Government Affairs Update - October 2006

It’s election time, a great opportunity to share National ASSE’s legislative and regulatory commitments with your local candidates to give them a better idea of what ASSE is and what SH&E professionals do.

A nice newsletter summary of legislative and regulatory issues is published monthly in the ASSE Region V Government Affairs Update. To be added to the mailing list for this newsletter, contact Jim Weaver at jweave1@hallmark.com.

The Minnesota OSHA Advisory Council held their most recent quarterly meeting on September 15, 2006. Meeting minutes describe MNOSHA Compliance and Consultation performance results for 2006 and recommended agency improvement initiatives, including suggestions to:

• Increase Consultation staff
• Publish OSHA news weekly (mass media, print vs. web)
• Add meth awareness to the web
• Promote effectiveness (W.C., success stories)
• Raise employee awareness (rights, etc.)
• Use technology more effectively
• Consistent rule interpretation – meet with affected group
• Increase partnerships and alliances
• Town Hall meeting
• Hire PR firm
• Competency training

The discussion of these recommendations will continue at the December 2006 Advisory Council meeting. If you have any suggestions for MNOSHA improvements or want to provide input from an ASSE perspective, please contact Dawn Westin, Government Affairs Chair Person, at dawn.westin@unisys.com.

© 2008 Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers