Late last night the House passed SB 493, a bill amending the Public Employment Relations Act (PERA). These changes are critical to encourage communities to cooperate and share services.
The changes to PERA make the following subjects a prohibited subject of bargaining: the decision to consolidate or share services; the procedures for obtaining a contract to share services, and the identity of the parties who will share services. The bill does still require impact bargaining.
After the House concurred in the teacher tenure reform there are additional changes to conform PERA with the teacher tenure changes as well. These won't effect municipalities but are worth noting as there is additional new language.
The Senate will be convening on July 13, and we hope they will concur at that time to send the bill to the Governor's desk.
Samantha Harkins works for the Michigan Municipal League handling municipal services issues. She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org
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