SB 919 (Salim) / HB 2619 (Helmer), two problematic bills, are headed for floor votes in the House and Senate.
ACTION REQUIRED: Contact members of the House of Delegates (HOUSE OF DELEGATES 1 | HOUSE OF DELEGATES 2) and Senate of Virginia today to strongly oppose.
SB 919 and HB 2619 would require the governing body of any county that contracts with a private company to provide transportation services, for the contract to include provisions requiring any employee of the private company be given compensation and benefits that are at a minimum equivalent to the compensation and benefits provided to a public employee.
Furthermore, the bill states that if a county has adopted an ordinance or resolution authorizing collective bargaining by employees of such county, in contracting with a private company for transportation services, the county would require such company to enter and adhere to a collective bargaining agreement. VACo opposes SB 919 and HB 1619.
KEY POINTS
- The bills would mandate collective bargaining within select counties, interfere with the ability for a county to make employment and services delivery decisions, and may have costly unintended consequences (as shown by this fiscal impact statement).
- The bills include language that could be potentially harmful to counties such as how “transportation services” are constituted. Generally, this means those who operate transit systems but could very likely include mechanics of such systems.
- The bills would almost certainly raise the operating costs of transportation delivery systems at a time when the budgets of these services are very tight as it is.
KEY CONTACTS
VACo Contact: James Hutzler