CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 49-Z
 2077son, will approve, or revise and approve, or return the
proposed code(s) to the agency for revision and re−
submission within 60 d ays without further notice.
Any interested person may present statements, argu-
ments or comments, in writing to the Executive Direc-
tor of the Commission, relative to review of the pro-posed conflict−of−interest code(s). Any written com-ments must be received no later than January 1, 2017. If
a public hearing is to be held, oral comments may be
presented to the Commission at the hearing.
COST TO LOCAL AGENCIES
There shall be no reimbursement for any new or in-
creased costs to local government which may resultfrom compliance with these codes because these are not
new programs mandated on local agencies by the codes
since the requirements described herein were mandated
by the Political Reform Act of 1974. Therefore, they arenot “costs mandated by the state” as defined in Govern-
ment Code Section 17514.
EFFECT ON HOUSING COSTS
AND BUSINESSES
Compliance with the codes has no potential effect on
housing costs or on private persons, businesses or small
businesses.
AUTHORITY
Government Code Sections 82011, 87303 and 87304
provide that the Fair Political Practices Commission as
the code reviewing body for the above conflict−of−interest codes shall approve codes as submitted, revise
the proposed code and approve it as revised, or return
the proposed code for revision and re−submission.
REFERENCE
Government Code Sections 87300 and 87306 pro-
vide that agencies shall adopt and promulgate conflict−
of−interest codes pursuant to the Political Reform Act
and amend their codes when change is necessitated by
changed circumstances.
CONTACT
Any inquiries concerning the proposed conflict−of−
interest code(s) should be made to Ivy Branaman, FairPolitical Practices Commission, 428 J Street, Suite 620,Sacramento, California 95814, telephone (916)
322−5660.
A V AILABILITY OF PROPOSED CONFLICT−OF−
INTEREST CODES
Copies of the proposed conflict−of−interest codes
may be obtained from the Commission offices or the re-spective agency. R equests for copies from the Commis-
sion should be made to Ivy Branaman, Fair Political
Practices Commission, 428 J Street, Suite 620, Sacra-
mento, California 95814, telephone (916) 322−5660.
TITLE 8. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH STANDARDS BOARD
General Industry Safety Orders
Section 4306
Underhung/Slung (Jump) Saw Guarding
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Occupational
Safety and Health Standards Board (Board) proposes to
adopt, amend or repeal the foregoing provisions of T itle
8 of the California Code of Regulations in the manner
described in the Informative Digest, below.
PUBLIC HEARING
The Board will hold a public hearing starting at 10:00
a.m. on January 19, 2017 in Room 310 of the County
Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, SanDiego, California. At this public hearing, any person
may present statements or arguments orally or in writ-
ing relevant to the proposed action described in the
Informative Digest.
WRITTEN COMMENT PERIOD
In addition to written or oral comments submitted at
the public hearing, written comments may also be sub-
mitted to the Board’s office. The written comment peri-
od commences on December 2, 2016  and closes at 5:00
p.m. on January 19, 2017 . Comments received after
that deadline will not be considered by the Board unless
the Board announces an extension of time in which tosubmit written comments. Written comments can be
submitted as follows:
By mail to Sarah Money, Occupational Safety and
Health Standards Board, 2520 Venture Oaks Way, Suite
350, Sacramento, CA 95833; orCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 49-Z
 2078By fax at (916) 274−5743; or
By e−mail sent to oshsb@dir .ca.gov.
AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE
Labor Code Section 142.3 establishes the Board as
the only agency in the State authorized to adopt occupa-
tional safety and health standards. In addition, Labor
Code Section 142.3 requires the adoption of occupa-tional safety and health standards that are at least as ef-
fective as federal occupational safety and health
standards.
INFORMATIVE DIGEST OF PROPOSED
ACTION/POLICY STATEMENT
OVERVIEW
This rulemaking is the result of an Occupational
Safety and Health Standards Board review of guarding
requirements for underhung swing cutoff saws, invert-
ed swing cutoff saws, jump saws and underhung saws
contained in Section 4306 of the General Industry Safe-
ty Orders (GISO). These are types of circular wood-working saws where the blade emerges from under-
neath the stock or table and swings or slides upward to
make the cut. The term “jump saw” derives from thefact that the blade in making the cut on the work piece“jumps up” from beneath the table to enter the wood.
Section 4306(b) requires blade guarding. Manufac-
turers provide blade guards in conformance with thisstandard. These saws are also typically provided withone or more additional point−of−operation guards such
as but not limited to: tunnel guards, foot pedals, wind-
shields, wrist restraints, passive detection and two−handed controls.
Staff has identified seven injuries that took place in
California, from 2001−2009, involving underhung cut-
off saws. The Cal OSHA Form 170A reports for theseinjuries describe employees coming in contact with the
point−of−operation as a result of either the absence of,
or ineffectiveness of the point−of−operation guarding.Similarly, a U.S. Department of Labor inspection report
citing a 1995 incident which took place in California,
describes an employee’s fingers being amputated de-
spite the fact that the blade of the saw was guarded as re-
quired by Section 4306(b), and the employee had re-
ceived operator training.
