Office of Regulatory Reinvention Appoints Members to the Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee

Contact: John Groen 517-373-9280

Agency: Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

May 27, 2011 - Today, the Office of Regulatory Reinvention appointed fourteen Michigan citizens to the Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee. The Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee will assist the Office of Regulatory Reinvention (ORR) in identifying duplicative, obsolete, unnecessary or unduly restrictive workplace rules.

"We believe workplace safety is extremely important for Michigan citizens. Unfortunately, we have a number of rules that no longer provide much social benefit and are even stifling job creation. This Advisory Rules Committee will help identify these burdensome rules," said Steve Hilfinger, Michigan's Chief Regulatory Officer and director of the ORR. "This committee has many diverse perspectives - we have representatives from manufacturers, utilities, construction companies, pharmaceutical companies, municipal organizations and more. This is a highly talented group that I believe will make strong recommendations to make Michigan's regulatory system more efficient and effective."

Specifically, the ORR appointed: 

• Stephen Albert, Rochester, EHS Manager, Skanska USA 
• Brian Blocher, Grand Rapids, Safety Director, Pioneer Construction 
• Doug Kalinowski, Lansing, MIOSHA 
• Patrick Kresnak, Southfield, Director, Environmental Health & Safety, IAC Group 
• Daryl "Skip" Miller, Saline, Facility and Maintenance Manager, Pattco Inc 
• Todd Miller, Grand Rapids, Corporate Environmental Health & Safety Manager, Environmental Health & Safety Department, Herman Miller 
• Delaney Newberry, Lansing, Human Resource Policy for the Michigan Manufacturers Association 
• Oscar Rodriguez-Franco, Lansing, Systems Consultant-Industrial Safety, Lansing Board of Water and Light 
• Allen Smolen, Belleville, Risk Consultant, Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority 
• Thomas Taylor, Rives Junction, Safety & Health Director, Consumers Energy Company 
• Ron Walko, Mattawan, Senior Manager, Safety & Industrial Hygiene, Pfizer Inc

ORR Deputy Director Rob Nederhood will chair the committee. The first committee meeting will be held next month in Lansing.

The ORR was formed pursuant to Executive Order 2011-5. The Executive Order contemplates that, as part of its effort to obtain input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders, the ORR will create certain Advisory Rules Committees.

The Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee (ARC) will function for 120 days after formation, unless that date is extended by the ORR. The ARC will issue a report to the ORR containing advisory recommendations upon the completion of their work.

The ORR has already identified approximately 3,061 rules promulgated by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The ARC will evaluate these rules based of the factors listed in Executive Order 2011-5, including the health and safety benefits of the rules; the cost of compliance with the rules; whether the rules are duplicative or obsolete; and other factors.

Ultimately, the ORR will submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor, based in part on the reports from all of the ARCs. Two other ARCs, Insurance & Finance and Environmental, have also been created. Other ARCs will be formed in the future, to address other areas of regulation, according to Hilfinger.

In addition to forming ARCs, the ORR will provide interested parties with the opportunity to share their perspectives on the regulatory environment by, among other things, inviting the submission of comments online at www.michigan.gov/orr and by providing for public comment as part of any formal rulemaking process mandated by the Administrative Procedures Act.

For more information about LARA, please visit www.michigan.gov/lara. Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/michiganORR, "Like" us on Facebook or find us on YouTube www.youtube.com/michiganLARA.