HB2618 - 552R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 23, chapter 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 4, to read:

ARTICLE 4. POWER PLANT SAFETY

START_STATUTE23-251. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Apprenticeable occupation" means an occupation for which an apprenticeship program has been approved by the United States department of labor or the department of economic security.

2. "Commission" means the industrial commission of Arizona.

3. On-site work does not include any of the following:

(a) Rail car support activities.

(b) Environmental inspection and testing.

(d) Work that is performed by an original equipment manufacturer for warranty, repair or maintenance on the vendor's equipment if required by the original equipment manufacturer's warranty agreement between the original equipment manufacturer and the owner.

(e) Industrial cleaning not related to construction.

(f) Safety services requiring professional safety certification.

(g) Nonconstruction catalyst loading, regeneration and removal.

(h) Chemical purging and cleaning.

(i) Refinery by-product separation and recovery.

(j) Inspection services that are not related to construction.

(k) Work performed that is not in an apprenticeable occupation.

4. "Power plant" means an industrial facility for generating electric power.

5. "Prevailing hourly wage rate" means the prevailing hourly wage set by the United States department of labor.

6. "Registered apprentice" means an apprentice registered in an apprenticeship program approved by the United States department of labor or the department of economic security.

7. "Skilled and trained workforce" means a workforce that meets both of the following criteria:

(a) All the workers are either registered apprentices or skilled journeypersons.

(b) The workforce meets the apprenticeship graduation and approved advanced safety training requirements established under this article.

8. "Skilled journeyperson" means a worker who meets both of the following criteria:

(a) The worker either:

(i) Graduated from an apprenticeship program for the applicable occupation that was approved by the United States department of labor or the department of economic security that has graduated journeymen in at least three of the last five years.

(ii) Has at least as many hours of on-the-job experience in the applicable occupation that would be required to graduate from an apprenticeship program approved by the United States department of labor or the department of economic security.

(b) The worker is being paid in accordance with section 23-254. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-252. Arizona power plant safety committee; membership; duties

A. the director of the commission shall establish an Arizona power plant safety committee. The director or the director's designee shall serve as the chairperson of the committee and shall appoint the director of or a representative from each of the following apprenticeship programs that are approved by the United States department of labor or the department of economic security and that have graduated students in at least three of the last five years:

1. A boilermaker apprenticeship program.

2. A bricklayer apprenticeship program.

3. An electrical apprenticeship program.

4. An elevator constructor apprenticeship program.

5. A heat and frost insulators apprenticeship program.

6. An ironworkers apprenticeship program.

7. A plasterers and cement masons apprenticeship program.

8. A sheet metal apprenticeship program.

9. A pipefitter apprenticeship program.

10. A plumber apprenticeship program.

B. The Arizona power plant safety committee shall make recommendations to and consult with the director of the commission regarding administering and implementing this article and any additional items as necessary.

C. Members of the committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible to receive reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-253. Power plant safety; skilled and trained workforce; training; applicability

A. Notwithstanding any other law, when contracting for the performance of construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair or maintenance work on a power plant, an owner or operator shall require that its contractors and any subcontractors use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all on-site work within an apprenticeable occupation in the building and construction trades. All workers in the skilled and trained workforce must have completed within the past three calendar years at least twenty hours of approved advanced safety training for workers at power plants. The requirements prescribed in this subsection apply to each individual contractor's and subcontractor's on-site workforce.

B. The Arizona power plant safety committee established pursuant to section 23-252 shall approve a curriculum of in-person classroom and laboratory instruction for approved advanced safety training for workers at a power plant. The safety training must be provided by a training provider that is approved by the commission, which may include a registered apprenticeship program approved by the united states department of labor or the department of economic security. The commission must periodically review and revise the curriculum approved under this section to ensure that it reflects the current best practices.

C. On receipt of certification from the training provider approved under subsection B of this section, the commission shall issue a certificate to any worker who completes the approved curriculum. The commission may accept a certificate or other documentation issued by another state if the commission finds that the curriculum and documentation of the other state meet the requirements under subsection B of this section.

D. This section:

1. Applies only to work performed under contracts awarded and contract extensions and contract renewals occurring on or after the effective date of this section.

