By Armbrister                                         S.B. No. 1357
         77R7476 JMM-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the regulation of the removal of resilient
 1-3     floor-covering material.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 2, Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act
 1-6     (Article 4477-3a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
 1-7     adding Subdivisions (14) and (15) to read as follows:
 1-8                 (14)  "School" means a public or private, nonprofit,
 1-9     elementary or secondary school as those terms are defined by the
1-10     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section
1-11     8801), as amended.
1-12                 (15)  "Federal OSHA" means the United States
1-13     Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
1-14           SECTION 2. Section 15A, Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act
1-15     (Article 4477-3a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
1-16     amending Subsection (a)  and adding Subsection (d) to read as
1-17     follows:
1-18           (a)  The licensing and registration requirements of the Act
1-19     do not apply to activities involving resilient floor-covering
1-20     material provided any removal of such material is performed
1-21     consistent with federal OSHA asbestos standards applicable to a
1-22     removal subject to a negative exposure assessment, including
1-23     federal OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.63 [work practices published by
1-24     the resilient floor covering industry or by other methods
 2-1     determined by the Commissioner to provide comparable protection
 2-2     from asbestos exposure].  Any person who removes resilient floor
 2-3     covering material must have completed an eight-hour [a] training
 2-4     course in the removal of flooring materials as required by federal
 2-5     OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.63.  A person who supervises the removal
 2-6     of resilient floor-covering material must have completed a 12-hour
 2-7     training course in the removal of flooring materials as required by
 2-8     federal OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.63 [covering such work practices
 2-9     for a period not to exceed eight hours].
2-10           (d)  The department may not collect notification fees from a
2-11     school for an activity involving the removal of resilient
2-12     floor-covering material under this section.
2-13           SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.