BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1803
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hern�ndez, Chair
AB 1803 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Occupational safety and health: lead-related
construction registration program
SUMMARY : Establishes a program to register employers and
contractors who perform lead-related construction work.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Applies the definition of "lead-related construction work," as
defined in Labor Code Section 6716, to the provisions of this
act.
2)Requires any employer or contractor who will be engaging in
lead-related construction work to apply for and obtain a
registration from the Division of Occupational Safety and
Health (DOSH) prior to the commencement of any such work, with
certain exceptions.
3)Imposes an application fee for registration to be estimated by
DOSH and used for the purposes of this program.
4)Establishes an application procedure that shall include all of
the following:
a) Proof of a valid California contractor's license.
b) Proof of workers' compensation insurance.
c) Proof of sufficient employee health insurance coverage
for any medical surveillance costs imposed by Section
1532.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, or
any successor to that regulation.
d) Proof that all training and certification requirement
for employees engaged in lead-related work pursuant to
Section 105250 of the Health and Safety Code and Section
1532.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, or
any successor to that regulation, have been completed.
e) Other information as DOSH determines to be necessary.
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5)Establishes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 if an employer or
contractor willfully states as true any material fact he or
she knows to be false.
6)Provides that DOSH shall deny a registration application if
the employer has failed to show, based on available facts and
the employer's compliance history with DOSH, that the
conditions, practices, means, methods, operations, or
processes used or proposed to be used will provide a safe and
healthful place of employment.
7)Allows an employer or contractor to appeal an application
denial to the Director of Industrial Relations (director), who
will designate a hearing venue and preside over the hearing.
The employer shall provide reasonable notice to employees and
employee representatives of a hearing, which shall be open for
them to attend.
8)Provides that the director's decision on appeal shall be final
unless a request for rehearing is filed with director within
10 days after the date of the decision is rendered, or unless
the decision is appealed to the courts as provided by law.
9)Provides that registration for lead-related construction work
shall be valid for one year after the date of issuance by DOSH
and must be annually renewed with DOSH.
10)Provides that DOSH may hold a hearing to determine if a
lead-related violation has occurred and to order the violator
to pay monetary penalties.
11)Provides that DOSH may, at any time, upon a showing of good
cause and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, revoke
or suspend a lead-related construction work registration.
12)Provides that the registration program shall be funded solely
from funds in the Lead Contractor Registration Fund.
13)Makes related and conforming changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "lead related construction work" as meaning any of the
following:
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a) Any construction, alteration, painting, demolition,
salvage, renovation, repair, or maintenance of any building
or structure, including preparation and cleanup, that, by
using or disturbing lead-containing material or soil, may
result in significant exposure of employees to lead as
determined by the standard adopted pursuant to Labor Code
Section 6717.
b) The transportation, disposal, storage, or containment of
materials containing lead on site or at a location at which
construction activities are performed. "Lead-related
construction work" does not include any activity related to
the manufacture or mining of lead or the installation or
repair of automotive materials containing lead.
2)Requires certification for persons engaged in specified lead
construction work.
3)Establishes the following regulations for lead-related
construction work:
a) Permissible exposure limit
b) Exposure assessment standard
c) Methods of compliance: engineering and work practice
controls; compliance program; mechanical ventilation;
administrative controls
d) Respiratory protection guidelines
e) Protective work clothing and equipment guidelines
f) Housekeeping guidelines
g) Hygiene facilities, practices and regulated areas
guidelines
h) Medical surveillance guidelines
i) Medical removal protection guidelines
j) Employee information, training, and certification
guidelines
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aa) Sign posting guidelines
bb) Recordkeeping guidelines
cc) Guidelines for monitoring exposed employees
dd) Notification guidelines requiring an employer to
provide written notification to the nearest Division
District Office when specified lead-related work is
planned.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : In 1978 the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned
the sale of lead paint which had been proven to produce a wide
range of adverse health effects. Today, according to the
National Safety Council (NSC), lead paint may be found in
approximately two-thirds of all homes built before 1940, half of
all homes built between 1940 and 1960, and a lesser number of
homes built between 1960 and 1978. Although NSC does not record
percentages for commercial structures they are believed to be
the same as residential structures. Lead paint that remains
undisturbed and is in good condition does not pose an immediate
health hazard. However, if lead paint chips, cracks, flakes, or
is disturbed during repainting, remodeling, or renovation, lead
paint can create serious health hazards. Studies have also
shown adults with high levels of lead exposure are at risk for
high blood pressure, nerve disorders and kidney disease.
This bill was modeled after the asbestos abatement laws (Labor
Code Section 6501 et seq and Business and Professions Code
7058.6), which require employers and contractors engaging in
asbestos-related work to be certified and registered with DOSH.
Under existing law, employers are required to provide written
notification to the nearest Division District Office when
lead-related work is planned (California Code of Regulations,
Title 8, Section 1532.1(p)).