2. Does not apply to work performed under a contract awarded before the effective date of this section.

E. This section does not apply to any of the following:

1. The employees of the owner or operator of a power plant. This section also does not prevent the owner or operator of a power plant from using its own employees to perform any work that has not been assigned to contractors while the employees of the contractor are present and working.

2. A contractor that has requested qualified workers from the local hiring halls or apprenticeship programs that dispatch workers in the apprenticeable occupation and that, due to workforce shortages, is unable to obtain sufficient qualified workers within forty-eight hours of the request, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excepted.

3. Emergencies that make compliance impracticable because they require immediate action to prevent harm to the public health or safety or to the environment. This section applies as soon as the emergency is over or when it becomes practicable for contractors to obtain a skilled and trained workforce. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-254. Wage rate requirements

A contractor or subcontractor that is subject to this article shall ensure that the contractor's or subcontractor's skilled journeypersons are being paid at least a rate commensurate with the wages typically paid for the occupation in the applicable geographic area, subject to the following provisions:

1. The prevailing hourly wage rate paid for a worker in the applicable occupation and geographic area on public works projects may be used to determine the appropriate rate of pay, except that this paragraph does not require a contractor to pay prevailing hourly wage rates.

2. The worker may not be paid at a rate less than an hourly rate consistent with the seventy-fifth percentile in the applicable occupation and geographic area in the most recent occupational employment statistics published by the office of economic opportunity. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-255. Civil penalty; enforcement

A. After a hearing, the commission shall impose a civil penalty of at least $1,000 per day against a contractor or subcontractor that fails to comply with section 23-253, subsection A.

B. A contractor or subcontractor that fails to comply with section 23-254 is subject to all of the following:

1. The contractor or subcontractors shall pay affected skilled journeypersons back wages plus any legal or administrative expenses.

2. For a second or subsequent violation of section 23-254, the contractor or subcontractor shall pay each affected skilled journeyperson back wages and $100 for each day the skilled journeyperson was not paid the wage rate required pursuant to section 23-254. The contractor or subcontractor shall also pay the affected skilled journeyperson any legal or administrative expenses that result from enforcing this article.

3. If a contractor or subcontractor violates this article three times within a five-year period, the registrar of contractors may suspend or revoke the license of the contractor or subcontractor in a manner consistent with section 32-1154. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE23-256. Rules

The commission may adopt any rules necessary to implement this article. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 34-321, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE34-321. Public policy; prevailing wage contracts; prohibited agreements; exception; definitions

A. The public interest in the rates of wages paid under public works contracts transcends local or municipal interests and is of statewide concern.

B. Agencies and political subdivisions of this state, shall not by regulation, or ordinance or in any other manner, shall not require public works contracts to contain a provision requiring the wages paid by the contractor or any subcontractor to be not less than the prevailing rate of wages for work of a similar nature in the state or political subdivision where the project is located.

C. Agencies and political subdivisions of this state shall not require in any public works contracts that a contractor, subcontractor, material supplier or carrier engaged in the construction, maintenance, repair or improvement of public works do any of the following as a condition of or a factor in bidding, negotiating, being awarded or performing work on a public works contract:

1. Negotiate, execute or otherwise become a party to any project labor agreement or other agreement with employees, employees' representatives or any labor organization.

2. Enter into a neutrality agreement with any labor organization.

3. Participate in or contribute to an apprenticeship program that is registered with the United States department of labor.

D. Subsection C of this section does not:

1. Prohibit private parties from entering into individual collective bargaining relationships.

2. Regulate or interfere with activity protected by law, including the national labor relations act.

E. This section does not apply to title 23, chapter 2, article 4.

E. F. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Agency" has the same meaning prescribed in section 41-1001.

2. "Neutrality agreement" includes an agreement to remain neutral toward any labor organization, release private employee information not required by federal labor law, allow access to property beyond what is required by federal labor law and recognize a labor organization without a secret ballot election conducted pursuant to federal labor law.

3. "Political subdivision" means a city, charter city, town, county, school district, community college district, multi-county water conservation district, industrial development authority or special taxing district established pursuant to title 48 that is primarily supported by taxes.

4. "Project labor agreement" means any prehire, collective bargaining, model construction or similar type of agreement entered into with one or more labor organizations, employees or employee representatives that establishes the terms and conditions of employment on a construction project.

