An Act To Ensure Compliance with Safety Regulations
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1238
Committee: Labor
Sponsors: PINEAU, BRYANT, CLARK, JACKSON, WHEELER, MARTIN

Legislative Document 
No. 1238 
H.P.856 
House of Representatives, March 10,2005 
An Act To Ensure Compliance with Safety Regulations 
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative PINEAU of Jay. 
Cosponsored by Senator BRYANT of Oxford and 
'77/~ 1J?1l/dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BRYANT of Windham, CLARK of Millinocket, JACKSON of Fort Kent, 
WHEELER of Kittery, Senator: MARTIN of Aroostook. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA c. 271, sub-c. 5 is enacted to read: 
INSPECTI~~F ~S 
BUSINESSES 
§1696-J. 
Definitions 
As 
used in this 
subchap~XL-.lJ.nless the context otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. 
1. 
Bureau Q_~~J'.-S.J:.9P.~~J'~s. 
"Bureau of Labor Standards" 
means the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards. 
2. 
Employee. 
"Employee" means any person who performs work 
in the operation of an industrial or commercial facility. 
3. 
Bazard~\1.JL~t oL-ID~c4,inery. 
"Hazardous eguipment 
or machinery" 
means 
any 
eguipment 
or machinery 
used in the 
operation of an industrial or commercial facility that may cause 
serious injury to persons or property in the vicinity of the 
industrial or commercial facility if the eguipment or machinery 
is operated improperl~ 
4. 
B~_:Ld~$_~$tJm.!:Et$_. __ 
"Hq._~ardQ~~~CLnces~eans 
those extremely hazardous substances listed in 40 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 355. 
5. 
Initiate or 
resume 
operation. 
"Initiate or 
resume 
operation" means: 
A. 
The 
cornl!telli:J~rrleDt of 
op~rp.tion of a facility that has 
never been operated previously; 
B. 
The recommencement of operation of a facility that has 
ceased operation temporarily; or 
C. 
The attempteo continuous operation of a facility where 
more than 50% of the employees currently employed at the 
facility have 
worked at that facility for 
less than 
consecutive months and the facility has been in operation 
for more than 6 months. 
• 
Lp~~J_e~~~:g,C;;y_l!laxmi~..9_C_Q~,ittee. 
"Loc al 
pl.anru.ng committee" means 
a local emeJ"-gency planning 
established as provided in Title 37-B, section 793. 
Page I-LR0195(1) 
emerg.e1).~ 
committee 
• 
lG 
7. 
Operator of facility or facility operator. 
"Operator of 
a 
facility" 
or 
"facility 
operator" 
means 
the 
person, 
partnership, corporation or other legal entity that operates an 
industrial or commercial facility. 
8. 
State Emergency Response CODlllission. 
"State Emergency 
Response 
Commission" 
means 
the 
State 
Emergency 
Response 
Commission described in Title 37-B, section 792. 
S1696 K. 
Initiation or resumption of operation prohibited 
1. 
Operation prohibited. 
Except as provided in section 
l696-L, an industrial or commercial facility may not initiate or 
resume operation if: 
A. 
The facility has over 250 fUll-time employees; 
B. 
Hazardous substances or hazardous eguipment or machinery 
is used in the operation of the facility; and 
C. 
More than 
50'l-o 
of the employees who will be working 
during the initiation or resumption of operation have worked 
at the facility for less than 6 months immediately preceding 
the initiation or resumption of operations at the facility. 
2. 
Ru1emaking. 
The Bureau of Labor Standards shall adopt 
rules that identify those industrial or commercial operations 
that 
use 
hazardous 
substances 
or 
hazardous 
eguipment 
or 
machinery, but the Bureau of Labor Standards need not designate 
~cific facilities. 
The State Emergency Response 
Commission 
shall assist the Bureau of Labor Standards in identifying those 
operations that use hazardous substances. 
Rules adopted pursuant 
to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
A. 
The rules adopted by the Bureau of Labor Standards must 
provide a procedure under which the operator of a facility, 
the 
employees 
of 
that 
facility 
or 
their 
recognized 
bargaining agent, 
public officials of local governmental 
units located in the vicinity of that facility, 
a 
local 
emergency planning committee or persons who reside in the 
vicinity of that facility may petition the Bureau of Labor 
Standards to determine whether the facility is subject to 
this section. 
