Rewritten ‘Fairness in Negotiations Act’ No Longer Supported By Sen. Glassman
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You’d never know it from looking at the version of SB 673 – Fairness in Negotiations Act still on the Maryland General Assembly web site, but the bill was drastically rewritten in the last few days, so much so that Senator Barry Glassman withdrew his sponsorship and voted against the bill in the Senate Finance Committee on Saturday night. But the bill passed out of that committee anyway and is headed for a vote on the floor of the Senate today.
The exact details of the changes made to SB 673 are not known, as a reprint was not available as of this morning (Monday). Glassman said the last minute changes and the uncertainty regarding the details contributed to his decision to vote against the bill.
“Call to Action”
The rewrite of the bill came to light last week, when the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), which has opposed SB 673, issued a “Call to Action” against the proposed amendments, including the establishment of a public education labor relations board. But according to Glassman, once the bill was put on a fast track, MABE and the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) negotiated “through the night, under duress” on Friday, to try to make changes to the proposed amendments. A reprint of SB 673 will be posted on The Dagger as soon as it becomes available.
Sen. Glassman reports the Fairness in Negotiations Act passed in the Senate but ran out of time in the House. The report came in an email time-stamped after midnight Monday, the expected close of this year’s General Assembly session.
Obviously it’s a bit early to be making phone calls, but I plan to follow-up on this information later today.
Del. Susan McComas said the Fairness in Negotiations Act never made it out of committee on the House side, so the bill is dead for this session.