House version would require approved training programs for welding workers

Certification and training providers would use programs approved by the state fire marshal. The rules would cover certification and training programs for cutting, welding, and other hot work involving high heat. Programs would include classes in multiple languages and safeguards to verify identities. The Department of Fire Services would maintain an accessible electronic database for checking workers’ status. Continuing education after initial training would occur annually, online or in person.

The Department of Fire Services would establish a system to record violations and notify the public. The system would cover failures to follow laws and rules for cutting, welding, and other hot work. The department would consult the Department of Occupational Licensure or other executive agencies it considers necessary. The system could include quarterly publications, an online database, property-owner alerts, and communication with insurers.

People who violate fire safety laws involving hot work would face penalties based on the number of offenses. These penalties would cover violations of Chapter 148, the fire safety law, involving cutting, welding, or other hot work. A first offense would carry a fine up to $1,000. A second would carry a fine up to $2,000, up to one year in jail, or both. For a third or later offense, the fine ceiling would be the greater of $10,000 or 0.025 percent of the project’s value. Up to 2.5 years in jail, or both a fine and jail, would also be possible. A judge could add fines when the project’s size makes the stated fine inadequate to discourage continued violations.

People who wantonly or recklessly violate building or fire codes and cause serious injury or death would face fines, imprisonment, or both. Criminal negligence could also bring criminal responsibility for damage or death. It would require repeated, reckless, and knowing failures to comply, plus failure to recognize a substantial, unjustified risk far outside reasonable care. The injury and death penalties would require a wanton or reckless violation, involving disregard for safety. Serious injury means permanent disfigurement, loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb, or organ, or a substantial risk of death. Causing serious injury would carry a fine up to $250,000, up to five years in state prison or 2.5 years in a local jail, or both a fine and imprisonment. Causing death would carry a fine up to $500,000, up to seven years in state prison or five years in a local jail, or both a fine and imprisonment.