Amended in Assembly August 18, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 18, 2014

Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1300

Introduced by Senator Hancock

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Skinner)

February 21, 2014

An act to add begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections end insert 7872 begin insert and 7873 end insert to the Labor Code, relating to refineries.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1300, as amended, Hancock. Refineries: turnarounds.

Existing law, the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990, states that its purpose is to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, flammable, or explosive chemicals. The act provides for the adoption by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board of specified process safety management standards for, among others, refineries that handle acutely hazardous material. The act declares the intent of the Legislature for the standards board and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to promote worker safety through implementation of training and process safety management, as defined, in refineries and other facilities as deemed appropriate. A violation of the act is a crime.

This bill would require every petroleum refinery employer to, every September 15, submit to the division a full schedule for the following calendar year of planned turnarounds, meaning a planned, periodic shutdown of a refinery process unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul, and repair operations and to inspect, test, and replace process materials and equipment, as specified. The bill would also require a petroleum refinery employer, upon the request of the division, to provide access onsite and provide the division with specified documentation relating to a planned turnaround within a certain period of time, as provided. begin insert The bill would, except in the case of a request for public release, require the division to protect from public disclosure any information submitted to the division pursuant to these provisions that is designated as a trade secret, as defined. The bill would require the division to notify a petroleum refinery employer in writing of a request for the release of information to the public that includes information that the petroleum refinery employer has notified the division is a trade secret, as provided. This bill would authorize an employer to seek a court order prohibiting public disclosure. The bill establishes misdemeanor penalties for knowingly and willfully disclosing trade secrets. end insert

Because a violation of the bill’s requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 7872 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

7872.  

(a) As used in this section, “turnaround” means a
planned, periodic shutdown, total or partial, of a refinery process
unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul, and repair
operations and to inspect, test, and replace process materials and
equipment. “Turnaround” does not include unplanned shutdowns
that occur due to emergencies or other unexpected maintenance
matters in a process unit or plant. “Turnaround” also does not
include routine maintenance, where routine maintenance consists
of regular, periodic maintenance on one or more pieces of
equipment at a refinery process unit or plant that may require
shutdown of such equipment.

(b) Every September 15, every petroleum refinery employer
shall submit to the division a full schedule of planned turnarounds
for all affected units for the following calendar year.

(c) At the request of the division, at least 60 days prior to the
shutdown of a process unit or plant as part of a planned turnaround,
a petroleum refinery employer shall provide access onsite and
allow the division to review begin delete and receive copies of, or, at the
division’s discretion, submit in physical format or in electronic
format if available electronically, end delete the following documentation for
the process unit or plant scheduled to be shut down for that
turnaround:

(1) All corrosion reports and risk-based inspection reports
generated since the last turnaround.

(2) Process hazard analyses generated since the last turnaround.

(3) Boiler permit schedules.

(4) All management of change records related to repairs, design
modifications, and process changes implemented since the last
turnaround or scheduled to be completed in the planned turnaround
referenced in this subdivision and identified in subdivision (b).

(5) Work orders scheduled to be completed in the planned
turnaround referenced in this subdivision and identified in
subdivision (b).

(6) All temporary repairs made since the last turnaround,
including, but not limited to, clamps and encapsulations. As used
in this section, “temporary repairs” means repairs made to piping
systems in order to restore sufficient integrity to continue safe
operation until permanent repairs can be scheduled.

begin insert

(7) Notification and description of all repairs, design
modifications, or process changes described in a corrosion report,
risk-based inspection report, process hazard analysis, boiler permit
schedule, management of change record, work order, or other
document listed in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, that the
petroleum refinery employer has deferred to a subsequent
operational period or turnaround.

end insert

(d) The division may request additional information as necessary
to perform its responsibilities in this part pursuant to Section 6314.

