1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to occupations; enacting the Industrial 
  1.3             Hygienist and Safety Professional Title Protection 
  1.4             Act; providing title protection to the professions of 
  1.5             industrial hygiene and safety; proposing coding for 
  1.6             new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 182A. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [182A.01] [SHORT TITLE.] 
  1.9      This chapter may be cited as the Industrial Hygienist and 
  1.10  Safety Professional Title Protection Act. 
  1.11     Sec. 2.  [182A.02] [PURPOSE.] 
  1.12     The purpose of the Industrial Hygienist and Safety 
  1.13  Professional Title Protection Act is to provide legal 
  1.14  recognition to the profession of industrial hygiene and safety, 
  1.15  to assure the public that individuals representing themselves as 
  1.16  industrial hygiene and safety professionals meet minimum 
  1.17  qualifications, and to further public health and safety.  
  1.18     Sec. 3.  [182A.03] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] The definitions in this section 
  1.20  apply to this chapter. 
  1.21     Subd. 2.  [ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.] "Accredited 
  1.22  college or university" means a college or university that is 
  1.23  accredited by one of the following regional accrediting agencies:
  1.24  Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, New England 
  1.25  Association of Schools and Colleges, North Central Association 
  1.26  of Colleges and Schools, Northwest Association of Schools and 
  2.1   Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or 
  2.2   Western Association of Colleges and Schools.  A college or 
  2.3   university that is located outside the United States is 
  2.4   accredited if it is accredited by an agency within the 
  2.5   jurisdiction of the college or university that has accreditation 
  2.6   standards that are at least equal to the standards of the 
  2.7   regional accrediting agencies. 
  2.8      Subd. 3.  [AMERICAN BOARD OF INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE OR 
  2.9   ABIH.] "American Board of Industrial Hygiene" or "ABIH" is the 
  2.10  nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and 
  2.11  educational standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by 
  2.12  certifying individuals who meet its education, experience, and 
  2.13  examination requirements. 
  2.14     Subd. 4.  [ASSOCIATE SAFETY PROFESSIONAL OR 
  2.15  ASP.] "Associate safety professional" or "ASP" is an individual 
  2.16  who has received the designation associate safety professional 
  2.17  from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and whose 
  2.18  recognition has not lapsed or been revoked. 
  2.19     Subd. 5.  [BOARD OF CERTIFIED SAFETY PROFESSIONALS OR 
  2.20  BCSP.] "Board of Certified Safety Professionals" or "BCSP" is 
  2.21  the nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice 
  2.22  and education standards of the profession of safety by 
  2.23  certifying individuals who meet its education, experience, 
  2.24  examination, and maintenance requirements. 
  2.25     Subd. 6.  [CERTIFIED INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST OR 
  2.26  CIH.] "Certified industrial hygienist" or "CIH" is an individual 
  2.27  who has received the designation certified industrial hygienist 
  2.28  from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and whose 
  2.29  certification has not lapsed or been revoked. 
  2.30     Subd. 7.  [CERTIFIED SAFETY PROFESSIONAL OR 
  2.31  CSP.] "Certified safety professional" or "CSP" is an individual 
  2.32  who has received the designation certified safety professional 
  2.33  from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and whose 
  2.34  certification has not lapsed or been revoked. 
  2.35     Subd. 8.  [CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY TECHNOLOGIST OR 
  2.36  CHST.] "Construction health and safety technologist" or "CHST" 
  3.1   is an individual who has been designated a construction health 
  3.2   and safety technologist through joint certification by the 
  3.3   American Board of Industrial Hygiene and the Board of Certified 
  3.4   Safety Professionals and whose certification has not lapsed or 
  3.5   been revoked. 
  3.6      Subd. 9.  [EDUCATION.] "Education" means: 
  3.7      (1) a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited 
  3.8   college or university in industrial hygiene, environmental 
  3.9   health, safety, engineering, chemistry, physics, or biological 
  3.10  science; or 
  3.11     (2) a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited 
  3.12  college or university with at least 60 semester hours in 
  3.13  undergraduate or graduate level courses in science, mathematics, 
  3.14  engineering, and technology, with at least 15 of those semester 
  3.15  hours at the junior, senior, or graduate level.  A degree with 
  3.16  coursework in only one of those subject areas does not meet this 
  3.17  definition unless the individual completes additional science 
  3.18  coursework at an accredited college or university or receives a 
  3.19  related graduate degree from an accredited college or university.
  3.20     Subd. 10.  [EXPERIENCE.] "Experience" means an individual 
  3.21  has completed professional level work sufficient to provide 
  3.22  competence in the following: 
  3.23     (1) anticipation and recognition of workplace environmental 
  3.24  factors and stresses, including chemical, physical, biological, 
  3.25  and ergonomic stresses, and the understanding of their effects 
  3.26  on people and their well-being; 
  3.27     (2) evaluation, through sampling and testing of the 
  3.28  magnitude of workplace environmental factors and stresses; and 
  3.29     (3) prescription of methods for control of hazards and the 
  3.30  potential for injury engineering, administrative, personal 
  3.31  protective equipment, and training. 
