Bill Text: HI HR36 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Resolution 36 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Concerning internal review of Hawaii Occupational Safety & Health (HIOSH)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-31 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Oshiro, Tokioka excused (2). [HR36 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HR36-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	36
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING AN Internal review of THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS' Hawaii occupational safety & healtH DIVISION.

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division (HIOSH) of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is responsible for ensuring safe and healthy workplaces for the people of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, HIOSH administers the Occupational Safety and Health Program to assure workplaces are free from hazards under Chapter 396, Hawaii Revised Statutes, The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Law, with activities including the adoption of safety and health standards, workplace inspections, health and safety consultations, and enforcement of employer and employee rights; and

WHEREAS, it is important for HIOSH to uphold these safety standards and practices and to respond in an appropriate timeframe, especially in times where there is an immediate danger to life or health; and

WHEREAS, possible injuries, illnesses, development of chronic diseases, or even fatalities can be avoided when HIOSH exercises timely responsiveness to reported workplace health and safety incidents; and

WHEREAS, in 2013, HIOSH reported an incidence rate of 3.8 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and 11 fatalities from state and local industries due to transportation incidents, falls, trips, slips, and exposure to harmful substances or environments; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to perform an internal review of HIOSH rules and policies when confronted with an incident that poses an immediate danger to life or health; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations on improving responsiveness by the Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the start of the 2016 regular legislative session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Administrator of Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health.