The Occupational Safety Division, Texas Department of Health, was created by the Occupational Safety Act, H.B. 559, 60th Legislature, 1967. Primary purposes of the Act were to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses and lower workers compensation costs. The Act also created an Occupational Safety Board to administer the Division. The Board employed a state safety engineer as executive director of the Division. Walter G. Martin was hired as the state safety engineer and held that position from 1967 to 1984.
Activities of the Occupational Safety Division originally included enforcement of safety codes, inspection of job sites, and conducting an annual survey of occupational injuries and illnesses. The passage of Public Law 91-596, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, by the U.S. Congress, created a federal system of safety and health standards. These were to be administered by the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) within the U.S. Department of Labor. The Texas Occupational Safety Board and the Occupational Safety Division worked out a compliance plan with OSHA in 1975 that reconciled existing state safety standards with the new federal standards. The Division contracted with OSHA to provided free, on-site inspections for OSHA standards to Texas employers. The Division continued to conduct its annual occupational injury and illness surveys. In 1985, the Occupational Safety Board was abolished by H.B. 2091, 69th Legislature. The functions and administration of the Occupational Safety Division were absorbed by the Texas Department of Health.
From the guide to the Administrative records, 1967-1979, (Repository Unknown)
