BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1561
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

              AB 1561 (Labor and Employment Committee) - As Introduced:   
                                   March 11, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Labor and  
          Employment   Vote:                            5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Division of Occupational Safety and  
          Health (DOSH), in collaboration with the Occupational Safety and  
          Health Appeals Board, to prepare an annual report summarizing  
          the extent to which penalties and other orders contained in  
          citations and notifications issued by DOSH are reduced through  
          its appeal process.

           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          Annual costs to DOSH of about $75,000 to prepare annual reports.  


           COMMENTS  
           
           1)Background.  The Division of Occupational Safety and Health,  
            also known as Cal/OSHA, is responsible for protecting workers  
            and the public from safety hazards through various inspection  
            and enforcement programs. The California Rural Legal  
            Assistance Foundation and other attorney and labor  
            representatives assert that that when a citation or notice is  
            issued by DOSH for a safety violation, the penalties are  
            greatly reduced through the appeals process to a point that  
            they no longer serve as a deterrent. An "outcomes analysis"  
            prepared by DOSH in 1999, found that penalties were reduced by  
            more than one-third in pre-hearing conferences and  
            administrative hearings. There has not been another outcomes  
            analysis since 1999, but critics of the appeal process contend  
            that the situation has worsened over the past decade.









                                                                  AB 1561
                                                                  Page  2

           2)Rationale  . Supporters of this bill assert that its purpose is  
            to focus attention on the results of the DOSH appeals process,  
            by requiring an annual analyses and reports of the outcomes of  
            enforcement actions.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081