By Jackson H.B. No. 2436
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the regulation of persons engaged in removing asbestos
1-3 from public and commercial buildings or disturbing, encapsulating,
1-4 enclosing, performing asbestos surveys, developing management plans
1-5 or response actions, designing projects, collecting or analyzing
1-6 asbestos samples, monitoring for airborne asbestos, transporting
1-7 asbestos, or training persons who work with asbestos.
1-8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-9 SECTION 1. Section 2, Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act
1-10 (Article 4477-3a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
1-11 read as follows:
1-12 Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act: (1) "Asbestos" means the
1-13 asbestiform varieties of chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite,
1-14 tremolite, anthophyllite, and actinolite and any of these minerals
1-15 that have been chemically treated or altered and all materials
1-16 containing more than one percent <or more> of any of those
1-17 substances.
1-18 (2) "Asbestos abatement" means the removal, the
1-19 encapsulation, or the enclosure of asbestos for the purpose of or
1-20 that has the effect of reducing or eliminating concentrations of
1-21 asbestos fibers or amounts of asbestos-containing materials.
1-22 (3) "Asbestos-related activity" means the removal,
1-23 encapsulation, or enclosure of asbestos, the performance of
2-1 asbestos surveys, the development of management plans or response
2-2 actions, the collection or analysis of asbestos samples, or any
2-3 other activity required to be licensed under this Act.
2-4 (4) "Asbestos removal" means any action that disturbs,
2-5 dislodges, strips, or otherwise takes away asbestos fibers.
2-6 (5) "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.
2-7 (6) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of health.
2-8 (7) "Demolition" means the wrecking or taking out of
2-9 any load-supporting structural member of a public building or
2-10 facility or any related asbestos removal, stripping, or handling
2-11 operations or the intentional burning of any public building or
2-12 facility.
2-13 (8) "Department" means the Texas Department of Health.
2-14 (9) <(8)> "Encapsulation" means a method of control of
2-15 asbestos fibers in which the surface of an asbestos-containing
2-16 material is penetrated by or covered with a coating prepared for
2-17 that purpose.
2-18 (10) <(9)> "Enclosure" means the construction of an
2-19 airtight wall and ceiling around asbestos-containing materials.
2-20 (11) <(10)> "Person" means:
2-21 (A) an individual;
2-22 (B) an organization such as a corporation,
2-23 partnership, sole proprietorship, governmental subdivision, or
2-24 agency; or
2-25 (C) any other legal entity recognized by law as
3-1 the subject of rights and duties.
3-2 (12) <(11)> "Public building" means the interior space
3-3 of any <a> building used or to be used for purposes that provide
3-4 for public access or occupancy or for commercial or industrial
3-5 purposes. The term includes the building during a period of
3-6 vacancy, including during preparations prior to and through
3-7 <actual> demolition. The term includes but is not limited to
3-8 industrial and office buildings, residential apartment buildings
3-9 and condominiums of 5 or more dwelling units, government-owned
3-10 buildings, colleges, schools, pre-schools, museums, airports,
3-11 jails, prisons, hospitals, churches, stores, warehouses, and
3-12 factories. Interior space includes exterior hallways connecting
3-13 buildings, porticos, and mechanical systems used to condition
3-14 interior space. The term does not include:
3-15 (A) the production or process equipment within a
3-16 public building <an industrial facility to which access is limited
3-17 principally to employees of the facility because of processes or
3-18 functions that are hazardous to human safety or health>;
3-19 <(B) a federal building or installation;>
3-20 (B) <(C)> a private residence; or
3-21 (C) <(D)> an apartment building with no more
3-22 than four dwelling units<; or>
3-23 <(E) a manufacturing facility or building that is
3-24 part of a facility that is limited to workers and invited guests
3-25 under controlled conditions>.
4-1 (13) <(12)> "Air monitoring" means the collection of
4-2 airborne samples for analysis of asbestos fibers.
4-3 (14) <(13)> "Independent third-party monitoring" means
4-4 a person retained to collect area air samples for analysis by and
4-5 for the owner of the building or facility being abated. The person
4-6 must not be employed by the contractor to analyze any area samples
4-7 collected during the abatement project.
4-8 SECTION 2. Section 4B(b), Texas Asbestos Health Protection
4-9 Act (Article 4477-3a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
4-10 read as follows:
4-11 (b) An individual supervising the removal of asbestos, the
4-12 encapsulation of asbestos, or the enclosure of asbestos <and who is
4-13 designated as the "competent person," as defined under 29 C.F.R.
4-14 1926.58,> must be licensed as an asbestos abatement supervisor.
4-15 The license fee may not exceed $300.
4-16 SECTION 3. Section 4C, Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act
4-17 (Article 4477-3a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
4-18 read as follows:
4-19 Sec. 4C. Conflict of interest. A person licensed under this
4-20 Act to perform asbestos inspections or surveys, write management
4-21 plans, or design abatement specifications for an asbestos abatement
4-22 project may not also be engaged in the abatement <removal> of
4-23 asbestos from that building or facility unless:
4-24 (1) retained to do so by a municipality;
4-25 (2) the abatement is limited to the portion of a
5-1 building where industrial or manufacturing operations or processes
5-2 are conducted and where access is limited principally to employees
5-3 and contractors of the buildings operator or to invited guests
5-4 under controlled conditions; or
5-5 (3) the abatement project has a combined amount of
5-6 asbestos of less than 160 square feet of surface area, or 260
5-7 linear feet of pipe length, or one cubic yard of material to be
5-8 removed from that building.
5-9 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-10 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.