Collective bargaining by public employees; exclusive bargaining representatives.

Removed the Public Employee Relations Board's power to sue, be sued, enter contracts, and employ staff (previously § 40.1-57.7 F).

Removed the special arbitration board process for firefighter and emergency medical services disputes (previously § 40.1-57.24).

Removed the specific effective date of July 1, 2027 from the House substitute version.

Changed the range of new sections from 40.1-57.4 through 40.1-57.24 to 40.1-57.4 through 40.1-57.23, eliminating one section.

Added page numbers and formatting markers typical of House substitute markup.

The committee proposing the substitute changed from 'Commerce and Labor' to 'Finance and Appropriations', and the bill number was updated from 25105790D to 25106420D.

The patron list was updated to include Senator Pekarsky [SB 1033] in addition to the original patrons.

Formatting was significantly altered with different spacing, alignment, and line breaks, but the substantive text of the legislation remains the same.

Created a new Public Employee Relations Board with five members (two management, two employee representatives, and one public member) to oversee collective bargaining disputes and certification of bargaining units.

Required public employers to provide employee contact information to bargaining representatives in electronic format and granted representatives access to meet with employees during work hours.

Established special arbitration procedures for firefighters and emergency medical services providers disputes, including a three-member arbitration board with specific selection and compensation rules.

Repealed the previous collective bargaining law (Article 2.1) and the old strike termination provision (§ 40.1-54.3) that was replaced with the new Article 2.2 framework.

Added new definitions including 'individual provider' for home care workers, 'covered program' for state-funded direct support services, and specific definitions for firefighters and emergency medical services providers.

Changed the effective date from the previous law to July 1, 2026, and established new negotiation timelines with specific deadlines for filing requests and conducting elections.

Added individual providers in home care programs as public employees eligible for collective bargaining, while protecting participants' rights to hire and fire their own care providers.

Established new procedures for filing charges against employers or unions for violations, including a six-month filing deadline and Board hearings with appeal rights to circuit court.

Created specific bargaining units for state employees across 17 classification categories and separate units for school board employees, including administrative, licensed, supervisory, and support personnel.

New definitions for 'covered program,' 'direct support services,' 'individual provider,' 'emergency medical services provider,' and 'firefighter' to clarify who is protected under the law.

Public employers must now provide contact information for bargaining unit employees to their exclusive bargaining representatives and grant access to employees for union meetings and grievance discussions.

Public employers must submit funding requests to governing bodies within five days of reaching a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration decision to implement the agreement.

A new Public Employee Relations Board is created with three members to oversee collective bargaining, conduct representation elections, and adjudicate violations of the law.

Collective bargaining for state employees must begin by July 1 of each year following a June 1 request, with arbitration deadlines set for November and December.

Individual providers in home and community-based care programs are now considered public employees with collective bargaining rights, though participants retain the right to hire and fire their own providers.

The definition of 'exclusive bargaining representative' was updated to include organizations recognized by local governments as of July 1, 2026, not just those certified by the Board.

The bill repealed the old Article 2.1 and expanded the section numbers to include 40.1-57.24, adding new provisions not present in the introduced version.