaining between a public employer and a
firefighters' organization or its exclusive representative labor organization and if the procedures for mediation and
factfinding in 39-31-307 through 39-31-310 have been exhausted, either party or both jointly may petition the board of
personnel appeals for final and binding arbitration."
Section 23. Section 39-34-106, MCA, is amended to read:
"39-34-106. Cost of arbitration. The cost of arbitration shall must be shared equally by the public employer and the
firefighters' organization or its exclusive representative labor organization."
NEW SECTION. Section 24. Repealer. Sections 39-31-204, 39-31-205, 39-31-207, 39-31-208, 39-31-209, 39-31-210, 39-31-211, and 39-32-113, MCA, are repealed.
NEW SECTION. Section 25. Effective date -- applicability. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997, and applies to contracts entered into on or after [the effective date of this act].
-END-