In a meeting following a session of the full Senate last week, the Senate Finance Committee gathered and voted SB 363 Education – Community Colleges – Collective Bargaining unfavorable. The vote has not been formally reported, but the vote was confirmed by Senate Finance Committee staff.

The House passed a similar bill, HB 27 Education – Community Colleges – Collective Bargaining earlier this Session. Both bills require the establishment of broad and prescriptive collective bargaining at every community college in Maryland. The Senate Finance Committee has not yet taken up HB 27, but last week’s vote does not bode well for that legislation.

MACo has opposed HB 27 and SB 363 along with the Maryland Association of Community Colleges. As stated in MACo’s testimony,

Counties oppose the one-size-fits-all approach of SB 363, which limits local decision-making. The move to collective bargaining outlined in this bill could create potentially unsustainable costs for counties, who necessarily provide substantial funding for community colleges throughout Maryland.

For more information, see our previous posts, As Supreme Court Releases Agency Fee Opinion, Maryland Senators Hear Collective Bargaining Bill and Community College Collective Bargaining Bill Passes House.