BILL NUMBER: AB 935	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 16, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 13, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Feuer  and Ruskin 
 and Jones 
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Bonnie Lowenthal   ) 
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Hill,   Huffman,   Lieu,   Monning,
  Price,   Ruskin,   and Yamada  
) 
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
DeSaulnier,   Wiggins,   and Wolk   )


                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Section  25503.5   1417.2
 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to  hazardous
materials   long-term health care facilities  .



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 935, as amended, Feuer.  Hazardous materials: business
plans and inventories: nanomaterials.   Long-term health
care facilities.  
   Existing law provides for the licensure of long-term health care
facilities by the State Department of Public Health. Under existing
law, the Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973,
the department may assess penalties for violation of prescribed state
and federal requirements. Moneys collected as a result of the
penalties imposed pursuant to these provisions are required to be
deposited into either the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties
Account or the Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account,
and used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the protection
of health or property of residents of long-term health care
facilities, including reimbursing residents for personal funds lost
and costs associated with informational meetings.  
   Existing law establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman in the California Department of Aging. Under existing law,
the office is responsible for, among other things, investigating and
resolving complaints and concerns communicated by or on behalf of
patients, residents, or clients of long-term care facilities, as
defined. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Aging
to allocate all federal and state funds for local ombudsman programs
according to a specified distribution schedule.  
   This bill would require at least 1/2 of the funds in the State
Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account and the Federal Health
Facilities Citation Penalties Account be used to fund local ombudsman
programs pursuant to the aforementioned distribution schedule. 

   (1) Existing law generally requires a business that handles a
hazardous material to establish and implement a business plan for
emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous
material, with specified exceptions. Existing law specifies the
contents of the business plan, including an inventory, and requires
it to be submitted to the administering agency, as defined. A knowing
violation of those requirements, upon reasonable notice of the
violation, is a crime.  
   This bill would add to those businesses that are required to
establish and implement a business plan for emergency response to a
release or threatened release of a hazardous material a business that
handles a hazardous material or a mixture containing a hazardous
material that has any quantity of a substance that is a manufactured
nanomaterial, as defined. By adding to the businesses subject to the
business plan requirements, the bill would create a new crime,
thereby imposing 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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes   no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 1417.2 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   1417.2.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 1428, moneys collected as a
result of state and federal civil penalties imposed under this
chapter or federal law shall be deposited into accounts that are
hereby established in the Special Deposit Fund created pursuant to
Section 16370 of the Government Code. These accounts are titled the
State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account, into which moneys
derived from civil penalties for violations of state law shall be
deposited, and the Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties
Account, into which moneys derived from civil penalties for
violations of federal law shall be deposited. Moneys from these
accounts shall be used, notwithstanding Section 16370 of the
Government Code, upon appropriation by the Legislature,  as
follows: 
    (1)     At least one-   half of
the funds in the accounts shall be used to fund the local ombudsman
programs pursuant to the distribution schedule in Section 9719.5 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code. 
    (2)     The remaining funds in the accounts
that are not used pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be used  in
accordance with state and federal law for the protection of health or
property of residents of long-term health care facilities,
including, but not limited to, the following: 
   (1) 
    (A)  Relocation expenses incurred by the department, in
the event of a facility closure. 
   (2) 
    (B)  Maintenance of facility operation pending
correction of deficiencies or closure, such as temporary management
or receivership, in the event that the revenues of the facility are
insufficient. 
   (3)
    (C)  Reimbursing residents for personal funds lost. In
the event that the loss is a result of the actions of a long-term
health care facility or its employees, the revenues of the facility
shall first be used. 
   (4) 
    (D)  The costs associated with informational meetings
required under Section 1327.2.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the balance in the State
Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account shall not, at any time,
exceed ten million dollars ($10,000,000).
   (c) Moneys from the Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties
Account, in the amount not to exceed one hundred thirty thousand
dollars ($130,000), may also be used, notwithstanding Section 16370
of the Government Code, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in
accordance with state and federal law for the improvement of quality
of care and quality of life for long-term health care facilities
residents pursuant to Section 1417.3.