The inherently hazardous nature of these saws and
the accident documentation suggests that blade guard-ing alone is insufficient to prevent contact.
Performance−based point−of−operation guarding
(POG) standards are contained in Sections 4184 and4186. Title 8 point−of−operation guarding standardsapply to Section 4306. However, other than a require-ment for effective guarding and guarding the blade,
point−of−operation guarding is not mentioned in Sec-
tion 4306. The proposal will clarify that the point−of−operation guarding requirements in Section 4184 and
4186 apply to the underhung−type saws in addition to
the blade guarding required by Section 4306.
The proposal is intended to also prevent the potential
for severe cuts or amputations of the fingers or hands
during saw cutting operations or when idling.
The Board evaluated the proposed regulations pur-
suant to Government Code section 11346.5(a)(3)(D)and has determined that the regulations are not incon-
sistent or incompatible with existing state regulations.
This proposal is part of a system of occupational safety
and health regulations. The consistency and compati-
bility of that system’s component regulations is provid-
ed by such things as: (1) the requirement of the federalgovernment and the Labor Code to the effect that theState regulations be at least as effective as their federal
counterparts, and (2) the requirement that all state occu-
pational safety and health rulemaking be channeledthrough a s ingle entity (the Standards Board).
Anticipated Benefits
The proposed rulemaking clarifies the regulatory lan-
guage to provide specific requirements for guardingthese types of saws. The proposed regulatory amend-
ment will protect workers from exposure to severe cuts
or amputations that have occurred in the past as a resultof contact with the rotating saw blade.
The proposal adds a new subsection (e) to Section
4306 to prevent employee intrusion into the hazardouspoint−of−operation where the underhung/underslung
jump saw blade ascends, cuts the work piece and drops
back down below the table. This amendment provides
superior protection to operators from dangers associat-
ed with circular saw blades that swing or slide as theyascend to make the cut and allows the enclosed saw
blade to safely contact the work piece without operator
exposure to the hazardous point−of−operation.
The specific changes are as follows:
Section 4306. Underhung Swing Cut−Off Saws,
Inverted Swing Cut−Off Saws, Jump Saws,
Underslung Saws.
Title 8, Section 4306 contains provisions for effec-
tively guarding the types of saws described by Section4306. Subsection (b) specifies how the blade is to be
guarded and states that the upper half of the saw blade
and arbor are to be shielded from contact by a bladeguard.
An amendment is proposed to add a new subsection
(e) to Section 4306 stating that the saw be provided with
point−of−operation guarding in addition to the blade
guard that will prevent the operator from being able toinadvertently contact the point−of−operation as theCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 49-Z
 2079blade ascends, cuts and drops back down below the
table.
A Note is proposed that will clarify to the employer
the location of GISO point−of−operation guarding stan-
dards and design specifications that are required to be
applied to the types of saws regulated by Section 4306.
This proposal will ensure that workers are protected
from dangers associated with saws that ascend from be-
low the table to make cuts, by providing clear direction
in guarding the point of operation of these types of saws.
DISCLOSURES REGARDING THE
PROPOSED ACTION
Mandate on Local Agencies and School Districts:
None.
Cost or Savings to State Agencies:  None.
Cost to any Local Government or School District
which must be Reimbursed in Accordance with
Government Code Sections 17500 through 17630:
None.
Other Nondiscretionary Cost or Savings Imposed
on Local Agencies:  None.
Cost or Savings in Federal Funding to the State:
None.
Cost Impacts on a Repr esentative Private Person or
Business:
The Board is not aware of any cost impacts that a rep-
resentative private person or business would necessari-
ly incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed
action.
Statewide Adverse Economic Impact Directly
Affecting Businesses and Individuals,  Including the
Ability of California Businesses To  Compete:
The Board has made an initial determination that this
proposal will not result in a significant, statewide ad-
verse economic impact directly affecting businesses/individuals, including the ability of California busi-nesses to compete with businesses in other states.
The proposed amendment is essentially information-
al to what is already in existence for guarding thesetypes of saws which are typically provided with one or
more point−of−operation guards. Saws that are only
equipped with a blade guard may need to have their oth-
er point−of−operation guards reinstalled, or be re−equipped with additional point−of−operation guarding
such as a tunnel guard by job fabrication or ordering a
factory part from the manufacturer. This would be aone−time cost for the employer.
The average cost of a factory−built tunnel guard re-
placement is approximately $500. A job−fabricated
tunnel guard constructed of wood, metal or plasticcould cost less than $100. These figures could vary ac-
cording to the type of POG being replaced and whetherit is a factory replacement or is job−fabricated. Factory
part replacement costs will vary according to the type of
POG, the least expensive being the plastic shield usedon some model jump saws at approximately $150 and
the most expensive being the two−handed (handlebar
control) trip system at approximately $1700. Propor-tionally, the median cost of an underhung/jump saw that
may be impacted by this proposal is approximately
$7,000; consequently, any required POG factory part
augmentation would be substantially less than the costof the saw.
