‘An Act To Protect State Workers from Exposure to Harmful Substances’
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §1742-G is enacted to read:
§ 1742-G. Bureau of General Services; inventory of asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health in state-owned and state-leased buildings
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Bureau" means the Bureau of General Services within the department.
B. "Department" means the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
C. "State-owned building" means a building owned by the State in which persons employed by a state agency perform job duties, including, but not limited to, maintenance and repair work.
2. Initial inventory. The bureau shall inventory all state-owned buildings to identify the presence of asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health. The department shall require property owners of buildings leased to the State to conduct a similar inventory and provide the results of the inventory to the bureau prior to executing a new lease or renewing or extending an existing lease and, with respect to a lease that on the effective date of this subsection has a remaining term of more than 2 years, within 12 months of the effective date of this subsection. The bureau shall enter the results of the inventories into the database established and maintained by the bureau pursuant to subsection 3.
3. Database. The bureau shall keep and maintain an electronic database including, for each state-owned building or state-leased building:
A. The results of the inventories completed by the bureau and by the property owners of state-leased buildings pursuant to subsection 2;
B. Detailed plans for the remediation, abatement or containment of asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health found in state-owned buildings and state-leased buildings; and
C. Data on the completion of planned remediation, abatement or containment.
4. Access to database. The database kept and maintained pursuant to subsection 3 must be readily accessible electronically to:
A. Collective bargaining agents of employees who work in state-owned buildings or state-leased buildings;
B. State employees whose usual work site is a state-owned building or state-leased building that contains asbestos, lead, black mold or other substances that may be harmful to human health;
C. Individuals who perform maintenance, repair and custodial services in state-owned buildings or state-leased buildings;
D. Firefighters responsible for providing services to a state-owned building or state-leased building;
E. The Department of Labor;
F. The Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and
G. Members of the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters.
5. Building maintenance or repair. Prior to any maintenance or repair of a state-owned building by a person employed by a state agency, the bureau shall review the building's records in the database kept and maintained pursuant to subsection 3 or inventory the building if the building has not already been inventoried pursuant to subsection 2 and add the results of the inventory into the database established and maintained pursuant to subsection 3. If asbestos, lead, black mold or other substances that may be harmful to human health are found in the state-owned building to be maintained or repaired by a person employed by a state agency, the bureau shall inform the person performing the maintenance or repair work and provide appropriate protective gear.
6. Monitoring, abatement and remediation. To promote a safe and healthy environment in state-owned buildings, the bureau's division of safety and environmental services shall:
A. Provide statewide monitoring of state-owned buildings to continuously identify the presence of health hazards in the buildings, including, but not limited to, asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health;
B. Conduct routine building inventories and testing as appropriate to discover and assess the presence of health hazards in state-owned buildings, including, but not limited to, asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health;
C. Identify any abatement, remediation, containment and maintenance necessary to address and prevent potential health hazards in state-owned buildings, including, but not limited to, asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health; and
D. Work with state departments and state agencies to develop safety protocols and train state employees on safety protocols.
7. Biennial report. The department shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters that describes the conditions of state-owned buildings and state-leased buildings and areas of concern by February 1st of every odd-numbered year.
8. Rules. The department may adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. Safety education; black mold standards; safety committees. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services and the Department of Labor shall work together with collective bargaining organizations representing state employees to promote health and safety education of state employees, identify appropriate standards for black mold prevention and remediation in state-owned buildings and state-leased buildings similar to the standards recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and develop a framework for regionally based safety committees.
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Buildings and Grounds Operations 0080
Initiative: Establishes 2 Engineering Technician IV positions to carry out the requirements of this bill.
| GENERAL FUND | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
0.000 | 2.000 |
|
Personal Services
|
$0 | $95,243 |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $0 | $95,243 |
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
summary
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. It replaces the bill, which is a concept draft. It requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General Services to inventory all state-owned buildings where state employees perform job duties to determine the presence of asbestos, lead, black mold or other substances that may be harmful to human health. It requires property owners of buildings leased to the State to conduct a similar inventory and report the results to the bureau. The amendment requires the bureau to establish and maintain a database containing the results of the inventories and make the database easily accessible electronically to employee collective bargaining agents, employees working in state office buildings with asbestos, lead, black mold or other substances that may be harmful to human health, individuals who perform maintenance, repair or custodial services, firefighters, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and members of the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters. It requires the database to be consulted before maintenance of or repair to a state-owned building by a state employee and the provision of protective gear to the employee if appropriate. The department is required to submit a biennial report and may adopt rules to implement these requirements.
The amendment also provides funding for personnel in the bureau to carry out the requirements of this legislation.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)