Laurie Weber, Chief Executive Officer of the International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA), will deliver a formal presentation to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board on January 15, 2026, in Sacramento, titled “Protecting Workers Without a Ban: An Emergency Licensing Solution and Enforcement Support.”
The presentation responds directly to the medical community’s petition calling for a ban on engineered stone, while advancing a practical and immediate alternative focused on protecting workers by stopping silica exposure at its source—through enforceable operational controls, licensing, and oversight.
Weber’s remarks will specifically address the removal of the proposed certification and licensing framework from the original SB 20 proposal. That framework was initially designed to strengthen accountability and compliance within countertop and surface fabrication shops but was removed during the legislative process. ISFA’s proposal calls for reinstating a narrowly scoped, emergency licensing-and-audit model that focuses on fabrication practices—not materials—to support enforcement, improve compliance, and materially reduce silicosis risk.
“This is not a materials issue—it is an operational failure,” Weber said. “Silicosis is preventable when training, oversight, and enforcement are aligned. A licensing and audit framework gives regulators immediate tools to act, while creating a clear path to industry self-regulation.”
ISFA’s approach is designed to complement Cal/OSHA enforcement, provide regulatory clarity, and establish a durable model of industry self-regulation—one that prioritizes worker health, strengthens accountability, and delivers measurable exposure reduction without unintended consequences that could undermine enforcement or push work outside regulatory visibility.