Bill Text: NJ A4561 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Concerns rights of Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission employees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-06-15 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A4561 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A4561-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Concerns rights of Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission employees.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, amending P.L.1941, c.100, amending and supplementing article 11 of chapter 8 of Title 32 of the Revised Statutes, authorizing the Governor, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to enter into a supplemental compact or agreement with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending the compact or agreement between the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entitled "Agreement Between The State of New Jersey and The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania creating the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission as a body corporate and politic and defining its powers and duties," as amended and supplemented, and authorizing the Governor to apply, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to the Congress of the United States for its consent to such supplemental compact or agreement.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) The Governor is authorized to enter into a supplemental compact or agreement, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania amending Article II of the compact or agreement between the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania entitled "Agreement Between The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and The State of New Jersey creating the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission as a body corporate and politic and defining its powers and duties," as set forth in this act.
2. Article II of the "Agreement Between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey creating the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission as a body corporate and politic and defining its powers and duties," as amended and supplemented (R.S.32:8-3) is amended to read as follows:
32:8-3. For the effectuation of its authorized purposes, the commission is hereby granted the following powers as limited and supplemented by P.L.1994, c.176 (C.32:8-3.5 et seq.) and P.L.1994, c.177 (C.32:8-3.8 et seq.):
(a) To have perpetual succession.
(b) To sue and be sued.
(c) To adopt and use an official seal.
(d) To elect a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer and appoint an engineer. The secretary, treasurer, and engineer need not be members of the commission.
(e) To adopt suitable by-laws for the management of its affairs.
(f) To appoint such other officers, agents and employees as it may require for the performance of its duties, by contract or otherwise, and fix and determine their qualifications, duties and compensation, provided that the employees of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission: shall be subject, as determined by the commission for each unit of employees, to either the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-1 et seq.) or the Pennsylvania Act of July, 23, 1970, P.L.563, No.195, as amended, known as the "Public Employee Relations Act"; and shall have all of the rights provided to employees by whichever of the two acts the commission determines appropriate for the unit of employees, including but not limited to, the right to form, join or assist an employee organization, and the right to have that employee organization engage in collective bargaining on behalf of the employees. The commission shall determine which of the two acts to apply to any unit of employees by selecting the act of the state in which the largest share of the employees in the unit reside at the time that the determination is made.
(g) To determine the qualifications and duties of its appointees, and to fix their compensation, except that the commission shall not employ directly or as an independent contractor a member of the commission for a period of two years after the expiration of the term of office of that member.
(h) To enter into contracts.
(i) To acquire, own, hire, use, operate, and dispose of personal property.
(j) To acquire, own, use, lease, operate, and dispose of real property and interest in real property, and to make improvements thereon.
(k) To grant the use of, by franchise, lease, and otherwise, and to make and collect charges for the use of, any property or facility owned or controlled by it.
(l) To borrow money upon its bonds or other obligations, either with or without security.
(m) To exercise the power of eminent domain.
(n) To determine the exact location, system, and character of, and all other matters in connection with, any and all improvements or facilities which it may be authorized to own, construct, establish, effectuate, maintain, operate or control.
(o) In addition to the foregoing powers, to exercise the powers, duties, authority and jurisdiction heretofore conferred and imposed upon the aforesaid commissions, hereby constituted a joint commission by reciprocal legislation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, with respect to the acquisition of toll bridges over the Delaware River, the management, operation and maintenance of such bridges, and the location, acquisition, construction, administration, operation and maintenance of additional bridge communications over the Delaware River at any location north of the boundary line between Bucks county and Philadelphia county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as extended across the Delaware River to the New Jersey shore of said river. The powers granted in this paragraph shall be in addition to those powers granted by paragraph (a) of Article X of this agreement.
