BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 478|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 478
Author: Wolk (D)
Amended: 7/13/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 5/13/09
AYES: DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Leno, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/21/09 (Consent)
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Oropeza, Romero, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 8/27/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Employment safety: manlifts
SOURCE : California Grain and Feed Association
DIGEST : This bill allows the owner or operator of an
agricultural facility to designate a competent
non-certified employee to perform routine maintenance of
manlifts at agricultural facilities. This bill also
requires all elevator companies to disclose its status as a
CONTINUED
SB 478
Page
2
certified qualified conveyance company prior to bidding on
or contracting for services.
Assembly Amendments add disclosure requirements from
elevator companies.
ANALYSIS : Under existing law, the Division of
Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), of the Department of
Industrial Relations, protects workers and the public from
safety hazards through its Cal/OSHA [Occupational Safety
and Health Administration], elevator, amusement ride,
aerial tramway, ski lift and pressure vessel programs, and
provides consultative assistance to employers. The
Elevator, Ride and Tramway Unit, within DOSH, is
responsible for conducting inspections of, among other
things, elevators.
Under existing law, no conveyance can be erected,
constructed, installed, materially altered, tested,
maintained, repaired, or serviced by any person, firm, or
corporation unless they are certified by DOSH. In
addition, existing law:
1. Requires that permits remain in effect and be kept
posted conspicuously on the conveyance.
2. Allows DOSH to assess a civil penalty against any
person, as specified, who contracts for or authorizes
the erection, construction, installation, or material
alteration of a conveyance without a permit.
3. Specifies that any person who erects, constructs,
installs, alters, tests, maintains, services or repairs,
removes, or dismantles a conveyance without supervision
must be DOSH certified as a competent conveyance
(elevator) mechanic.
4. Establishes training and certification requirements for
elevator mechanics.
5. Provides civil penalties for the operation of unsafe
elevators and conveyances.
6. Requires DOSH to inspect all conveyances at least once
SB 478
Page
3
each year, as specified.
Existing law defines "conveyance" as any elevator,
dumbwaiter, escalator, moving platform lift, stairway
chairlift, material lift or dumbwaiter with automatic
transfer device, automated people mover, or other equipment
as specified. In addition, DOSH may at any time, upon good
cause, and after notice and an opportunity to be heard,
revoke any permit to operate a conveyance.
This bill authorizes the owner or operator of an
agricultural production, processing, and handling facility,
as defined, to designate a competent non-certified employee
to perform inspections and maintenance of manlifts used at
these facilities. This bill specifies that the designated
competent employee:
1. Is allowed to maintain, repair, service, lubricate, or
test the manlifts installed and used at the facilities
as long as it is done in accordance with applicable
Elevator Safety Orders.
2. Does not need to be a certified competent conveyance
mechanic.
3. May inspect the manlifts each month as required by
applicable Elevator Safety Orders, however, only a state
certified competent conveyance mechanic can perform the
annual inspection as required by law (Section 7304 of
the Labor Code).
4. Requires all elevator companies to disclose its status
as a certified qualified conveyance company prior to
bidding on a project or prior to contracting for
services. Such disclosure shall be written and located
in a conspicuous place on the bid documents or contract
in at least 10-point type.
Comments
The Elevator, Ride and Tramway Unit, within DOSH, has eight
district offices throughout the state responsible for
conducting inspections of elevators. Agricultural
production, processing and handling facilities commonly use
SB 478
Page
4
manlifts and other elevator lifts to perform their everyday
work, however, when a conveyance needs repair it often puts
their work on hold and has an impact in production. This
bill authorizes the owner or operator of an agricultural
production, processing, and handling facility to designate
a competent employee to perform monthly inspections and
maintenance of conveyances, with the exception of the
annual inspection required by law which will be performed
by a certified competent conveyance mechanic.
Last year's AB 2629 (Evans) sought to allow the same
monthly inspections by an uncertified designated person,
however, that bill also attempted to expand the list of
conveyances that need to be inspected by DOSH to include
private residences, while removing DOSH's jurisdiction over
elevators in hydroelectric facilities. That bill was
vetoed by the Governor, and in his veto message he stated
that, "the bill's proposal to allow a competent person to
service agricultural manlifts in lieu of an entity
certified by DOSH has merit; other provisions in the bill
are flawed and cannot be accepted unless supporting
information is brought forward to justify the changes
proposed."
This bill is limited and only aims to allow a competent
person to service agricultural manlifts on a monthly basis.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2629 (Evans), 2007-08 Session, would have allowed
uncertified individuals to do routine maintenance of
conveyances at agricultural facilities and to expand the
list of conveyances that need to be inspected by the
division to include private residences, while removing the
division's jurisdiction over elevators in hydroelectric
facilities. The bill was vetoed by the Governor. In his
veto message, the Governor stated that the bill sought
changes that significantly altered long standing practices
with relation to the private residences and hydroelectric
facilities provisions, and added that the language in the
bill was flawed and offered little information to justify
the changes proposed.
AB 2350 (Chavez), Chapter 503, Statutes of 2004, made
SB 478
Page
5
technical changes to existing law governing elevators,
escalators and other conveyances, and deleted a disclosure
requirement for permits to install, construct, or alter any
conveyance.
SB 1886 (Torlakson), Chapter 1149, Statutes of 2002,
established a comprehensive statutory scheme to regulate
elevator safety.
SB 986 (Torlakson), 2001-02 Session, would have established
a comprehensive scheme for regulating conveyances of all
types with the major exception that this bill did not
affect private residences. The bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/09)
California Grain and Feed Association (co-source)
California Seed Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
California Warehouse Association
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Northern California District Council of the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
there are types of conveyances at agricultural processing
facilities that are unique to and commonly used in mills
and the agriculture industry. The author's office argues
that given the unique nature of these conveyances, the
employees at the mills are familiar with the mechanics and
operation of those conveyances and are better able to
regularly maintain those lifts. In addition, the author's
office argues that many of the service and repair points
are clearly visible to mill employees, so that needed
repairs are readily apparent and can be done before they
become an even bigger problem.
In addition, the author's office argues that most
agricultural operations are in remote areas, not near urban
centers where most certified conveyance companies are
SB 478
Page
6
located, making service and repair calls difficult to
schedule. Proponents of the bill argue that this bill will
assist in allowing the operator to do basic operations,
inspections and maintenance, as long as the lift is
annually certified by a competent conveyance mechanic,
without creating delays in the production process.
Proponents of the bill argue that prior to 2002, manlifts
could be maintained on site by properly trained repair
people, however, a law enacted that year now requires that
only certified repair people make monthly repairs on these
lifts. Proponents argue that this bill creates a narrow
exemption to meet agricultural processing facilities needs.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans, Fuentes, Hall, Saldana, Bass,
Vacancy
AGB:mw 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****