Official Summary Text
AB 605, as amended, Muratsuchi.
Lower Emissions Cargo Handling Equipment Pilot program.
Employment: refineries: task force: safe staffing management plans.
Existing law establishes an accidental release prevention program for the state. Under that law, stationary sources subject to the accidental release prevention program may be required to prepare and submit a risk management plan (RMP) to prevent accidental releases of certain substances. Existing law imposes criminal penalties upon a stationary source that knowingly violates the requirements of the accidental release prevention program.
This bill would state findings and declarations concerning refinery closures in California. The bill would create the Refinery Safe Staffing Task Force to develop a set of standards and best practices for retaining safe
staffing levels at refineries with membership, as specified, appointed and commencing service no later than January 1, 2028. The bill would require the task force, no later than June 1, 2029, to present to the Legislature and make available online a set of standards and best practices for retaining safe staffing levels at refineries and managing understaffing, and a report documenting the facts, analysis, and investigation upon which the standards are based. The bill would repeal the provisions that would create the task force on January 1, 2030.
This bill would require the California Environmental Protection Agency, by January 1, 2028, to adopt regulations that require all refineries, as specified, to develop safe staffing management plans to address staffing risks associated with anticipated refinery closure or long-term idling. The bill would require that the plans, within 6 months following presentation to the Legislature by the Refinery Safe Staffing Task Force
of the standards and best practices described above, or by January 1, 2030, whichever is earlier, be required by the regulations, at minimum, to adhere to those standards and best practices, unless the refinery operator presents evidence sufficient to justify deviating from those standards and best practices. The bill would require the regulations to require the plans to be updated periodically and upon announcement of a refinery closure or long-term idling, as specified. The bill would require the regulations to make the plans subject to public comment and presentation to the agency for approval. The bill would make the agency responsible for conducting inspections and investigations to ensure implementation of the refinery’s plan, addressing noncompliance through all available and necessary enforcement authority, and posting the drafts, comments, plans, and updates on its internet website, as specified. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990, the purpose of which is to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, flammable, or explosive chemicals and eliminate the risks to which workers are exposed in refineries, requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to propose, and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to consider for adoption, regulations implementing provisions for refineries, that, among other things, require an employer to develop and implement written operating procedures that provide clear instructions for safely conducting process or business activities.
This bill would require the division, by January 1, 2028, to propose, and the board to consider for adoption, regulations that require refinery employers to develop safe staffing management plans to address staffing risks associated with anticipated refinery closure
or long-term idling. The bill would require that the plans, within 6 months following presentation to the Legislature by the Refinery Safe Staffing Task Force of the standards and best practices described above, or by January 1, 2030, whichever is earlier, be required by the regulations, at minimum, to adhere to those standards and best practices, unless the refinery operator presents evidence sufficient to justify deviating from those standards and best practices. The bill would require the regulations to require the plans to be updated periodically and upon announcement of a refinery closure or long-term idling, as specified. The bill would require the regulations to make the plans subject to public comment and presentation to the division for approval. The bill would make the division responsible for conducting inspections and investigations to ensure implementation of an employer’s plan, addressing noncompliance through all available and necessary enforcement authority, and posting the drafts, comments,
plans, and updates on its internet website, as specified.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature, requires the State Air Resources Board to allocate funds on a competitive basis for projects that are shown to achieve the greatest emission reductions from each emission source identified, as specified, from activities related to the movement of freight along California’s trade corridors, commencing at the state’s airports, seaports, and land ports of entry.
This bill would enact the Lower Emissions Cargo Handling Equipment Pilot program. As part of the pilot program, the state board would be prohibited from adopting a future regulation that prohibits or disallows for the use of its entire useful life from the date of delivery any cargo handling equipment, as defined, that is purchased pursuant to the pilot program before December 31, 2027, as specified. The bill would provide
that a piece of cargo handling equipment has qualified for participation in and is subject to the pilot program when specified actions have occurred between the time the cargo handling equipment is purchased and the cargo handling equipment is delivered, including that the manufacturer has certified that the equipment meets the emission specifications of less than 1 g CO2/kWh or less than 1 g CO2/km and that the manufacturer labels the equipment, as specified. The bill would require that a piece of cargo handling equipment subject to the pilot program include, at the time of delivery, a description, warrant, or both, of the useful life of the equipment from the manufacturer, and would prohibit the useful life from exceeding a specified number of years, as provided.