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A02099 Summary:

BILL NOA02099
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORColton (MS)
 
COSPNSRRosenthal L, Cook
 
MLTSPNSRRivera, Walker
 
Add Art 35 §§1020 - 1024, Lab L
 
Enacts CJ's Law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act; requires the enactment of rules and regulations for enhanced workplace safety and employee training for all oil and gas drilling operations in the state; provides that new permit holders should utilize union laborers or laborers with specific training; provides that employers shall report workplace accidents and the commissioner of the department of labor must publish a quarterly report on workplace accidents.
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A02099 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2099
 
SPONSOR: Colton (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting CJ's Law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To provide standards for worksite safety for the oil and gas industry in New York State.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill amends the labor law by adding a new article 32 creating "CJ's Law - oil and gas drilling workplace safety act". § 951 sets forth the rules and regulations that require the following: § 951.1 requires the department of labor in conjunction with the depart- ment of environmental conservation to issue miss and regulations to provide for enhanced workplace safety requirements and employee training requirements far all oil and gas drilling operations in the state, including requirements relating to exposure to chemicals, work hours for drilling site employees and employees involved in on and off-site trans- portation, safety of machinery, proper care and treatment of clothing worn on drilling sites, use of proper respiratory masks, proper light- ing, safe living conditions, site safety, and necessary duration of training. § 951.2 requires that the rules and regulations be conspicuously posted in visible and prominent locations at each drilling site § 952 addresses applicability of the workers' compensation law and states that all employees engaged in oil and gas drilling operations in the state shall be considered to be engaged in hazardous employment for which compensation shall be payable for injuries or death incurred by such employees in the course of then employment. The section also subjects employers to applicable penalties for failure to comply with the workers' compensation law. 953 sets forth special requirements that require all applicants for new oil and gas drilling permits (including any subcontractors or other independent contractors) to utilize union laborers and/or laborers who have been trained or are undergoing train- ing, appropriate for the type of and scope of work to be performed, where such training is through a valid department of labor apprentice- ship program or an educational institution or school chartered, licensed or registered by the department of education, or a provider approved by the department of education. § 954 addresses reports of injuries and requires the drilling permit holder to report any workplace accident occurring at the drilling location by the close .of business of the commissioner's next business day. If the permit holder fails to report the commissioner may assess a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for first violation, not more than $2,000 for a second violation and not more than $3,000 for a third violation or subsequent violation. The commissioner is also required to publish a quarterly report on all workplace accidents occurring at oil or gas drilling locations that will be available for public review in writing and on the department's website. Section 2 provides for this act to take effect on the one hundred and twentieth day after it shall have become law; provided that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu- lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date; and provided further that no new permits or renewal permits for oil and gas drilling shall be issued until the rules and regulations referred to in section one of this act take effect.   JUSTIFICATION: This legislation is named in honor of CJ Begins. CJ was a 23 year old young man from West Virginia who senselessly and tragically lost his life as a result of unsafe work site conditions and poor training of drill site workers at a vertical hydrofracking gas well site in Smyrna, New York on May 1, 2011. He suffered severe crush injuries as he and other workers were setting up a new drill site location. CI remained conscious after the accident and EMS attempted to arrange flight rescue to the nearest trauma center. A flight was not obtained and after an hour long ride to a Syracuse hospital, CI died as a result of his inju- ries during surgery. Drilling for oil and natural gas is an inherently dangerous practice. Drill workers arc placed in situations where accidents can easily result in severe injury and death. Despite constant exposure to severely toxic chemicals, dangerous heavy machinery, and excessive work hours for on-site drill workers and transportation employees, there are little to no regulations that protect these workers. In April 2008, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a report entitled "Fatalities Among Oil and Gas Extraction Workers - United States, 2003-2006" which revealed that "increases in oil and gas extraction activity were correlated with an increase in the rate of fatal occupational injuries with an annual fatality rate of 30.5 per 100,000 workers during 2003-2006, approximate- ly seven times the rate for all workers (4.0 per 100,000 workers)". Furthermore, the CDC report state that "nearly half of all fatal inju- ries among these workers were attributed to highway motor-vehicle cras- hes and workers being struck by machinery or equipment". In addition to the 2008 CDC report, recent news articles attest the extreme risks associated with this industry including not only drilling sire accidents but transportation related accidents involving trucks transporting water and or hydrofracking waste water to and from drill sites. The New York Times reported in May 2012 (Ian Urbina, May 1,4, 2012) that following their review of 50,000 inspection reports it was revealed that 'as the number of drilling rigs rose by more than 22 percent in 2011 from the prior year, die number of inspections at such work sites fell by 12 percent." The article also highlighted the 2008 CDC report in stating that "with the growth of the industry ... the fatality rate was increasing, meaning the relative risk was increasing" and "shifts grew longer, more inexperienced workers were hired and older rigs were being pressed into service." Presently there are no specific work place safety rules that govern the many oil and gas drilling operations in New York State. This is simply unacceptable and this bill is necessary to protect those workers being put at risk.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2013-14: A.6220/Labor   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Yet to be determined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the one hundred and twentieth day after it shall have become law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date; and provided further that no new permits or renewal permits for oil and gas drilling shall be issued until the rates and regulations referred to in section one of this act take effect.
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A02099 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2099
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. COLTON, L. ROSENTHAL, COOK -- Multi-Sponsored by
          -- M. of A.  RIVERA, WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Labor
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting CJ's Law--oil and
          gas drilling workplace safety act
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 35 to read
     2  as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 35
     4                    OIL AND GAS DRILLING WORKPLACE SAFETY
     5  Section 1020. Short title.
     6          1021. Rules and regulations.
     7          1022. Applicability of the workers' compensation law.
     8          1023. Special requirements.
     9          1024. Reports of injuries.
    10    §  1020.  Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as
    11  "CJ's law--oil and gas drilling workplace safety act".
    12    § 1021. Rules and regulations. 1. The department, in conjunction  with
    13  the  department  of  environmental  conservation,  shall issue rules and
    14  regulations to provide for enhanced workplace  safety  requirements  and
    15  employee  training  requirements for all oil and gas drilling operations
    16  in the state. Such rules and regulations shall include, but shall not be
    17  limited to, requirements relating to exposure to chemicals,  work  hours
    18  for  both  drilling site employees and employees involved in transporta-
    19  tion, including truck drivers working on and off  the  drill  rig  site,
    20  safety  of  machinery,  proper  care  and  treatment of clothing worn on
    21  drilling sites, use  of  proper  masks  to  protect  worker  respiratory
    22  health, use of proper lighting, safety of living conditions for workers,
    23  safety  of  site location, including stability of ground surfaces neces-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02847-01-3

