CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS READYING MINE SAFETY BILL
 
House Education and Labor Committee majority counsel Richard Miller indicated on June 22 that the Democrats are readying a mine safety bill.  They hope to have sign off by Democratic principals in the next few days with introduction before the July 4 recess.  He stressed the bill is intended to be remedial not punitive. Further, staff advised that the aim is to get the “bottom-feeders” and to dramatically improve their compliance performance through such tools as increased staffing, training, safety and health management systems, etc.  Staff counsel advised that the focus of the legislation is “recidivist offenders.”  Although no bill language was provided, counsel outlined several areas likely to be covered by the bill including:
 
Overhaul of the pattern of violation (POV) to clarify ambiguity and so that deserving companies can be put on a pattern.  The criteria by which operators would be determined to be placed onto a pattern would be made transparent, and there would be remedial actions/off-ramps by which operators could get off the pattern list; 

• Codification of the parameters of what constitutes “significant and substantial;” effort here to address the likelihood of injury/possible severity;
• Strengthening of whistleblower provisions;
• Strengthening of criminal penalties, violation of a mandatory standard (“knowing intent”) would become a felony, advance notice of inspections would become a felony;
• Addition of one hour of training on issue of miners’ and whistleblowers’ rights and responsibilities under the Act;
• Possibility of “low severity” violation in which the penalty would be suspended for a violation that would not cause bodily harm and if corrected in a prescribed time period the citation would be vacated;
• Revisions to state certification programs addressing recertification and decertification processes.