By: Flores H.B. No. 148
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain heat safety protections; providing
administrative and civil penalties.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Antelmo Ramirez Heat
Safety Act.
       SECTION 2.  Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 53. HEAT SAFETY
       Sec. 53.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this section:
             (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
             (2)  "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition
resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat
load and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and
heat stroke.
             (3)  "Heat safety expert" means a person that:
                   (A)  possesses a certification or educational
degree in public health, medicine, occupational safety,
environmental science, human physiology, or a related field; and
                   (B)  performs work focused on heat safety in the
workplace.
       Sec. 53.002.  APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to the
mitigation and control of risks related to heat illness, regardless
of the location of employment, type of employment, or type of
employer.
       Sec. 53.003.  HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD;
STANDARDS. (a) The commission shall appoint an advisory board
consisting of the following seven members:
             (1)  two heat safety experts;
             (2)  two persons employed as construction workers;
             (3)  one employer;
             (4)  one representative of a non-profit organization
engaged in worker safety issues; and
             (5)  one representative of a construction worker labor
union.
       (b)  The advisory board appointed under this section shall
develop and recommend heat illness prevention standards consistent
with this chapter and designed to protect employees from heat
illness in indoor and outdoor work. The commission shall review and
adopt the standards recommended by the advisory board under this
section for use by employers to the extent that the standards are
consistent with this chapter and other applicable law.
       (c)  The standards recommended by the advisory board and
adopted by the commission under this section must:
             (1)  be developed in a manner consistent with "Criteria
for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot
Environments" published by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health;
             (2)  include requirements related to the provision of
drinking water, access to nearby shade or climate-controlled
environments, access to nearby restrooms and handwashing stations,
rest periods, effective emergency response procedures,
acclimatization to working in heat, training procedures for
employees and supervisors, and related standards for protection
against heat illness; and
             (3)  include mandatory administrative penalties of not
less than $1,000 per violation per employee for an employer's
failure to comply with heat illness prevention standards adopted
under this section, to be assessed and administered by the
commission.
       Sec. 53.004.  SIGNAGE REQUIRED. (a) The commission shall
produce signage in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and any other
languages that the commission determines to be appropriate
outlining:
             (1)  the heat illness prevention standards adopted by
the commission under this chapter; and
             (2)  an employee's rights under this chapter.
       (b)  The commission shall make the signage available for free
download by employers and the public on the commission's website.
       (c)  An employer shall post a copy of the signage described

Statutes affected:
Introduced: ()