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Legislative Update - July 13, 2018

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July 13, 2018
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Statehouse Overview
After a contentious Speaker of the House battle, the House and Senate resumed a regular committee schedule and floor voting schedule during the last two weeks of June before their summer recess. However, the Senate did return to Columbus the week of July 9th to pass a pay day lending bill. With it being an election year, members will now focus on the November election as roughly half the Ohio Senate seats are on the ballot, all of the Ohio House, and all statewide offices.  Always wanting to keep the door open, in case of a major issue arising, both House and Senate leaders scheduled some tentative session dates in August and September. After the November 6 election, there will be a hectic lame duck session.
  
HB 492 (Gonzales) State Procurement
The bill has had four hearings in the House State and Local Government Committee.  The last hearing was on May 31st. It was listed as a possible vote in committee the last week of session, but the hearing was cancelled.

At a prior meeting, a substitute bill was accepted.  The changes eliminated a requirement that each agency set goals for procurement utilizing certified women-owned businesses. HB 492 now creates a program similar to one used in Kentucky in which a certification process would be created by rules promulgated by the Department of Administrative Services. The goal of the legislation is to get a web-based certification process in place and allow DAS to enter into reciprocal agreements related to the women-owned businesses with other states. For more information, please see the link to the bill.

HB 551 (Perales, Romanchuk) Minor Workers
The bill deals with hazardous occupations prohibited for minors.  It would provide training to certain minors employed in construction or manufacturing.

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Ohio Manufacturers Association, and the NFIB testified for the bill. The bill would allow sixteen and seventeen year olds to work on construction and manufacturing job sites. The 16-17 year olds would have to go through this training.

(a) A ten-hour course in construction or general industry safety and health hazard recognition and prevention approved by the occupational safety and health administration of the United States department of labor;
(b) Instructions on how to operate the specific tools the minor will use during the minor's employment; 
(c) The general safety and health hazards to which the minor may be exposed at the minor's workplace; 
a minor may participate in a thirty-hour course in construction or general industry safety and health hazard recognition and prevention approved by the occupational safety and health administration if the minor has already successfully completed a ten-hour course.

Other provisions include: the employer paying any costs associated with providing the training and the Ohio Department of Commerce making rules specifying a list of tools 16-17 years may operate.  

Late in June session, the bill was up for a third hearing and possible vote out of the House Economic Development Commerce and Labor Committee.  CEA had concerns with the bill and issued opponent testimony.    Please see attached.  Due to CEA’s testimony and others that had concerns, the bill was not voted out of committee.

HB 127 (Perales, Dever) Steel Welding
The bill establishes in the Ohio Building Code requirements pertaining to structural steel welding.

The bill had a couple hearings in 2017. The Iron Workers District Council and an Ironworker apprenticeship instructor have testified on the bill.   After a pause in hearings, on 6/28/18 the bill had a hearing in the House Economic Development and Commerce and Labor Committee. A substitute bill was accepted, and the bill was reported out of committee.  It awaits a full House vote. The bill would then have to go over to the Senate. Some of the changes in the substitute bill include:

  • Transfers responsibility for implementing the legislation from the Board of Building Standards to the superintendent of industrial compliance.
  • Requires the superintendent or a building official certified by him or her to enforce the new welding standards.
  • Authorizes the superintendent to certify local building departments, personnel and private firms to conduct inspections of the welding standards.
  • Eliminates references to bridge welding, rendering the bill only applicable to structural welding. Exempts from the bill's structural steel welding requirements certain buildings and any welding that is required by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to have its own certification.
  • Enables a locality without a certified department to adopt another department or private third party to do the inspections or enforcement.
  • Allows the superintendent to investigate departments and revoke certifications.
  • Allows the superintendent to adopt rules to implement the bills, govern inspections and record keeping, establish fees, implement and administer the bill's provisions.
  • Requires a contractor, subcontractor, or project manager who is responsible for the structural steel welding on a construction project to ensure that standards related to welding and welding inspections be met in all construction projects covered by the bill.
  • Authorizes the Superintendent of Industrial Compliance to certify municipal, township, and county building departments or private third parties to inspect structural steel welding projects to determine that the welding complies with the bill's requirements

For more information, please see the bill analysis attached here: 

HB 712 (Hood,Dean) Prevailing Wage
On June 26, 2018; a bill was introduced to repeal the Prevailing Wage Law.  Representative Ron Hood each session has introduced similar types of bills. While this bill was introduced late in session and has not had many hearings in the past, CEA remains vigilant on these types of attacks on prevailing wage law.
 
Pension Hearing
The Federal House and Senate Joint Select Committee on Pensions will hold a meeting in Columbus on Friday 13th at 2pm.   The committee is made up of sixteen members of the United States Senate and House.  Both Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman serve on the committee. The committee is tasked with reporting a bill draft by the end of November to help resolve multi employer pension issues.