CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2243Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia(Coauthors: Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Robert Rivas)(Coauthor: Senator Stern)February 16, 2022 An act to amend Section 6721 of the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 2243, as introduced, Eduardo Garcia. Occupational safety and health standards: heat illness: wildfire smoke. Existing law grants the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which is within the Department of Industrial Relations, jurisdiction over all employment and places of employment, with the power necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (OSHA), requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, as specified, and charges the division with enforcement of the act. Under OSHA, certain knowing, negligent, or willful violations of safety and health standards are punishable as a misdemeanor. The existing Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard provides for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees in outdoor places of employment, as prescribed. There is also an existing standard for workplace protection from wildfire smoke.This bill would require the division, before January 1, 2024, to submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the heat illness standard to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, as prescribed. The bill would similarly require a rulemaking proposal to revise the wildfire smoke standard to reduce the existing air quality index threshold for PM2.5 particulate matter at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory. The bill would require the standards board to review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.Because this bill would require the adoption of additional safety standards, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 6721 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2243Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia(Coauthors: Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Robert Rivas)(Coauthor: Senator Stern)February 16, 2022 An act to amend Section 6721 of the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 2243, as introduced, Eduardo Garcia. Occupational safety and health standards: heat illness: wildfire smoke. Existing law grants the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which is within the Department of Industrial Relations, jurisdiction over all employment and places of employment, with the power necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (OSHA), requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, as specified, and charges the division with enforcement of the act. Under OSHA, certain knowing, negligent, or willful violations of safety and health standards are punishable as a misdemeanor. The existing Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard provides for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees in outdoor places of employment, as prescribed. There is also an existing standard for workplace protection from wildfire smoke.This bill would require the division, before January 1, 2024, to submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the heat illness standard to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, as prescribed. The bill would similarly require a rulemaking proposal to revise the wildfire smoke standard to reduce the existing air quality index threshold for PM2.5 particulate matter at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory. The bill would require the standards board to review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.Because this bill would require the adoption of additional safety standards, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2243
Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia(Coauthors: Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Robert Rivas)(Coauthor: Senator Stern)February 16, 2022
Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia(Coauthors: Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Robert Rivas)(Coauthor: Senator Stern)
February 16, 2022
An act to amend Section 6721 of the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety and health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2243, as introduced, Eduardo Garcia. Occupational safety and health standards: heat illness: wildfire smoke.
Existing law grants the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which is within the Department of Industrial Relations, jurisdiction over all employment and places of employment, with the power necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (OSHA), requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, as specified, and charges the division with enforcement of the act. Under OSHA, certain knowing, negligent, or willful violations of safety and health standards are punishable as a misdemeanor. The existing Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard provides for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees in outdoor places of employment, as prescribed. There is also an existing standard for workplace protection from wildfire smoke.This bill would require the division, before January 1, 2024, to submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the heat illness standard to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, as prescribed. The bill would similarly require a rulemaking proposal to revise the wildfire smoke standard to reduce the existing air quality index threshold for PM2.5 particulate matter at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory. The bill would require the standards board to review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.Because this bill would require the adoption of additional safety standards, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law grants the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which is within the Department of Industrial Relations, jurisdiction over all employment and places of employment, with the power necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (OSHA), requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, as specified, and charges the division with enforcement of the act. Under OSHA, certain knowing, negligent, or willful violations of safety and health standards are punishable as a misdemeanor. The existing Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard provides for the prevention of heat-related illness of employees in outdoor places of employment, as prescribed. There is also an existing standard for workplace protection from wildfire smoke.
This bill would require the division, before January 1, 2024, to submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the heat illness standard to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, as prescribed. The bill would similarly require a rulemaking proposal to revise the wildfire smoke standard to reduce the existing air quality index threshold for PM2.5 particulate matter at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory. The bill would require the standards board to review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.
Because this bill would require the adoption of additional safety standards, the violation of which would be a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. Section 6721 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 6721 of the Labor Code is amended to read:6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
SECTION 1. Section 6721 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
### SECTION 1.
6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.(d) As used in this section:(1) AQI means air quality index.(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
6721. (a) The heat illness prevention standards set forth in Section 3395 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations shall be known, and may be cited, as the Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez heat illness standard.
(b) The division, before January 1, 2024, shall submit to the standards board a rulemaking proposal to revise the following:
(1) The heat illness standard in subdivision (a), to include an ultrahigh heat standard for employees in outdoor places of employment for heat in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. The ultrahigh heat standard shall include additional mandatory work breaks every hour, accessible cool water, shade structures that include cooling features such as misters, and increased employer monitoring of employees for symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
(2) The wildfire smoke standards set forth in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, to reduce the AQI threshold for PM2.5 at which control by respiratory protective equipment becomes mandatory to, at a maximum, an AQI of 200 or more. The proposed threshold may be lower than 200 AQI or more, as determined by the division.
(c) The standards board shall review the proposed changes and adopt revised standards before July 1, 2024.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) AQI means air quality index.
(2) PM2.5 means solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in air, known as particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
### SEC. 2.