Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Labor & Workplace Standards Committee
HB 1542
Brief Description: Requiring automated external defibrillators to be available and accessible when work is being performed on high voltage lines and equipment.
Sponsors: Representatives Bronoske, Fosse, Berry, Hackney, Abbarno, Griffey, Walsh, Ortiz-Self, Taylor, Ramel, Simmons, Jacobsen, Schmidt, Graham, Ormsby, Pollet, Kloba, Doglio, Bateman, Macri, Leavitt and Timmons.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires an automated external defibrillator to be available and accessible when workers are operating, maintaining, or constructing high voltage lines and equipment or conducting line-clearance tree trimming in close proximity to high voltage lines and equipment.
Hearing Date: 1/31/23
Staff: Kelly Leonard (786-7147).
Background:

Washington Industrial Health and Safety Act.
Under the Washington Industrial Health and Safety Act (WISHA), the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) adopts rules and regulations of safety and health standards governing the conditions of employment in all work places.  L&I sets occupational health and safety standards that are at least as effective as the federal standards.  L&I also provides for appropriate reporting of working conditions, inspections, training, education, and compliance under WISHA.  L&I has the authority to inspect and investigate workplaces and can issue a citation if an employer has violated safety and health standards.

 

Current rules and regulations provide safety standards for the operation, maintenance, and construction of electric power generation, control, transformation, transmission, and distribution of electrical lines and equipment, as well as line-clearance tree-trimming.  Among other requirements, persons trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) must be available when employees are performing work on or associated with exposed lines or equipment energized at 50 volts or more.  The number of trained employees that must be available varies depending on the number of employees, the type of work site or location, and the type of work being performed.  Employers must also provide, maintain, and inspect first aid kits and supplies.


Automated External Defibrillators.
A person can experience an electrical injury when coming into direct contact with electrical current.  In some cases, coming into contact with electrical current can cause sudden cardiac arrest.  Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when ventricular fibrillation takes place or when the heart stops beating altogether.  Without medical attention, the victim collapses, loses consciousness, becomes unresponsive, and dies.  An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a medical device designed to analyze the heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to restore a person's heart rhythm to normal.
Summary of Bill:

Employers with employees who operate, maintain, or construct high voltage lines and equipment or who conduct line-clearance tree-trimming in close proximity to high voltage lines and equipment must comply with certain requirements pertaining to AEDs.  "High voltage lines and equipment" refers to any energized communication line, electric supply line, or equipment with a voltage of 601 or greater.


An employer must make an AED available and accessible to employees when work is being performed on, or in close proximity to, high voltage lines and equipment by two or more employees, and must conduct regular maintenance and annual inspections of the AED to ensure operability and availability.


The employer must provide training or facilitate the provision of training to ensure there are at least two employees proficient on the proper and safe use of the AED at any site involving work on, or in close proximity to, high voltage lines and equipment.  To be considered proficient, an employee must have completed initial or updated training within the previous two years.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 30, 2023.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on January 1, 2024.