TCE Remember The 15 Bill

Remember The 15 Bill

By: ____________________ __.B. No. _____
Substitute the following for __.B. No. _____:
By: ____________________ C.S.__.B. No. _____

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT 1
relating to the creation of a state occupational health and safety 2
plan; establishing a maintenance tax. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 4
SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Labor Code, is amended by adding 5
Subchapter I to read as follows: 6
SUBCHAPTER I. STATE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PLAN 7
Sec. 411.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 8
(1) "Employee" means an individual employed by an 9
employer. 10
(2) "Employer" means a person that employs one or more 11
individuals. The term does not include the state, a political 12
subdivision of the state, or another governmental entity in this 13
state. 14
Sec. 411.152. STATE PLAN. The commissioner shall develop a 15
state plan relating to state enforcement of occupational health and 16
safety standards. The state plan must comply with federal approval 17
requirements under Section 18, Occupational Safety and Health Act 18
of 1970 (29 U.S.C. Section 667). Standards adopted by the 19
commissioner under the state plan may not be more stringent than 20
the standards adopted by the United States Department of Labor. 21

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Sec. 411.153. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER AND 1
DIVISION. (a) The department, through the division, is the state 2
agency generally charged with implementation and enforcement of 3
state laws and administrative rules relating to the protection of 4
the life, health, and safety of persons at their places of 5
employment. The division may obtain information from any 6
appropriate source, including employers, that relates to 7
occupational health and safety issues. 8
(b) The division may conduct inspections of places of 9
employment at reasonable times as necessary to implement this 10
subchapter. 11
(c) The division shall: 12
(1) gather, maintain, and publish statistical 13
information relating to occupational health and safety programs 14
operated by other states in order to obtain data for an ongoing 15
comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs 16
operated in this state; 17
(2) design and conduct research relating to the 18
prevention of job-related injuries and occupational disease; 19
(3) publish the results of its research; 20
(4) consult with employers regarding compliance with 21
state or federal occupational safety laws, rules, or agreements; 22
(5) develop programs designed to reduce job–related 23
injuries and occupational disease for use by employers, employees, 24
and other interested parties; and 25

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(6) collect information relating to occupational safety 1
as required by state or federal laws, rules, or agreements. 2
(d) The commissioner may adopt rules and prescribe forms as 3
necessary to implement this subchapter. 4
(e) The division may charge fees for its publications and for 5
seminars and training programs offered by the division. The 6
commissioner shall set the fees in amounts reasonable and necessary 7
to cover administrative costs. 8
Sec. 411.154. EMPLOYER CLASSIFICATIONS; CONSULTATIONS. (a) 9
The division shall collect and compile information relating to the 10
job-related accident experience of each employer, including: 11
(1) the frequency of accidents; 12
(2) the existence and implementation of private safety 13
programs by the employer; 14
(3) man-hour losses due to employee injuries; and 15
(4) other factors considered relevant by the division. 16
(b) Based on the compiled information, the division shall: 17
(1) classify employers as necessary and appropriate to 18
assist employers in providing safe and healthful conditions of 19
employment; and 20
(2) identify hazardous occupations. 21
(c) On the written request of an employer, the division may 22
consult with and advise the employer or the employer's 23
representative regarding the improvement of the employer's accident 24
frequency rate and the elimination or reduction of impediments to 25

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occupational health and safety at the employer's place of business. 1
Sec. 411.155. TASK FORCE ON CERTAIN HIGH-RISK WORKSITES. (a) 2
The commissioner shall establish within the division a task force 3
to identify and inspect high-risk worksites at facilities primarily 4
engaged in the manufacture or distribution of products or 5
materials: 6
(1) identified as known or probable carcinogens; or 7
(2) with known or recognizable flammable or explosive 8
properties. 9
(b) The task force shall inspect facilities described by 10
Subsection (a) as necessary to determine that the facilities: 11
(1) comply with process safety standards; 12
(2) conform to established safety standards in the 13
applicable industry; and 14
(3) operate within all guidelines, rules, and 15
regulations established by the Texas Commission on Environmental 16
Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, and any other state 17
or federal agency involved in the monitoring or regulation of 18
environmental standards. 19
(c) The task force shall oversee monitoring programs 20
established to require facilities described by Subsection (a) to be 21
inspected with proper detection devices for any leaks of materials 22
described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2). Each facility shall report 23
to the task force the number of open vent systems, whether open-to-24
the-atmosphere relief valves or other open vent systems, such as 25

