BILL NUMBER: AB 1144 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 30, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Harman
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Cohn)
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Sections 115725, 115730, 115735, 115745, and
115750 of , to add Section 115755 to, and to repeal Article 1
(commencing with Section 115725) of Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division
104 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to playground
safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1144, as amended, Harman Playground safety standards.
Existing law requires the State Department of Health Services, in
consultation with specified other agencies and entities, to adopt
regulations for the design, installation, maintenance, inspection,
supervision where appropriate, and training of personnel involved in
the design, installation, and maintenance, of playgrounds either
operated by public agencies or operated by any entity where the
playground is open to the public.
This bill would require the state department to adopt and amend,
as necessary, its playground safety standards in order to meet
current ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards
for playground safety and other specified standards that relate to
the design, installation, inspection, and maintenance of a playground
and playground equipment. The bill would require the replacement of
equipment or modification of components inside existing playgrounds
to conform to the requirements of specified regulations.
The bill would provide that an operator of a playground open to
the public that was certified in compliance with January 1, 2000,
state playground regulations shall not be required to modify
playground equipment due to any changes in regulations that occur
after January 1, 2006.
The bill would also delete obsolete provisions, make other
conforming changes, and revise the definition of "playground."
The bill would repeal the laws governing playground safety
standards on January 1, 2010.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 115725 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
115725. (a) The state department, in consultation with the
Division of the State Architect, the California Parks and Recreation
Society, the League of California Cities, the Department of Parks and
Recreation, the State Department of Education, and the California
Council of the American Society of Landscape Architects, shall adopt
regulations for the design, installation, inspection, maintenance,
and supervision where appropriate, and training of personnel involved
in the design, installation, and maintenance, of all playgrounds
either operated by public agencies, including a state agency, city,
county, city and county, school district, and any other district, or
operated by any entity where the playground is open to the public.
(b) (1) Those regulations shall be consistent with the current
ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards, ASTM
F1487, for playgrounds and shall be amended, as necessary, to conform
to the most recent ASTM playground safety standards as these are
revised.
(2) The regulations shall also meet the standard of care imposed
by courts of law on playground operators, and shall, at a minimum,
impose guidelines and criteria that shall be at least as protective
as all of the following:
(A) The guidelines in the Handbook for Public Playground Safety
produced by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC Handbook), Publication Number 325, November 1997.
(B) The Standard Specification for Playground Equipment for Public
Use, Designation: F1487.
(C) The Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surface
Systems Under and Around Play Equipment (ASTM Standard), Designation:
F1292.
(D) The Standard Specification for Determination of Accessibility
of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment (ASTM
Standard) Designation: F1951.
(3) The regulations shall give due consideration to any successor
to the Handbook for Public Playground Safety that may be published,
and shall include more protective requirements where the state
department finds those guidelines will provide inadequate protection.
(c) The regulations shall include special provisions for
playgrounds in day care settings, that shall be developed in
consultation with the State Department of Social Services and the
California Children's Lobby, and that shall be appropriate for
children within the range of ages in day care settings. The state
department shall not be responsible for enforcement of any
regulations pursuant to this section.
SEC. 2. Section 115730 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
115730. (a) All public agencies operating playgrounds, including
a state agency, city, county, city and county, and district, shall
upgrade their playgrounds by replacement or improvement as necessary
to satisfy the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 115725 to the
extent state funds are made available specifically for that purpose
through state bonds or other means. All other entities operating
playgrounds open to the public shall upgrade their playgrounds by
replacement or improvement, as necessary to satisfy the regulations
adopted pursuant to Section 115725.
(b) (1) Subdivision (a) and the regulations adopted pursuant to
Section 115725 shall not apply to playgrounds installed between
January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1999. Those playgrounds shall be
subject to the requirements to upgrade set forth in this subdivision
until 15 years after the date those playgrounds were installed, at
which time those playgrounds shall be subject to subdivision (a) and
the regulations adopted pursuant to Section 115725.