Significant Effect on Housing Costs:
 None.
DETERMINATION OF MANDATE
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Board has determined that the proposed regulation does
not impose a local mandate. There are no costs to any lo-
cal government or school district which must be reim-bursed in accordance with Government Code Sections17500 through 17630.
SMALL BUSINESS DETERMINATION
The Board has determined that the proposed amend-
ment may af fect small businesses that utilize the type of
saw affected by the proposal. The proposed amendment
requires some form of point−of−operation guarding
such as a tunnel guard, foot pedal, wrist restraints, two−
handed trip or passive device as described in Article 54
of the GISO, in addition to the blade guard already re-
quired by Section 4306(b). Manufacturers of the type of
saws regulated by Section 4306 have addressed theneed for point−of−operation guarding in addition to the
mandated blade guard voluntarily. Many manufactur-
ers provide two−handed trip devices, some provide footpedals and others provide passive protection. The pro-duction of jump saws has declined, given the fact that
one manufacturer responsible for roughly 20−25 per-
cent of the market share, discontinued production oftheir jump saws in 2009. However, their service life islong and it is reasonable to assume that many saws of
this type are operational in California as the Federal
OSHA injury data involving this type of saw suggests.
RESULTS OF THE ECONOMIC IMPACT
ASSESSMENT/ANALYSIS
The Board estimates the economic impact to be less
than $10 million. The proposed regulation will not have
any effect on the creation or elimination of California
jobs or the creation of new businesses or the elimination
of existing California businesses or affect the expansionof existing California businesses. The proposal pro-vides clear direction in guarding this type of saw. ThisCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2016, VOLUME NO. 49-Z
 2080regulatory proposal will promote worker safety by
specifying an effective guard that protects the operator
from dangers associated with saws that ascend from be-
low the table to make the cut.
BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED ACTION
The standard was amended to clarify the necessity for
point−of−operation guarding; and to provide guidance
in selecting an effective poin t−of−operation saw blade
guard (such as a tunnel guard) to help prevent severe in-
juries and amputations from inadequately guarded saws
of this type. The regulated public will benefit from the
proposed action by having consistent guidance in theproper guarding of these types of saws and ensuring the
protection of health and safety of California workers.
There are no anticipated benefits to the state’s
environment.
CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES
In accordance with Government Code Section
11346.5(a)(13), the Board must determine that no rea-
sonable alternative it considered to the regulation or
that has otherwise been identified and brought to its at-
tention would either be more effective in carrying outthe purpose for which the action is proposed or would
be as effective and less burdensome to affected private
persons than the proposed action or would be morecost−ef fective to affected private persons and equally
effective in implementing the statutory policy or other
provision of law than the proposal described in thisNotice.
The Board invites interested persons to present state-
ments or arguments with respect to alternatives to the
proposed regulation at the scheduled public hearing orduring the written comment period.
CONTACT PERSONS
Inquiries regarding this proposed regulatory action
may be directed to Marley Hart (Executive Of ficer) and
the back−up contact person is Michael Manieri (Princi-
pal Safety Engineer) at the Occupational Safety andHealth Standards Board, 2520 Venture Oaks Way, Suite
350, Sacramento, CA 95833; (916) 274−5721.
A V AILABILITY OF STATEMENT OF REASONS,
TEXT OF THE PROPOSED REGULATIONS AND
RULEMAKING FILE
The Board will have the entire rulemaking file avail-
able for inspection and copying throughout the rule-
making process at its office at the above address. As ofthe date this notice is published in the Notice Register,
the rulemaking file consists of this notice, the proposed
text of the regulations, the Initial Statement of Reasons
and supporting documents, or other information uponwhich the rulemaking is based. Copies may be obtained
by contacting Ms. Hart or Mr. Manieri at the address ortelephone num ber listed above.
A V AILABILITY OF CHANGED OR
MODIFIED TEXT
After holding the hearing and considering all timely
and relevant comments received, the Board may adoptthe proposed regulations substantially as described inthis notice. If the Board makes modifications which are
sufficiently related to the originally proposed text, itwill make the modified text (with the changes clearlyindicated) available to the public at least 15 days before
the Board adopts the regulations as revised. Please re-quest copies of any modified regulations by contacting
Ms. Hart or Mr. Manieri at the address or telephonenumber listed above. The Board will accept writtencomments on the modified regulations for at least 15days after the date on which they are made available.
A V AILABILITY OF THE FINAL STATEMENT
OF REASONS
Upon its completion, copies of the Final Statement of
Reasons may be obtained by contacting Ms. Hart or Mr.Manieri at the address or telephone number listed above
or via the internet.
A V AILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ON
THE INTERNET
The Board will have rulemaking documents avail-
able for inspection throughout the rulemaking processon its website. Copies of the text of the regulation in anunderline/strikeout format, the Notice of Proposed Ac-tion and the Initial Statement of Reasons can be ac-cessed through the Standards Board’s web site at http:
//www.dir.ca.gov/oshsb .