BILL NUMBER: AB 821 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 17615) to Chapter
5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 821, as amended, Brownley. School facilities: maintenance.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board of any school
district to give diligent care to the health and physical development
of pupils.
This bill would create the Clean and Healthy Schools Act, and
would make findings and declarations regarding indoor air quality and
cleaning products. The bill would require , when it is
economically feasible, but not later than the 2010-11 school year,
all school districts and all nonpublic elementary and
secondary schools with 50 or more pupils , by the 2010-11 school
year, or when it is economically feasible, to purchase and use
exclusively environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning
maintenance products, as specified. The bill would require a
school district or school to provide written notification that it
will not purchase and use environmentally preferable cleaning and
cleaning maintenance products to the State Department of
Education, annually, if until it
determines that it is not economically feasible to
purchase and use those products, until it is feasible to do
so comply with the requirements described above
. The bill also would require the Department of General
Services and the State Department of Education to post on
their its Internet Web sites
site information to assist school districts and
schools to comply with these provisions. Because this bill would
require school districts to perform new duties, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 5 (commencing with Section 17615) is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
Code, to read:
Article 5. Clean and Healthy Schools Act
17615. This article may be cited as the Clean and Healthy Schools
Act.
17615.1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Children are vulnerable to, and may be severely affected by,
exposure to chemicals, hazardous waste, and other environmental
hazards. The Federal United States
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that human exposure to
indoor air pollutants can be two to five times and up to 100 times
higher more hazardous than outdoor
levels, and that half of schools in the United States have poor
indoor air quality. The California State
Air Resources Board has found significant indoor air quality
problems in California's portable and traditional classrooms.
(b) Pupils, teachers, janitors, and other staff members spend a
significant amount of time inside school buildings, during which time
they are exposed to cleaners and cleaning maintenance
products. Cleaners and Many cleaners and
cleaning maintenance products contain known carcinogens,
reproductive toxins, chemicals that cause asthma, and other hazardous
ingredients.
(c) Asthma is the primary cause of school absences due to chronic
disease in the United States, and is the leading cause of
hospitalization for children under 15 years of age in California.
(d) Section 12400 of the Public Contract Code defines
"environmentally preferable purchasing" as the procurement or
acquisition of goods and services that have a lesser or reduced
effect on human health and the environment when compared with
competing goods or services that serve the same purpose.
(e) The benefits of cleaner indoor air in schools have been shown
to reduce the incidence of asthma, allergies, and absenteeism in
pupils, as well as increase teacher retention rates and reduce
worker workers' compensation claims.
The use of environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning
maintenance products contributes to cleaner indoor air quality.
(f) Third-party, independent, voluntary certification programs
exist that set standards for, and evaluate, environmentally
preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products,
including such as Green Seal
GS-37 and EcoLogo CCD-146. The ,
among others, and current standards establish
environmental requirements for industrial and institutional
general-purpose, restroom, glass, and carpet cleaners,
carpet cleaners, floor care products, and handsoaps,
intended for routine cleaning of offices, schools, and
institutions, and include consideration of vulnerable populations in
institutional settings, such as schools and day-care facilities.
Paint is not used or applied daily or often, and is not a
general-purpose product used for routine cleaning of school
facilities as described in this section. Products certified
under these standards cannot contain carcinogens, mutagens,
reproductive toxins, ingredients that cause asthma, ingredients that
are corrosive to skin and eyes, heavy metals, including lead,
hexavalent chromium, or selenium, either in elemental form or
compounds, 2-butoxyethanol, alkylphenol ethoxylates, phthalates,
ozone-depleting chemicals, or optical brighteners. The standards also
establish specific limits on ingredients for acute toxicity, skin
absorption, volatile organic compound content, inhalation toxicity,
toxicity to aquatic life, bioaccumulating compounds,
biodegradability, eutrophication, combustibility, and fragrances. The
standards define requirements for concentrates, dispensing systems,
packaging, recycleability recyclability
, labeling, and training. Standards are revised periodically and may
apply to additional categories of products. The
Currently, the standards do not apply to cleaners for
household use, food preparation operations, or medical facilities,
and do not apply to air fresheners, enzymatic, or microbially active
products required to be registered under the federal
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act, such as those making claims as sterilizers,
disinfectants, disinfectants or sanitizers.