5. "Public works contract" means a contract to which this state or a political subdivision is a party involving the employment of laborers, workmen or mechanics in the construction, alteration or repair of public buildings or improvements. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 40-360.06, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE40-360.06. Factors to be considered in issuing a certificate of environmental compatibility

A. The committee may approve or deny an application and may impose reasonable conditions on the issuance of a certificate of environmental compatibility. and In so doing, the committee shall consider the following factors as a basis for its action with respect to the suitability of either plant or transmission line siting plans:

1. Existing plans of this state, a local government and private entities for other developments at or in the vicinity of the proposed site.

2. Fish, wildlife and plant life and associated forms of life on which they are dependent.

3. Noise emission levels and interference with communication signals.

4. The proposed availability of the site to the public for recreational purposes, consistent with safety considerations and regulations.

5. Existing scenic areas, historic sites and structures or archaeological sites at or in the vicinity of the proposed site.

6. The total environment of the area.

7. The technical practicability of achieving a proposed objective and the previous experience with equipment and methods available for achieving a proposed objective.

8. The estimated cost of the facilities and site as proposed by the applicant and the estimated cost of the facilities and site as recommended by the committee, recognizing that any significant increase in costs represents a potential increase in the cost of electric energy to the customers or the applicant.

9. Any additional factors that require consideration under applicable federal and state laws pertaining to any such site.

B. The committee shall give special consideration to the protection of areas that are unique because of biological wealth or because they are habitats for rare and endangered species.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the committee shall require in all certificates of environmental compatibility for facilities that the applicant comply with all applicable nuclear radiation standards and air and water pollution control standards and regulations, but shall not require either of the following:

1. compliance with performance standards other than those established by the agency having primary jurisdiction over a particular pollution source.

2. That a contractor, subcontractor, material supplier or other person engaged in the construction, maintenance, repair or improvement of any project subject to approval of the commission negotiate, execute or otherwise become a party to any project labor agreement, neutrality agreement as defined in section 34-321, apprenticeship program participation or contribution agreement or other agreement with employees, employees' representatives or any labor organization as a condition of or a factor in the commission's approval of the project. This paragraph does not:

(a) Prohibit private parties from entering into individual collective bargaining relationships.

(b) Regulate or interfere with activity protected by law, including the national labor relations act.

D. Any certificate OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY THAT IS granted by the committee shall be conditioned on compliance by the applicant with all applicable ordinances, master plans and regulations of the THIS state, a county or an incorporated city or town, except that the committee may grant a certificate OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY notwithstanding any such ordinance, master plan or regulation, exclusive of franchises, if the committee finds as a fact that compliance with such an ordinance, master plan or regulation is unreasonably restrictive and compliance therewith is not feasible in view of technology available. When it becomes apparent to the chairman chairperson of the committee or to the hearing officer that an issue exists with respect to whether such an ordinance, master plan or regulation is unreasonably restrictive and compliance therewith is not feasible in view of technology available, the chairman chairperson or hearing officer shall promptly serve notice of such that fact by certified mail on the chief executive officer of the area of jurisdiction affected and, notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, shall make such that area of jurisdiction a party to the proceedings on its request and shall give it an opportunity to respond on such that issue. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Implementation schedule

A. Notwithstanding section 23-253, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, to implement the skilled and trained workforce requirements prescribed in section 23-253, subsection A, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, a contractor or subcontractor that is required to comply with section 23-253, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, shall ensure that the following percentages of persons performing on-site work at a power plant within an apprenticeable occupation as defined in section 23-251, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, in the building and construction trades are skilled journeypersons as defined in section 23-251, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, on or before the following dates:

1. On or before January 1, 2024, at least twenty percent.

2. On or before January 1, 2025, at least thirty-five percent.

3. On or before January 1, 2026, at least forty-five percent.

4. On or before January 1, 2027, at least sixty percent.

5. On or before January 1, 2028, one hundred percent.

B. Notwithstanding section 23-253, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, to implement the training requirements prescribed in section 23-253, subsection A, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act, on or before January 1, 2025, all of the workers in a contractor's or subcontractor's skilled and trained workforce must have completed the training requirements prescribed in section 23-253, subsection A, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.