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34 Pallet C e nt ral • S e ptem be r- O ctobe r 2 0 24 SAFETY BY ADELE L. ABRAMS, ESQ., ASP, CMSP T he presidential and vice presidential nominations were a guessing game for a good part of the summer, but the candidates are now set in place (barring some deus ex machina at the 11th hour): former President Donald Trump and Ohio Senator JD Vance for the Republican ticket, and current Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the Democratic team. e push to convince President Joe Biden to "retire" and not seek a second term became ugly, focusing attention on his age and mental acuity, but with Biden agreeing to a single term and being replaced by a ticket featuring two candidates who will be aged 60 on Election Day, the age issue may now backfire on the Trump team. Senator Vance has also been met with a lukewarm reception generally, while Governor Walz came out of nowhere, has generated much enthusiasm, and may help move some swing states in the Midwest. e polls during the Trump/Biden matchup favored Trump, but as of August, polls seem to be moving toward the Harris/ Walz ticket. e outcome is far from certain, but the impact on the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) can be assessed in advance. Moreover, there were several decisions in 2024 by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) that may directly affect current and even past OSHA rulemakings and enforcement actions. In July 2024, the federal government issued its "Spring 2024" regulatory agenda. is is the road map for each federal agency's regulatory actions that the agency anticipates "acting on" within the subsequent 12 months. In this case, that overlaps into the next administration—and if it is the Harris/ Walz administration, there is likely to be continued (even accelerated) movement to bring these rules to completion before the end of 2028. But priorities may shift or be impacted by emergent issues (such as COV ID-19 THE RACE IS ON . . . WHAT'S NEXT FOR OSHA?

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