[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3234 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3234

        To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 1996

   Mr. Ballenger (for himself, Mrs. Meyers of Kansas, Mr. Barrett of 
  Nebraska, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Hayes, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Hall of Texas, and Mr. Brewster) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Economic and 
                       Educational Opportunities

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business 
OSHA Relief Act of 1996 ''.
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

SEC. 2. STANDARDS.

    Section 6(b) (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(9) Each standard promulgated by the Secretary shall be 
        based upon an assessment of the costs and benefits of the 
        standard and a determination that the benefits of the standard 
        justify the costs imposed by the standard.''.

SEC. 3. PENALTIES.

    Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 666) is amended by redesignating subsections 
(k) and (l) as subsections (l) and (m), respectively, and by adding 
after subsection (j) the following:
    ``(k) In the case of any employer of 250 or fewer employees who 
received a citation for a violation of the requirements of section 5, 
any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 6 or of 
any regulation prescribed under this Act, the Secretary shall waive up 
to 100 percent of the penalty otherwise proposed for such violation if 
the employer corrects the violation within the time set for abatement 
under section 9(a). If the employer does not correct the violation 
within such time, the Secretary shall waive up to 100 percent of such 
penalty to the extent that the employer uses the amount which would 
have been paid as the penalty for correction of the violation. This 
subsection shall apply where--
            ``(1) the employer has made a good faith effort to comply 
        with applicable regulations; and
            ``(2) the violation constitutes a significant threat to an 
        employee's health or safety.''.

SEC. 4. CITATION.

    Section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) In the case of any posting requirement and any requirement to 
prepare and maintain injury and illness records or written plan or 
verification, no citation shall be issued unless--
            ``(1) the employer has willfully or repeatedly violated the 
        requirement; or
            ``(2) the failure to meet such requirement has resulted in 
        an employee being exposed to a hazard.''.

SEC. 5. CONSULTATION SERVICES.

    Section 23 (29 U.S.C. 672) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(i)(1) The Secretary shall, through the authority granted under 
sections 7(c) and 21(c), enter into cooperative agreements with States 
for the provision of consultation services by such States to employers 
concerning the provision of safe and healthful working conditions.
    ``(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary 
shall reimburse a State that enters into a cooperative agreement under 
paragraph (1) in an amount that equals 90 percent of the costs incurred 
by the State under such agreement.
    ``(B) A State shall be fully reimbursed by the Secretary for--
            ``(i) training approved by the Secretary for State staff 
        operating under a cooperative agreement; and
            ``(ii) specified out-of-State travel expenses incurred by 
        such staff.
    ``(C) A reimbursement paid to a State under this subparagraph shall 
be limited to costs incurred by such State for the provision of 
consultation services under this paragraph and the costs described in 
subparagraph (B).''.

SEC. 6. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

    Section 8 (29 U.S.C. 657) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(h) The Secretary shall not establish any performance measures 
for any subordinate within the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (including any regional director, area director, 
supervisor, or inspector) with respect to the number of inspections 
conducted, citations issued, or penalties assessed.''.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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