HB4743eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4743 Engrossed LRB103 37244 RLC 67364 b

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the Christopher James Act.

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by adding Section 3-2-5.1 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-2-5.1 new)

Sec. 3-2-5.1. Department to establish a Safety Committee.

(a) The Department shall establish a Safety Committee comprised of bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit Department employees. At least 40% of committee members shall be bargaining unit employees. The Committee shall assess the Department's compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act and any other applicable workplace health and safety laws and shall make recommendations for improvements to processes and procedures to improve workplace safety. The Committee shall prepare an annual report on the Department's workplace safety efforts and plans for the future to further promote safety in the workplace.

(b) The Director of Corrections shall appoint 60% of the Safety Committee, including the non-bargaining unit members and up to 2 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers. The exclusive collective bargaining representative of the majority of the Department of Corrections employees shall appoint the remaining 40% of the Safety Committee. The Director of Corrections shall appoint the chairperson of the Committee. The appointed chairperson of the Committee shall have a professional background and training in an environmental health and safety field. The chairperson of the Safety Committee, or the chairperson's designee, may conduct a workplace safety inspection of any property, equipment, or workplace under the control or supervision of the Department at any time and shall conduct random unannounced inspections as often as deemed necessary.

(c) The chairperson of the Safety Committee, or the chairperson's designee, may also investigate training practices for the use of equipment and may direct that alternative trainings be used. The Committee chairperson, or the chairperson's designee, may take any piece of equipment lacking industry standard safeguards out of service. The jurisdiction of the Safety Committee is strictly limited to the Occupational Safety and Health Act and any other applicable workplace health and safety laws.

(d) The provisions of this Section are subject to appropriations.