(a) The services of the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration shall be available to municipal employers and employee organizations for purposes of mediation of grievances or impasses in contract or contract reopener negotiations and for purposes of arbitration of disputes over the interpretation or application of the terms of a written agreement and, if such service is requested by both the municipal employer and the employee organization except as provided in section 7-473c for purposes of arbitration of impasses in contract or contract reopener negotiations. Whenever any impasse in contract or contract reopener negotiations is submitted to arbitration, the decision of the arbitration panel or arbitrator shall be rendered no later than twenty days prior to the final date by which time the budget-appropriating authority of the municipality is required to adopt its budget or forty days after the close of the arbitration hearing, whichever is later, provided that in no case except when such arbitration service is requested or mandated after the final budget adoption date shall such decision be rendered later than five days prior to such final budget adoption date. Nothing contained herein shall prevent any agreement from being entered into in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e) of section 7-474.

(b) Nothing in this section is intended to prevent the use of other arbitration tribunals in the resolution of disputes over the interpretation or application of the terms of written agreements between municipal employers and employee organizations.

(February, 1965, P.A. 159, S. 6; 1967, P.A. 491, S. 5; P.A. 75-570, S. 5; P.A. 82-37, S. 1; P.A. 93-17, S. 5, 6.)

History: 1967 act substituted “impasses in contract negotiations” for “contract disputes” in mediation provision and empowered board to arbitrate such impasses upon request of both parties, setting forth the arbitration procedure with time constraints on decision, etc., in Subsec. (a); P.A. 75-570 added exception to provision allowing arbitration of contract impasses, changed requirement that decision be rendered no later than 10 days after hearing to 40 days and added exception to final deadline of 5 days before budget adoption date for cases in which arbitration not instituted until after final deadline; P.A. 82-37 applied provisions of Subsec. (a) to “contract reopener” negotiations; P.A. 93-17 amended Subsec. (a) to delete obsolete reference to Subsecs. (h) to (k), inclusive, of Sec. 7-474, effective April 21, 1993.

Cited. 159 C. 49; 171 C. 347; Id., 353; Id., 553, 564. State Board of Mediation and Arbitration may not arbitrate grievances except as they apply to disputes over interpretation or application of terms of a written agreement, or, by agreement, in cases of impasse in contract negotiations. Id., 613. Cited. 175 C. 349. Standing to test constitutionality of binding arbitration provisions of Municipal Employees Relations Act discussed. 181 C. 421. Cited. 182 C. 93; 185 C. 88; 196 C. 192; 200 C. 38; 201 C. 577; 204 C. 746; 205 C. 116; 210 C. 549; 212 C. 294; 215 C. 14; 217 C. 110; 221 C. 244; 225 C. 297; 234 C. 123.

Cited. 3 CA 1; 16 CA 232; 33 CA 541.

A public announcement of plaintiff's intention to file a prohibited practice complaint against a union is protected by the Municipal Employees Relations Act when the complaint is actually filed at a later date. 31 CS 7. Cited. 42 CS 227; 43 CS 470.