148.  (a) There is in the Department of Industrial Relations the
Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, consisting of three
members appointed by the Governor, subject to the approval of the
Senate.  One member shall be from the field of management, one shall
be from the field of labor and one member shall be from the general
public.  The public member shall be chosen from other than the fields
of management and labor.  Each member of the appeals board shall
devote his full time to the performance of his duties.
   (b) The chairman and each member of the appeals board shall
receive the annual salary provided for by Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 11550) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
   (c) The Governor shall designate the chairman of the appeals board
from the membership of the appeals board.  The person so designated
shall hold the office of chairman at the pleasure of the Governor.
The chairman shall designate a member of the appeals board to act as
chairman in his absence.


148.1.  Each member of the appeals board shall serve for a term of
four years and until his successor is appointed and qualifies.  The
terms of the first three members appointed to the appeals board shall
expire on the second, third, and fourth January 15th following the
date of the appointment of the first appointed member.  A vacancy
shall be filled by the Governor, subject to the approval of the
Senate by appointment for the unexpired term.



148.2.  The appeals board may employ necessary assistants, officers,
experts, hearing officers, and such other employees as it deems
necessary.  All such personnel of the appeals board shall be under
the supervision of the chairman of the appeals board or an executive
officer to whom the chairman delegates such responsibility.  All such
personnel shall be appointed pursuant to the State Civil Service Act
(Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of
the Government Code), except for the one exempt deputy or employee
allowed by subdivision (e) of Section 4 of Article XXIV of the
California Constitution.  The salaries of the hearing officers shall
be fixed by the State Personnel Board at a rate comparable to that of
other referees or hearing officers in state service whose duties and
responsibilities are comparable, without regard to whether such
other positions have membership in the State Bar of California as a
prerequisite to appointment.



148.4.  All decisions and orders of the appeals board shall be in
writing.


148.5.  A decision of the appeals board is final, except for any
rehearing or judicial review as permitted by Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 6600) of Part 1 of Division 5.



148.6.  A decision of the appeals board is binding on the director
and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health with respect to
the parties involved in the particular appeal.  The director shall
have the right to seek judicial review of an appeals board decision
irrespective of whether or not he or she appeared or participated in
the appeal to the appeals board or its hearing officer.



148.7.  The appeals board, acting as a whole, may adopt, amend, or
repeal rules of practice and procedure pertaining to hearing appeals
and other matters falling within its jurisdiction.  All such rules,
amendments thereto, or repeals thereof shall be made in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



148.8.  The appeals board and its duly authorized representatives in
the performance of its duties shall have the powers of a head of a
department as set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 11180)
of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, except for Section 11185 of the Government Code.




148.9.  Decisions of the appeals board shall be made by a majority
of the appeals board, except as otherwise expressly provided.



149.  The chairman of the appeals board may authorize its executive
officer to act as deputy appeals board member, and may delegate
authority and duties to the executive officer in the event of the
absence of a member of the appeals board.




149.5.  The appeals board may award reasonable costs, including
attorney's fees, consultant's fees, and witness' fees, not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000) in the aggregate, to any employer who
appeals a citation resulting from an inspection or investigation
conducted on or after January 1, 1980, issued for violation of an
occupational safety and health standard, rule, order, or regulation
established pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) of
Division 1, if (1) either the employer prevails in the appeal, or the
citation is withdrawn, and (2) the appeals board finds that the
issuance of the citation was the result of arbitrary or capricious
action or conduct by the division.
   The appeals board shall adopt rules of practice and procedure to
implement this section.
   The payment of costs pursuant to this section shall be from funds
in the regular operating budget of the division.  The division shall
show in its proposed budget for each fiscal year the following
information with respect to the prior fiscal year:
   (a) The total costs paid.
   (b) The number of cases in which costs were paid.

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