By: Flores H.B. No. 88
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to workplace heat illness prevention, including the
creation of a heat illness prevention advisory board; imposing
administrative penalties.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 53. WORKPLACE HEAT SAFETY
       Sec. 53.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
             (1)  "Advisory board" means the heat illness prevention
advisory board established under Section 53.003.
             (2)  "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
             (3)  "Employer" means a person who employs one or more
employees.
             (4)  "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.
             (5)  "Heat safety expert" means an individual who:
                   (A)  holds a certification or educational degree
in environmental science, human physiology, medicine, occupational
safety, public health, or a related field; and
                   (B)  performs work focused on heat safety in the
workplace.
       Sec. 53.002.  APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to all
employers in this state, regardless of the location of employment,
type of employment, or size or type of employer.
       Sec. 53.003.  HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD. (a)  A
heat illness prevention advisory board is established to assist the
commission in adopting heat illness prevention standards under this
chapter.
       (b)  The advisory board consists of the following members
appointed by the commission:
             (1)  two members who are heat safety experts;
             (2)  two members who are employed as construction
workers;
             (3)  one member who is an employer;
             (4)  one member who is a representative of a nonprofit
organization engaged in worker safety issues; and
             (5)  one member who is a representative of construction
worker labor unions.
       (c)  The advisory board shall develop and recommend to the
commission heat illness prevention standards, consistent with this
chapter, that are designed to protect employees from heat illness
in indoor and outdoor worksites.
       Sec. 53.004.  HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION STANDARDS. (a)  The
commission by rule shall adopt heat illness prevention standards.  
In adopting the standards, the commission shall give full
consideration to the recommendations the advisory board makes under
Section 53.003(c).
       (b)  The heat illness prevention standards must:
             (1)  be consistent with the standards and
recommendations relating to heat and workforce safety contained in
the Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to
Heat and Hot Environments published by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, as those standards and
recommendations existed on October 1, 2023; and
             (2)  include:
                   (A)  requirements for providing:
                         (i)  drinking water;
                         (ii)  access to nearby shade or
climate-controlled environments, restrooms, and handwashing
stations; and
                         (iii)  rest periods;
                   (B)  standards for effective emergency response
procedures;
                   (C)  standards for heat acclimatization;
              

Statutes affected:
Introduced: ()