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Minutes for SB511 - Committee on Commerce
Short Title
Providing public employees and professional employees certain rights with respect to withholding of public employee organization and professional employee organization dues.
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 15, 2022
Chair Erickson opened the hearing on SB 511.
Staff provided an overview of the bill. (Attachment 17)
Proponents:
F. Vincent Vernuccio, Labor Policy Senior Fellow with the Workers for Opportunity, testified in support of the bill via Webex. (Attachment 1) The bill ensures that public employees are informed about their First Amendment right to choose whether to pay union fees and further allows them to exercise this right at any time, which is guaranteed to them under U.S. Constitution and recognized by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. American, Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees. (AFSCME) The bill protects public employees by ensuring that they are informed about this right on a yearly basis, and the legislation also gives them the opportunity each year to make a fresh choice about paying the union.
Garry Sigle, Kansas Association of American Educators, spoke in favor of the bill. (Attachment 2) The bill provides public employees and professional employees certain rights with respect to withholding of public employee organization and professional employee organization dues.
Dave Trabert, CEO, Kansas Policy Institute, appeared in support of the bill. (Attachment 3) Constitutional rights exist absolutely and cannot be subject to limitation by collective bargaining agreements or any other organizational practice. Kansas is a right to work state and just as people should be free to join a union if they wish, they should also be free to leave that union whenever they like.
Written testimony in support of the bill was provided by:
Elizabeth Patton, State Director, Americans For Prosperity (Attachment 4)
Eric Stafford, Vice President of Government Affairs, Kansas Chamber (Attachment 5)
Opponents:
Emma Cleveland, Amalgamated Transit Union, spoke in opposition to the bill via Webex. (Attachment 6) The bill would burden Kansas employees seeking to exercise their right to free association, Kansas employees are already free to authorize, refrain from authorizing, or revoke any authorization for the deduction of union dues from their wages. The bill would subject employees to red tape by requiring them to regularly update paperwork even when there is no change in desires on the part of the employee or other change in circumstances.
Jake Miller, Executive Director, Working Kansas Alliance, appeared in opposition to the bill. (Attachment 7) The bill is an attempt to weaken public employees collective voice.
Written testimony in opposition to the bill was provided by:
Mike Kane, Commissioner, District 5, Unified Government of Wyandotte County (Attachment 8)
Casey Slaughter, President, Kansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police (Attachment 9)
Amanda Stanley, City Attorney, City of Topeka (Attachment 10)
John Nave, Executive Vice-President, Kansas AFL-CIO (Attachment 11)
Dennis Phillips, Kansas State Council of Fire Fighters (Attachment 12)
Wyatt Smith, Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSI) (Attachment 13)
Lynette Delaney, Kansas Organization of State Employees (KOSE) (Attachment 14)
Sara LaFrenz, President, American Federation of Teachers - Kansas and KOSE (Attachment 15)
John Garreston II, IBEW Local Union 304 (Attachment 16)
Chair Erickson closed the hearing on SB 511.
The next meeting is March 16, 2022. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15 am
