AN ACT Relating to licensing painters; creating a new chapter in Title 18 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Department" means the department of labor and industries;

(2) "Hazardous painting" means the application of a substance containing or combined with a toxic or hazardous substance, as defined by law in vaporized, liquid, or particulate form to create a coating that will adhere to a surface to protect or preserve the surface. "Hazardous painting" does not include the application of water-based paint that does not contain emulsion epoxies or isocyanates.

(3) "Professional painter" means a painting contractor, an employee of a painting contractor, or a person engaged in the business of painting, but does not include a casual laborer, a commercial artist, or a person who creates artworks.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) A person may not employ or contract with a professional painter to perform hazardous painting for compensation unless the painter holds a current valid hazardous painting certificate issued by the department. As a condition of employment, an employer may require a professional painter to provide a copy of the certificate. It is a defense to a violation of this subsection by an employer if the employer produces a copy of the painter's certificate and the employer reasonably believed the certificate was not falsified.

(2) A professional painter may not provide a falsified hazardous painting certificate to an employer or make a false statement to an employer regarding the painter's certification.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) An application for issuance of a hazardous painting certificate will be on a form prescribed by the department. An application for initial issuance of a certificate must include proof that the applicant completed an approved basic hazardous painting certificate program not more than thirty days before the application was received by the department. An application for certificate renewal must include proof that the applicant completed an approved supplemental hazardous painting certificate program not more than thirty days before the date the application was received by the department.

(2) The department shall issue a hazardous painting certificate to an applicant who has completed an application and submitted a certificate fee. A certificate is valid for three years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The director of labor and industries may establish the triennial fee for a hazardous painting certificate by rule. The fee must reflect the department's approximate costs or projected costs for the hazardous painting certification program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The department shall:

(a) Establish requirements for basic and supplemental hazardous painting certificate programs;

(b) Review, and approve or disapprove, programs proposed by contractors, labor organizations, public and private schools, vocational education institutions, and others;

(2) A basic hazardous painting certificate program must include instruction and written and practical testing in methods of ventilation, respirator selection, chemical reaction to body tissue, proper use of painting tools, knowledge of relevant health and safety laws and rules, including relevant portions of state occupational safety and health standards, and other appropriate subjects. A basic hazardous painting certificate program may not exceed sixteen hours of instruction and testing. A supplemental hazardous painting certificate program should include instruction and written and practical testing necessary to ensure that a person who completes the program will be knowledgeable about new developments and changes related to hazardous painting that have occurred since the person completed a basic hazardous painting certificate program.

(3) A hazardous painting certificate program conducted by an employer of a person enrolled in the program may include safety instruction required by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The department shall:

(1) Inspect job sites to assure that persons performing hazardous painting are certified as required under section 2 of this act and are performing the work safely;

(2) Issue citations to persons who employ or contract with a professional painter in violation of section 2 of this act; and

(3) Issue citations to professional painters who violate section 2 of this act regarding falsified certificates.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department may adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or that amount specified in RCW 9.92.030.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This chapter may be known and cited as the hazardous painting certification act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 18 RCW.