According to the author, under current law, contractors who
perform lead abatement activities must meet certain criteria and
follow specific operational protocols. However, contractors are
not required to register with the state or notify the state when
they are performing lead abatement activities. By contrast,
asbestos abatement laws require contractors to register with the
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state and notify the state when they are performing abatement
activities. This system allows for proper enforcement and
ensures that safety standards are being met.
The author argues that, because contractors are not required to
register or notify the state when they are performing lead
abatement activities, the state's ability to ensure that
contractors are operating properly is limited because the state
does not know which contractors are performing lead abatement
activities or where lead abatement activities may be taking
place. Given the limited enforcement, unscrupulous contractors
may hire unqualified workers, knowingly expose them to unsafe
work conditions, carry inadequate insurance policies and
consequently underbid contractors who are in compliance.
The California Department of Public Health Lead Accreditation
and Certification Program
California's lead accreditation and certification program began
in June, 1994. At that time, new childhood lead poisoning
prevention required the California Department of Public Health
(CDPH, formerly Department of Health Services) to create a
program to certify lead-related construction trades-people and
accredit lead-related construction training providers. Final
regulations establishing this program took effect April 5, 1995.
Revisions to these regulations that established work practice
standards for lead-related construction and amended the
previously established accreditation and certification
requirements went into effect in January, 1999. These
regulations were updated in April 2008.
The regulations governing accreditation and certification apply
to lead-related construction work done in residential and public
buildings. Some examples of public buildings include schools,
day-care centers, museums, airports, hospitals, stores,
convention centers, government facilities and office buildings.
Accreditation means that a training provider meets regulatory
requirements and has been approved by CDPH to offer lead-related
construction courses. To be accredited, training providers must
have qualified instructors and adequate training facilities.
Their courses must provide information about the health effects
of lead poisoning, sources of lead, as well as how to identify
and reduce lead hazards.
Certification means that CDPH has evaluated and approved a
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person's qualifications to perform lead-related construction
work in residential and public buildings. CDPH evaluates
applicants to make sure they have completed state-approved
training and have relevant experience and education to perform
lead work. CDPH grants five kinds of certificates: (1) Lead
Inspector/Assessor; (2) Lead Project Monitor; (3) Lead Sampling
Technician; (4) Lead Supervisor; and (5) Lead Worker.
Each certificate has different training, education, and
experience requirements. Certificates are granted to individual
people, not to companies or businesses
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
This bill is sponsored by the Association of Environmental
Contractors (AEC). They state the following in support of this
bill:
"[This bill] establishes a Cal/OSHA-administered registry
of contractors who perform lead-related construction work.
Registration requirements would only apply to contractors
performing work involving a minimum threshold of lead;
existing Title 8 guidelines would remain in force for all
contractors, regardless of registration. Because Cal/OSHA
currently operates a similar registry for asbestos-related
work, the institutional framework is already in place to
implement lead registration. The asbestos contractor
registry has proven enormously successful in increasing
compliance with safety standards without a corresponding
increase in enforcement costs.
Registration gives owners, consultants, and general
contractors a simple pre-qualification standard for
construction work involving a defined amount of lead. All
registered contractors will possess demonstrated knowledge
of the regulations and will have supplied procedures to
comply with them. The owner, consultant, and general
contractor must simply confirm a contractor's status on the
Cal/OSHA registry prior to performing lead work.
Regulatory coverage is currently triggered by expected
exposure (where lead is known to be present) and air
monitoring. The majority of contractors do not monitor
work-place air lead levels, however, which creates a
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significant gap in regulatory compliance. Registration
would close this gap in a cost-effective manner, as it
would ensure that contractors who are familiar with the
applicable regulations-and committed to following them-are
performing lead-related construction work.
In addition, the California Department of Public Health is
recommending lowering the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
for workers who are exposed to lead, which is measured by
air monitoring. This recommendation is a response to the
clear harm that flows from even low-level lead exposure.
Regardless of whether Cal-OSHA lowers the PEL, however,
without a registry, the lack of compliance will continue,
as those not performing air monitoring will continue to
flout the regulations governing lead-related construction
work.
[This bill] benefits workers who perform lead abatement
activities, lead abatement workers' families who face
incidental exposure, building owners who may be faced with
additional liability for failure to properly abate lead,
and building tenants and residents who may be exposed to
lead if abatement is performed improperly."
Similarly, the California State Council of Laborers states that
employers play a key role in worksite safety and are responsible
for the safety of their employees. They state that they take
great pride in partnering with their signatory employers to
better provide as much protection to workers as possible, and
this bill will establish a better method of identifying who is
performing these type of work activities throughout the state.
PRIOR RELATED LEGISLATION :
This bill is virtually identical to the introduced version of AB
354 (Ed Hern�ndez) of 2007. However, AB 354 was subsequently
amended to deal with the cremation of human remains and the
removal of pacemakers.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of Environmental Contractors
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
AB 1803
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California State Council of Laborers
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091