House Bill 129 passes in 61-29 bipartisan vote. 

House Bill 129 to enact a Commercial Roofing Licensing within the existing Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) structure passed in the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill passed by a wide bipartisan margin of 61-29.

Representative Tom Patton (R-17) sponsored this bill at the request of his constituents in the Ohio Roofing Contractors Association (ORCA).  ORCA has worked for many years to establish a commercial roofing contractor license that mirrors the current Ohio licenses for Plumbing, HVAC, Electrical and Hydronics. Building on the momentum of last session, Representative Patton was able to move swiftly through the hearings process and presented a rousing floor speech that resulted in the bill's overwhelming passage in the House.

Other construction industry associations and the Mid-states District Council of Roofers spoke out in favor of the legislation. Roofers Local 44 Business Manager, Bill Franklin, stressed in his testimony that the bill is supported by both workers and employers. The roofing industry was joined by the Firefighters Association and Ohio Fire Chiefs Association in supporting this initiative. The firefighters advocated that this bill is a critical to, "enhance safety and strengthen protections for fire fighters that have to enter compromised buildings."

In his testimony on behalf of the bill, ORCA President, Fred Horner of Advanced Industrial Roofing emphasized that, "as a member of the NFIB, ABC and my local builders exchange, I would never work for any piece of legislation that would keep someone from starting and growing their own small business just like I did. I want true competitors. Competitors who pay their taxes, just like me. Competitors who pay their workers comp, just like me. Competitors who have insurance coverage and a basic understanding of the roofing codes."

ORCA supports the existing licensing structure in Ohio because it has proven to be an effective agency program for over twenty-five years with the other trades.  The registration fees are low, the liability insurance requirements are very reasonable and there is a grandfathering period for all existing roofing contractors to apply for the  license.  It also requires all subcontractors performing roofing system work on the project to be licensed. The currently licensed industries have used the licensing enforcement provisions for decades to successfully reduce the misclassification of workers as subcontractors. 

The bill will now proceed to the Ohio Senate for consideration.  The bill must pass by December 31, 2024 or the process will start over again in the 136th Ohio General Assembly.

For more information on the bill and full testimony from all interested parties, you can visit: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/hb129

To support the ORCA Commercial Roofing Licensing Initiative go to: www.ohioroofing.com

About ORCA
The Ohio Roofing Contractors Association (ORCA) represents hundreds of roofing contractors across Ohio. ORCA has a diverse membership of large and small, union and non-union contractors who perform all types of roofing in many different markets. ORCA is the only association in Ohio that is dedicated to the sole purpose of working for the roofing contractor by offering virtual and live education programs, timely news bulletins, networking with contractor services and product suppliers and industry advocacy.

They seek to hold employers to greater account for safety and health failures.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued new enforcement guidance to make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.

OSHA Regional Administrators and Area Office Directors now have the authority to cite certain types of violations as “instance-by-instance citations” for cases where the agency identifies “high-gravity” serious violations of OSHA standards specific to certain conditions where the language of the rule supports a citation for each instance of non-compliance. These conditions include lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, falls, trenching and for cases with other-than-serious violations specific to recordkeeping.

The change is intended to ensure OSHA personnel are applying the full authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act where increased citations are needed to discourage non-compliance. The new guidance covers enforcement activity in general industry, agriculture, maritime and construction industries, and becomes effective 60 days from January 26, 2023. The current policy has been in place since 1990 and applies only to egregious willful citations.

In a second action, OSHA is reminding its Regional Administrators and Area Directors of their authority not to group violations, and instead cite them separately to more effectively encourage employers to comply with the intent of the OSH Act. 

“Smart, impactful enforcement means using all the tools available to us when an employer ‘doesn’t get it’ and will respond to only additional deterrence in the form of increased citations and penalties,” explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “This is intended to be a targeted strategy for those employers who repeatedly choose to put profits before their employees’ safety, health and wellbeing. Employers who callously view injured or sickened workers simply as a cost of doing business will face more serious consequences.”

These changes in enforcement guidance are important enforcement tools to help deter employers from disregarding their responsibilities to protect workers and ensure compliance with OSHA standards and regulations.

Existing guidance on instance-by-instance citations are outlined in the OSHA Field Operations Manual, and CPL 02-00-080, “Handling of Cases to be Proposed for Violation-by-Violation Penalties.”

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Labor