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S. 1970: Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019

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S. 1970: Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-06-25 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-06-25 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019

Plain summary

Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019 This bill prohibits strikes by certain individuals and requires the issuance of rules that provide for federal minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) shall determine for each state whether the laws of such state substantially provide for each of the minimum standard collective bargaining rights and procedures specified by this bill, including the right of public employees and supervisory employees to self-organize, form or join a labor organization, or collectively bargain. The FLRA must issue rules and take actions to establish and administer bargaining rights and procedures for those states that do not substantially provide for them. No employers, emergency services employees, or law enforcement officers may engage in a lockout, strike, or any other organized job action that would probably result in a measurable disruption of the delivery of emergency or public safety services. Furthermore, no labor organization may be the cause of a violation of such prohibition.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] · 40 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] reported raising $616,935 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-s1970 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116