Registration of employee organizations.

(1) Every employee organization seeking to become a bargaining agent for public employees shall register with the commission before submitting a certification, recertification, or unit clarification petition. If an employee organization is not registered, it may not participate in a certification, recertification, or unit clarification hearing; participate in a certification or recertification election; or be certified as a bargaining agent. The application for registration required by this section must be under oath and in such form as the commission may prescribe, and must include all of the following:

(a) The name and address of the organization and any parent organization or affiliate of the employee organization.

(b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and all representatives of the organization.

(c) The amount and collection frequency of the membership dues that a member of the organization must pay.

(d) The current annual financial statement of the organization, prepared by an independent certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473.

(e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can be reached.

(f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that the employee organization will conform to the laws of this state and that it will accept members without regard to age, race, sex, religion, or national origin.

(g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the employee organization.

(h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the state and national groups with which the employee organization is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national affiliate or parent organization of any registering employee organization may annually submit a copy of its current constitution and bylaws.

(2) A registration granted to an employee organization pursuant to this section runs for 1 year after the date of issuance. A registration must be renewed annually by filing an application for renewal under oath with the commission, which application must reflect any changes in the information provided to the commission in conjunction with the employee organization’s preceding application for registration or previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application for renewal of registration must include a current annual financial statement, prepared by an independent certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473 and signed by the employee organization’s president and treasurer or corresponding principal officers, containing the following information in such detail as may be necessary to accurately disclose its financial condition and operations for its preceding fiscal year and in all of the following categories as prescribed by the commission:

(a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year.

(b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof.

(c) Disbursements by category.

(d) Salary, wages, fringe benefits, allowances, and other direct or indirect disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, paid or accruing to each of its officers and also to each of its employees who, during such fiscal year, received more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee organization and any parent organization of the employee organization or any affiliate of either the employee organization or the parent organization. This paragraph requires reporting of any reimbursements paid by the employee organization to a public employer for moneys paid by the public employer to the employee organization’s officers or employees.

(e) Direct and indirect loans made to any of its officers, employees, or members which aggregated more than $250 during the fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and arrangements for repayment.

(f) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise, together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and arrangements for repayment.

(g) The amount of membership dues retained by or distributed to the employee organization, any parent organization of the employee organization, and any affiliate of either the employee organization or the parent organization.

(3) As part of its application for renewal of registration, a bargaining agent must include all of the following information as of the 30th day immediately preceding the date upon which its current registration is scheduled to end:

(a) For each bargaining unit for which the bargaining agent is certified, the certification number assigned to the bargaining unit by the commission.

(b) For each certification, the number of public employees in the bargaining unit.

(c) For each certification, the number of public employees in the bargaining unit who paid full membership dues sufficient to maintain membership in good standing in the bargaining agent.

(d) For each certification, the number of public employees in the bargaining unit who have submitted signed membership authorization forms without a subsequent revocation of such membership.

(e) An agreed-upon procedures report performed by an independent certified public accountant retained by the employee organization to assist in determining the accuracy of the information provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d). The agreed-upon procedures must be conducted in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

(4) Within 30 days after filing an application for renewal of registration with the commission, the employee organization must provide a copy of its application to the public employer and public employees of each bargaining unit for which the employee organization is the bargaining agent.

(5) The commission must notify the bargaining agent if the information required in subsection (3) is incomplete. The bargaining agent must provide the missing information to the commission within 30 days after such notification. If the bargaining agent fails to provide the missing information within 30 days after notification, the commission must dismiss the application.

(6) The commission must notify the bargaining agent when the information required in subsection (3) is complete. Within 30 days after such notification, the bargaining agent must petition for recertification pursuant to s. 447.307 for each of its bargaining units for which less than 60 percent of the public employees in the bargaining unit have submitted membership authorization forms without subsequent revocation and paid membership dues to the organization, as reported under subsection (3).

(7) If the public employer or a public employee of a bargaining unit represented by a bargaining agent believes that the bargaining agent’s application for renewal of registration is materially inaccurate, the public employer or public employee may challenge the application as materially inaccurate during the pendency of the application or, if the registration renewal has been granted, before the date upon which the bargaining agent’s current registration is scheduled to end. If a challenge is filed, the commission or one of its designated agents must conduct an investigation pursuant to subsection (8).

(8) The commission or one of its designated agents may conduct an investigation to confirm the validity of any information submitted pursuant to this section. The commission may revoke or deny an employee organization’s registration or certification if it finds that the employee organization:

(a) Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted pursuant to this subsection, including refusal to permit the commission or one of its designated agents to inspect membership authorization forms or revocations pursuant to s. 447.301(1)(b)5.; or

(b) Intentionally misrepresented the information it submitted pursuant to this section.

(9) An employee organization is exempt from the requirements of subsections (3)-(8) and (12) for each public safety unit it represents.

(10) A registration fee must accompany each application for registration or renewal of registration filed with the commission. The registration fee may not exceed $15. All such money collected by the commission shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund.

(11) Every employee organization shall keep accurate accounts of its income and expenses, which accounts must be open for inspection at a reasonable time and place by any member of the organization or by the commission.

(12) The certification of an employee organization that does not comply with this section is revoked. An employee organization that has its certification revoked under this subsection may not file a petition for certification under s. 447.307 which covers any of the public employees in the bargaining unit described in the revoked certification for at least 12 months after the date the certification was revoked.

(13) A decision issued by the commission under this section is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s. 447.504.