Bill Text: IA HF509 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act concerning government accountability, relating to state employee bonuses, personnel records and settlement agreements and disciplinary actions, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 124)
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-03-12 - Subcommittee, Dvorsky, Dearden, and Johnson. S.J. 592. [HF509 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2015-HF509-Introduced.html
House File 509 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 124) A BILL FOR 1 An Act concerning government accountability, relating to 2 state employee bonuses, personnel records and settlement 3 agreements and disciplinary actions, and including effective 4 date and retroactive applicability provisions. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj PAG LIN 1 1 DIVISION I 1 2 PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS 1 3 Section 1. Section 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph a, Code 1 4 2015, is amended to read as follows: 1 5 a. Personal information in confidential personnel records 1 6 of government bodies relating to identified or identifiable 1 7 individuals who are officials, officers, or employees of the 1 8 government bodies. However, the following information relating 1 9 to such individuals contained as of or after January 1, 2004, 1 10 in personnel records shall be public records: 1 11 (1) The name and compensation of the individual including 1 12 any written agreement establishing compensation or any other 1 13 terms of employment excluding any information otherwise 1 14 excludable from public information pursuant to this section or 1 15 any other applicable provision of law. For purposes of this 1 16 paragraph, "compensation" means payment of, or agreement to pay, 1 17 any money, thing of value, or financial benefit conferred in 1 18 return for labor or services rendered by an official, officer, 1 19 or employee plus the value of benefits conferred including but 1 20 not limited to casualty, disability, life, or health insurance, 1 21 other health or wellness benefits, vacation, holiday, and sick 1 22 leave, severance payments, retirement benefits, and deferred 1 23 compensation. 1 24 (2) The dates the individual was employed by the government 1 25 body. 1 26 (3) The positions the individual holds or has held with the 1 27 government body. 1 28 (4) The educational institutions attended by the 1 29 individual, including any diplomas and degrees earned, and 1 30 the names of the individual's previous employers, positions 1 31 previously held, and dates of previous employment. 1 32 (5) The fact that the individual resigned in lieu of 1 33 termination, was discharged, or was demoted as the result 1 34 of a final disciplinary action upon the exhaustion of all 1 35 applicable contractual, legal, and statutory remedies, and the 2 1 documented reasons and rationale for the resignation in lieu 2 2 of termination, the discharge, or the demotion. For purposes 2 3 of this subparagraph, "demoted" and "demotion" mean a change 2 4 of an employee from a position in a given classification to a 2 5 position in a classification having a lower pay grade. 2 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 22.13A Personnel settlement agreements 2 7 ==== state employees ==== confidentiality ==== disclosure. 2 8 1. For purposes of this section: 2 9 a. "Personnel settlement agreement" means a binding legal 2 10 agreement between a state employee and the state employee's 2 11 employer, subject to section 22.13, to resolve a personnel 2 12 dispute including but not limited to a grievance. "Personnel 2 13 settlement agreement" does not include an initial decision by a 2 14 state employee's immediate supervisor concerning a personnel 2 15 dispute or grievance. 2 16 b. "State employee" means an employee of the state who is 2 17 an employee of the executive branch as described in sections 2 18 7E.2 and 7E.5. 2 19 2. Personnel settlement agreements shall not contain any 2 20 confidentiality or nondisclosure provision that attempts to 2 21 prevent the disclosure of the personnel settlement agreement. 2 22 In addition, any confidentiality or nondisclosure provision in 2 23 a personnel settlement agreement is void and unenforceable. 2 24 3. The requirements of this section shall not be superseded 2 25 by any provision of a collective bargaining agreement. 2 26 4. All personnel settlement agreements shall be made easily 2 27 accessible to the public on an internet site maintained as 2 28 follows: 2 29 a. For personnel settlement agreements with an employee of 2 30 the executive branch, excluding an employee of the state board 2 31 of regents or institution under the control of the state board 2 32 of regents, by the department of administrative services. 2 33 b. For personnel settlement agreements with an employee of 2 34 the state board of regents or institution under the control of 2 35 the state board of regents, by the state board of regents. 3 1 Sec. 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISION. This division of this 3 2 Act shall not be construed to limit or impair the ability of 3 3 law enforcement personnel to investigate any activity that may 3 4 violate the laws of the state. 3 5 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This division of this 3 6 Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon 3 7 enactment. 3 8 Sec. 5. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. The section of this 3 9 division of this Act amending section 22.7, subsection 11, 3 10 applies retroactively to all information described in section 3 11 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph "a", subparagraphs (1) through 3 12 (5), as amended by this division of this Act, relating to 3 13 information of such individuals contained as of or after 3 14 January 1, 2004, in personnel records. 