(p) To exercise all other powers, not inconsistent with the Constitutions of the States of Pennsylvania and New Jersey or of the United States, which may be reasonably necessary or incidental to the effectuation of its authorized purposes or to the exercise of any of the powers granted to the commission by this agreement or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, except the power to levy taxes or assessments for benefits; and generally to exercise, in connection with its property and affairs and in connection with property under its control, any and all powers which might be exercised by a natural person or a private corporation in connection with similar property and affairs.
(q) To acquire, construct, rehabilitate, improve, maintain, lease as lessor or as lessee, repair and operate port and terminal facilities as hereinafter defined within the district, including the dredging of ship channels and turning basins and the filling and grading of land therefor.
(r) To provide from time to time for the issuance of its bonds or other obligations for any one or more of its corporate purposes; all bonds and other obligations hereafter issued by the commission shall have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments.
(s) To fix, charge, and collect fees, rentals, tolls and other charges for the use of any of its port and terminal facilities so as to provide funds at least sufficient, with other funds available for such purposes (1) to pay the cost of maintaining, repairing and operating such port and terminal facilities, including the administrative expenses of the commission chargeable thereto, (2) to pay the bonds or other obligations issued on account of such facilities and the interest thereon as the same become due and payable, and (3) to provide reserves for such purposes, and to pledge such funds, over and above such costs of maintenance, repair and operation, to the payment of such bonds or other obligations and the interest thereon.
(t) To petition the Interstate Commerce Commission, any public service or public utilities commission, or any other Federal, State or local authority, whether administrative, judicial or legislative, for the adoption and execution of any physical improvement, change in method, rate of transportation, system of handling freight, warehousing, docking, lightering or transfer of freight, which, in the opinion of the commission, may be designed to improve or facilitate the movement or handling of commerce within the district or improve the terminal or transportation facilities therein.
As used in this agreement the term "port and terminal facilities" shall mean and shall include, without intending thereby to limit the definition of such term, any one or more of the following or any combination thereof:
(1) every kind of terminal or storage structure or facility now in use or hereafter designed for use in the handling, storage, loading or unloading of freight or passengers at steamship, railroad or motor terminals or airports, and every kind of transportation facility now in use or hereafter designed for use in connection therewith; and
(2) all real and personal property and all works, buildings, structures, equipment, machinery, appliances and appurtenances necessary or convenient for the proper construction, equipment, maintenance and operation of such facility or facilities or any one or more of them.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement or any provision of law, State or Federal, to the contrary, the commission may combine for financing purposes any port and terminal facility or facilities constructed or acquired by it under the provisions of this agreement with any bridge or bridges heretofore or hereafter constructed or acquired by the commission, subject to any limitations contained in any trust indenture securing bonds of the commission at the time outstanding.
The powers herein granted to the commission with reference to port and terminal facilities shall supersede the right to exercise any such powers within the district, as defined in paragraph (e) of Article I of this agreement, by any other body which has been heretofore created by compact or agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey.
Nothing contained in any other of the provisions of this compact or agreement shall be deemed or construed to amend, modify or repeal any of the powers, rights or duties conferred by, or limitations or restrictions expressed in, Article X of this compact or agreement, or any of the provisions of said Article X relating to a bridge to be constructed, operated and maintained by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission or the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, acting alone or in conjunction with each other.
Notwithstanding the above, each state reserves the right to provide by law for the exercise of a veto power by the Governor of that state over any action of any commissioner from that state at any time within 10 days (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in the particular state excepted) after receipt at the Governor's office of a certified copy of the minutes of the meeting at which such vote was taken. Each state may provide by law for the manner of delivery of such minutes, and for notification of the action thereon.
(cf: P.L.1994, c.173, s.3)
3. (New section) The Governor is authorized to apply, on behalf of the State of New Jersey, to the Congress of the United States for its consent and approval to such supplemental compact or agreement, but in the absence of such consent and approval, the commission referred to in such supplemental compact or agreement shall have all of the powers which the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey may confer upon it without the consent and approval of Congress.
