AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 17, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

Introduced by Senators Blakespear and Padilla

February 11, 2026

An act to add Section 6726 to the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, exists for the purpose of assuring safe and healthful working conditions for all California workers by authorizing the enforcement of effective standards, assisting and encouraging employers to maintain safe and healthful working conditions, and providing for research, information, education, training, and enforcement in the field of occupational safety and health. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations for the adoption of occupational safety and health standards and establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in that department for the enforcement of those occupational safety and health standards, as prescribed.

This bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2030, to propose to the board standards board, for its review and consideration and possible adoption, a standard that protects the health and safety of employees who risk high or prolonged exposure to transboundary pollution, as defined, in outdoor occupational environments, as specified. The bill would require the board division to consider identifying an exposure threshold for hydrogen sulfide at which acute or chronic health effects occur to reference in the standards and may consider exposure thresholds for other relevant pollutants. The bill would authorize the board division to develop the standard in consultation with other specified groups. The bill would authorize the standards board to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Transboundary pollution consisting of untreated sewage and industrial wastewater, containing toxic chemicals, fecal matter bacteria, and pathogens, frequently crosses the border from Baja California as a result of population growth, sewage infrastructure inadequacies, and wet weather events.

(b) In the County of San Diego, transboundary pollution enters into the Tijuana River Valley and through northward-flowing ocean currents, leading to the contamination of state waters and air, and creating conditions that are hazardous to the environment and public health.

(c) Workers in outdoor occupational environments in the Tijuana River Valley and county beaches risk higher exposure to transboundary pollution through direct and indirect contact and have experienced and reported adverse health impacts, including headaches, fatigue, nausea, and bloody noses. Long-term exposure to known contaminants may lead to gastrointestinal illness, skin infections, and respiratory and neurological disorders.

(d) While binational solutions are underway at the federal level to address the majority of pollution that crosses the border, the hazardous environmental conditions created by transboundary pollution are expected to continue for years. Furthermore, the increasing frequency and intensity of wet weather events will exacerbate hazardous conditions, even after binational solutions are in place.

(e) The employers of workers in outdoor occupational environments currently lack the guidance to provide adequate safeguards to protect the health and safety of employees or tools to measure the impacts of the outdoor working environment.

(f) Thus, the Legislature recognizes a need for occupational safety and health standards to ensure a level of protection for workers exposed to transboundary pollution in outdoor occupational environments.

SEC. 2.

Section 6726 is added to the Labor Code, immediately following Section 6725, to read:

6726.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Lifeguard” means a person actively employed as a lifeguard by a city, county, city and county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision, or a person actively employed as a state lifeguard by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

(2) “Park ranger” means a person that enforces park rules and regulations and is actively employed as a park ranger by a city, county, city and county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision, or is actively employed as a state park ranger by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

(3) “Transboundary pollution” means environmental pollutants or toxins contaminating state water or air that originate from Baja California California, enter California through the Tijuana River, the Pacific Ocean, or the New River, and threaten the health and safety of the public or environment.

(b) On or before January 1, 2030, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health shall propose to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board Board, for its review and consideration and possible adoption, a standard that protects the health and safety of employees who risk high or prolonged exposure to transboundary pollution in outdoor occupational environments. The standard shall apply to lifeguards, park rangers, and other employees that the division determines are at high risk. risk, who work within a 10-mile radius of the boundary of any of the following:

(c) The standard adopted pursuant to described in subdivision (b) shall may include all of the following:

(1) Personal protective equipment, which may include, but not be limited to, respiratory protection and protective attire.

(2) Medical surveillance, which may include, but not be limited to, medical examination rights, medical procedures, and reporting requirements.

(3) Hazard communication, which may include, but not be limited to, notice of anticipated wet weather or other high-exposure events and any available data on pollution exposure conditions.

(4) Reporting and recordkeeping practices. In developing these practices, the standards board division shall consider, at minimum, both of the following:

(A) Incident or exposure report forms for use by employees.

(B) Maintaining data on exposure threshold exceedances as described in subdivision (e), health-related symptoms developed following job duties, sick leave related to exposure incidents, and weather events exacerbating transboundary pollution.

(5) Training for employees and supervisors that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Information on workplace hazards relating to the regional environmental conditions.

(B) Potential health effects of exposure to transboundary pollution, including related symptoms.

(C) Use of personal protective equipment.

(D) Reporting practices.

(d) Subdivision (c) does not limit the authority of the division to develop a standard, or the authority of the standards board to adopt a standard, that is broader in scope or broader in application than required by this section.

(e) The standards board division shall consider identifying an exposure threshold for hydrogen sulfide at which acute or chronic health effects occur to reference in the standards and may consider exposure thresholds for other relevant pollutants.

(f) The standards board division may develop the standard described in subdivision (b) in consultation with lifeguards, park rangers, trade and labor unions, cities, counties, private and public sector employers, air districts, local environmental and public health agencies, universities and academic institutions, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the State Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, regional water quality control boards, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

(g) The standards board may adopt emergency regulations to implement this section. Any emergency regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and, for purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of the regulation is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety, or general welfare.