SB 966: Refinery and chemical plants.

California · Senate · 2025–2026 Regular Session · last verified September 7, 2026

What SB 966 does, verified September 7, 2026

The bill aims to improve worker safety in refineries and chemical plants. Employers must develop, implement, and maintain a written plan for employee participation in process safety management elements. The plan must be created in consultation with employees and their representatives. The employer must also develop and implement procedures for reporting and responding to hazards, as well as documenting shutdowns and hazards. These procedures must be in place by April 1, 2027. Employees who are and are not represented by a collective bargaining agent must be able to participate in the development of these plans and procedures.

Bill journey

✓IntroducedComplete

✓In CommitteeComplete

✓First Chamber FloorComplete

4Second ChamberCurrent

5GovernorPending

6ChapteredPending

Last action: Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry. (2026-08-31)Alert me

Author and sponsors

Sen. Lena GonzalezAuthor · California State Senate

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Recent actions23 total · showing 5

Aug. 31, 2026	Ordered to inactive file on request of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry.
Aug. 13, 2026	Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Aug. 13, 2026	From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 13).
Aug. 13, 2026	Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
Aug. 05, 2026	August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

Full action history, 18 earlier actionsConnect Plus

Latest bill textAmended version, March 25, 2026 · 1,076 words

Amended IN Senate March 25, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 966

Introduced by Senator Gonzalez

February 03, 2026

An act to ~~amend Section 3120 of the Labor Code, relating to apprenticeship programs.~~ add Section 7860.5 to the Labor Code, relating to safety in employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 966, as amended, Gonzalez. ~~Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program.~~ Refinery and chemical plants.

Existing law, the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990, requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to promote worker safety through implementation of training and process safety management practices in refineries, chemical plants, and other appropriate facilities, including by adopting process safety management standards and regulations. The act defines “process safety management” and other terms for its purposes. The act also requires an employer to develop and maintain written safety information, emergency action plans, operating procedures, procedures to manage changes, and inspection and testing programs.
This bill would require an employer, in consultation with employees and employee representatives, to develop, implement, and maintain a written plan to effectively provide for employee participation in all process safety management elements. The bill would also require, on or before April 1, 2027, an employer, in consultation with employee and employee representatives, to develop and implement stop work procedures and procedures for reporting and responding to hazards, as specified. The bill would require an employer to document specific information relating to a partial or complete shut down of an operation or process and reports of hazards. The bill would provide how employees who are and who are not represented by an authorized collective bargaining agent participate in the development of these plans and procedures.
Existing law establishes the Youth Apprenticeship Grant Program, administered by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to provide grants for the purpose of providing funding for existing apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs or to develop new apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs to serve the target population of specified individuals from 16 to 24 years of age, inclusive, and satisfy the goals and objectives of the grant program, as specified.
~~This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provision establishing the goals and objectives of the grant program.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 7860.5 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

7860.5.
(a) In consultation with employees and employee representatives, an employer shall develop, implement, and maintain a written plan to effectively provide for employee participation in all process safety management elements. The plan shall include provisions that provide for all of the following:
(1) Effective participation by affected operating and maintenance employees and employee representatives, throughout all phases, in performing a process hazard analysis (PHA), damage mechanism review (DMR), hazard control analysis (HCA), management of change (MOC), management of organizational change assessment (MOOC), process safety culture assessment (PSCA), incident, investigations, safeguard protection analysis (SPA), and pre start-up safety review (PSSR).
(2) Effective participation by affected operating and maintenance employees and employee representatives, throughout all phases, in the development, training, implementation, and maintenance of the process safety management elements.
(3) Access by employees and employee representatives to all documents or information developed or collected by the employer pursuant to this section, including information that might be subject to protection as a trade secret.
(b) An authorized collective bargaining agent may select one or more employees to participate in any of the following:
(1) Overall process safety management program development and implementation planning.
(2) A project safety management team or other activity taken pursuant to this section.
(c) For employees who are not represented by an authorized collective bargaining agent, the employer shall establish effective procedures in consultation with employees for the selection of employee representatives.
(d) This section shall not preclude the employer from requiring an employee or employee representative to whom information is made available pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to enter into a confidentiality agreement prohibiting them from disclosing information, as set forth in subdivision (i) of Section 5194 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
(e) On or before April 1, 2027, an employer, in consultation with employees and employee representatives, shall develop and implement all of the following:
(1) Effective stop work procedures that ensure all of the following:
(A) The authority of any employee, including an employee of a contractor, to refuse to perform a task if doing so could reasonably result in death or serious physical harm.
(B) The authority of any employee, including an employee of a contractor, to recommend to the operator in charge of a unit that an operation or process be partially or completely shut down based on a process safety hazard.
(C) The authority of the qualified operator in charge of a unit to partially or completely shut down an operation or process based on a process safety hazard.
(2) Effective procedures to ensure the right of any employee, including an employee of a contractor, to anonymously report hazards. The employer shall respond in writing within 30 calendar days to written hazard reports submitted by an employee, an employee representative, contractor, employee of a contractor, or contractor employee representative. The employer shall prioritize and promptly respond to and correct hazards that present the potential for death or serious physical harm.
(f) An employer shall document all of the following:
(1) Recommendations to partially or completely shut down an operation or process.
(2) Partial or complete shutdown of an operation or process.
(3) Written reports of hazards and the employer’s response.

SECTION 1.Section 3120 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
3120.
Youth apprenticeship shall be a key priority for the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Youth apprenticeship will complement the state’s existing registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs. The objectives and goals of the division in expanding youth apprenticeships shall include all of the following:
~~(a)Create a framework for youth apprenticeship, increase the number of apprenticeship pathways for youth, and foster coordination and alignment across career-connected learning programs.~~
~~(b)Increase the number of community colleges and local education agencies offering youth apprenticeship programs, and increase the number of youth who complete certificate and degree programs.~~
~~(c)Increase the number of preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs targeting youth.~~
~~(d)Increase the number of youth who complete a youth apprenticeship and matriculate to employment or continued higher education.~~
~~(e)Coordinate with, complement, and enhance, existing preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.~~

Text of SB 966 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions