Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training rule relating to certification, recertification, and training of EMT-Miners and certification of EMT-M instructors
Summary
Senate Bill 411 authorizes the Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training to promulgate a legislative rule governing the certification, recertification, and training of EMT-Miners, as well as the certification of EMT-M instructors. The bill does not itself create a new program or substantive regulatory scheme; rather, it approves an existing or proposed administrative rule filed in the State Register under the agency’s authority.
In practical terms, the measure gives legal effect to the rule at 56 CSR 22, allowing the agency to continue or implement standards for mine emergency medical technicians and the instructors who train them. The bill is a narrow rule-authorization bill and is focused on occupational qualification and training requirements in the mining safety context.
Impact
SB411 amends West Virginia Code §64-10-1 to authorize a specific legislative rule of the Office of Miners' Health, Safety, and Training. Its impact is to validate the agency’s rulemaking on EMT-Miner certification, recertification, and training, along with EMT-M instructor certification, thereby affecting miners, mine safety personnel, training providers, and the agency responsible for enforcing mine health and safety standards. It does not appear to alter broader statutory law beyond approving the rule.
Sentiment
The available record suggests a neutral to favorable posture toward the bill, as it is a routine authorization measure for an agency rule and there are no recorded committee transcripts or votes indicating opposition or debate. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the bill was treated as a technical or administrative matter rather than a contested policy change.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If any concerns existed, they would likely have centered on the scope or details of the underlying training and certification rule for EMT-Miners and instructors, but no legislators, agencies, or stakeholders are identified as raising objections in the available record.