   (d) The department shall post on its Internet Web site, and shall
update on a quarterly basis, all of the following regarding the funds
in the State Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account and the
Federal Health Facilities Citation Penalties Account:
   (1) The specific sources of funds deposited into the account.
   (2) The amount of funds in the account that have not been
allocated.
   (3) A detailed description of how funds in the account have been
allocated and expended, including, but not limited to, the names of
persons or entities that received the funds, the amount of salaries
paid to temporary managers, and a description of equipment purchased
with the funds. However, the description shall not include the names
of residents. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 25503.5 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
   25503.5.  (a) (1) A business, except as provided in subdivisions
(b), (c), and (d), shall establish and implement a business plan for
emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous
material in accordance with the standards prescribed in the
regulations adopted pursuant to Section 25503, if the business
handles a hazardous material or a mixture containing a hazardous
material that has a quantity at any one time during the reporting
year that is any of the following:
   (A) Equal to, or greater than, a total weight of 500 pounds or a
total volume of 55 gallons.
   (B) Equal to, or greater than, 200 cubic feet at standard
temperature and pressure, if the substance is compressed gas.
   (C) If the substance is a radioactive material, it is handled in
quantities for which an emergency plan is required to be adopted
pursuant to Part 30 (commencing with Section 30.1), Part 40
(commencing with Section 40.1), or Part 70 (commencing with Section
70.1), of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
or pursuant to any regulations adopted by the state in accordance
with those regulations.
   (D) (i) Any quantity of a substance that is a manufactured
nanomaterial.
   (ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the following definitions
apply:
   (I) "Manufactured nanomaterial" means a nanomaterial that is
intentionally produced by a manufacturing process.
   (II) "Nanomaterial" means a material that is either a nano-object
or is an aggregation or agglomeration of nano-objects.
   (III) "Nano-object" means a material confined in one, two, or
three dimensions at the nanoscale.
   (IV) "Nanoscale" means a size range between 1 nanometer and 300
nanometers.
   (2) In meeting the requirements of this subdivision, a business
may, if it elects to do so, use the format adopted pursuant to
Section 25503.4.
   (b) (1) Oxygen, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide, ordinarily maintained
by a physician, dentist, podiatrist, veterinarian, or pharmacist, at
his or her office or place of business, stored at each office or
place of business in quantities of not more than 1,000 cubic feet of
each material at any one time, are exempt from this section and from
Section 25505. The administering agency may require a one-time
inventory of these materials for a fee not to exceed fifty dollars
($50) to pay for the costs incurred by the agency in processing the
inventory forms.
   (2) (A) Lubricating oil is exempt from this section and Sections
25505 and 25509, for a single business facility, if the total volume
of each type of lubricating oil handled at that facility does not
exceed 55 gallons and the total volume of all types of lubricating
oil handled at that facility does not exceed 275 gallons, at any one
time.
   (B) For purposes of this paragraph, "lubricating oil" means any
oil intended for use in an internal combustion crankcase, or the
transmission, gearbox, differential, or hydraulic system of an
automobile, bus, truck, vessel, plane, heavy equipment, or other
machinery powered by an internal combustion or electric powered
engine. "Lubricating oil" does not include used oil, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 25250.1.
   (c) (1) Hazardous material contained solely in a consumer product
for direct distribution to, and use by, the general public is exempt
from the business plan requirements of this chapter unless the
administering agency has found, and has provided notice to the
business handling the product, that the handling of certain
quantities of the product requires the submission of a business plan,
or any portion thereof, in response to public health, safety, or
environmental concerns.
   (2) In addition to the authority specified in paragraph (4), the
administering agency may, in exceptional circumstances, following
notice and public hearing, exempt from the inventory provisions of
this chapter a hazardous substance specified in subdivision (p) of
Section 25501 if the administering agency finds that the hazardous
substance would not pose a present or potential danger to the
environment or to human health and safety if the hazardous substance
was released into the environment. The administering agency shall
specify in writing the basis for granting an exemption under this
paragraph. The administering agency shall send a notice to the office
within five days from the effective date of an exemption granted
pursuant to this paragraph.
