BILL NUMBER: SB 1100 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 6354.7 of, and add Section 6354.8 to, the
Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1100, as introduced, Monning. Worker occupational safety and
health training and education program.
Existing law requires the Commission on Health and Safety and
Workers' Compensation to establish and maintain a worker and
occupational safety and health training and education program and
requires the Director of Industrial Relations to establish an
insurance loss control services coordinator position, to be funded
from the Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund.
Existing law requires the director to levy and collect fees from
workers' compensation insurers for purposes of the program, with the
fees to be deposited in the fund. Moneys in the fund are available
for expenditure for the above purposes upon appropriation by the
Legislature.
This bill would rename that fund the Workers' Occupational Safety
and Health Injury and Illness Prevention Through Education, Research,
and Treatment Fund.
The bill would require the Occupational Health Branch of the State
Department of Public Health, by interagency agreement with the
Division of Occupational Safety and Health, to provide administrative
and programmatic oversight for the establishment, implementation,
and evaluation of a California occupational research agenda and a
community occupational health program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as "The Dr.
Julia Quint Program for Research, Prevention, and Treatment of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses."
SEC. 2. Section 6354.7 of the Labor Code, as added by Section 15
of Chapter 866 of the Statutes of 2002, is amended to read:
6354.7. (a) The Workers' Occupational Safety and Health
Education Injury and Illness Prevention Through
Education, Research, and Treatment Fund is hereby created as a
special account in the State Treasury. Proceeds of the fund may be
expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, by the Commission on
Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation for the purpose of
establishing and maintaining a worker occupational safety
and health training and education program the Worker
Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program
and an insurance loss control services coordinator. The director
shall levy and collect fees to fund these purposes from insurers
subject to Section 6354.5. However, the fee assessed against any
insurer shall not exceed the greater of one hundred dollars ($100) or
0.0286 percent of paid workers' compensation indemnity amounts for
claims as reported for the previous calendar year to the designated
rating organization for the analysis required under subdivisions (b)
and (c) of Section 11759.1 of the Insurance Code. All fees shall be
deposited in the fund.
(b) The commission shall establish and maintain a worker
occupational safety and health training and education
program. program, to be referred to as the Worker
Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program, or
WOSHTEP. The purpose of the worker occupational safety
and health training and education program WOSHTEP
shall be to promote awareness of the need for prevention
education programs, to develop and provide injury and illness
prevention education programs for employees and their
representatives, and to deliver those awareness and training programs
through a network of providers throughout the state. The commission
may conduct the program WOSHTEP directly
or by means of contracts or interagency agreements.
(c) The commission shall establish an employer and worker advisory
board for the program. WOSHTEP. The
WOSHTEP advisory board shall guide the development of
curricula, teaching methods, and specific course material about
occupational safety and health, and shall assist in providing links
to the target audience and broadening the partnerships with
worker-based organizations, labor studies programs, and others that
are able to reach the target audience.
(d) The program WOSHTEP shall
include the development and provision of a needed core curriculum
addressing competencies for effective participation in workplace
injury and illness prevention programs and on joint labor-management
health and safety committees. The core curriculum shall include an
overview of the requirements related to injury and illness prevention
programs and hazard communication.
(e) The program WOSHTEP shall
include the development and provision of additional training programs
for any or all of the following categories:
(1) Industries on the high hazard list.
(2) Hazards that result in significant worker injuries, illnesses,
or compensation costs.
(3) Industries or trades in which workers are experiencing
numerous or significant injuries or illnesses.
(4) Occupational groups with special needs, such as those who do
not speak English as their first language, workers with limited
literacy, young workers, and other traditionally underserved
industries or groups of workers. Priority shall be given to training
workers who are able to train other workers and workers who have
significant health and safety responsibilities, such as those workers
serving on a health and safety committee or serving as designated
safety representatives.
(f) The program WOSHTEP shall
operate one or more libraries and distribution systems of
occupational safety and health training material, which shall
include, but not be limited to, all material developed by the program
pursuant to this section.
(g) The WOSHTEP advisory board shall annually prepare a
written report evaluating the use and impact of programs developed.
(h) The payment of administrative costs incurred by the commission
in conducting the program WOSHTEP
shall be made from the Workers' Occupational Safety and Health
Education Injury and Illness Prevention
Through Education, Research, and Treatment Fund.
(i) As used in this section, "Worker Occupational Safety and
Health Training and Education Program" or "WOSHTEP" means the program
established and maintained pursuant to subdivision (b).
SEC. 3. Section 6354.8 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
6354.8. The Occupational Health Branch of the State Department of
Public Health, by interagency agreement with the division, shall
provide administrative and programmatic oversight for the
establishment, implementation, and evaluation of a California
occupational research agenda and a community occupational health
program.