‘‘(A) on small businesses with fewer than
100 employees;
‘‘(B) on net employment; and
‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, on the cu-
mulative financial burden of compliance with
the standard and other existing regulations on
persons subject to the standard.’’.
(g) PROCESS
FOR REVIEW
OF EXISTING OSHA
STANDARDS.—Section 6 (29 U.S.C. 655), as amended in
subsection (f), is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘(l)(1) The Secretary shall, within 7 years of the ef-
fective date of the Safety and Health Improvement and
Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, review each standard in
effect as of the effective date of such Act under the criteria
established under subsection (b)(1) and modify or revoke
such standards as appropriate.
‘‘(2) Any person affected by a standard that has been
promulgated under this section may petition the Secretary
to modify or revoke the standard pursuant to this sub-
section.
‘‘(3) Each petition submitted under this subsection
shall include information or documentation that is ade-
quate to—
‘‘(A) identify the standard or portion thereof
that is sought to be modified or revoked and de-
scribe the change that is sought in the standard; and
‘‘(B) make a prima facie showing that—
‘‘(i) the standard is likely to continue hav-
ing a significant impact on the industry or in-
dustries with respect to which the modification
or revocation is sought, and
‘‘(ii) the modification or revocation is nec-
essary in order for the risk reduction or other
benefits of the standard to justify and be rea-
sonably related to the costs of the standard in
the industry or industries with respect to which
the modification or revocation is sought.
‘‘(4)(A) Within 120 days of receiving a petition sub-
mitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall review
the petition and determine whether to accept or reject it.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall reject a petition submitted
under this subsection if it does not include adequate infor-
mation and documentation as specified in paragraph (2).
If the Secretary determines to reject the petition, the Sec-
retary, within 30 days of making that determination, shall
publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing the
determination to reject the petition and explaining the
basis for that determination.
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall accept a petition submitted
under this subsection if it includes adequate information
and documentation as specified in paragraph (2). Within
120 days of accepting any such petition, the Secretary
shall prepare a cost-benefit analysis of the existing stand-
ard and of the change that is sought in the standard.
‘‘(D) If, on the basis of the analysis prepared pursu-
ant to subparagraph (C), the Secretary determines that
the incremental benefits of a standard, or any part of a
standard, do not justify the costs with respect to an indus-
try or industries, the Secretary shall publish a notice in
the Federal Register, initiating a rulemaking to modify or
revoke the standard. Final action taken in that rule-
making shall be subject to judicial review in accordance
with subsection (f) of this section.
‘‘(E) If, on the basis of the information and docu-
mentation submitted by the petitioner and the analysis
prepared pursuant to subparagraph (C), the Secretary de-
termines that the standard should not be changed, the
Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register,
announcing the determination not to change the standard
and explaining the basis for that determination.
‘‘(5) The Secretary’s determination to reject a peti-
tion under paragraph (4)(B) or a determination not to
change the standard under paragraph (4)(E) shall con-
stitute a final agency action subject to judicial review at
the request of a person who submitted the petition under
paragraph (1). Any such person may challenge the Sec-
retary’s determination to reject the petition or a deter-
mination not to change the standard, by filing a petition
for review in any court that would have jurisdiction and
be proper venue for the filing of a petition to review the
standard itself. Any such petition shall be filed within 60
days of the date on which notice of the Secretary’s deter-
mination under paragraph (4)(B) or (4)(E) is published
in the Federal Register.
‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
prohibit a person from petitioning the Secretary to pro-
mulgate, modify, or revoke a standard pursuant to any
other provision of law.’’.
(h) INDEPENDENT AND EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW
PANEL.—Section 6(g) (29 U.S.C. 655(g)) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(g) Whenever the Secretary determines that a rule
should be promulgated or modified in order to serve the
objectives of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint a panel
of individuals to review the scientific and economic data
which forms the basis for such standard and the relevance
of the data to industries and workers which would be af-
fected by the standard. Such panel shall be broadly rep-
resentative and balanced, and shall include persons with
expertise in scientific and economic analysis and persons
with expertise relevant to the industry or industries which
would be subject to the standard. Persons with substantial
and relevant expertise shall not be excluded merely be-
cause they represent entities that may have potential in-
terest in the outcome if that interest is fully disclosed to
the agency and in the case of a decision affecting a single
entity, no peer reviewer representing such entity may be
included on the panel. Reports of the panel, including any
individual and minority reports, shall be published to-
gether with any proposed or final rule under paragraphs
(2) and (4) of subsection (b) on the standard. The Sec-
retary shall provide a written response to all significant
comments of the panel and shall include such responses
with the proposed or final rule to which the reports of
the panel members are attached.’’.
SEC. 3. NOTICE OF VIOLATION.
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as
subsections (c) and (d), respectively;
(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), if, upon
inspection or investigation, the Secretary or the Sec-
retary’s authorized representative believes that an em-
ployer or an employee has violated a requirement of sec-
tion 5, of any standard, rule or order prescribed pursuant
to section 6, or of any regulations prescribed pursuant to
this Act, the Secretary shall with reasonable promptness
so notify the employer. Each such notice shall be in writ-
ing and shall describe with particularity the nature of the
violation and the recommendations for abatement. In addi-
tion, the notice shall fix a reasonable time for abatement
of the alleged violation. Such time for abatement shall be
not less than 30 days, except that a shorter period may
be allowed if the condition constitutes a direct threat to
employees and a shorter period is reasonable under all of
the circumstances.
‘‘(b) If upon a follow up inspection the Secretary be-
lieves that a violation of a standard, rule, or order pre-
scribed under section 6, or a violation of any regulation
prescribed pursuant to this Act, previously identified in
a notice as provided in subsection (a), remains and the
time provided for its abatement has expired, the Secretary
may issue a citation to the employer. Each citation shall
be in writing and shall describe with particularity the na-
ture of the violation, including a reference to the provision