HEARING TARGETS OSHA STATE PLANS

The House Education and Labor Committee convenes a key hearing at 10 a.m. October 29 to examine OSHA’s recently released review of Nevada OSHA -- a beleaguered workplace safety and health state plan program beset by negative publicity surrounding fatalities and injuries in Las Vegas’ booming construction industry.

In what is normally an unusual occurrence, the star witness on the panel will be Nevada’s Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, the highest-ranking officer in the Senate as majority leader. Facing what pundits are saying possibly will be a difficult re-election in 2010 for a fifth term, Reid has little choice but to participate and get on the record on workplace safety or face claims of inattentiveness to the needs of constituents back home. Expect the panel to treat the majority leader with much accommodation and conviviality.

While the focus of the hearing will target Nevada OSHA, the background chatter will be about OSHA’s announced intention to review all state plans in light of the report. This aspect of the hearing will be of great interest to two Education and Labor leaders, the committee chairman George Miller and Workforce Protections Subcommittee chair Lynn Woolsey, both Democrats from California, a state plan state.

For fiscal 2009, Congress allocated about $92.5 million for OSHA-funded state plan programs, or about a fifth of the agency's $513 million budget. In its FY 2010 budget request, the Obama administration is seeking a sizable increase in State Plan funding to $106.4 million.

With those kinds of dollars floating around, OSHA acting administrator Jordan Barab has said he wants to ensure that all state plans functioning the way they should – matching or exceeding federal OSHA efforts. Twenty-seven states and territories operate state plans, per the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and 22 of those operate comprehensive programs.

Education and Labor first examined construction safety in Nevada at a June 2008 hearing, including receiving testimony about deaths during the building boom on the Las Vegas strip.

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More: Hearing/Webcast information, Nevada OSHA report, Education and Labor's June 2008 construction hearing.