   (3) The administering agency, upon application by a handler, may
exempt the handler, under conditions that the administering agency
determines to be proper, from a portion of the business plan, upon a
written finding that the exemption would not pose a significant
present or potential hazard to human health or safety or to the
environment or affect the ability of the administering agency and
emergency rescue personnel to effectively respond to the release of a
hazardous material, and that there are unusual circumstances
justifying the exemption. The administering agency shall specify in
writing the basis for an exemption under this paragraph.
   (4) The administering agency, upon application by a handler, may
exempt a hazardous material from the inventory provisions of this
chapter upon proof that the material does not pose a significant
present or potential hazard to human health and safety or to the
environment if released into the workplace or environment. The
administering agency shall specify in writing the basis for an
exemption under this paragraph.
   (5) An administering agency shall exempt a business operating a
farm for purposes of cultivating the soil or raising or harvesting an
agricultural or horticultural commodity from filing the information
in the business plan required by subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section
25504 if all of the following requirements are met:
   (A) The handler annually provides the inventory of information
required by Section 25509 to the county agricultural commissioner
before January 1 of each year.
   (B) Each building in which hazardous materials subject to this
chapter are stored is posted with signs, in accordance with
regulations that the office shall adopt, that provide notice of the
storage of any of the following:
   (i) Pesticides.
   (ii) Petroleum fuels and oil.
   (iii) Types of fertilizers.
   (C) Each county agricultural commissioner forwards the inventory
to the administering agency within 30 days from the date of receipt
of the inventory.
   (6) The administering agency shall exempt a business operating an
unstaffed remote facility located in an isolated sparsely populated
area from the hazardous materials business plan and inventory
requirements of this article if the facility is not otherwise subject
to the requirements of applicable federal law, and all of the
following requirements are met:
   (A) The types and quantities of materials onsite are limited to
one or more of the following:
   (i) Five hundred standard cubic feet of compressed inert gases
(asphyxiation and pressure hazards only).
   (ii) Five hundred gallons of combustible liquid used as a fuel
source.
   (iii) Two hundred gallons of corrosive liquids used as
electrolytes in closed containers.
   (iv) Five hundred gallons of lubricating and hydraulic fluids.
   (v) Twelve hundred gallons of flammable gas used as a fuel source.

   (B) The facility is secured and not accessible to the public.
   (C) Warning signs are posted and maintained for hazardous
materials pursuant to the California Fire Code.
   (D) A one-time notification and inventory is provided to the
administering agency along with a processing fee in lieu of the
existing fee. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of processing
the notification and inventory, including a verification inspection
if necessary.
   (E) If the information contained in the initial notification or
inventory changes and the time period of the change is longer than 30
days, the notification or inventory shall be resubmitted within 30
days to the administering agency to reflect the change, along with a
processing fee, in lieu of the existing fee, that does not exceed the
actual cost of processing the amended notification or inventory,
including a verification inspection, if necessary.
   (F) The administering agency shall forward a copy of the
notification and inventory to those agencies that share
responsibility for emergency response.
   (G) The administering agency may require an unstaffed remote
facility to submit a hazardous materials business plan and inventory
in accordance with this article if the agency finds that special
circumstances exist such that development and maintenance of the
business plan and inventory is necessary to protect public health and
safety and the environment.
   (d) Onpremise use, storage, or both, of propane in an amount not
to exceed 300 gallons that is for the sole purpose of heating the
employee working areas within that business is exempt from this
section, unless the administering agency finds, and provides notice
to the business handling the propane, that the handling of the
onpremise propane requires the submission of a business plan, or a
portion thereof, in response to public health, safety, or
environmental concerns.
   (e) The administering agency shall provide all information
obtained from completed inventory forms, upon request, to emergency
rescue personnel on a 24-hour basis.
   (f) The administering agency shall adopt procedures to provide for
public input when approving an application submitted pursuant to
paragraph (3) or (4) of subdivision (c).  
  SEC. 2.    No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.