  3.32     Subd. 11.  [INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE.] "Industrial hygiene" means 
  3.33  the science and art devoted to control of those environmental 
  3.34  factors and stresses arising in or from the workplace that may 
  3.35  cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant 
  3.36  discomfort and inefficiency among workers and the general 
  4.1   community. 
  4.2      Subd. 12.  [INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST OR IH.] "Industrial 
  4.3   hygienist" or "IH" means an individual having the education and 
  4.4   experience to practice industrial hygiene. 
  4.5      Subd. 13.  [INDUSTRIAL HYGIENIST IN TRAINING OR 
  4.6   IHIT.] "Industrial hygienist in training" or "IHIT" means an 
  4.7   individual who has been designated industrial hygienist in 
  4.8   training by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene whose 
  4.9   designation has not lapsed or been revoked. 
  4.10     Subd. 14.  [OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY TECHNOLOGIST OR 
  4.11  OHST.] "Occupational health and safety technologist" or "OHST" 
  4.12  means an individual who has been designated an occupational 
  4.13  health and safety technologist through joint certification by 
  4.14  the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and the Board of 
  4.15  Certified Safety Professionals and whose certification has not 
  4.16  lapsed or been revoked. 
  4.17     Subd. 15.  [SAFETY PROFESSION.] "Safety profession" means 
  4.18  the science and art of hazard controls. 
  4.19     Sec. 4.  [182A.04] [USE OF TITLE; INITIALS LIMITED.] 
  4.20     Subdivision 1.  [PROHIBITION.] (a) A person may not use the 
  4.21  title industrial hygienist, or the initials IH, or represent to 
  4.22  the public that the person is an industrial hygienist, unless 
  4.23  the person is an industrial hygienist as defined in section 
  4.24  182A.03. 
  4.25     (b) A person may not use the title industrial hygienist in 
  4.26  training, or the initials IHIT, or represent to the public that 
  4.27  the person is an industrial hygienist in training, unless the 
  4.28  person is an industrial hygienist in training as defined in 
  4.29  section 182A.03. 
  4.30     (c) A person may not use the title certified industrial 
  4.31  hygienist, or the initials CIH, or represent to the public that 
  4.32  the person is a certified industrial hygienist, unless the 
  4.33  person is a certified industrial hygienist as defined in section 
  4.34  182A.03.  
  4.35     (d) A person may not use the title certified safety 
  4.36  professional, or the initials CSP, or represent to the public 
  5.1   that the person is a certified safety professional, unless the 
  5.2   person is a certified safety professional as defined in section 
  5.3   182A.03. 
  5.4      (e) A person may not use the title associate safety 
  5.5   professional, or the initials ASP, or represent to the public 
  5.6   that the person is an associate safety professional, unless the 
  5.7   person is an associate safety professional as defined in section 
  5.8   182A.03. 
  5.9      (f) A person may not use the title construction health and 
  5.10  safety technologist, or the initials CHST, or represent to the 
  5.11  public that the person is a construction health and safety 
  5.12  technologist, unless the person is a construction health and 
  5.13  safety technologist as defined in section 182A.03. 
  5.14     Subd. 2.  [EXCEPTIONS.] Subdivision 1 does not apply to: 
  5.15     (1) an individual employed as an apprentice under the 
  5.16  supervision of an industrial hygienist, certified industrial 
  5.17  hygienist, certified safety professional, associate safety 
  5.18  professional, construction health and safety technologist, or 
  5.19  occupational health and safety technologist; 
  5.20     (2) a student of industrial hygiene or safety engaging in 
  5.21  supervised activities related to industrial hygiene or safety; 
  5.22     (3) a person engaged in activities permitted under a state 
  5.23  or local license who does not use the title or initials of, or 
  5.24  represent to the public that the person is an industrial 
  5.25  hygienist, industrial hygienist in training, certified 
  5.26  industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, associate 
  5.27  safety professional, construction health and safety 
  5.28  technologist, or occupational health and safety technologist; or 
  5.29     (4) a person practicing industrial hygiene or safety, who 
  5.30  does not use the title or initials of, or represent to the 
  5.31  public that the person is an industrial hygienist, industrial 
  5.32  hygienist in training, certified industrial hygienist, certified 
  5.33  safety professional, associate safety professional, construction 
  5.34  health and safety technologist, or occupational health and 
  5.35  safety technologist. 
  5.36     Sec. 5.  [182A.05] [ENFORCEMENT; REMEDIES.] 
  6.1      A violation of section 182A.04 is an unlawful practice 
  6.2   under section 325F.69.  A person who violates section 182A.04 is 
  6.3   subject to the remedies provided in sections 325F.68 to 325F.70. 
  6.4      Sec. 6.  [182A.06] [UNIFORMITY.] 
  6.5      No county, city, town, or other political subdivision may 
  6.6   enact an ordinance or rule prohibiting or restricting the 
  6.7   practice of industrial hygiene or safety by an individual who 
  6.8   complies with section 182A.04.