Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, flanked by Sen. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, proposed Tuesday a new set of emergency regulations to combat a trend of heat-related deaths across the state.

"This summer, four workers in our state have suffered extreme heat stress and died," said Schwarzenegger. "We need to do everything it takes to prevent this from happening again."

Though the regulations are aimed at providing relief from some of the extreme temperatures workers face in parts of California, local growers said the new rules are unnecessary and farmworker advocates doubted their effectiveness.

Richard Quandt, president and general counsel of the Grower Shipper Vegetable Association, said the moderate temperatures of the Santa Maria Valley make most of the regulations inapplicable to members of his organization.

"I've been here for 25 years and I'm personally not aware of any heat stress issue," he said. "People here are more looking for relief from the wind and the cold than the sun, to be quite honest."

Kevin Merrill, vineyard manager with Mesa Vineyard Management and president of Central Coast Wine Growers Foundation, said the new laws were redundant.

"Safety is a number one concern for us," said Merrill, whose company operates in the Los Alamos area ,where temperatures sometimes reach 100 degrees.

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"It's an unneeded regulation because we already do it," he said. "When it gets to be 95 degrees, we lay our crews off." In addition, Merrill said, Mesa Vineyard Management routinely provides its workers with the amounts of water required under the new regulations.

For him, the legislation represents nothing more than "a knee-jerk reaction to a bad situation that is not really representative of what's going on in agriculture," he said.

Community Worker Mary Jacka of the California Rural Legal Assistance was skeptical about the effectiveness of the proposed regulations.

"Unfortunately, Cal OSHA is so far away that they rely on workers to call and report violations," she said.

In his announcement Tuesday, the governor said he had instructed the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration to submit emergency regulations for all Californians who work outdoors to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for a special meeting Aug. 12.

However, Jacka said, workers who might report violations to Cal OSHA often fear retaliation from employers, even though such action is illegal. In addition, the illegal immigration status of many workers further discourages them from contacting authorities, she said.

Along with other members of the CRLA, Jacka conducts periodic inspections of working conditions in the fields.

"We've been out there and found the water (jug) to be empty," she said, despite current Cal OSHA requirements that potable water be provided to workers in the fields. "We also have people (farm workers) call us and invite us to come out and taste the water (that employers provide)."

Among the provisions of Schwarzenegger's proposal are regulations requiring that employers and employees understand how to recognize and prevent heat stress, as well as requirements that employers provide access to a shaded area to any worker suffering from heat illness. In addition, employers will be required to provide one quart of drinking water per hour per worker during the entire shift, according to the text of the proposed regulations.

According to Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board findings, five fatalities and eight injuries related to heat were reported to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health during July. The report also found that from 2000-2004, an average of 300 cases of heat-related illness were recorded annually by employers or were the subject of workers' compensation claims.

If adopted after the special meeting, the regulations would go into effect immediately, with Cal OSHA refining a set of permanent regulations during a 120-day review period. If no permanent regulations are adopted during this period, the emergency regulations would expire.

Maldonado, who will be working with other state legislators on the text of the permanent regulations, said it was "about time that we came forward to put some standards in place."

"Education is the most important thing," he said, stressing the importance of knowing the symptoms of heat stress, "followed by the basic things of providing shade and providing rest breaks."

Maldonado, whose family owns a farming business and who worked in the fields of Santa Maria as a boy, recalled arduous summer days tending crops.

"Those were some of the hardest days of my life," he said, "and it didn't get near as hot as the Central Valley gets."

Though the emergency regulations lack specific definitions for such terms as "heat illness" or "environmental risk factors for heat illness," Maldonado said he is confident that after the 120-day review period, "things will come together."

Stan Oklobdzija can be reached at 739-2159 or at soklobdzija@santamariatimes.com.

August 3, 2005