4. Section 3 of P.L.1941, c.100 (C.34:13A-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. When used in this act:
(a) The term "board" shall mean New Jersey State Board of Mediation.
(b) The term "commission" shall mean New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission.
(c) The term "employer" includes an employer and any person acting, directly or indirectly, on behalf of or in the interest of an employer with the employer's knowledge or ratification, but a labor organization, or any officer or agent thereof, shall be considered an employer only with respect to individuals employed by such organization. This term shall include "public employers" and shall mean the State of New Jersey, or the several counties and municipalities thereof, or any other political subdivision of the State, or a school district, or any special district, or any authority, commission, or board, or any branch or agency of the public service. The term shall also include the Delaware River Port Authority, established pursuant to R.S.32:3-1 et seq. and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, established pursuant to R.S.32:8-1 et seq.
(d) The term "employee" shall include any employee, and shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer unless this act explicitly states otherwise, and shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment. This term, however, shall not include any individual taking the place of any employee whose work has ceased as aforesaid, nor shall it include any individual employed by his parent or spouse, or in the domestic service of any person in the home of the employer, or employed by any company owning or operating a railroad or railway express subject to the provisions of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. s.151 et seq.). This term shall include any public employee, i.e., any person holding a position, by appointment or contract, or employment in the service of a public employer, including the Delaware River Port Authority and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, except elected officials, members of boards and commissions, managerial executives and confidential employees.
(e) The term "representative" is not limited to individuals but shall include labor organizations, and individual representatives need not themselves be employed by, and the labor organization serving as a representative need not be limited in membership to the employees of, the employer whose employees are represented. This term shall include any organization, agency or person authorized or designated by a public employer, public employee, group of public employees, or public employee association to act on its behalf and represent it or them.
(f) "Managerial executives" of a public employer, in the case of the State of New Jersey, means persons who formulate management policies and practices, but shall not mean persons who are charged with the responsibility of directing the effectuation of such management policies and practices, except that, in the case of the Executive Branch of the State of New Jersey, "managerial executive" shall include only personnel at or above the level of assistant commissioner.
In the case of any public employer other than the State of New Jersey, "managerial executives" of a public employer means persons who formulate management policies and practices, and persons who are charged with the responsibility of directing the effectuation of such management policies and practices, except that in any school district this term shall include only the superintendent or other chief administrator, and the assistant superintendent of the district.
(g) "Confidential employees" of a public employer means employees whose functional responsibilities or knowledge in connection with the issues involved in the collective negotiations process would make their membership in any appropriate negotiating unit incompatible with their official duties.
"Confidential employees" of the State of New Jersey means employees who have direct involvement in representing the State in the collective negotiations process making their membership in any appropriate negotiating unit incompatible with their official duties.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.314, s.1)
5. This section and sections 1 through 3 of this act shall take effect upon enactment into law of legislation substantially similar to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but if such legislation shall have been enacted prior to the enactment of this act, this section and sections 1 through 3 of this act shall take effect immediately. Section 4 shall take effect upon passage of that substantially similar act, and the consent and approval of Congress to that supplemental compact or agreement, if that consent and approval is required to confer the powers granted in this act upon the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
STATEMENT
This bill amends Article II (R.S.32:8-3) of the compact between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey creating the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. The bill provides that employees of the commission shall be subject, as determined by the commission for each unit of employees, to either the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act," or the Pennsylvania "Public Employee Relations Act." The bill stipulates that the employees shall have all of the rights provided to employees by whichever of the two acts the commission determines appropriate for the unit of employees, including but not limited to, the right to form, join or assist an employee organization, and the right to have that employee organization engage in collective bargaining on behalf of the employees. The commission is required to determine which of the two acts to apply to any unit of employees by selecting the act of the state in which the largest share of the employees in the unit reside at the time the determination is made.
The enactment by Pennsylvania of substantially similar legislation will be required before the supplemental compact authorized by this bill may be entered into.
The bill also amends the "New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act" by adding the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission as a public employer subject to the act.