3 15 DIVISION II 3 16 STATE EMPLOYEE BONUSES 3 17 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 22.13B Executive branch bonuses ==== 3 18 disclosure. 3 19 1. For purposes of this section: 3 20 a. "Bonus pay" means any additional remuneration provided an 3 21 employee in the form of a bonus, including but not limited to a 3 22 retention bonus, recruitment bonus, exceptional job performance 3 23 pay, extraordinary job performance pay, exceptional performance 3 24 pay, extraordinary duty pay, or extraordinary or special duty 3 25 pay, and any extra benefit not otherwise provided to other 3 26 similarly situated employees. 3 27 b. "Executive branch employee" means an employee of the 3 28 executive branch of state government, which includes any 3 29 unit of state government, including but not limited to an 3 30 authority, board, commission, committee, council, department, 3 31 or independent agency as defined in section 7E.4, and each 3 32 principal central department enumerated in section 7E.5; 3 33 the office of the governor; and the office of an elective 3 34 constitutional or statutory officer. 3 35 2. A decision to provide bonus pay to an executive branch 4 1 employee, including the amount paid and the documented reasons 4 2 and rationale for the bonus paid, shall be a public record. 4 3 3. All decisions to provide bonus pay to an executive branch 4 4 employee, including information described in subsection 2, 4 5 shall be made easily accessible to the public on an internet 4 6 site maintained as follows: 4 7 a. For decisions to provide bonus pay to an employee of the 4 8 executive branch, excluding an employee of the state board of 4 9 regents or institution under the control of the state board of 4 10 regents, by the department of administrative services. 4 11 b. For decisions to provide bonus pay to an employee of the 4 12 state board of regents or institution under the control of the 4 13 state board of regents, by the state board of regents. 4 14 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This division of this 4 15 Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon 4 16 enactment. 4 17 EXPLANATION 4 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 19 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 20 This bill concerns government accountability and government 4 21 employment practices. 4 22 PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS. This division 4 23 of the bill relates to personal information in confidential 4 24 personnel records of government bodies and personnel settlement 4 25 agreements. 4 26 Code section 22.7(11), governing personal information 4 27 in confidential personnel records of government bodies, 4 28 is amended. Previous legislation, effective May 12, 2011, 4 29 provides that certain information in confidential personnel 4 30 records is considered a public record. The bill provides 4 31 that this information in a confidential personnel record as 4 32 of or after January 1, 2004, is a public record. The bill 4 33 further amends this subsection to provide that information 4 34 in an official's, officer's, or employee's personnel records 4 35 concerning the fact that such an individual resigned in 5 1 lieu of termination or was demoted as the result of a final 5 2 disciplinary action by a government body and the documented 5 3 reasons and rationale for any resignation in lieu of 5 4 termination, discharge, or demotion against an individual 5 5 are public records and not confidential. Under current law, 5 6 only the fact in a personnel record that the individual was 5 7 discharged is considered a public record and not confidential. 5 8 The amendments to this subsection take effect upon enactment 5 9 and apply retroactively to information contained as of or after 5 10 January 1, 2004, in personnel records. 5 11 New Code section 22.13A provides that personnel settlement 5 12 agreements between the state and an employee of the state shall 5 13 not contain any confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions 5 14 that attempt to prevent the disclosure of the personnel 5 15 settlement agreement and shall be made available to the public 5 16 on an internet site. In addition, the bill provides that any 5 17 confidentiality or nondisclosure provision in a personnel 5 18 settlement agreement is not enforceable. New Code section 5 19 22.13A is applicable to employees of the executive branch of 5 20 government and defines a personnel settlement agreement as a 5 21 binding legal agreement between a state employee and the state 5 22 employee's employer, subject to Code section 22.13 relating to 5 23 settlement agreements as public records, to resolve a personnel 5 24 dispute including but not limited to certain grievances. The 5 25 bill provides that the internet site be maintained by the 5 26 department of administrative services or board of regents, 5 27 as applicable, based on the employee covered. The bill also 5 28 provides that the requirements of this new provision shall not 5 29 be superseded by any collective bargaining agreement. These 5 30 provisions of this division of this bill take effect upon 5 31 enactment. 5 32 The division further provides that this division of the bill 5 33 shall not be construed to limit the ability of law enforcement 5 34 personnel to investigate any activity that may violate state 5 35 law. 6 1 STATE EMPLOYEE BONUSES. This division of the bill concerns 6 2 executive branch bonuses. New Code section 22.13B requires 6 3 that information concerning bonus pay awarded to an executive 6 4 branch employee in any amount, including the name of the 6 5 employee, the amount paid and the reasons for the bonus, shall 6 6 be made easily accessible to the public on an internet site. 6 7 This division of the bill takes effect upon enactment. LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj
