BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 520


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB  
          520 (Levine and Atkins)


          As Amended  August 15, 2016


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |.     |(April 27,     |SENATE: |27-12 |(August 22,      |
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          |COMMITTEE VOTE: |5-2  |(August 29,     |RECOMMENDATION:   |concur     |
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          L. & E.




          Original Committee Reference:  L. & E.


          SUMMARY:  Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards  
          Board (Standards Board) to adopt a standard that requires  








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          employers performing corrosion prevention work on industrial and  
          infrastructure projects to use trained and certified personnel,  
          as specified, and makes other changes to existing law.


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Require the Standards Board, by June 1, 2017, to adopt a  
            standard that requires employers performing corrosion  
            prevention work on industrial and infrastructure projects to  
            use trained and certified personnel.


          2)Specify that the standard shall include all of the following:


             a)   A requirement that an employee performing corrosion  
               prevention work be trained in accordance with the National  
               Association of Corrosion Engineers International (NACE)  
               13/Applicator Certification Standard No. 1(ACS 1) for an  
               industrial coating and lining application specialist  
               developed by the Society for Protective Coatings (SSPC) and  
               the National Association of Corrosion Engineers  
               International (NACE).


             b)   A requirement that an employee who performs corrosion  
               prevention work obtain a certification as an SSPC Level 2  
               Corrosion Application Specialist, or an equivalent  
               certification.


             c)   A requirement that an employer performing corrosion  
               prevention work use at least three trained and certified  
               employees for every one employee who is not certified, with  
               the uncertified employee working under supervision.


             d)   Provisions that allow corrosion prevention work to be  
               performed by apprentices registered in an industrial  
               apprenticeship program approved by the Division of  








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               Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) that provides training to  
               meet the NACE 13/ACS 1 standard.


             e)   Provisions that require an employer to maintain records  
               of compliance with the standard and allow reasonable access  
               to those records by members of the public in a manner that  
               protects employee privacy.


             f)   An appropriate phase-in period for the certification  
               requirement that ensures full implementation of the  
               standard by January 1, 2020.


             g)   A definition of corrosion prevention work that includes  
               surface preparation, including abrasive blasting, and  
               application of protective coatings and linings, including  
               spray application, to steel and concrete surfaces for the  
               purpose of corrosion prevention.


             h)   An exception from the standard for work on sheet metal  
               and ventilation systems, or on plumbing and piping systems  
               or precast concrete work that is performed offsite when the  
               work on these systems or precast concrete work is performed  
               by either:


               i)     Skilled journeypersons who are graduates of an  
                 apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation that  
                 was either approved by the DAS or located outside  
                 California and approved for federal purposes pursuant to  
                 the apprenticeship regulations adopted by the federal  
                 Secretary of Labor.


               ii)    Apprentices registered in an apprenticeship program  
                 for the applicable occupation that was approved by the  
                 DAS.










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             i)   An exception from the standard if the surface to be  
               prepared and the surface to be coated are both smaller than  
               100 square or 100 linear feet.


          3)Provide that this bill shall not be construed to limit the  
            authority of the Standards Board to adopt additional standards  
            to protect employees performing corrosion prevention or other  
            industrial painting work.  Nothing in this bill shall be  
            interpreted to preclude the Standards Board from adopting  
            standards that include elements or requirements additional to,  
            or broader in scope than, those described in this bill.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown


          COMMENTS:  The SSPC and the NACE are third-party organizations  
          that develop training, manufacturing and safety specifications  
          and certifications based on science and researched  
          best-practices.  NACE establishes industry standards for  
          corrosion protection.  The organization also offers technical  
          training and certification programs, conferences, reports,  
          publications, technical journals, and government relations  
          activities.


