The bill amends RCW 49.26.110 to require that no person may do work governed by that chapter unless they hold a certificate issued by the Department of Labor & Industries. It establishes minimum certification requirements: asbestos workers must complete a four-day department-provided or -approved training course and asbestos supervisors a five-day course; training must cover health and safety aspects of asbestos removal and encapsulation (including federal and state standards on protective clothing, respirator use, disposal, air monitoring, cleaning, and decontamination) and meet any additional qualifications the department adopts by rule. Applicants must pass a department-provided or -approved exam for the certification sought. The department may require annual refresher courses, must provide for reciprocal certification where prior out-of-state training is substantially similar (and may require an exam or refresher), and the statute clarifies these are minimum requirements and do not preclude additional employer or contractor training. The bill also sets out enforcement and procedural changes for certification. The department may deny, suspend, or revoke certificates under RCW 49.26.140 for noncompliance with the chapter, chapter 49.17 RCW, adopted rules, or applicable health and safety standards; in addition, the department may suspend or revoke a certificate for not less than six months if the certificate was obtained by fraud or the holder is judged incompetent. Before taking such action the department must mail written notice by a trackable or confirmable method to the holder’s last known address listing the allegations and offering an opportunity to request a hearing where both sides may present witnesses and testimony. Denial, suspension, or revocation orders may be appealed to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals within 15 working days of entry, with hearings held under RCW 49.17.140 and further superior court review available under RCW 49.17.150. Each certified person must display, upon request by an authorized department representative, valid identification issued by the department. The chunked text defines “certified asbestos worker” and “certified asbestos supervisor” by the required training length. The excerpt does not include the rest of the chapter, other amended sections, or full context about any change to the director’s rulemaking authority indicated by parenthetical text, so that broader context is unclear.

If enacted, people who do asbestos removal or encapsulation work in Washington will generally have to hold a department-issued certificate before they can work, which means workers will need to complete multi-day training (four days for workers, five for supervisors), pass an exam, and possibly take annual refreshers. Employers and contractors will need to ensure their crews are certified, display department ID on request, and may face work delays or added costs if staff lack certification or if certificates are suspended or revoked for fraud, incompetence, or rule violations. The Department of Labor & Industries will take on routine duties to provide or approve courses and exams, handle reciprocity for out-of-state training, and carry out notices, hearings, suspensions, and appeals to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, which could increase administrative workload and enforcement activity. The bill text here omits the rest of the chapter and some details about rulemaking and related statutory changes, so the scope of department authority and any additional compliance requirements or costs cannot be fully determined from these excerpts.