Labor and Public Employees Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-662
AN ACT EXTENDING THE VALIDITY OF CERTAIN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION TRAINING FOR PUBLIC WORKS
Title: PROJECTS.
Vote Date: 3/25/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 2/18/2021
File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Labor and Public Employees Committee
REASONS FOR BILL:
There are concerns about workers in the construction industry and the amount of training
they receive.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
KURT WESTBY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
They have concerns about the proposed bill. The DOL is the agency responsible for the
health and safety of municipal and state employees and they feel this cost-saving measure
may compromise the safety of these workers. Training is necessary to maintain an
appropriately healthy and safe workplace. Expanding the training gap by such a significant
number of years may result in additional illnesses and injuries in the workplace, resulting in
an increased risk to workers. They do not support this bill as drafted.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
ROBERT SAMPSON, STATE SENATOR, SIXTEENTH DISTRICT, ASSISTANT SENATE
REPUBLICAN LEADER
Sen. Sampson's testimony said he proposed this legislation after hearing from several of his
constituents who have expressed concerns about the current state requirements regarding
the OSHA ten-hour training card validity. This would extend the validity of this training card
from five years to ten years to align the state requirements with those of the federal
government and reduce costs for state contractors who already meet those federal
requirements.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
DON SHUBERT, JOHN BUTTS, CT CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATES, INC.
The issue this bill addresses is not about the necessity of safety training, but its frequency.
This bill requires 10-hour training issued to workers every 5 years. The current 5 years is
sufficient and should not be extended beyond that. The curriculum focuses not only on the
fundamentals of safety, but also on the controls that workers can utilize to mitigate potential
hazards. Safety strategies/techniques, especially in the middle of a pandemic, are updated
very often. Everyone would agree this is not the time to become lax with safety training and it
would not be a good time to "take our foot off the pedal" regarding safety; we need to
recognize safety training never ends for the construction industry.
CAMERON CHAMPLIN, PLUMBERS AND PIPEFITTERS LOCAL UNION 777
Although they believe this bill is well-intended and an attempt to ease the burden requiring
workers in the construction industry to take an OSHA 10-hour course every 5 years instead of
the current 10 years, this is time missed from work and therefore saves money for worker
compensation claims.
Reported by: Marie Knudsen, Assistant Clerk Date: April 4, 2021
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