BILL NUMBER: SB 1100 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act to amend Section 6354.7 of, and add
Section 6354.8 to, and to repeal and amend Section 6354.7 of,
the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1100, as amended, 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. provide that
moneys in the Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund
may be applied to specified collaborative work by the commission in
connection with its training and education program. The bill would
expand the list of purposes of the training and education program,
which would be referred to as the Worker Occupational Safety and
Health Training and Education Program, or WOSHTEP, to increase the
number of, and assure continued capacity of, specified organizations
to train workers and provide services. The bill would require, as
part of WOSHTEP, that the commission collaborate with the
Occupational Health Branch of the State Department of Public Health
and the University of California occupational health centers
affiliated with regional schools of medicine and public health, as
specified. The bill would repeal duplicative provisions.
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
Research and Prevention of Occupational Injuries
and Illnesses." The intent of this act is to establish a
California occupational research agenda, increase coordination and
collaboration between community occupational health clinics and the
centers for occupational and environmental health, and provide
training with the goals of preventing occupational injuries and
illnesses suffered by the most vulnerable workers,
including non-English speakers working in high-risk occupations, and
reducing the consequences and costs of those injuries and illnesses
through early intervention with appropriate care.
SEC. 2. Section 6354.7 of the Labor
Code , as added by Section 84 of Chapter 6 of the Statutes
of 2002, is repealed.
6354.7. (a) The Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education
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 and
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 claims as reported
for the previous calendar year to the designated rating organization
for the analysis required under subdivision (b) 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 safety
and health training and education program. The purpose of the worker
occupational safety and health training and education program 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 directly or by means of contracts or interagency agreements.
(c) The commission shall establish an employer and worker advisory
board for the program. The 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 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 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 where 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 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 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 shall be made from the Workers'
Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. 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
Injury and Illness Prevention Through Education, Research, and
Treatment Education 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 the Worker Occupational Safety and
Health Training and Education Program and purposes
specified in this section and Section 6354.8 and for 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, to be
referred to as the Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and
Education Program, or WOSHTEP. The purpose of the 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, to increase
the number of, and to ensure continued capacity of, nonprofit
provider organizations, including labor-management cooperation
committees, joint labor-management apprentice programs, labor unions,
community or faith-based organizations that focus on vulnerable
workers, and state governmen t -supported
postsecondary educational institutions, to train workers and provide
related services, and to deliver those awareness and training
programs through a network of providers throughout the state. The
commission may conduct the WOSHTEP directly or by means of contracts
or interagency agreements.
(c) The commission shall establish an employer and worker
advisory board for the WOSHTEP.
WOSHTEP that includes employer and worker representatives
and experts in occupational safety and health. 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 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 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 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 WOSHTEP shall be made from the Workers'
Occupational Safety and Health Injury and Illness Prevention
Through Education, Research, and Treatment Education
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. SEC. 4. 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.
6354.8. In addition to the duties and functions
specified in Section 6354.7, the Worker Occupational Safety and
Health Training and Education Program shall work in collaboration
with:
(a) The Occupational Health Branch of the State Department of
Public Health to develop and implement a California occupational
research agenda focused on the prevention of occupational injuries
and illnesses that are most prevalent, serious, and costly for
California employers and employees.
(b) The University of California occupational health centers
affiliated with regional schools of medicine and public health, as
established by Section 50.8, to increase coordination and
collaboration, including providing training to community-based health
clinics that serve vulnerable workers, including non-English
speakers, working in high-risk occupations.