An Act To Simplify Municipal Collective Bargaining by Removing the 120-Day Notice Required Prior to Certain Negotiations
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1237
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: HANDY, SYLVESTER
Amends: 26 MRSA §965

Legislative Document
No. 1237
H.P. 898
House of Representatives, March 14, 2019
An Act To Simplify Municipal Collective Bargaining by Removing 
the 120-Day Notice Required Prior to Certain Negotiations
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HANDY of Lewiston.
Cosponsored by Representative: SYLVESTER of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §965, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 107, §5, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Negotiations.  It is the obligation of the public employer and the bargaining agent 
to bargain collectively.  "Collective bargaining" means, for the purposes of this chapter, 
their mutual obligation: 
A.  To meet at reasonable times;
B.  To meet within 10 days after receipt of written notice from the other party 
requesting a meeting for collective bargaining purposes, as long as the parties have 
not otherwise agreed in a prior written contract.  This obligation is suspended during 
the period between a referendum approving a new regional school unit and the 
operational date of the regional school unit, as long as the parties meet at reasonable 
times during that period;
C.  To confer and negotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours, working 
conditions and contract grievance arbitration, except that by such obligation neither 
party may be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession 
and except that public employers of teachers shall meet and consult but not negotiate 
with respect to educational policies; for the purpose of this paragraph, educational 
policies may not include wages, hours, working conditions or contract grievance 
arbitration;
D.  To execute in writing any agreements arrived at, the term of any such agreement 
to be subject to negotiation but may not exceed 3 years; and
E.  To participate in good faith in the mediation, fact-finding and arbitration 
procedures required by this section.
Whenever wages, rates of pay or any other matter requiring appropriation of money by 
any municipality or county are included as a matter of collective bargaining conducted 
pursuant to this chapter, it is the obligation of the bargaining agent to serve written notice 
of request for collective bargaining on the public employer at least 120 days before the 
conclusion of the current fiscal operating budget, except that this requirement is waived 
in the event that a bargaining agent of a newly formed bargaining unit is recognized or 
certified during the period not more than 120 days nor less than 30 days prior to the end 
of the fiscal period.  The 120-day notice requirement is also waived with respect to 
regional school units formed pursuant to Title 20-A, chapter 103-A, subchapter 2 prior to 
their first year of operation.
SUMMARY
This bill repeals the requirement that a bargaining agent for municipal public 
employees submit a written request for collective bargaining to the public employer of 
those municipal public employees at least 120 days before the conclusion of the current 
fiscal operating budget.