BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1100| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: SB 1100 Page 2 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: SB 1100 Page 3 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 SB 1100 Page 4 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 SB 1100 Page 5 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 SB 1100 Page 6 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 **** END ****