The legislature passed a pivotal halfway point in this year’s legislative session, the deadline for Assembly bills to pass out of the Assembly and vice versa in the Senate. Legislation that receives enough votes advances to the next house or dies if it does not receive enough votes to pass. We've compiled a summary of the major legislation affecting our members.
We recently sent out notification that the California Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA) Board approved and adopted amendments to the COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regarding vaccinated employees, masks, respirators, and physical distancing in the workplace.
On June 9, 2021, the CalOSHA Board convened for a special meeting to reconsider the adopted amendments to the ETS from the prior meeting on June 3, 2021. The Board voted and withdrew the proposed amendments previously passed that were expected to go into effect before June 15 if approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL).
What this means: The current CalOSHA ETS from November 2020 will remain effective and no changes to the COVID-19 Prevention ETS have been made at this time. CalOSHA is expected to propose new amendments that closely align with CDPH and CDC guidance for mask usage of vaccinated employees which may be adopted at the next meeting on June 17, 2021 and may go into effect on June 28 or so. CTA will notify members through our Government Affairs Alert when additional changes are made to the ETS.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) voted and adopted Warehouse Indirect Source Rules (ISR) on May 7, 2021. The ISR will affect about 3,000 warehouses in the SCAQMD and require warehouse operators to track and report all truck trips.
The new law will require warehouse operators with more than 100,000 square feet of indoor space to reduce emissions by limiting the number of trucks that can come to their building. Pursuant to the rule, SCAQMD establishes the Warehouse actions and Investments to Reduce Emissions (WAIRE) Program as a menu-based point system that requires warehouse operators to achieve a certain number of points to meet a calculated compliance obligation.
Point earning possibilities include:
· Acquiring of near zero-emission or zero-emission vehicles
· Acquiring of zero emission cargo handling equipment
· Using solar panels or electric charging stations
· Paying a “mitigation fee”
The amount of points every warehouse operator must earned depends upon the number of truck trips to their warehouse during the 12-month compliance period. Warehouses will be phased in over a 3-year period based on their size. Warehouse operators with more than 250,000 square feet of indoor space will need to be in compliance by January 1, 2022.
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