Bill Text: CA AB73 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 73 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Health emergencies: employment safety: agricultural workers: wildfire smoke.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 322, Statutes of 2021. [AB73 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB73-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 73

CHAPTER 322

An act to amend Section 131021 of the Health and Safety Code, and to add Part 12 (commencing with Section 9110) to Division 5 of the Labor Code, relating to employment safety, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Approved by Governor September 27, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State September 27, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 73, Robert Rivas. Health emergencies: employment safety: agricultural workers: wildfire smoke.

(1) Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health (department) to implement various programs throughout the state relating to public health, including licensing and regulating health facilities and control of infectious diseases. Existing law requires the department and the Office of Emergency Services, in coordination with other state agencies, to, upon appropriation and as necessary, establish a personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile. Existing law requires the department to establish guidelines for the procurement, management, and distribution of PPE, taking into account, among other things, the amount of each type of PPE that would be required for all health care workers and essential workers, as defined, in the state during a 90-day pandemic or other health emergency.

This bill would specifically include wildfire smoke events among health emergencies for these purposes. The bill would include agricultural workers, as defined, in the definition of essential workers.

Existing law also establishes the Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee (committee), consisting of representatives from, among other groups, an association representing skilled nursing facilities, a statewide association representing physicians, 2 representatives of labor organizations that represent health care workers, and 2 representatives of labor organizations that represent essential workers, as defined, to make recommendations to the department for the development of guidelines for the procurement, management, and distribution of PPE, as specified.

This bill would require the committee to include a representative of a labor organization representing agricultural workers and a representative of an organization that represents agricultural employers. The bill would also require the department to report to the Legislature regarding the PPE stockpile within 6 months of the effective date of these provisions.

(2) Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations and sets forth their powers and duties relating to the adoption of health and safety standards for workers. Under existing law, certain violations of a standard, order, or special order pursuant to these provisions are crimes.

Existing regulations of the division protect employees exposed to wildfire smoke and include control by respiratory protective equipment among the methods to control harmful exposure.

This bill would require the division to review and update the contents of the protection from wildfire smoke training and thereafter post it on its internet website. The bill would require that training provided by the employer is required to be in a language and manner readily understandable by employees, taking into account their ethnic and cultural backgrounds and education levels, including the use of pictograms, as necessary.

Because a violation of certain safety and health standards or orders constitutes a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 131021 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

131021.

(a) The Legislature finds that having access to a statewide stockpile of personal protective equipment in the event of a pandemic, wildfire smoke event, or other health emergency is vital to the health and safety of its health care and essential workers, as well as the general population, which both relies on this workforce and is susceptible to disease transmission should members of this workforce needlessly be infected with transmissible disease.

(b) The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:

(1) “Department” means the State Department of Public Health.

(2) “Office” means the Office of Emergency Services.

(3) “Agricultural worker” means a person employed in any of the following:

(A) An agricultural occupation, as defined in Wage Order No. 14 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(B) An industry preparing agricultural products for the market, on the farm, as defined in Wage Order No. 13 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(4) “Essential workers” means primary and secondary school workers, workers at detention facilities, as defined in Section 9500 of the Penal Code, in-home support providers, childcare providers, government workers whose work with the public continues throughout the crisis, and workers in other positions that the State Public Health Officer or the Director of the Office of Emergency Services deems vital to public health and safety, as well as economic and national security, including, but not limited to, agricultural workers.

(5) “Health care worker” means any worker who provides direct patient care and services directly supporting patient care, including, but not limited, to physicians, pharmacists, clinicians, nurses, aides, technicians, janitorial and housekeeping staff, food services workers, and nonmanagerial administrative staff.

(6) “Personal protective equipment” or “PPE” means protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, including, but not limited to, N95 and other filtering facepiece respirators, elastomeric air-purifying respirators with appropriate particulate filters or cartridges, powered air purifying respirators, disinfecting and sterilizing devices and supplies, medical gowns and apparel, face masks, surgical masks, face shields, gloves, shoe coverings, and the equipment identified by or otherwise necessary to comply with Section 5199 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(7) “Provider” means a licensed clinic, as described in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200), an outpatient setting, as described in Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 1248) of, a health facility as described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of, or a county medical facility, as described in Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of, Division 2, a home health agency, a physician’s office, a professional medical corporation, a medical partnership, a medical foundation, a rural health clinic, as defined in Section 1395x(aa)(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code, or a federally qualified health center, as defined in Section 1395x(aa)(4) of Title 42 of the United States Code, and any other entity that provides medical services in California.

