BILL NUMBER: AB 184	CHAPTERED  09/13/99

	CHAPTER   366
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 13, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 13, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 26, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 19, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 15, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 6, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Davis

                        JANUARY 19, 1999

   An act to amend Section 6394 of, and to add and repeal Section
6394.5 of, the Labor Code, relating to hazardous substances.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 184, Davis.  Employment:  hazardous materials safety data
filing.
   Under existing provisions of the Hazardous Substances Information
and Training Act, the Director of Industrial Relations is required to
prepare and amend, as prescribed, a list of hazardous substances and
make that list available to manufacturers, employers, and the
public.  Existing law requires the manufacturer of any hazardous
substance on that list to provide a specified material safety data
sheet (MSDS) to direct purchasers of the hazardous substance.  Under
existing law, the manufacturer is responsible for preparing the MSDS.
  Existing law also requires the preparer of an MSDS to provide the
Department of Industrial Relations with a copy of the MSDS on each
hazardous substance it manufactures.
   This bill would authorize the preparer to transmit the MSDS to the
department in either paper or electronic form and would establish
the responsibility for the protection of trade secret information
contained in a MSDS that is filed electronically.
   The bill would require the department to implement a system, for
the period of January 1, 2002 to January 1, 2003, inclusive, enabling
electronic MSDS filings and require the department to evaluate the
effectiveness of the electronic filing format on relevant parties.
The bill would prohibit implementation of its provisions before July
1, 2001, unless otherwise authorized pursuant to a specified
executive order.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 6394 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   6394.  The preparer of an MSDS shall provide the department with a
copy of the MSDS on each hazardous substance it manufactures.  The
preparer may transmit the MSDS to the department in either paper or
electronic form.  In the electronic filing of an MSDS, it is the
responsibility of the preparer to protect any trade secret
information contained in the MSDS during transmission to the
department.  Upon receipt by the department of the MSDS, it is the
responsibility of the department to protect any trade secret
information.
  SEC. 2.  Section 6394.5 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   6394.5.  (a) The department shall adopt an electronic format for
the electronic filing of an MSDS with the department and shall
implement a system, by January 1, 2002, enabling electronic MSDS
filings for purposes of complying with this section using the form.
The department shall evaluate the use and effectiveness of the
electronic format on relevant parties, including, but not limited to,
the preparer of an MSDS, affected employers, and affected employees.
  The system shall employ electronic MSDS format, transmission,
protocol, and authentication techniques that are, in the estimation
of the department, compatible with those techniques developed and
demonstrated by the Secretary for Environmental Protection pursuant
to Part 2 (commencing with Section 71050) of Division 34 of the
Public Resources Code.
   (b) This section may not be implemented, and no information
technology-related preparatory work may be undertaken in connection
with this act before July 1, 2001, unless otherwise authorized by the
Department of Information Technology pursuant to Executive Order
D-3-99.
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.