Few changes for OSHA and MSHA in latest regulatory agenda

Washington — A planned update to OSHA’s standard on lockout/tagout (1910.147) has been moved to the proposed rule stage in the Department of Labor’s Fall 2023 regulatory agenda, published Dec. 6.

That’s the agency’s lone change to the agenda – typically issued by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs twice a year. The agenda provides the status of and projected dates for all potential regulations listed in three stages: pre-rule, proposed rule and final rule.

The revised rule, listed as a “long-term” action on the spring agenda, is expected to address computer-based controls of hazardous energy. A notice of proposed rulemaking could appear in August, but the dates listed in the agenda are often tentative. 

Meanwhile, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has two changes:

• Alternatives to Petitions for Modification: Non-Permissible Surveying Equipment has returned to the proposed rule stage from long-term actions.
• A rule that would lower the agency’s permissible exposure limit to respirable crystalline silica has moved to the final stage from the proposed rule stage.

Combined, the agencies have three final rules under OIRA review – one of the final steps in the regulatory process. OSHA’s update to its standard on hazard communication (1910.1200) has been with OIRA since Oct. 11, and a rule on COVID-19 in health care settings has been under review since Dec. 7, 2022. 

An MSHA rule that would require written safety programs for mobile equipment and powered haulage has been under review since Sept. 8. 

Additionally, a proposed rule that would update OSHA’s standard on emergency response has been under OIRA review since Oct. 30.