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blow down drums. The task force may require that all relief 1
systems involving heavier-than-air emissions be: 2
(1) modified over a five-year phasing-in period to a 3
closed system; or 4
(2) located in a manner approved by the task force that 5
considers the proximity of the system to the workforce and 6
equipment. 7
Sec. 411.156. FUNDING; MAINTENANCE TAX. (a) The 8
occupational health and safety plan adopted under this subchapter 9
is funded through the assessment of an annual maintenance tax 10
collected from each stock insurance company, mutual insurance 11
company, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, and Lloyd's plan 12
that writes workers' compensation insurance in this state. The 13
commissioner of insurance shall set the rate of the maintenance tax 14
in an amount not to exceed one percent of the correctly reported 15
gross workers' compensation insurance premiums of those insurers as 16
reported to the department under Subtitle E, Title 10, Insurance 17
Code. The commissioner of insurance shall set the rate of 18
assessment each year to produce the amount of funds that the 19
commissioner estimates will be necessary to operate the 20
occupational health and safety plan. The tax assessed under this 21
section is in addition to all other taxes imposed on those insurers 22
for workers' compensation purposes and shall be paid to the 23
department at the same time that the insurers pay the maintenance 24
tax imposed under Chapter 255, Insurance Code. 25

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(b) The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules as 1
necessary relating to the assessment and collection of the 2
maintenance tax imposed under Subsection (a). 3
(c) The department shall remit all funds received under this 4
section to the comptroller for deposit in the state treasury to the 5
credit of the general revenue fund. 6
Sec. 411.157. GENERAL DUTIES OF EMPLOYER AND WORKSITE OWNER. 7
(a) Each employer shall furnish and maintain a safe and healthful 8
employee work environment. The employer shall install, maintain, 9
and use those methods, processes, devices, and safeguards as are 10
necessary to protect the life, health, and safety of employees. 11
(b) Each employer and worksite owner shall report to the 12
division in the manner prescribed by the rules of the commissioner 13
information relating to personal injuries, fatalities, accidents, 14
and other occupational health and safety issues related to the 15
employer's place of business or the worksite, as applicable. The 16
employer and worksite owner shall report on forms prescribed by and 17
covering time periods designated by the commissioner. 18
Sec. 411.158. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS OR WORKSITE OWNERS 19
THAT OPERATE REFINERIES OR CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING FACILITIES. (a) 20
A refinery or chemical facility unit startup or planned shutdown 21
may be initiated only after provision of 48 hours' advance written 22
notice to the division and to all employees working within 1,000 23
feet of the unit. An employer may not allow any nonessential 24
employees within 1,000 feet of a unit at any time during the 25

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startup process of the unit. 1
(b) The division shall require each employer in the refinery 2
or chemical manufacturing industry to implement standardized 3
competency testing of all employees charged with control operations 4
or immediate oversight of those operations. The competency testing 5
shall be performed at least annually, and copies of the tests shall 6
be retained by the employer for the duration of the employee's 7
employment. 8
Sec. 411.159. REQUIRED PERMITS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY 9
STRUCTURES. (a) Temporary housing or other temporary buildings to 10
be located on premises identified as a high-risk worksite under 11
Section 411.155 may not be constructed or erected without a permit 12
issued by the division approving the structure and location. 13
(b) An employer or worksite owner that operates a facility 14
identified as a high-risk worksite must apply to the division for 15
the necessary permit. The division may not approve a permit for a 16
structure intended to be used as temporary housing for occupancy by 17
employees that is to be located within 1,000 feet of a process unit 18
or storage facility that contains flammable or explosive materials. 19
SECTION 2. Section 502.003, Health and Safety Code, is 20
amended by adding Subdivision (4-a) and amending Subdivision (8) to 21
read as follows: 22
(4-a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of workers' 23
compensation. 24
(8) "Division" means the division of workers' 25

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