If the Bureau of Labor Standards determines 
that a facility is subject to this section upon petition or 
on its own motion, 
the 
Bureau of Labor Standards shall 
immediately notify the facility operator of that fact and, 
if 
the 
facility 
is 
currently 
in 
operation, 
order 
the 
immediate cessation of that operation. 
B. 
The rules adopted by the Bureau of Labor Standards must 
provide a procedure under which the operator of a facility 
may obtain a waiver from application of this section. 
The 
Bureau of Labor Standards shall waive the application of 
this section for any facility that provides an essential 
public service, such as a hospital or public utility, when 
the prevention of 
immediate initiation or resumption of 
operation would clearly result in greater harm to the public 
than would any hazardous substances or hazardous eg:uipment 
or 
machinery 
used 
in 
the facility. 
Any 
such facility 
remains subject to the inspection reg:uirements of section 
l696-L. 
§1696-L. 
Inspection reguire~t§ 
An 
industrial 
or 
commercial 
facility 
subject 
to 
the 
prohibition under section l696-K may initiate or resume operation 
only as provided in this section. 
1. 
Notice to Bq.reau of Labor Standards. 
After receivin,g: 
notice 
from the Bureau of Labor Standards pursuant to rules 
adopted under section l696-K, 
subsection 2, 
paragraph A, 
the 
operator 
of 
the 
facility shall notify the 
Bureau of 
Labor 
Standards if the facility operator intends to initiate or resume 
operation of the facility. 
The Bureau of Labor Standards shall 
determine the form and content of this notice. 
2. 
Inspection scheduled. 
Immediately upon rece~v~ng notice 
from the facility operator under subsection 1, 
the Bureau of 
Labor Standards shall arrange a date and time for an inspection 
of the facility. 
This date may not be less than 20 days from 
receipt of the notice. 
3. 
Notice of inspection. 
Immediately upon establishing the 
date and time for an inspection of a facility, the Bureau of 
Labor Standards shall notify any appropriate local 
emergency 
planning committee of the pending inspection and shall publish on 
at least 2 
separate days 
a notice in a 
newspaper of general 
circulation in the locality in which the facility is located. 
The notice must state: 
A. 
That the B~).l of Labor Standards has received notice 
of the facility operator's intent to initiate or 
resume 
operation of the facility; 
B. 
The name, 
address and nature of the business of the 
facili ty; 
c. 
The fact of the pending inspection and its purpose; 
• 
'" 
.Hl 
D. 
The date and time of the inspection; and 
E. 
The 
opportunity 
for 
public 
comment 
provided 
under 
subsection 4. 
Public conanento 
The Bureau of Labor Standards shall 
accept public comment from any source relating to any potential 
hazard created by the initiation or resumption of operation of a 
Jacili ty during the per iod immediately preceding an inspection 
and for 20 days after an inspection is completed. 
Represent~ives qyri~£L-j~p~ktion. 
The Bureau of Labor 
Standards shall permit the following persons to accompany the 
Bureau of Labor Standards's representatives during an inspection: 
A. 
Any designated representative of the facility operator; 
B. 
Any desig,nat.ed representative of local government for 
the county or municipality in which the facility is located; 
c. 
Any desig,nated representative of a recognized bargaining 
agent for the employees of the facility; and 
D. 
Any 
designated 
representative 
of 
a 
local 
emergency 
planning committee. 
Ins.p!tCJ;i.Qp.~tanda:r..Q~o 
The Bureau of Labor Standards 
shall inspect a facility and consult with the employees of the 
facility to determine if: 
A. 
All 
hazardous 
substances 
used 
in the facility are 
properly stored and labeled; 
B. 
All 
haza..-r-.-do_us 
equipll1e.nt~x machinery 
used 
in 
the 
facility is in proper working condition; 
C. 
All 
new 
employees 
of 
the 
facility 
who 
work 
with 
hazardous substances or hazardous eguipment and machinery 
used in the facility are adequately trained to perform their 
assigned tasks; 
D. 
Adequate 
safeguards 
have 
been 
taken 
to 
reduce 
the 
likelihood of injury to persons and property located in the 
vicinity of the facility caused by mishandling of hazardous 
substances or improper op.eration of hazardous equipment or 
maChinery used in the facility; and 
E. 
All new 
em~ees of the facility are aware of the 
hazardous 
substances or hazardous equipment or machinery 
used in the facility and are knowledgeable regarding proper 
safety procedures to be taken in the event of an emergency, 
including any applicable emergency response plans developed 
by a local emergency planning committee. 
