Currently in Kentucky, two emergency trained workers are required at mines while they’re producing coal, no matter the size.
But Republican politicians claim this disadvantages mine operators who use 10 or fewer workers a shift.
That’s why they passed a bill through the statehouse Wednesday to reduce the number of emergency certified workers to just one for what they call “small mines” – mines with 10 or less employees per shift.
“This is cost prohibitive for some small operations but there are still medically trained personnel on the site,” GOP Senate leader Robert Stivers of Manchester argued before the final vote in the General Assembly.
According to data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration, about 47% of active coal mines in the state during the most recent business quarter had a total of 10 or less employees. With the legislation focused on the number of workers per shift, not total employment, this likely means the majority of Kentucky coal mines can now reduce the number of required emergency-trained workers.
Mines with 11 to 50 employees per shift are still required to have two emergency trained workers. For every 50 workers per shift, they’d have to add another emergency-trained technician on staff. Only seven coal mines in the entire state have more than 100 workers in total.
Before the party-line vote, Democratic senators accused Republicans of supporting coal corporations at the expense of coal miners.
“If we’re talking about creating coal jobs and putting people to work, this bill takes away from this,” Democratic Senator David Yates of Louisville said in a speech on the floor.
Now, the only thing standing between the bill becoming law is Democratic Governor Andy Beshear. He could veto it. But Republicans have a supermajority in both chambers and can easily override Beshear’s veto.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
