Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/legisdocs/chamber/2012/rs/floor_amends/HB4351%20HFA%20Miley%202-24%20_1.htm
Timestamp: 2018-01-19 16:35:30
Document Index: 82929583

Matched Legal Cases: ['§15', '§15', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22']

HB4351 HFA Miley 2-24 #1
Delegate Miley moves to amend the bill following the enacting clause, by striking out the remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof, the following:
“That §15-5B-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-5B-6; that said code be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §22A-1-13a and §22A-1-40; that §22A-1-4, §22A-1-14, and §22A-1-21 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §22A-1A-1, §22A-1A-2, §22A-1A-3 and §22A-1A-4; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22A-2-43a; that §22A-2-2, §22A-2-12, §22A-2-16, §22A-2-20, §22A-2-24, §22A-2-43, §22A-2-55 and §22A-2-66 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §22A-6-13 and §22A-6-14; that §22A-6-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22A-7-5a; that §22A-7-5 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22A-12-1, all to read as follows:
(11) Beginning the first day of January, two thousand thirteen, the director shall share information regarding suspension or revocation of a certificate of a certified person, as defined in article one of this chapter, for violation of the substance abuse provisions of article one-a of this chapter with other states that subject similar persons to disciplinary action for violation of a substance abuse policy.
(12) The director shall propose for legislative promulgation pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, a rule establishing a program for the sharing of information between employers who employ certified persons regarding the discharge of persons in safety sensitive positions as defined in section one, article one-a of this chapter for violation of an employers’ substance abuse policy.
The director is directed to conduct a study of the minimum qualifications for mine inspectors, the minimum compensation paid to mine inspectors and the overall training program established for mine inspectors. The study shall identify ways to attract and retain new, qualified mine inspectors to minimize the effect of the anticipated retirement of a significant number of current inspectors. Additionally, the study shall examine ways to improve the training programs for mine inspectors by focusing on technological advances in coal mining techniques, best practices used in modern coal mines and proper mine ventilation. Further, the office shall perform an assessment of the resources and qualification of inspectors necessary to approve mine ventilation plans. Finally, the study shall make recommendations on how to reassess mine inspection priorities to ensure that mines having a history of numerous safety violations are inspected more frequently than mines having a history of comparatively few safety violations while preserving the minimum number of inspections required by the code. By December 31, 2012, the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training shall report to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Government and Finance with recommendations regarding the implementation of its findings.
(b) If any miner is entrapped, fatally injured or otherwise unable, as the result of an accident, to designate a representative to observe witness interviews and investigatory hearings conducted in an accident investigation, the miner’s closest relative may designate one representative who may, subject to subsection (a) of this section, attend witness interviews and investigatory hearings regarding the accident for the sole purpose of observing such interviews and hearings and conveying information to the accident victim’s families: Provided, That the right of a designated representative to observe witness interviews and investigatory hearings pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to subsection (a) and shall not extend to interviews or investigatory hearings of a criminal nature conducted by state or federal inspectors or other state or federal law enforcement officers. No more than five representatives designated pursuant to this section may attend witness interviews and investigatory hearings for the purpose of observing such interviews and hearings and conveying information to accident victims’ family.
The provisions of this article are effective beginning the first day of January, two thousand and thirteen.
(d) Upon completing his or her examination he or she shall report by suitable communication system or in person the results of this examination to a certified person designated by mine management to receive and record the report, at a designated station on the surface of the premises of the mine or underground, before other persons enter the area of the mine subject to the supplemental examination. The results of the examination shall be recorded with ink or indelible pencil by the examiner in the book referenced in subsection (a) of this section before he or she leaves the mine on that shift.
(a) Hand Held Testing required. -- In any mine, no electrical equipment or permissible diesel powered equipment may be brought inby the last open crosscut until a qualified person tests for methane. If one percent or more methane is present, the equipment may not be taken into the area until the methane concentration is reduced to less than one percent. Thereafter, subsequent methane examinations shall be made at least every twenty minutes while any electrical or diesel powered equipment is present and energized.
Within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of the amendments to this section, the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing calibration procedures, defining the term “sustained period” for purposes of implementing this section, and establishing a compliance schedule setting forth the time frame in which all new and existing face cutting machines, continuous miners, longwall face equipment and other mechanized equipment used to extract coal or load coal within the working place shall be refitted with methane monitors. Enforcement of subsections (g) and (h) of this section shall not commence until after the time frame is established rule.
The Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety is directed to study the mandatory substance abuse screening policy and program requirements of article one-a of this chapter and make recommendations to the director regarding (a) establishment of guidelines to be employed by the Board of Appeals when administering disciplinary actions to certified persons pursuant to article one-a of this chapter, (b) requiring certification by the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training of persons who regularly work at mines who are not presently required to obtain certification, and (c) establishment of additional minimum requirements, parameters, methodologies and protocols to be integrated into the substance abuse screening policy and program requirements of article one-a of this chapter. By the thirty-first day of August, two thousand and twelve, the board shall submit its report to the director. The director is authorized to propose for legislative promulgation, legislative rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding the implementation of the findings of this study. These rules shall be initially promulgated as emergency rules by the director pursuant to the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of the code by the thirty-first day of December, two thousand and twelve, and shall include the establishment of certification requirements recommended by the board for persons who regularly work at mines that are not presently required to obtain certification and establishment of guidelines to be employed by the Board of Appeals when administering disciplinary actions to certified persons pursuant to article one-a of this chapter.
The director shall, by December 31, 2013, report to the Legislature and Governor on the need for revisions in the state’s underground mine safety enforcement procedures. The director shall initiate the study using appropriate academic resources and mining safety organizations to conduct a program review of state enforcement procedures to evaluate what reforms will assure that mining operations follow state mandated safety protocols. The report shall include recommended legislation, rules and policies, consider various options for improving inspections, accountability and equitable and timely administrative procedures that cause remediation of hazardous working conditions.”