5412-S

AN ACT Relating to the education and certification of paint or coating applicators; adding a new chapter to Title 18 RCW; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that materials inherent to the application and removal of paint and coatings present potential dangers to the environment, the public, and workers using the materials and that the dangers can be substantially reduced or eliminated through proper education and training of workers handling the materials.

The legislature further finds that substantial benefits including reduction in air, land, and water pollution, reductions in health risks to the general public and improved workplace safety can be obtained at minimal cost by the training; and, that the public has a right to certainty that workers handling the common potentially hazardous materials are properly and thoroughly trained.

It is the intent of the legislature that every effort be made to combine training requirements applicable to the application of paint and coating materials from all departments of state government in order to consolidate and reduce the regulatory burden and reduce the associated costs to the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Commission" means the commission appointed by the governor to develop a program to educate, test, and certify paint or coating applicators. The commission shall also advise the department on the application and administration of any regulations applicable to the paint and coating application industry as may be required by federal or state legislative or regulatory actions.

(2) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.

(3) "Director" means the director of the department or his or her designee.

(4) "Paint or coating application" means the application of a substance in atomized, liquid, or particulate form that will adhere to or coat a surface and generally protect or preserve the surface, or the removal of paint or coatings. For the purposes of this chapter, paint and coating application includes applying or removing paints, pigments, extenders, metal primers and metal pigments, clear pigments, binders, thinners, and dryers, primers and sealers, oil paints and enamels, clear coatings, oils, stains, varnishes, lacquers, polyurethanes, chemical and epoxy coatings, emulsions, acrylic coatings, industrial coatings, and other materials commonly used in the paint and coating trade, preparation of surfaces to which paint or coatings will be applied or removed, and cleanup work in connection with painting.

(5) "Paint or coating applicator" means a person directly engaged in painting or coating application, removal, or treatment of painted or coated surfaces for compensation, including those employees directly supervising such employees. For the purposes of this chapter, paint or coating applicator means a person who offers paint or coating application or removal as his or her primary business activity or whose job description or employment activity is primarily that of paint or coating application or removal. A person primarily engaged in roofing, printing, or the application of cosmetics is not considered a paint or coating applicator for the purpose of this chapter. A person engaged in the buying, selling, or leasing of industrial equipment, including agricultural, logging, or construction equipment, or a self-employed house painter who is twenty-five years of age or younger is not considered a paint or coating applicator for the purpose of this chapter and is exempted from the requirements of this chapter.

(6) "Employer" means a natural person, corporation, trust, unincorporated association or partnership that hires paint or coating applicators, contracts to provide painting services to other persons, or both. An employer engaged in the buying, selling, or leasing of industrial equipment, including agricultural, logging, or construction equipment is exempted from the requirements of this chapter.

(7) Employers of twenty-five thousand persons or more are presumed to have existing training programs at least equivalent to those which may be required under this chapter and are excluded from the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The commission shall develop and the department shall adopt a program to educate, test, and certify paint and coating applicators in handling hazardous materials applicable to paint or coating application. The program shall include:

(1) A certification application form;

(2) Standards for certifying, recertifying, and temporary certification;

(3) Rules for revoking a certification;

(4) A definition of the relationship of training programs to the certification program;

(5) Notification procedures to ensure that painting and coating applicators and employers are notified in a timely manner of the requirements of this chapter; and

(6) Provisions for certification for persons who engage solely in a subspecialty of painting and coating application or removal.

A paint or coating applicator shall obtain a certification issued by the department after completing an approved training program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A paint or coating applicator's course of education shall include an understanding of materials applied, removed, or treated as they affect the applicator, the workers around the applicator, the general public, and the environment; methods of preparation, handling, and knowledge of the equipment used in painting or coating; and understanding of all pertinent federal and state safety laws and administrative rules.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The commission shall comprise nine members:

(1) Three from organizations or associations whose primary purpose is to represent employers of paint or coating applicators. Every effort shall be made to ensure that at least one member in this category represents employers of ten or fewer paint or coating applicators on an annual full-time equivalent basis;

(2) Three from organizations or associations whose primary purpose is to represent paint or coating applicators;

(3) Two representing the painting or coating industry at large; and

(4) One representing the consumer.

The governor shall appoint the consumer representative to a three-year term, and the three paint or coating employee representatives and the three paint or coating employer representatives to one, two, and three year terms respectively. One at-large industry representative shall be appointed to a one-year term, and the other to a two-year term. Subsequent employee, employer, and at-large representatives shall serve for three years each. The governor shall consider recommendations from paint or coating organizations or associations whose primary purpose is to represent paint or coating employees and employers. The governor shall strive to make the commission appointments reflect the demographics of the state and reflect the make-up of the paint and coating industry. The director or the director's designee shall serve on the commission as an ex officio, nonvoting member. Each member of the commission shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 for each day in which the member is actually engaged in the business of the commission. The department shall provide staff support to the commission.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The department shall certify as meeting the requirements of this chapter, training programs of an employer or organization, that meet or exceed the standards established under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The department shall charge fees for training and issuance, renewal, and reinstatement of all certifications and examinations required by this chapter. The department shall set the fees by rule. The fees shall cover the full cost of administering and enforcing this chapter and shall include travel, per diem, and administrative support costs.

(2) The department shall by rule adopt an interim certification program. The program shall require all paint or coating applicators to possess an interim certificate by January 1, 1994. The fee for the interim certificate shall be adopted by rule by the department at no more than twenty-five dollars. The interim certificate shall be valid for one year after the date the department adopts rules to create the program under section 3 of this act.

(3) After January 1, 1994, a licensed contractor or corporation shall not employ a paint or coating applicator who does not possess an interim certificate created under subsection (2) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Authorized representatives of the department shall investigate alleged or apparent violations of this chapter and upon presentation of credentials may inspect a worksite for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter. The department shall also promptly investigate alleged violations of this chapter based on a written complaint. The department shall notify the complainant, in writing, within sixty days of the action taken on all the complaints.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Each day in which a paint or coating applicator works without a valid certification is a separate infraction. Each worksite at which a painting or coating applicator works in violation of this chapter is a separate infraction. Each day in which an employer employs such person is a separate infraction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. An authorized representative of the department may issue a notice of an infraction if a person who is doing paint or coating application or removal fails to produce a certification issued by the department in accordance with this chapter. A notice of an infraction issued under this section must be personally served on the person named in the notice by an authorized representative of the department. However, no penalties may be assessed for notices of infraction issued for one year after the adoption of rules under section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The department shall establish monetary penalties for employee infractions, with the advice of the commission, not less than:

(1) For the first offense, a sum of two hundred fifty dollars;

(2) For the second offense, a sum of five hundred dollars;

(3) For the third offense and subsequent offenses, a sum of one thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The department shall establish monetary penalties for employer infractions, with the advice of the commission, not less than:

(1) For the first offense, a sum of two hundred fifty dollars;

(2) For the second offense, a sum of five hundred dollars;

(3) For the third offense and subsequent offenses, a sum of one thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. An appeal by an employee or employer of a penalty set out in either section 11 or 12 of this act shall consist of an adjudicative proceeding set out in chapter 34.05 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The paint and coating applicators account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from fees and fines collected by the department under the authority of this chapter shall be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purposes of the commission and other expenditures approved by the director or the director's designee. Only the director or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 2 through 14 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 18 RCW.