AB921: Bill Text

LRB-4800/1

RAC:jlg:jf

1999 - 2000 LEGISLATURE

1999 Assembly BILL 921

March 22, 2000 - Introduced by Representative Vrakas. Referred to Joint survey committee on Retirement Systems.

AB921,1,7 An Act to renumber and amend 40.02 (48) (am) and 40.02 (48) (c); to amend 40.02 (48) (a), 111.70 (4) (cm) 6. a. and 111.70 (4) (cm) 6. am.; and to create 40.02 (17) (n), 40.02 (48) (am) 22., 40.02 (48) (b) 5., 40.02 (48) (c) 18., 40.65 (4w) and 111.70 (1) (cm) of the statutes; relating to: classifying certain county jailers as protective occupation participants under the Wisconsin retirement system and restricting the issues subject to interest arbitration under the Municipal Employment Relations Act.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, participants under the Wisconsin retirement system (WRS) whose principal duties involve law enforcement or fire suppression or prevention and require frequent exposure to a high degree of danger or peril and a high degree of physical conditioning are classified as protective occupation participants. Current law specifically classifies police officers, fire fighters and various other individuals as protective occupation participants. Under the WRS, the normal retirement age of a protective occupation participant is lower than that of other participants and the percentage multiplier used to calculate retirement annuities is higher for protective occupation participants than for other participants.

This bill specifically classifies county jailers who are granted protective occupation participant status under a collective bargaining agreement as protective occupation participants for the purposes of the WRS.

In addition, under the Municipal Employment Relations Act, in local government employment other than law enforcement and fire fighting employment, if a dispute relating to the terms of a proposed collective bargaining agreement has not been settled after a reasonable period of negotiation and after mediation by the Wisconsin employment relations commission (WERC), either party, or the parties jointly, may petition WERC to initiate compulsory, final and binding arbitration with respect to any dispute relating to wages, hours and conditions of employment. If WERC determines, after investigation, that an impasse exists and that arbitration is required, WERC must submit to the parties a list of seven arbitrators, from which the parties alternately strike names until one arbitrator is left. As an alternative to a single arbitrator, WERC may provide for an arbitration panel that consists of one person selected by each party and one person selected by WERC. As a further alternative, WERC may also provide a process that allows for a random selection of a single arbitrator from a list of seven names submitted by WERC. Under current law, an arbitrator or arbitration panel must adopt the final offer of one of the parties on all disputed issues, which is then incorporated into the collective bargaining agreement.

This bill provides that the parties may not include in their final offers any proposal relating to the granting or revoking of protective occupation participant status under the WRS for county jailers.

This bill will be referred to the joint survey committee on retirement systems for a detailed analysis, which will be printed as an appendix to the bill.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB921, s. 1 Section 1. 40.02 (17) (n) of the statutes is created to read:

AB921,3,2 40.02 (17) (n) Notwithstanding par. (d), each participant who is a county jailer described under s. 40.02 (48) (am) 22. on or after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], shall be granted creditable service as a county jailer that was earned on or after the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], but may not be granted creditable service as a protective occupation participant for any covered service as a county jailer that was earned before the effective date of this paragraph .... [revisor inserts date], unless that service was earned while the participant was classified under sub. (48) (a) and s. 40.06 (1) (d) as a protective occupation participant.

AB921, s. 2 Section 2. 40.02 (48) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB921,3,10 40.02 (48) (a) "Protective occupation participant" means any participant whose principal duties are determined by the participating employer, or, subject to s. 40.06 (1) (dm), by the department head in the case of a state employe, or, with respect to a county jailer, under a collective bargaining agreement entered into under subch. IV of ch. 111, to involve active law enforcement or active fire suppression or prevention, provided the duties require frequent exposure to a high degree of danger or peril and also require a high degree of physical conditioning.

AB921, s. 3 Section 3. 40.02 (48) (am) of the statutes, as affected by 1999 Wisconsin Act 9, is renumbered 40.02 (48) (am) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB921,3,15 40.02 (48) (am) (intro.) "Protective occupation participant" includes any participant whose name is certified to the fund as provided in s. 40.06 (1) (d) and (dm) and who is a any of the following:

AB921,3,16 1. A conservation warden,.

AB921,3,17 2. A conservation patrol boat captain, .

AB921,3,18 3. A conservation patrol boat engineer, .

AB921,3,19 4. A conservation pilot,.

AB921,3,20 5. A conservation patrol officer,.

AB921,3,21 6. A forest fire control assistant, .

AB921,3,22 7. A member of the state traffic patrol, .

AB921,3,23 8. A state motor vehicle inspector, .

AB921,3,24 9. A police officer,.

AB921,3,25 10. A fire fighter,.

AB921,4,1 11. A sheriff,.

AB921,4,2 12. An undersheriff,.

AB921,4,3 13. A deputy sheriff,.

AB921,4,4 14. A state probation and parole officer, .

AB921,4,5 15. A county traffic police officer, .

AB921,4,6 16. A state forest ranger,.

AB921,4,7 17. A fire watcher employed by the Wisconsin veterans home,.

AB921,4,8 18. A state correctional-psychiatric officer,.

AB921,4,9 19. An excise tax investigator employed by the department of revenue,.

AB921,4,10 20. A special criminal investigation agent in the department of justice,.

AB921,4,11 21. An assistant or deputy fire marshal, or person employed under s. 61.66 (1).

AB921, s. 4 Section 4. 40.02 (48) (am) 22. of the statutes is created to read:

AB921,4,15 40.02 (48) (am) 22. A county jailer granted protective occupation participant status under a collective bargaining agreement entered into under subch. IV of ch. 111.

AB921, s. 5 Section 5. 40.02 (48) (b) 5. of the statutes is created to read:

AB921,4,23 40.02 (48) (b) 5. A "county jailer" is any jailer or employe of a county jail, except one whose principal duties are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist or mechanic or whose functions do not clearly fall within the scope of active law enforcement even though such an employe is subject to occasional call, or is occasionally called upon, to perform duties within the scope of active law enforcement. County jailer includes any person regularly employed and qualifying as a county jailer, even if temporarily assigned to other duties.

AB921, s. 6 Section 6. 40.02 (48) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 40.02 (48) (c) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB921,5,2 40.02 (48) (c) (intro.) In s. 40.65, "protective occupation participant" means a participating employe who is a any of the following:

AB921,5,3 1. A police officer,.

AB921,5,4 2. A fire fighter, an.