(2) All public agencies operating playgrounds installed between
January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1999, shall upgrade those
playgrounds by replacement or improvement as necessary to satisfy
criteria that are at least as protective as the guidelines in the
Handbook for Public Playground Safety, Publication Number 325, United
States Consumer Product Safety Commission, November 1994, to the
extent that state funds are made available specifically for that
purpose through state bonds or other means.
(3) All other entities operating playgrounds open to the public
and installed between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1999, shall
upgrade those playgrounds by replacement or improvement as necessary
to satisfy criteria that are at least as protective as the guidelines
in the Handbook for Public Playground Safety, Publication Number
325, United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, November 1994.
(c) All public agencies operating playgrounds and all other
entities operating playgrounds open to the public shall have a
playground safety inspector, certified by the National Playground
Safety Institute, conduct an initial inspection for the purpose of
aiding compliance with the requirements to upgrade set forth in
subdivision (a) or (b), as applicable. Any inspection report may
serve as a reference when the upgrades are made, but is not intended
for any other use.
(d) This section shall not affect the liability or absence of
liability of playground operators.
SEC. 3. Section 115735 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
115735. For purposes of this article, all of the following shall
apply:
(a) An "entity operating a playground open to the public"
includes, but is not limited to, a church, subdivision, hotel, motel,
resort, camp, office, hospital, shopping center, day care setting,
and restaurant. An "entity operating a playground open to the public"
shall not include a foster family home, certified family home, small
family home, group home, or family day care home, which is licensed
and regulated to meet child safety requirements enforced by the State
Department of Social Services.
(b) "Playground" means an improved outdoor area designed,
equipped, and set aside for children's play that is not intended for
use as an athletic playing field or athletic court, and shall include
any playground equipment, fall zones, surface materials, access
ramps, and all areas within and including the designated enclosure
and barriers.
(c) "Supervision" includes all general and specific supervision
necessary to protect children from unreasonable risk of harm from
site hazards, the acts of other children, or the use of the
playground in a way that was not intended by the designer or manager
of the playground. The regulations required pursuant to this article
shall not expand on the periods or circumstances when supervision
shall be provided beyond the periods or circumstances already
determined to be within the existing standard of care to which a
playground operator is held.
SEC. 4. Section 115745 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
115745. (a) After the effective date of the regulations adopted
pursuant to this article, no state funding shall be available for the
planning, development, or redevelopment of any playground, unless
the playground, after completion of the state-funded project,
conforms to the applicable regulations adopted pursuant to this
article. However, where state funds have been appropriated to, or
allocated for, a playground project prior to the effective date of
the regulations but the regulations become effective prior to the
completion of the project, that funding shall be maintained, as long
as the playground is altered to conform to the regulations to the
extent the alterations can be made without adding significantly to
the project cost.
(b) After the date by which an entity is required to conform its
playground to satisfy regulations adopted pursuant to this article,
no state funding shall be available for the operation, maintenance,
or supervision of the playground unless the playground conforms to
the applicable regulations adopted pursuant to this article.
SEC. 5. Section 115750 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
115750. (a) All new playgrounds open to the public built by a
public agency or any other entity more than six months after the
effective date of the regulations adopted pursuant to this article
shall conform to the requirements of those regulations. Where the
playground developer knows of the regulations before undertaking any
expenses related to designing or building the playground, this
six-month grace period shall not apply.
(b) Replacement of equipment or modification of components inside
existing playgrounds shall conform to the requirements of the
regulations adopted pursuant to this article.
(c) An operator of a playground open to the public is not required
to modify playground equipment that was certified in compliance with
the January 1, 2000, California playground regulations due to any
changes that occur after January 1, 2006. Future changes in national
ASTM or CPSC guidelines will not require recertification or
modification of playgrounds that complied with standards in effect on
the date of their installation.
(d) This section does not affect or alter otherwise existing legal
duties or obligations under the law.
SEC. 6. Section 115755 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
115755. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2010, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2010, deletes or extends
that date.