1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public employees; instituting a freeze on 
  1.3             salaries and wage rates for government employees. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [SALARY FREEZE.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [SALARY INCREASES PROHIBITED.] (a) From the 
  1.7   effective date of this section through June 30, 2005, a 
  1.8   government employer must not increase the rate of salary or 
  1.9   wages for any employee.  This section prohibits any increase 
  1.10  including, but not limited to, across-the-board increases, cost 
  1.11  of living adjustments, increases based on longevity, increases 
  1.12  as a result of step and lane changes, increases in the form of 
  1.13  lump-sum payments, increases in employer contributions to 
  1.14  deferred compensation plans, or any other pay grade adjustments 
  1.15  of any kind.  For purposes of this section, salary or wages does 
  1.16  not include employer contributions toward the cost of medical or 
  1.17  dental insurance premiums provided that employee contributions 
  1.18  to the costs of medical or dental insurance premiums are not 
  1.19  decreased. 
  1.20     (b) This section does not prohibit an increase in the rate 
  1.21  of salary and wages for an employee who is promoted or 
  1.22  transferred to a position with greater job responsibilities.  
  1.23  Additional educational credits or degrees or a lane change is 
  1.24  not a promotion or a transfer to a position with greater job 
  2.1   responsibilities.  This section also does not prohibit a school 
  2.2   district or charter school from implementing an alternative 
  2.3   compensation program approved by the commissioner for the 
  2.4   department of children, families, and learning.  The 
  2.5   commissioner may approve an alternative compensation program at 
  2.6   the commissioner's sole discretion. 
  2.7      Subd. 2.  [CONTRACTS IN EFFECT.] (a) This section does not 
  2.8   prohibit a government employer from effectuating an increase in 
  2.9   the rate of salary or wages for employees if required by a 
  2.10  contract or collective bargaining agreement that is in effect 
  2.11  before the effective date of this section.  However, from the 
  2.12  effective date of this section until June 30, 2005, a government 
  2.13  employer may not: 
  2.14     (1) enter into a new contract or collective bargaining 
  2.15  agreement that increases salary or wages in a manner prohibited 
  2.16  by this section; or 
  2.17     (2) increase the rate of salary or wages for employees 
  2.18  through extension of an expired contract or collective 
  2.19  bargaining agreement or any other arrangement or agreement. 
  2.20     (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, if as of the 
  2.21  effective date of this section, a government employer has agreed 
  2.22  to or entered into a contract or collective bargaining agreement 
  2.23  that is not scheduled to become effective until after the 
  2.24  effective date of this section, any provision of the contract or 
  2.25  collective bargaining agreement that violates subdivision 1, 
  2.26  paragraph (a), is void.  If this occurs, the exclusive 
  2.27  representative may rescind the entire contract or collective 
  2.28  bargaining agreement.  To be effective, a request to rescind the 
  2.29  contract must be made within 30 calendar days following the 
  2.30  effective date of this section.  Any subsequent contract or 
  2.31  collective bargaining agreement must comply with the terms of 
  2.32  this section. 
  2.33     (c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, upon 
  2.34  expiration of a contract or collective bargaining agreement, 
  2.35  each employee must remain at the rate of salary and wage in 
  2.36  effect at the time the contract expired, except as authorized in 
  3.1   subdivision 1, paragraph (b).  Any language in a contract or 
  3.2   collective bargaining agreement that attempts to extend the 
  3.3   terms of the contract or collective bargaining agreement is 
  3.4   invalid if it seeks to extend the application of the terms of a 
  3.5   collective bargaining agreement past the durational limits set 
  3.6   forth in Minnesota Statutes, section 179A.20, subdivision 3. 
  3.7      Subd. 3.  [FUTURE CONTRACTS.] A contract or collective 
  3.8   bargaining agreement or compensation plan entered into after 
  3.9   June 30, 2005, must not provide a retroactive salary, or wage 
  3.10  increase that applies to a period before June 30, 2005, if that 
  3.11  increase would be prohibited by this section if granted before 
  3.12  June 30, 2005. 
  3.13     Subd. 4.  [ARBITRATION AND STRIKES.] Notwithstanding any 
  3.14  law to the contrary:  
  3.15     (1) employees of a government employer may not legally 
  3.16  strike due to a government employer's refusal to grant a salary 
  3.17  or wage increase if the refusal is required to comply with this 
  3.18  section; and 
  3.19     (2) neither a government employer nor an exclusive 
  3.20  representative may request interest arbitration in relation to 
  3.21  an increase in the rate of salary or wages that is prohibited by 
  3.22  this section, and an arbitrator may not issue an award that 
  3.23  would increase salary or wages in a manner prohibited by this 
  3.24  section. 
  3.25     Subd. 5.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section, 
  3.26  "government employer" means:  the state and all statewide, 
  3.27  regional, or local government bodies, including, but not limited 
  3.28  to, all state departments, boards, agencies, offices, bureaus, 
  3.29  commissions, authorities, councils, task forces, state 
  3.30  constitutional offices, Minnesota state colleges and 
  3.31  universities, offices in the executive, legislative, or judicial 
  3.32  branches of the state; all regional boards, regional 
  3.33  commissions, and regional councils; all counties; all statutory 
  3.34  or home rule charter cities, towns, townships, and other 
  3.35  governmental bodies covered under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
  3.36  179A; and all school districts and charter schools.  For 
  4.1   purposes of this section, "employee" includes a local government 
  4.2   elected official. 
  4.3      Subd. 6.  [RELATION TO OTHER LAW.] This section supersedes 
  4.4   Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, and any other law to the 
  4.5   contrary.  It is not an unfair labor practice under Minnesota 
  4.6   Statutes, chapter 179A, for a public employer to take any action 
  4.7   required to comply with this section.  
  4.8      Sec. 2.  [UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA; SALARY AND WAGE RATE 
  4.9   FREEZE RECOMMENDED.] 
  4.10     The legislature strongly recommends that the University of 
  4.11  Minnesota comply with section 1 as if it were defined as a 
  4.12  government employer under that section. 
  4.13     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION.] 
  4.14     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  4.15  enactment.  Section 1, subdivisions 1, 2, and 4 to 6, and 
  4.16  section 2, expire on June 30, 2005.