On January 29, Associate Director of Policy Karrington Anderson testified before the Finance Committee in support of SB 26 – Labor and Employment – Occupational Safety and Health – Revisions (Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act) with amendments.
This bill establishes the Public Employees’ Safety and Health Unit in Division of Labor and Industry to administer and enforce certain duties regarding the oversight of certain public bodies, including local governments. Counties are concerned that the bill is, in some areas, too prescriptive and duplicative, and offer amendments to remedy those concerns.
Existing federal and state regulations under OSHA and MOSH already require public bodies to maintain accurate records of workplace safety information, making this additional requirement under SB 26 redundant. The mandate to submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner would create administrative inefficiencies and increase costs for local governments without providing any added value or benefit to workplace safety.
Counties request that provisions be added to provide flexibility in how local governments communicate workplace safety information to employees. While emailing reports and citations ensures accessibility for employees with departmental email accounts, not all public employees have such accounts, and setting them up for every employee would result in substantial costs and the use of already strained personnel resources.
SB 26’s cross-file, HB 176, was heard on February 18 in the House Appropriations Committee. Karrington Anderson testified in support of this bill with amendments.
HB 176 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Finance Committee, on March 25. As amended, MACo submitted a letter of information on the bill.
SB 26 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Appropriations Committee, on March 26. MACo submitted written testimony in support of this bill with amendments.
More on MACo’s Advocacy:
