July 14, 2009, Introduced by Rep. Bledsoe and referred to the Committee on Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs.
A bill to amend 1945 PA 327, entitled
"Aeronautics code of the state of Michigan,"
by amending section 119 (MCL 259.119), as added by 2002 PA 90.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 119. (1) For employees who elect to transfer to the
authority under subsection (2) and who are covered by the terms of
a collective bargaining agreement with the local government that
owns an airport over which operational jurisdiction will be
transferred, the authority shall assume and be bound by those
existing collective bargaining agreements for the remainder of the
term of the agreement. A representative of the employees or a group
of employees in the local government who represents or is entitled
to represent the employees or a group of employees of the local
government, pursuant to 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217, shall
continue to represent the employees or group of employees after the
employees transfer to the authority and the authority shall honor
all obligations of a public sector employer after the expiration of
any collective bargaining agreement with respect to transferring
employees.
(2) Local government employees employed at an airport from
which operational jurisdiction will be transferred to an authority
may agree to transfer to the employment of the authority on or
before a date established by the authority. The date established by
the authority shall not be later than the approval date. Local
government employees, who do not agree to transfer to the
employment of the authority, shall be reassigned within the local
government. The local government shall not, as a result of the
creation or incorporation of an authority for a period of not more
than 1 year, layoff or reduce the pay or benefits of any employee
of the local government into whose position a local government
employee who was previously employed at the airport is reassigned.
The authority shall consider any person hired by the authority to
fill a position that had been previously filled with a local
government employee who did not agree to transfer to the employment
of the authority to be under the collective bargaining agreement
covering, and to be represented by the collective bargaining
representative of, the local government employee who did not agree
to transfer to the authority. The authority shall accept the
transfers without a break in employment, subject to all rights and
benefits held by the transferring employees under a collective
bargaining agreement. Transferring employees shall not be placed in
a worse position by reason of the transfer for a period of 1 year
after the approval date, or any longer period as may be required in
connection with the assumption of any applicable collective
bargaining agreement, with respect to wages, workers' compensation,
pension, seniority, sick leave, vacation, or health and welfare
insurance or any other term and condition of employment that a
transferring employee may have under a collective bargaining
agreement that the employee received as an employee of the local
government. The rights and benefits protected by this subsection
may be altered by a future collective bargaining agreement except
that any employee who as of the effective date of this chapter has
the right, by contract or statute, to submit any unresolved
disputes to the procedures set forth in 1969 PA 312, MCL 423.231 to
423.247, shall continue to have that right, or, for employees not
covered by collective bargaining agreements, by benefit plans as
established and adopted by the authority. Employees who elect to
transfer shall not by reason of the transfer have their accrued
local government pension benefits or credits diminished. If a
transferring employee is not vested in his or her local government
pension rights at the time of transfer, his or her post-transfer
service with the authority shall be credited toward vesting in any
local government retirement system in which the transferring
employee participated prior to the transfer, but the post-transfer
service with the authority shall not be credited for any other
purpose under the local government's retirement system, except as
provided in subsections (3) and (4). An employee who elects to
transfer to the authority may, upon return to employment with the
local government within 1 year from the approval date, do so
without loss of seniority unless contrary to a collective
bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, a political appointee, other than a member of the board
appointed under section 111, at an airport previously operated by
the local government from which operational authority has been
transferred to an authority shall not be placed in a worse position
in regards to terms and conditions of employment until December 31
of the year in which the authority is created.
(3) If a local government employee described in this section
elects to transfer to an authority or if a person is hired by the
authority as a new employee after the date on which the authority
assumes operational jurisdiction over an airport, the employee
shall
remain or become a participant member
in the local government
retirement system until the authority has established its own
retirement system or pension plan. During this period the employee
remains
or is a participant member
in the local government system,
the employee's post-transfer service with the authority during this
period and his or her post-transfer compensation from the authority
during this period shall be counted in determining both eligibility
for and the amount of pension benefits that the employee will be
eligible to receive from the local government system or plan.
(4) If a local government employee described in this section
elects to transfer to the authority, then the transferred employee
may
elect to remain a participant member
in the local government
retirement
system in lieu of participation membership
in any
retirement system or pension plan of the authority. By electing to
remain
a participant member in the local government system, the
employee's post-transfer service with the authority and his or her
post-transfer compensation from the authority shall be counted in
determining both eligibility for and the amount of pension benefits
that the employee will be eligible to receive from the local
government system or plan. Any election to remain in a local
government system or plan shall be made within 60 days following
the date the authority has established its own retirement system or
pension plan and shall be irrevocable. Employees eligible to make
the election described in this subsection shall be those employees
who
immediately before their transfer date were participating in
members of the local government system and who agree to make any
employee
contributions required for continuing participation
membership in the local government system and also agree to meet
all requirements and be subject to all conditions which, from time
to
time, apply to employees of the local government who participate
in
are members of the local government system.
(5) For each employee meeting the requirements of subsection
(4)
who elects to remain a participant member in the local
retirement system, the authority shall, on a timely basis,
contribute the following amounts, as applicable, to the trustees of
that retirement system:
(a) An amount determined by the local government system's
actuary toward amortization of unfunded actuarial accrued
liabilities which, as of the transfer date, are reasonably
allocated to that employee on the local government system's
records.
(b) An amount determined by the local government system's
actuary sufficient to fund the liability for all of that employee's
retirement and other benefits under the system on a current basis,
as those liabilities are accrued on and after the transfer date.
(c) An amount determined by the local government system's
actuary equal to all actuarial losses net of actuarial gains,
costs, and administrative expenses of the system which are
reasonably allocated to the employee.
(d) An amount equal to the percentage of compensation that the
local government would have contributed for the employee had he or
she remained in the employ of the local government.
(e) An amount corresponding to what the local government would
have contributed toward retiree health coverage for the employee.
However, the authority shall succeed to all rights of the local
government to modify, amend, replace, suspend, or discontinue the
retiree health coverage being provided to the persons who retire
from authority employment.