          In 2004, the SPPC and NACE collaborated to develop a general  
          industry standard for the safe performance of corrosion  
          prevention work.  With input from industry experts and career  
          industrial painters, they developed the NACE 13/ACS 1 standard  
          for certification as an Industrial Coating and Lining  
          Application Specialist.  According to the author, the NACE  
          13/ACS 1 standard represents the consensus of the industrial  
          painting community as to the body of knowledge necessary to  
          perform surface preparation and coating application safely and  
          effectively for steel and concrete surfaces for complex  
          industrial and infrastructure projects.  


          In 2013, the Legislature passed SB 792 (Padilla), which required  
          the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), in  








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          consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to  
          adopt regulations establishing standards for the performance of  
          corrosion prevention and mitigation work on public projects that  
          reflect industry best practices.


          The author and the sponsor of SB 792 (the International Union of  
          Painters and Allied Trades), argued that the well-being of  
          California and its people is dependent upon the quality and  
          integrity of its water infrastructure, bridges, roads and  
          industrial structures.  Ensuring the reliability of these public  
          assets depends primarily on two factors:  the performance of  
          proper, timely preventive maintenance by certified workers as  
          well as the extent and severity of structural corrosion or other  
          deterioration.  They argued that as California is poised to  
          spend more than $7 billion on water infrastructure in the near  
          future, preventative measures like corrosion prevention  
          applications should be a part of all new construction,  
          retrofitting, and maintenance work.  This protects against  
          deterioration of the building materials, as well as  
          environmental contamination from leakage, breaks, or the release  
          of toxics.


          However, SB 792 was vetoed by Governor Brown.  In his veto  
          message, the Governor stated:


            "This bill directs the Department of Industrial Relations, in  
            consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control,  
            to adopt regulations, on or before January 1, 2016, to  
            establish performance standards for corrosion prevention work  
            on projects designated as public works.  Unfortunately, the  
            development of these standards is outside of the jurisdiction  
            and expertise of these departments.


            "Using industry accepted standards for corrosion prevention  
            and worker safety on public infrastructure projects is good  
            policy and procurement requirements should ensure that all  
            workers are properly trained and certified to do this critical  
            work.








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            Therefore I am directing the Department of Industrial  
            Relations to incorporate industry accepted standards for  
            corrosion prevention training into the appropriate  
            apprenticeship programs.  I am also directing the department  
            to work with the Standards Board to assess the adequacy of  
            safety standards for workers engaged in corrosion prevention  
            work and make necessary changes."


          On August 26, 2015, the International Union of Painters and  
          Allied Trades filed a petition with the Standards Board to amend  
          the General Industry Safety Orders to adopt a safety and health  
          standard governing the performance of corrosion prevention work  
          on industrial and infrastructure projects in California.  The  
          Standards Board convened an advisory committee to discuss the  
          necessity for amending the current standards to include the  
          requirements of the NACE 13/ACS 1 standard.  


          However, such a standard has not yet been adopted by the  
          Standards Board.  The petitioner and supporters have expressed  
          concerns that there have been delays between meetings of the  
          advisory committee, and that the Standards Board is considering  
          dispensing with the requirement of independent third party  
          certification, which they contend is an essential component of  
          any effective, enforceable regulation in this area.


          Supporters of this bill argue that it would reduce long-term  
          costs and ultimately save taxpayer money.  They argue that the  
          NACE 13 ACS/1 standard is the most widely recognized standard by  
          public and private entities on their corrosion prevention  
          projects.  This would not only prevent early deterioration due  
          to corrosion and related environmental contamination, but also  
          ensure that the highest industry safety standards are applied on  
          what is often very dangerous work.


          Opponents argue that this bill differs from other requirements  
          of existing law by mandating a particular regulatory scheme.   








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          They argue that this bill bypasses any evaluation of industry  
          practices and procedures and mandates a new certification  
          requirement in the final weeks of the legislative session where  
          there will be scant opportunity for the public, industry and  
          others to opine on the new mandates.  Furthermore, they raise  
          numerous concerns about the specific requirements of the bill,  
          including the fact that it sets a single standard for training  
          and establishes a monopoly for SSPC and NACE.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091  FN:  
          0004964