b'States expected to be more active their worker safety programs, it can be costly. Dur-regarding worker safety under Trump ing the past decade, Florida and Kansas lawmak-ers considered establishing state plans but decided against it because the states would have to pay much of the programs expenses. Finding subject-matter experts to staff a state work safety agency also can be a challenge. Converting into a state plan could be done in as little as six months, but it depends on the existing administrative frameworks within states.Attorneys say state work safety agencies are pre-paring to ramp up enforcement in response to an anticipated change from Biden-era enforcement to decreased enforcement under the new Trump ad-ministration, according to Bloomberg Law. The Trump administration is expected to pull back on work safety efforts by slowing down implemen-tation of new rules and reducing worksite inspec-tions. Some states are poised to ensure companies com-ply with local rules that are not in effect at the fed-eral levelsuch as the proposed national heat standardand employers in those states will be subject to requirements stricter than federal re-quirements. Californias Division of Occupational Safety and Health is preparing to lead efforts for worker protec-tions, and Oregon and Washington are expected to follow suit. Other states with occupational safety and health planssuch as Kentucky, Michigan and Tennesseeare expected to be more moderate in their approaches. Twenty-seven states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Vir-gin Islands have federal approval to operate a job safety agency. There often is tension and variation when the Oc-cupational Safety and Health Administration sets the minimum requirements for itself and states. Federal law says OSHA can launch a takeover of a state worker safety program if it is not at least as effective as the federal agency. Most recently, South Carolina and Arizona have been involved in fights with federal OSHA regarding their power to enforce worker safety protections. Although some states may want to adopt or expand (continued on page 27) 16'