(8) “Stockpile” means the personal protective equipment stockpile created pursuant to subdivision (c).

(c) Within one year of the effective date of this section, the department and office, in coordination with other state agencies, shall establish a PPE stockpile, upon appropriation and as necessary.

(d) The department shall also establish guidelines for procurement, management, and distribution of PPE from the department. The department and office shall consider the recommendations of the Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee created pursuant to subdivision (f) in developing these guidelines. At a minimum, the guidelines shall take into account all of the following:

(1) The various types of PPE that may be required during a pandemic or other health emergency, including, but not limited to, wildfire smoke events.

(2) The shelf life of each type of PPE that may be obtained from the department and how to restock a portion of each type of PPE to ensure the procurements consist of unexpired PPE.

(3) The amount of each type of PPE that would be required for all health care workers and essential workers in the state during a 90-day pandemic or other health emergency, including, but not limited to, wildfire smoke events.

(4) Lessons learned from previous pandemics and state emergencies, including, but not limited to, supply procurement, management, and distribution.

(5) Guidance on how to define essential workers based upon different hazards.

(6) Geographical distribution of PPE storage.

(7) Guidance on how to establish policies and standards for PPE surge capacity to ensure that workers have access to an adequate supply of PPE during a pandemic or other health emergency, including, but not limited to, wildfire smoke events.

(8) The policies and funding that would be required for the state to establish a PPE stockpile.

(9) How distribution from any procurement shall be prioritized in the event that there is insufficient PPE to meet the needs of providers or employers of essential workers, including consideration of the following:

(A) The provider or employer is in a location with a high share of low-income residents.

(B) The provider or employer is in a medically underserved area, as designated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

(C) The provider or employer disproportionately serves a medically underserved population, as designated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.

(D) The provider or employer is in a county with a high infection rate or high hospitalization rate related to the declared emergency.

(e) The development of the guidelines shall be informed by the recommendations of the Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee pursuant to subdivision (f). The guidelines shall not establish policies or standards that are less protective or prescriptive than any federal, state, or local law on PPE standards.

(f) The Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee is hereby established. The advisory committee shall consist of the following:

(1) One representative of an association representing multiple types of hospitals and health systems.

(2) One representative of an association representing skilled nursing facilities.

(3) One representative of an association representing primary care clinics.

(4) One representative of a statewide association representing physicians.

(5) Two representatives of labor organizations that represent health care workers.

(6) Two representatives of labor organizations that represent nonagricultural essential workers, as defined by paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).

(7) One representative of a labor organization that represents agricultural workers, as defined by paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).

(8) One representative of an organization that represents agricultural employers.

(9) One representative from the personal protective equipment manufacturing industry.

(10) One consumer representative.

(11) One representative from an association representing counties.

(12) One representative from the State Department of Public Health.

(13) One representative from the Office of Emergency Services.

(14) One representative from the Emergency Medical Services Authority.

(15) One representative from the State Department of Social Services.

(g) The Director of the Office of Emergency Services or their designee shall appoint the representatives from paragraphs (1) through (11), inclusive, of subdivision (f).

(h) The Personal Protective Equipment Advisory Committee shall make recommendations to the office and department necessary to develop the guidelines required pursuant to subdivision (d).

(i) Nothing in this section alters an employer’s duty to provide respirators as required by Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(j) The department shall report to the Legislature, within six months of the effective date of the amendments to this section made by the act adding this subdivision, with regard to the amount of PPE in the stockpile, the amount of PPE from the stockpile that has been used, and the amount of anticipated future usage. The report shall be made pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.

Part 12 (commencing with Section 9110) is added to Division 5 of the Labor Code, to read:

PART 12. Agricultural Workers

9110.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Agricultural employee” means a person employed in any of the following:

(A) An agricultural occupation, as defined in Wage Order No. 14 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(B) An industry preparing agricultural products for the market, on the farm, as defined in Wage Order No. 13 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(2) “Board” means the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board.

(3) “Wildfire smoke” means emissions from fires in “wildlands,” as defined in Section 3402 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, or in adjacent developed areas.

(b) The division shall review and update the content of the training prescribed in Section 5141.1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, and shall thereafter post it on its internet website.

(c) The training provided by the employer is required to be in a language and manner readily understandable by employees, taking into account their ethnic and cultural backgrounds and education levels, including the use of pictograms, as necessary.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 4.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to protect the health and safety of essential agricultural workers from smoke inhalation during what has become an extended wildfire season, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.