A bill to direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe additional coal mine safety standards, to require additional penalties for habitual violators, and for other purposes.

Summary: Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to revise regulations prescribed pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to require coal mine operators to expeditiously provide notification of any accident where rescue and recovery work is necessary.

Requires the Secretary to revise regulations regarding mine rescue teams to: (1) address training and qualifications for team members, rescue equipment and technology, the structure and organization of teams, and the guidelines about liability and insurance issues; and (2) require that mine operators employ rescue teams to provide a rapid response and have a plan for coordination and communication between the rescue teams and local emergency response personnel.

Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require: (1) each coal mine to maintain at strategic locations sufficient emergency supplies of air and self-contained breathing equipment, and independent means of communication with the surface, for people awaiting rescue; and (2) each operator to implement a communication and electronic tracking system to assist in rescue and to equip each person that enters a mine with certain communication and tracking devices.

Requires the Secretary to revise regulations in order to prohibit belt haulage entries from being used to ventilate active working places in any coal mine.

Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to establish minimum civil penalties for violations: (1) where the operator displays negligence or reckless disregard of a mandatory health or safety standard; and (2) of rescue notification requirements.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish an Office of Science and Technology Transfer within the Mine Safety and Health Administration to conduct research and development to apply advancing sciences and technologies to mines and miner health and safety; (2) review and revise mine health and safety standards with regard to implementing such technologies.

Establishes the position of Miner Ombudsman within the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Labor to be responsible for ensuring the safety of mines through information collection and sharing.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 
of 2006''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Mine Safety and Health 
Administration should strictly enforce mine health and safety standards 
as required under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 
U.S.C. 801 et seq.).

SEC. 3. ENHANCED UNDERGROUND COAL MINE SAFETY STANDARDS.

    (a) Notification.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the 
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 101 of the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 811) to require that the 
operator of each coal mine expeditiously provide notification of any 
accident where rescue and recovery work is necessary. The Secretary 
shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that a system is in 
place within the Mine Health and Safety Administration to immediately 
receive such notification.
    (b) Rapid Emergency Response.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the 
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 115(e) of the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)) regarding mine rescue 
teams. Such regulations--
            (1) shall address the efficacy and adequacy of--
                    (A) training and qualifications for rescue team 
                members;
                    (B) the equipment and technology used in mine 
                rescue, including refuge chambers and other rescue 
                alternatives;
                    (C) the structure and organization of rescue teams, 
                including the number of team members and the procedural 
                rules for the use of teams, including contractor teams; 
                and
                    (D) the guidelines addressing the potential 
                liability of and insurance issues relating to rescue 
                teams; and
            (2) shall require--
                    (A) that the operator of each coal mine maintain 
                mine rescue teams whose members--
                            (i) are employed by such operator and who 
                        are familiar with the workings of such coal 
                        mine; and
                            (ii) shall be available at such coal mine 
                        for rescue and recovery work to provide an 
                        immediate and rapid response to an emergency; 
                        and
                    (B) that the operator of each coal mine have in 
                place a plan for coordination and communication between 
                the operator and mine rescue teams and local emergency 
                response personnel, and that such local personnel be 
                eligible to receive appropriate training in order to be 
                familiar with mine rescue and recovery work.
    (c) Emergency Air and Communications Equipment.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 
shall prescribe regulations as authorized by section 315 of the Federal 
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 825(e)). Such regulations 
shall require that each coal mine maintain at strategic locations 
within each mine, the following:
            (1) Emergency supplies of air and self-contained breathing 
        equipment for persons awaiting rescue due to an emergency 
        within the mine. Such equipment shall be sufficient to maintain 
        such persons for a sustained period of time and shall be in 
        addition to the self-rescue devices referred to in section 317 
        of that Act (30 U.S.C. 877(n)).
            (2) Independent means of communication with the surface for 
        persons awaiting rescue at such locations, including secondary 
        telephone or equivalent two-way communications facilities to 
        the surface.
    (d) Emergency Tracking and Communications Equipment.--Not later 
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Labor shall prescribe regulations to require each operator of a coal 
mine to implement a communication and electronic tracking system to 
assist in rescue and recovery work of persons awaiting rescue due to an 
emergency within the coal mine. Such regulations shall require that 
each person who enters a coal mine to be equipped with--
            (1) a portable communications device calibrated to 
        communicate with both the surface and to rescue personnel; and
            (2) an electronic tracking device permitting persons on the 
        surface and rescue personnel to determine the exact location of 
        each such person within the mine.
    (e) Prohibited Practices.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall revise the 
regulations prescribed pursuant to section 303(y) of the Federal Mine 
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 863(y)) to require, in any 
coal mine, regardless of the date on which it was opened, that belt 
haulage entries not be used to ventilate active working places.

SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR HABITUAL VIOLATORS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Labor shall prescribe regulations--
            (1) to establish that no civil penalty less than $10,000 
        shall be assessed pursuant to section 110 of the Federal Mine 
        Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) for a violation 
        which occurs of a mandatory health or safety standard where the 
        operator displays negligence or reckless disregard of such 
        standard; and
            (2) to provide for a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for an 
        operator who fails to comply with section 3(a) of this Act.

SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER AND APPLICATION.

    (a) Office of Science and Technology Transfer.--The Secretary of 
Labor shall establish within the Mine Safety and Health Administration 
an Office of Science and Technology Transfer for the purposes of 
conducting research and development to apply advancing sciences and 
technologies to underground coal mine and coal miner health and safety. 
Such Office shall consult with other Federal agencies, as appropriate 
and on a regular basis, in order to stay informed of the latest 
technologies that are available to ensure coal miner health and safety.
    (b) Periodic Review and Application.--The Secretary of Labor shall, 
on a periodic basis, review the underground coal mine health and safety 
standards for possible revision with regard to advancing sciences and 
technologies, and shall, on a periodic basis, revise such standards to 
require the implementation of such technologies.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purposes of 
implementing this section.

SEC. 6. MINER OMBUDSMAN.

    (a) Establishment.--There shall be established within the Office of 
the Inspector General of the Department of Labor the position of Miner 
Ombudsman. The President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, shall appoint an individual with expertise in mine safety and 
health to serve as the Miner Ombudsman.
    (b) Duties.--The Miner Ombudsman shall--
            (1) be responsible for ensuring the safety of mines through 
        information collection and sharing;
            (2) establish a toll-free telephone number and appropriate 
        Internet website to permit individual miners to confidentially 
        report mine safety and health violations;
            (3) forward information collected concerning mine safety 
        and health violations to the appropriate officials of the Mine 
        Safety and Health Administration for investigation; and
            (4) carry out other activities to improve the safety of 
        mines.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act, the terms ``coal mine'' and ``operator'' have 
the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Federal Mine Safety 
and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 802).