Upon request, the Department of Environmental Protection and the 
State Emergency Response Commission shall assist the Bureau of 
Labor Standards during the inspection when hazardous substances 
are used in the facility. 
7. 
Bureau of Labor Standards det~rmination. 
The Bureau of 
Labor 
Standards 
shall 
determine 
whether 
all 
of 
the 
factors 
described in subsection 6 have been adequately addressed. 
This 
determination may not be made until the close of the period for 
accepting public comment under subsection 4. 
The Bureau of Labor 
Standards shall consider all comments received from the public in 
making its determination. 
A. 
If the Bureau of Lapor Standards determines that all of 
the factors described in subsection 6 have been adequately 
addressed, the Bureau of Labor Standards shall immediately 
notify the facili ty operator of that fact and the operator 
may initiate or resume operation of the facility. 
B. 
If the Bureau of Labor Standards determines that not all 
of 
the 
factors 
described 
in 
subsection 
have 
been 
adequately addressed, the Bureau of Labor Standards shall 
immediately notify the fadIi ty operator of that fact, the 
specific areas in which a deficiency has been determined and 
the actions that must be taken to remedy the deficiency. 
Upon notice from the facility operator that the deficiencies 
have been remedied, 
the Bureau of Labor Standards shall 
follow the provisions of this section relating to initial 
inspections 
except 
that 
any 
subsequent 
inspections 
are 
limited to the areas of deficiency determined by the Bureau 
of Labor Standards under this paragraph. 
C. 
All determinations made by the Bureau of Labor Standards 
under this subsection are deemed to be final agency action 
and may be appealed as provided in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 7. 
A Bureau of Labor Standards determination 
under paragraph A is stayed for 30 days after an appeal is 
filed under this paragraph. 
During this period, the court 
shall conduct a preliminary hearing and accept any relevant 
evidence submitted by the parties upon leave of the court. 
At the end of the 30-day period, the court shall extend the 
stay pending a final determination of the appeal unless it 
finds 
that 
the 
appellants 
have 
failed 
to 
provide 
any 
reasonable 
evidence 
demonstrating 
that 
not 
all 
of 
the 
factors 
described 
in 
subsection 
have 
been 
adequately 
addressed. 
• 
8. 
Failure to inspect. 
If the Bureau of Labor Standards 
fails to complete an initial inspection of the facility within 60 
days after rece!v!ng notice from the facility operator under 
subsection 1, the inspection is deemed to have been successfully 
completed 
and 
the 
facility operator 
may 
initiate or 
resume 
operation of the facility. 
§1696-M. 
Enforcement 
1. 
Fine. 
Any operator of a facility who violates this 
subchapter is subject to a fine of at least $10,000 and not more 
than $25,000, 
payable to the State. 
Each day the violation 
continues constitutes a separate offense. 
2. 
Injunctive relief. 
The Attorney General, the Bureau of 
Labor Standards, the municipality or county in which a facility 
is located or the employees of the facility or their recognized 
bargaining agent may seek injunctive relief from the Superior 
Court to enforce this subchapter. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is intended to protect public safety by requiring 
inspections of certain industrial and commercial facilities that 
use potentially hazardous SUbstances, equipment and machinery to 
ensure that operations will be undertaken properly. 
This bill prevents the initiation or resumption of operation 
of 
any 
facility 
that 
employs 
more 
than 
persons, 
uses 
hazardous substances or hazardous equipment or machinery in its 
operations and is being operated by an inexperienced workforce. 
~4 
The operator of such a facility must notify the Department of 
Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards of the impending initiation or 
resumption of operation. 
The 
Bureau of Labor Standards will 
schedule and conduct an inspection of the facility and consult 
with the employees of the facility to ensure that the facility 
may safely initiate or resume operation. 
Opportunity is provided 
for 
public 
comment 
and 
input 
from 
local government 
and 
the 
facili ty' s employees to ensure adequate information is obtained 
about potential hazards caused by the facility's operation. 
The 
bureau 
will 
cooperate 
with 
the 
State 
Emergency 
Response 
Commission and local emergency planning committees to ensure that 
local emergency response plans are understood and followed in the 
event of an emergency at the facility. 
The facility may not 
begin or resume operation until it has been inspected by the 
Bureau of Labor Standards and found to be safe for operation.