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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On February 5, 2024, the Occupational Safety and
3Health Administration (OSHA) published a notice of proposed
4rulemaking to issue a new safety and health standard, titled
5Emergency Response, to replace the existing Fire Brigades
6Standard, 29 C.F.R 1910.156; and
 
7    WHEREAS, OSHA has requested public comment on the proposed
8rulemaking that is scheduled to conclude June 21, 2024; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has an OSHA-approved state
10plan; Illinois OSHA has adopted all OSHA standards in 29 CFR
111910; all proposed changes, if adopted, become compulsory for
12all Illinois fire departments; and
 
13    WHEREAS, While the proposed provisions by OSHA intend to
14improve the safety of emergency responders, compliance with
15many of the new OSHA requirements would be financially
16burdensome and, in some cases, unfeasible for volunteer fire
17and emergency service departments; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has 1,107 registered fire
19departments, 65.2% of which are fully volunteer and 14.1% are
20mostly volunteer; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, OSHA's economic impact analysis of the potential
2changes lists the average annualized cost per organization at
3$14,551 for volunteer departments and $18,853 for mixed
4departments; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Volunteer fire protection districts in Illinois
6have limited resources, and any additional costs would hamper
7fire protection safety; and
 
8    WHEREAS, OSHA is unable to certify that the proposed rule
9will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
10number of small entities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, OSHA's proposed rules have triggered the need for
12an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) mandated by
13the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) to determine the true
14cost to local fire departments; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Fire protection districts, especially volunteer
16fire departments, are an important pillar of public safety in
17Illinois; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
19ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge OSHA and the
20federal government to not implement new fire protection
21standards that will place a financial burden on public safety;

 

 

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1and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That we urge OSHA and the federal government to
3conduct further analysis on the proposed changes to minimize
4the financial burden on small-entity volunteer fire
5departments; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent
7to all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.