H-0026.2 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1425
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Representatives Morris, Brumsickle, Sheldon, Springer, Ogden, Riley and Rayburn
Read first time 01/27/93. Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.
AN ACT Relating to health and safety standards for residential construction; amending RCW 49.17.050; and adding a new section to chapter 49.17 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 49.17.050 and 1973 c 80 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
In the adoption of rules ((and regulations))
under the authority of this chapter, the director shall:
(1) Provide for the preparation, adoption,
amendment, or repeal of rules ((and regulations)) of safety and health
standards governing the conditions of employment of general and special
application in all work places;
(2) Provide for the adoption of occupational health and safety standards which are at least as effective as those adopted or recognized by the United States secretary of labor under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-596; 84 Stat. 1590);
(3) Provide a method of encouraging employers and employees in their efforts to reduce the number of safety and health hazards at their work places and to stimulate employers and employees to institute new and to perfect existing programs for providing safe and healthful working conditions;
(4) Provide for the ((promulgation)) adoption
of health and safety standards and the control of conditions in all work places
concerning gases, vapors, dust, or other airborne particles, toxic materials,
or harmful physical agents which shall set a standard which most adequately
assures, to the extent feasible, on the basis of the best available evidence,
that no employee will suffer material impairment of health or functional
capacity even if such employee has regular exposure to the hazard dealt with by
such standard for the period of his or her working life; any such
standards shall require where appropriate the use of protective devices or
equipment and for monitoring or measuring any such gases, vapors, dust, or
other airborne particles, toxic materials, or harmful physical agents;
(5) Provide for appropriate reporting procedures by employers with respect to such information relating to conditions of employment which will assist in achieving the objectives of this chapter;
(6) Provide for the frequency, method, and
manner of the making of inspections of work places without advance notice; ((and,))
(7) Provide for the publication and dissemination to employers, employees, and labor organizations and the posting where appropriate by employers of informational, education, or training materials calculated to aid and assist in achieving the objectives of this chapter;
(8) Provide for the establishment of new and
the perfection and expansion of existing programs for occupational safety and
health education for employers and employees, and, in addition institute
methods and procedures for the establishment of a program for voluntary
compliance solely through the use of advice and consultation with employers and
employees with recommendations including recommendations of methods to abate
violations relating to the requirements of this chapter and all applicable
safety and health standards and rules ((and regulations promulgated pursuant
to the authority of)) adopted under this chapter;
(9) Provide for the adoption of safety and health standards requiring the use of safeguards in trenches and excavations and around openings of hoistways, hatchways, elevators, stairways, and similar openings;
(10) Provide for the ((promulgation)) adoption
of health and safety standards requiring the use of safeguards for all vats,
pans, trimmers, cut off, gang edger, and other saws, planers, presses, formers,
cogs, gearing, belting, shafting, coupling, set screws, live rollers,
conveyors, mangles in laundries, and machinery of similar description, which
can be effectively guarded with due regard to the ordinary use of such
machinery and appliances and the danger to employees therefrom, and with which
the employees of any such work place may come in contact while in the
performance of their duties and prescribe methods, practices, or processes to
be followed by employers which will enhance the health and safety of employees
in the performance of their duties when in proximity to machinery or appliances
mentioned in this subsection;
(11) Provide for the adoption of health and safety standards for residential construction with due regard for the practical application of the standards to the residential construction industry. For the purposes of this subsection, "residential construction" means the construction of a building intended for use as a separate single-family dwelling.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW to read as follows:
In adopting the standards required under RCW 49.17.050(11), the department shall consult with an advisory committee established by the department on residential construction safety and health standards. The advisory committee shall consist of no more than nine members: One member shall represent the department; at least four members shall represent the residential construction industry; and at least three members shall represent the building and construction trades, with at least two members representing workers from organized labor and at least one member representing workers not from organized labor. The department shall adopt initial rules no later than July 1, 1994. Thereafter, the department may review and revise the rules under its authority under RCW 49.17.040. The advisory committee shall expire on adoption of the initial rules, unless the committee is continued by the department.
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