BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1100|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  SB 1100
          Author:   Monning (D) 
          Amended:  5/31/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE:  5-0, 4/6/16
           AYES:  Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell

           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE:  9-0, 4/20/16
           AYES:  Hernandez, Nguyen, Hall, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen,  
            Pan, Roth, Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 5/27/16
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
           NOES:  Bates, Nielsen

           SUBJECT:   Worker occupational safety and health training and  
                     education program


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill expands the purpose of the worker  
          occupational safety and health training and education program to  
          include collaboration with the Occupational Health Branch of the  
          Department of Public Health (DPH) and the provision of training  
          through an agreement with the University of California (UC)  
          occupational health centers with the goal of preventing  
          occupational injuries.


          ANALYSIS: 









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          Existing law:


          1)Establishes the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers'  
            Compensation (CHSWC) and requires CHSWC to establish a worker  
            occupational safety and health training and education program  
            (WOSHTEP). Levies fees on workers' compensation insurers to  
            fund this purpose, not to exceed $100 or 0.0286% of paid  
            workers' compensation indemnity amounts for claims for the  
            previous calendar year (Labor Code §6354.7).


          2)Requires that the CHSWC establish an advisory board for  
            WOSHTEP in order to guide the development of curricula,  
            teaching methods, and specific course material about  
            occupational safety and health (Labor Code §6354.7).


          3)Requires that WOSHTEP include the development and provision of  
            a core curriculum addressing competencies for effective  
            participation in workplace injury and illness prevention  
            programs, and to develop additional training programs as  
            specified (Labor Code §6354.7).


          4)Instructs the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to  
            develop a long range program for upgrading and expanding the  
            state's resources in the area of occupational health and  
            medicine. This includes a contractual agreement with the UC to  
            create occupational health centers affiliated with regional  
            schools of medicine and public health. The centers serve as  
            referral centers for occupational illnesses and engage in  
            research on the causes, diagnosis, and prevention of  
            occupational illnesses (Labor Code §50.8).


          5)Requires the centers to inform the Division of Occupational  
            Safety and Health Administration of DIR, State Department of  
            Health Services, and the Department of Food and Agriculture of  
            their clinical and research findings (Labor Code §50.8).


          This bill:







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          1)Enacts the "Dr. Julia Quint Program for Research and  
            Prevention of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses," to  
            establish a California occupational research agenda, and  
            provide training with the goals of preventing occupational  
            injuries suffered by the most vulnerable workers, including  
            non-English speakers working in high-risk occupations, and  
            reducing the consequences and costs of those injuries through  
            early intervention with appropriate care.


          2)Modifies the fees levied on workers' compensation insurers to  
            fund these purposes, not to exceed $100 or 0.0286% of paid  
            workers' compensation medical and indemnity amounts for claims  
            for the previous calendar year.


          3)Establishes additional requirements for WOSHTEP to work in  
            collaboration with the Occupational Health Branch of DPH 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.


          4)Mandates, further, that WOSHTEP provide training to  
            community-based health clinics that serve vulnerable workers,  
            including non-English speakers who work in high-risk  
            occupations through an agreement with the UC occupational  
            health centers.


          5)Requires the WOSHTEP advisory board to include employer and  
            worker representatives and experts in occupational safety and  
            health.


          Comments


          Need for this bill?  In 1978, Central Valley workers were  
          sterilized after they manufactured a pesticide containing  
          dibromochloropropane.  Subsequently, the Legislature created a  







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          long-term program to upgrade and expand occupational health  
          resources through university-based training and research (Labor  
          Code §50.8).  Then in 2002, the Legislature established the  
          Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund (Labor  
          Code §6354.7) in order to create an occupational safety and  
          health training and education program.  While these efforts are  
          commendable, the author believes that occupational injury and  
          illness continue to take a significant toll in California, both  
          in terms of health impact and costs.  


          Because of this, the author would like to do more to improve  
          occupational health and safety. Currently, the CHSWC allocates  
          funds to the UC Berkeley Labor Occupational Health Program and  
          the UC Los Angeles Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program to  
          carry out the WOSHTEP.  The main purpose of the program is to  
          train workers and their representatives regarding occupational  
          health and safety. 


          Along with these approaches, the author seeks to expand the  
          existing WOSHTEP to address additional occupational health and  
          safety issues.


          Prior Legislation


          AB 749 (Calderon, Chapter 6, Statutes of 2002) created the  
          Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund to, among  
          other things, establish and maintain a WOSHTEP.  Its goals  
          included promoting awareness of the need for injury and illness  
          prevention education programs, developing and providing these  
          programs for employees and their representatives, and delivering  
          awareness and training programs through a network of providers  
          throughout the state.




          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No









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          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:


          1)DPH would incur unknown, but potentially significant costs  
            (likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) as a result  
            of the bill.


          2)The UC would incur unknown, potentially significant costs to  
            implement its provisions of this bill. 


          3)DIR would incur increased costs resulting from the additional  
            programs specified in this bill. The magnitude is unknown, but  
            could be offset with an increase to an existing assessment.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified5/31/16)




          California Immigrant Policy Center
          California Industrial Hygiene Council
          California Labor Federation
          California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
          Consumer Attorneys of California
          Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
          National Employment Law Project
          National Lawyers Guild Labor and Employment Committee
          Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco Bay Area  
          Chapter
          State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO
          United Steelworkers Union Local 5
          Worksafe
          Several individuals


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified5/31/16)


          None received









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          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:   This bill is supported by the California  
          Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), which states that occupational  
          injury and illness take a significant toll in California, both  
          in terms of health impacts and costs. CIPC states that this bill  
          will provide a cost effective, focused, and modest expansion of  
          funding for programs that will save both California workers and  
          their families from the economic ravages of work-related  
          injuries. The California Labor Federation states that no  
          comprehensive California-focused research agenda exists to  
          prevent injury and illnesses, and that when workers are injured,  
          those who are treated in community clinics may not be linked to  
          medical providers with specialized expertise in work-related  
          injuries. The director of the University of California, Davis  
          Agricultural Ergonomics Research Center states that the  
          partnership between the DPH and DIR will be critical in the  
          implementation of a broad and visionary occupational health  
          research agenda. The Labor and Employment Committee of the  
          National Lawyers Guild states that this bill can bring together  
          the existing statewide network of trainers developed by WOSHTEP  
          and engage them with experts and government to identify  
          priorities for research and improved treatment. The San  
          Francisco Bay Area Chapter of Physicians for Social  
          Responsibility supports an expanded role for DPH in conducting  
          occupational health surveillance and data analyses, and looks  
          forward to providing input along with other stakeholders in the  
          establishment and implementation of a California occupational  
          research agenda.
          

          Prepared by:Brandon Seto / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
          5/31/16 21:31:40


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