        A. 2099                             2
 
     1  sary to support all equipment used at drilling sites, and required dura-
     2  tion of training.
     3    2.  The  rules  and  regulations issued pursuant to subdivision one of
     4  this section shall be printed in English in at least fourteen point type
     5  and conspicuously posted in a visible and prominent location at each oil
     6  and gas drilling site location.
     7    § 1022. Applicability of the workers' compensation  law.  Pursuant  to
     8  section three of the workers' compensation law, all employees engaged in
     9  oil  and  gas  drilling  operations  in  the  state of New York shall be
    10  considered to be engaged in hazardous employment, for which compensation
    11  shall be payable for injuries or death incurred by such employees in the
    12  course of such hazardous employment. In the event any  covered  employer
    13  conducting  oil  and gas drilling operations in this state fails to make
    14  provision of payment of disability benefits as required by  section  two
    15  hundred  eleven of the workers' compensation law, such employer shall be
    16  subject to the penalties set forth in section two hundred twenty of  the
    17  workers' compensation law.
    18    § 1023. Special requirements. All applicants for a new drilling permit
    19  for  an  oil  and  gas  drilling operation shall utilize union laborers;
    20  and/or laborers who have been trained or are undergoing training, appro-
    21  priate for the type of and scope of work to  be  performed,  where  such
    22  training  is  through a valid department apprenticeship program pursuant
    23  to article twenty-three of this chapter, or an  educational  institution
    24  or  school chartered, licensed or registered by the department of educa-
    25  tion, or a provider approved by the department of education.   Following
    26  completion  of  training  required  by  this  section,  a certificate of
    27  completion shall be issued by such  department  apprenticeship  program,
    28  educational  institution, school or provider, and shall be conspicuously
    29  posted at each site location where the  holder  of  the  certificate  is
    30  employed  and  shall  be made available to the public upon request.  Any
    31  subcontractors or other independent contractors at such permitted  sites
    32  shall  also  agree to the employment of or contractual relation with the
    33  same type of laborers. Notwithstanding the foregoing,  nothing  in  this
    34  section  shall be construed to mandate an employer or contractor that is
    35  subject to the provisions of this section to exclusively require the use
    36  of union labor at a construction site or  to  be  in  violation  of  any
    37  federal prohibition regarding the same.
    38    §  1024.  Reports of injuries. 1. A drilling permit holder must report
    39  to the commissioner any workplace accident occurring at the oil  or  gas
    40  drilling  location  by  the close of business of the commissioner's next
    41  business day.  In the event a drilling permit holder fails to report any
    42  workplace accident pursuant to this subdivision, the commissioner may by
    43  order which particularly describes the nature of the  violation,  assess
    44  the  permit holder a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars
    45  for the first such violation, not more than two thousand dollars  for  a
    46  second violation and not more than three thousand dollars for a third or
    47  subsequent violation. Such penalty shall be paid to the commissioner for
    48  deposit  in  the  treasury  of the state. In assessing the amount of the
    49  penalty, the commissioner shall give due consideration to  the  size  of
    50  the  employer's business, the good faith of the employer, the history of
    51  previous violations  and  the  failure  with  any  other  record-keeping
    52  requirements.
    53    2.  The  commissioner must publish a quarterly report on all workplace
    54  accidents occurring at oil or gas drilling locations.    Such  quarterly
    55  reports  shall  be  available  for  public review, in writing and via an
    56  online format on the department's website.

        A. 2099                             3
 
     1    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
     2  it shall have become a law; provided, however, that no  new  permits  or
     3  renewal permits for oil and gas drilling shall be issued until the rules
     4  and  regulations  referred  to  in  section one of this act take effect.
     5  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
     6  or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
     7  tive  date  are  authorized  to  be made and completed on or before such
     8  effective date.
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