§ 71. Accrual of liabilities. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision
of this article, a county may by local law provide for the operation of
a plan on an accrued liability basis whereby amounts charged to
participants shall be based on the estimated total liability of
participants actuarially computed, arising each year. A county also may
by local law provide for the operation of a plan on an experience rating
basis, whereby amounts charged to participants shall be based either
partially or totally on the past liability of participants. Once
adopted, an accrued liability basis or an experience rating basis shall
not thereafter be discontinued.

2. If a county elects to operate its plan on an experience rating
basis, the chief elected official of such county shall create and
appoint a labor-management safety committee. The purposes of the
committee shall be to educate public employees of the plan participants
in proper health and safety procedures in the work places of the
participants, and to design such additional programs as may be
appropriate to the development of a safe working environment in
participants' facilities and job sites. The committee shall accomplish
these purposes by establishing and maintaining such employee safety and
health programs as it deems appropriate and by publicizing the
availability of such programs. The purposes and powers of the committee
may be expanded by the county by adopting rules and regulations pursuant
to section sixty-five of this chapter.

3. The committee, which shall be appointed by the chief elected
official, shall be comprised of an equal number of employer and employee
representatives consisting of not less than three nor more than five
representatives each of the employer and of the employees, respectively.
The participants in the plan shall submit to the chief elected official
a list of candidates for the labor-management safety committee. In cases
in which employee organizations recognized or certified to represent
employees of the participants pursuant to article fourteen of the civil
service law exist, such recognized or certified employee organizations
shall submit a list of employee candidates for the labor-management
safety committee to the chief elected official. The chief elected
official shall create the committee from the lists of candidates so
submitted. The chief elected official, or person designated by him,
shall act as the chairperson of the committee, but shall not be entitled
to vote on any committee business. The members of the committee shall
serve without salary, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for
reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
official duties pursuant to this section. The committee shall meet at
least four times a year, with at least one meeting in each calendar
quarter. The chairperson shall designate the dates of the meeting, and
shall give at least ten days written notice to each committee member of
each meeting. The costs and expenses of the committee and its health and
safety programs shall be an administrative expense of the plan.

4. A recognized or certified employee organization may file a
grievance in writing with the chief elected official of the county
alleging that the county is not complying with subdivision two or three
of this section. The grievance shall designate in detail the particulars
in which the employee organization alleges the county has failed to
comply with either or both such subdivisions. The chief elected official
shall answer the grievance in writing within fifteen days of its filing.

5. If such answer is unsatisfactory to the employee organization, or
is not received by the employee organization within fifteen calendar
days, then the employee organization may submit the grievance to
arbitration. In such event the employee organization shall request in
writing a list of three arbitrators from the nearest regional office of
the American arbitration association. The association shall compile and
send a copy of such list to each party. Each party shall rank the
arbitrators in order of decreasing preference from one to three and
shall return the marked list within ten calendar days of receipt to the
regional office of the American arbitration association from which the
list was requested. Such office shall then determine the arbitrator most
acceptable to both parties.

6. The arbitrator selected shall hear arguments from both parties and
from such additional witnesses as the arbitrator deems necessary to
assist in rendering a decision. Within thirty days of such hearing the
arbitrator shall render a decision which shall be final and binding on
both parties.