(e) At the request of the division, at least 30 days before the
shutdown of a process unit or plant as part of a planned turnaround,
a petroleum refinery employer shall provide access onsite and
allow the division to review begin delete and receive copies of, or, at the
division’s discretion, submit in physical format or in electronic
format if available electronically, notification and description of end delete
any changes to the information or documents begin delete provided end delete begin insert reviewed
by the division end insert pursuant to subdivision (c) and relevant supporting
documents.

begin insert

(f) At the division’s request, a petroleum refinery employer shall
provide the division with physical copies, or, at the division’s
discretion, electronic copies if available, of the documentation
reviewed by the division pursuant to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e).

end insert begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert g) end insert  By agreement with a petroleum refinery employer, the
division may modify the reporting period as to any individual item
of information.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert h) end insert  This section is not intended to limit or increase the division’s
authority in Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) to prohibit
use of a place of employment, machine, device, apparatus, or
equipment or any part thereof that constitutes an imminent hazard
to employees.

begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert i) end insert  The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this
section is to improve the ability of the state to conduct inspections
of petroleum refining operations.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 7873 is added to the end insert begin insert Labor Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 7873. end insert   

(a) As used in this section, “trade secret” means a trade
secret as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 6254.7 of the
Government Code or Section 1061 of the Evidence Code, the
schedule submitted to the division pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 7872, and any other information regarding the scheduling,
duration, and type of work to be performed during a turnaround
that may provide economic value to any person other than the
petroleum refinery employer. Upon completion of a turnaround,
the dates on which that turnaround was conducted shall no longer
be considered a trade secret.

(b) (1) If a petroleum refinery employer believes that
information submitted to the division pursuant to Section 7872
may involve the release of a trade secret, the petroleum refinery
employer shall nevertheless provide this information to the division.
The petroleum refinery employer may, at the time of submission,
identify all or a portion of the information submitted to the division
as trade secret and, to the extent feasible, segregate records
designated as trade secret from the other records.

(2) Subject to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), the division shall
protect from disclosure any information designated as a trade
secret by the petroleum refinery employer pursuant to paragraph
(1).

(c) (1) Upon the receipt of a request for the release of
information to the public that includes information that the
petroleum refinery employer has notified the division is a trade
secret pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), the division
shall notify the petroleum refinery employer in writing of the
request by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(2) The division shall release the requested information to the
public 120 days or more after the petroleum refinery employer’s
receipt of the notice of the request for information, unless, before
the expiration of the 120-day period, the petroleum refinery
employer files an action in an appropriate court for a declaratory
judgment that the information is subject to protection under
subdivision (b), promptly notifies the division of that action, and
obtains an order prohibiting disclosure of the information to the
public.

(3) This subdivision shall not be construed to allow a petroleum
refinery employer to refuse to disclose the information required
pursuant to this section to the division.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (c), any information that
has been designated as a trade secret by a petroleum refinery
employer is confidential information for purposes of this section
and shall not be released to any member of the public, except that
such information may be disclosed to other officers or employees
of the division concerned with carrying out the purposes of the
division or when relevant in any proceeding of the division. If the
person requesting the release of the information or the person who
submitted the information institutes a proceeding for injunctive
or declaratory relief or a writ of mandate to order or prohibit
disclosure of trade secret information, the person instituting the
proceeding shall name the other party as a real party in interest.
Each party shall bear its own costs and attorney’s fees.

(e) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the exchange
of properly designated trade secrets between local, state, or federal
public agencies when those trade secrets are relevant and
necessary to the exercise of their authority.

(f) An officer or employee of the division who, by virtue of that
employment or official position, has possession of, or has access
to, confidential information, and who, knowing that disclosure of
the information to the general public is prohibited by this section,
knowingly and willfully discloses the information in any manner
to a person he or she knows is not entitled to receive it, is guilty
of a misdemeanor. A contractor with the division and an employee
of the contractor, who has been furnished information as
authorized by this section, shall be considered an employee of the
division for purposes of this section.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.