(g) Existing law establishes the public school system, imposes
various safety requirements, and provides state funding to school
districts that contribute to operating budgets that already include
janitorial programs. Schools are encouraged to use the State of
California Procurement Contract to purchase environmentally
preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products to
maximize the available discounts and avoid developing their own
separate bids.
17615.2. As used in this article:
(a) "Economically feasible" means that there is no net increase in
the cleaning costs of a school.
(b) "Environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning
maintenance product intended for routine cleaning and cleaning
maintenance, including, but not limited to, general-purpose cleaners,
bathroom cleaners, carpet cleaners, glass cleaners, floor cleaners,
floor finishes, floor strippers, hand cleaners, and soaps "
means a product that meets independent, third-party certification
criteria for lesser or reduced effects on human health and the
environment compared with competing goods or services that
serve the same purpose. "Environmentally preferable cleaning and
maintenance product" does not include any disinfecting cleaner,
sanitizer, or any other antimicrobial product regulated by the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec.
136 et seq.), un til the United States Environmental
Protection Agency adopts a final rule that may allow these products
to make environmentally preferable claims and obtain and use
environmentally preferable certifications.
(c) "Third-party certification" means certification by an
established and legitimate , independent,
nationally recognized program developed for the purpose of
identifying environmentally preferable products , such as
Green Seal or EcoLogo. Any third-party certification program shall
meet and that meets, at a minimum all of the
following criteria:
(1) Have Has an open,
transparent public process for setting standards
that involves the public and key stakeholders.
(2) Clearly defines the fees a manufacturer must pay for
certification.
(3) Clearly avoids conflicts of interest in the standard setting
and product evaluation process.
(4) Have a criteria for certification that is available publically
and is transparent.
(4) Has the criteria and standards for certification published and
publicly available and easily accessible to purchasers,
manufacturers, and the general public, such as through the program's
Internet Web site, and includes a list of certified products that
meet the standards.
(5) Bases certification of the product and its packaging on
criteria for reducing effects on human health and safety, ecological
toxicity, other environmental impacts, and resource conservation,
including, at a minimum, consideration of chemicals that cause
cancer, mutagenic and reproductive harm, organ and nervous system
damage, asthma, smog, ozone depletion, aquatic toxicity,
bioaccumulation, and eutrophication.
(6) Requires periodic revisions and updates of the standards
to remain consistent with current research about the potential impact
of chemicals on human health and the environment .
(7) Monitors and reinforces the standards, provides for the
authority to inspect the manufacturing facilities, and periodically
does so.
(8) Have Has a registered, legally
protected certification mark.
(9) Makes the standards easily accessible to purchasers and
manufacturers, for example, making them available on the program's
Internet Web site.
(10)
(9) If possible, is developed by consensus among
key stakeholders .
(11) Establishes leadership levels
(10) Establishes a leadership level
in standards for products.
(12) Provides a list of certified products that meet the
standards.
(13) Requires that product manufacturers or distributors provide
training on the appropriate and safe use of their certified products.
17615.3. (a) When it is economically feasible, but not
later than By the 2010-11 school year, or
when it is economically feasible, all school districts, and all
nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50 or more pupils,
shall purchase and use exclusively environmentally preferable
cleaning and cleaning maintenance products if an
environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning
maintenance product exists.
(b) A school may deplete its existing cleaning and maintenance
supply stocks and implement the new requirements in the next
procurement cycle.
(c) If a school district or school determines that it is not
economically feasible to purchase and use environmentally preferable
cleaning and maintenance products cleaning
maintenance products by the 2010-11 school year , the school
district or school shall provide written notification that it will
not purchase and use environmentally preferable cleaning and
cleaning maintenance products to the State Department of
Education annually, until it is feasible to do so.
until it determines that it is economically feasible to comply
with the requirements of subdivision (a).
17615.4. The Department of General Services and the
State Department of Education shall post information on
their its Internet Web sites
site to assist school districts and schools in
complying with Section 17615.3.
17615.5. This article sets minimum standards for cleaning
products used in schools. Nothing in these
this article shall prevent local jurisdictions from adopting
guidelines that are more stringent that those defined in this
article.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.