(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to stabilize the labor and employment relations of redevelopment agencies and successor agencies in furtherance of and connection with their responsibilities under the act adding this part.

(b) Nothing in the act adding this part is intended to relieve any redevelopment agency of its obligations under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code. Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 34165, prior to its dissolution, a redevelopment agency shall retain the authority to meet and confer over matters within the scope of representation.

(c) A successor agency, as defined in Sections 34171 and 34173, shall constitute a public agency within the meaning of subdivision (c) of Section 3501 of the Government Code.

(d) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 34165, redevelopment agencies, prior to and during their winding down and dissolution, shall retain the authority to bargain over matters within the scope of representation.

(e) In recognition that a collective bargaining agreement represents an enforceable obligation, a successor agency shall become the employer of all employees of the redevelopment agency as of the date of the redevelopment agency’s dissolution. If, pursuant to this provision, the successor agency becomes the employer of one or more employees who, as employees of the redevelopment agency, were represented by a recognized employee organization, the successor agency shall be deemed a successor employer and shall be obligated to recognize and to meet and confer with such employee organization. In addition, the successor agency shall retain the authority to bargain over matters within the scope of representation and shall be deemed to have assumed the obligations under any memorandum of understanding in effect between the redevelopment agency and recognized employee organization as of the date of the redevelopment agency’s dissolution.

(f) The Legislature finds and declares that the duties and responsibilities of local agency employer representatives under this chapter are substantially similar to the duties and responsibilities required under existing collective bargaining enforcement procedures and therefore the costs incurred by the local agency employer representatives in performing those duties and responsibilities under the act adding this part are not reimbursable as state-mandated costs. Furthermore, the Legislature also finds and declares that to the extent the act adding this part provides the funding with which to accomplish the obligations provided herein, the costs incurred by the local agency employer representatives in performing those duties and responsibilities under the act adding this part are not reimbursable as state-mandated costs.

(g) The transferred memorandum of understanding and the right of any employee organization representing such employees to provide representation shall continue as long as the memorandum of understanding would have been in force, pursuant to its own terms. One or more separate bargaining units shall be created in the successor agency consistent with the bargaining units that had been established in the redevelopment agency. After the expiration of the transferred memorandum of understanding, the successor agency shall continue to be subject to the provisions of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.

(h) Individuals formerly employed by redevelopment agencies that are subsequently employed by successor agencies shall, for a minimum of two years, transfer their status and classification in the civil service system of the redevelopment agency to the successor agency and shall not be required to requalify to perform the duties that they previously performed or duties substantially similar in nature and in required qualification to those that they previously performed. Any such individuals shall have the right to compete for employment under the civil service system of the successor agency.

(Added by Stats. 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 5, Sec. 7. (AB 26 1x) Effective June 29, 2011. Operative February 1, 2012.)