First Regular Session
               Seventieth General Assembly
                    STATE OF COLORADO
                                                 INTRODUCED
                                                           
                                                           
 LLS NO. 15-0933.01 Jery Payne x2157     HOUSE BILL 15-1375
                    HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Singer, 
 
                   SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Crowder, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 House Committees
 Senate Committees
 
 
 Business Affairs and Labor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                         A BILL FOR AN ACT
       Concerning ladder safety.
       
       
                           Bill Summary
       
            (Note:  This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does
       not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill
       passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that
       applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at
       http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.)
       
            The bill requires a ladder to be secured if it is used on an unstable
       or elevated surface. Construction workers must follow federal, state, and
       local laws concerning ladders. Construction entities are encouraged to
       establish safety training programs for job-site use of ladders, and
       insurance providers are encouraged to implement programs that lower
       insurance premiums for construction entities that establish training and
       safety programs.
       
       
       
       Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
            SECTION 1.  Legislative declaration. (1)  The general assembly
       finds, determines, and declares that:
            (a)  Falls are the leading cause of accidental death in construction,
       and every year, falls from ladders make up nearly a third of those deaths;
            (b)  Falls remain a leading cause of unintentional injury mortality
       nationwide, and forty-three percent of fatal falls in the last decade have
       involved ladders;
            (c)  Among construction workers, an estimated eighty-one percent
       of fall injuries treated in emergency rooms involve a ladder;
            (d)  Unsecured ladders are the leading cause of ladder injuries
       including deaths;
            (e)  Falls from ladders can be prevented and lives can be saved by
       following appropriate workplace safety practices;
            (f)  Employers have a responsibility to provide training and a safe
       and healthful workplace for their workers and to provide the right
       equipment for their workers to do their jobs safely and efficiently; and
            (g)  Using proper equipment and training, employers can recognize
       economic benefits through fewer health care claims, reduced loss of time
       on the job, reduced worker injuries, reduced health care costs, and
       reduced workers' compensation claims.
            SECTION 1.  In Colorado Revised Statutes, add article 5.6 to title
       9 as follows:
                            ARTICLE 5.6
                              Ladders
            9-5.6-101.  Definitions. As used in this article, unless the
       context otherwise requires:
            (1)  "Construction entity" means any person who employs
       a construction worker to build, repair, or improve land,
       structures, or facilities.
            (2)  "Construction worker" means an individual who
       builds, repairs, or improves land, structures, or facilities for
       remuneration.
            (3)  "Ladder" means a structure that:
            (a)  Commonly consists of two side pieces between which a
       series of bars or rungs are set;
            (b)  Forms a means of climbing up or down; and
            (c)  Are designed to be used at an angle of seventy-five
       degrees.
            9-5.6-102.  Ladder safety. Except as provided in section
       9-5.6-103, a construction worker shall obey any federal, state,
       and local law governing ladder use.
            9-5.6-103.  Ladders secured. If a ladder is being used on an
       unstable or elevated surface, a construction worker shall not
       use the ladder unless it is secured.
            9-5.6-104.  Emergencies. Notwithstanding section 9-5.6-102,
       a construction worker may use a ladder in violation of federal,
       state, and local law governing ladder use in an emergency that
       threatens the safety of any person.
            9-5.6-105.  Construction entities - training programs
       encouraged. All construction entities are encouraged to
       establish safety training programs for job site use of ladders.
            9-5.6-106.  Training benefits. Using proper equipment and
       training, employers can recognize economic benefits through
       fewer health care claims, reduced loss of time on the job,
       reduced worker injuries, reduced health care costs, and
       reduced workers' compensation claims.
            9-5.6-107.  Insurance gains. Insurance providers are
       encouraged to implement programs that lower insurance
       premiums for construction entities that establish training and
       safety programs for ladder use.
            SECTION 2.  Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
       takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
       ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August
       5, 2015, if adjournment sine die is on May 6, 2015); except that, if a
       referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the
       state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
       within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect
       unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
       November 2016 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the
       official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.