1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public employment; including public safety
1.3 	radio communications operators in the definition of
1.4 	essential employee; creating the public safety radio
1.5 	communications operator unit; providing for transition
1.6 	to the new unit; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
1.7 	sections 179A.03, subdivision 7; 179A.10, subdivision
1.8 	2.
1.9 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.10 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 179A.03,
1.11 	subdivision 7, is amended to read:
1.12 		Subd. 7.Essential employee.  "Essential employee" means
1.13 	firefighters, peace officers subject to licensure under sections
1.14 	626.84 to 626.863, 911 system and police and fire department
1.15 	public safety dispatchers, guards at correctional facilities,
1.16 	confidential employees, supervisory employees, assistant county
1.17 	attorneys, assistant city attorneys, principals, and assistant
1.18 	principals.  However, for state employees, "essential employee"
1.19 	means all employees in law enforcement, public safety radio
1.20 	communications operators,health care professionals,
1.21 	correctional guards, professional engineering, and supervisory
1.22 	collective bargaining units, irrespective of severance, and no
1.23 	other employees.  For University of Minnesota employees,
1.24 	"essential employee" means all employees in law enforcement,
1.25 	nursing professional and supervisory units, irrespective of
1.26 	severance, and no other employees.  "Firefighters" means
1.27 	salaried employees of a fire department whose duties include,
2.1 	directly or indirectly, controlling, extinguishing, preventing,
2.2 	detecting, or investigating fires.  Employees for whom the state
2.3 	court administrator is the negotiating employer are not
2.4 	essential employees.

2.5 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 179A.10,
2.6 	subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.7 		Subd. 2.State employees.  Unclassified employees, unless
2.8 	otherwise excluded, are included within the units which include
2.9 	the classifications to which they are assigned for purposes of
2.10 	compensation.  Supervisory employees shall only be assigned to
2.11 	units 12 and 16.  The following are the appropriate units of
2.12 	executive branch state employees:
2.13 	(1) law enforcement unit;
2.14 	(2) craft, maintenance, and labor unit;
2.15 	(3) service unit;
2.16 	(4) health care nonprofessional unit;
2.17 	(5) health care professional unit;
2.18 	(6) clerical and office unit;
2.19 	(7) technical unit;
2.20 	(8) correctional guards unit;
2.21 	(9) state university instructional unit;
2.22 	(10) state college instructional unit;
2.23 	(11) state university administrative unit;
2.24 	(12) professional engineering unit;
2.25 	(13) health treatment unit;
2.26 	(14) general professional unit;
2.27 	(15) professional state residential instructional unit; and 
2.28 	(16) supervisory employees unit; and 
2.29 	(17) public safety radio communications operator unit.
2.30 	Each unit consists of the classifications or positions
2.31 	assigned to it in the schedule of state employee job
2.32 	classification and positions maintained by the commissioner.
2.33 	The commissioner may only make changes in the schedule in
2.34 	existence on the day prior to August 1, 1984, as required by law
2.35 	or as provided in subdivision 4.

2.36 	Sec. 3. TRANSITION.
 3.1 		Subdivision 1.Assignment of job classification to unit.
 3.2 	The commissioner of the bureau of mediation services shall
3.3 	assign the job classifications and positions of employees
3.4 	working as public safety radio communications operators to state
3.5 	employee bargaining unit 17.
3.6 		Subd. 2.Terms and conditions of employment. The terms
3.7 	and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement, memoranda
3.8 	of understanding, or other salary and benefit provisions
3.9 	covering public safety radio communications operators
3.10 	immediately before the effective date of this section remain in
3.11 	effect until a successor agreement between the commissioner of
3.12 	employee relations and the exclusive representative of
3.13 	bargaining unit 17 becomes effective, subject to Minnesota
3.14 	Statutes, section 179A.20, subdivision 6.
3.15 		Subd. 3.Exclusive representative. The employee
3.16 	organization that is the exclusive representative of employees
3.17 	assigned to bargaining unit 17 on the day before the effective
3.18 	date of this section must be certified by the commissioner of
3.19 	the Bureau of Mediation Services as the exclusive representative
3.20 	of newly created bargaining unit 17, subject to future changes
3.21 	as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 179A.12.  For
3.22 	employees assigned to bargaining unit 17, the exclusive
3.23 	representative retains all rights and obligations under the
3.24 	contract governing these employees immediately before the
3.25 	effective date of this section, so long as that contract
3.26 	continues to apply to those employees.

3.27 	Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 3.28 	Sections 1 to 3 are effective July 1, 2005.