BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1863|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 1863
          Author:   Gaines (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/9/10
          AYES:  Alquist, Cedillo, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Strickland, Aanestad, Cox, Romero

           SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE :  7-0, 6/28/10
          AYES:  Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,  
            Pavley, Strickland
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Diesel generators:  health facilities

           SOURCE  :     California Hospital Association 


           DIGEST  :    This bill extends, until January 1, 2016,  
          provisions of law related to resting diesel back-up  
          generators in hospitals, and extends provisions according  
          to national testing standards.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law: 
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                               AB 1863
                                                                Page  
          2


          1. Requires a health facility to test each of its diesel  
             backup generators 12 times a year with testing intervals  
             of not less than 20 days and not more than 40 days.   
             Requires that tests be conducted for at least 30  
             continuous minutes pursuant to either of the following: 

             A.    A dynamic load that is at least 30 percent of the  
                nameplate rating (initial capability as stated on the  
                nameplate) of the generator.
              
             B.    A test conducted at less than 30 percent of the  
                nameplate rating of the generator, if the health  
                facility revises its existing documented management  
                plan to conform with the National Fire Protection  
                Association 110:  Standard for Emergency and Standby  
                Power Systems, 2005 edition, testing and maintenance  
                activities.  Requires these activities to include  
                inspection procedures for assessing the prime mover's  
                exhaust gas temperature against the minimum  
                temperature recommended by the manufacturer. 

          2. Requires if a diesel backup generator cannot be tested  
             pursuant to the requirements of either #1A or #1B above,  
             it must be tested for 30 continuous minutes at intervals  
             of not less than 20 days and not more than 40 days with  
             available Emergency Power Supply Systems load and tested  
             annually with supplemental loads of all of the following  
             in the following order for a total of two continuous  
             hours: 

             A.    Twenty-five percent of nameplate rating for 30  
                minutes.
             B.    Fifty percent of nameplate rating for 30 minutes. 
             C.    Seventy-five percent of nameplate rating for 60  
                minutes. 

          3. Requires health facilities to submit all data collected  
             about diesel backup generator operation to the  
             Department of Public Health (DPH), upon request. 

          4. Sunsets the requirements in #1, #2, and #3 above on  
             January 1, 2011. 








                                                               AB 1863
                                                                Page  
          3

          5. Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop a  
             program to reduce pollution from diesel engine  
             particulate matter emissions. 

          6. Authorizes each air pollution control district (air  
             district) to enforce rules and regulations to achieve  
             and maintain the state and federal ambient air quality  
             standards in all areas affected by emission sources  
             under their jurisdiction. 

          7. Authorizes each air district to require a person to  
             obtain a permit from the air district prior to building,  
             erecting, altering, replacing, operating, or using any  
             article, machine, equipment, or other contrivance that  
             may cause air contamination. 

          8. Provides, through regulation, that specified health  
             facilities maintain back-up generators to provide  
             emergency lighting and power supplies in case of a power  
             failure. 

          This bill extends, until January 1, 2016, the existing  
          requirements that health facilities use standards,  
          consistent with those currently set by The Joint Commission  
          (formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of  
          Healthcare Organizations, for testing diesel backup  
          generators and submit to DPH all related data collected  
          about generator operation, upon request. 

           Background
           
          Health facilities are required to maintain backup  
          generators to provide emergency lighting and power supplies  
          in case of a power failure.  In 2003, the California  
          Healthcare Association (now the California Hospital  
          Association) sponsored AB 390 (Montanez), Chapter 676,  
          Statutes of 2003, to address concerns that hospitals were  
          over-testing their diesel backup generators, resulting in  
          unnecessary pollution.  Prior to 2003, the requirements for  
          testing generators in California health facilities were  
          mandated under 25-year old Title 22 regulations which  
          require a weekly one-half hour test of generators.   
          Following Hurricane Katrina, The Joint Commission, the  
          nation's largest health care accrediting entity, studied  







                                                               AB 1863
                                                                Page  
          4

          diesel generator problems and revised its diesel testing  
          standards.  The Joint Commission determined that monthly  
          testing under certain specified conditions regarding  
          duration and load was appropriate.  AB 390 (Montanez)  
          aligns California with The Joint Commission standards and  
          establishes a sunset date of January 1, 2009, and AB 2216  
          (Gaines), Chapter 232, Statutes of 2008, extends the AB 390  
          sunset date to January 1, 2011 with the expectation that  
          the Licensing and Certification Division of the Department  
          of Health Services (now DPH) would address this issue in  
          regulation prior to the sunset.  To date, DPH has not  
          addressed this issue by revising the section of the Title  
          22 regulations pertaining to backup diesel generator  
          testing.  However, DPH has indicated that they anticipate  
          that the revised regulations can be promulgated by 2016.   
          Health facilities subject to the AB 390 and AB 2216  
          requirements include acute care hospitals, acute  
          psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing facilities,  
          intermediate care facilities, special hospitals,  
          intermediate care facilities for the developmentally  
          disabled, and nursing facilities. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/28/10)

          The California Hospital Association (source) 
          Bay Area Quality Management District
          South Coast Air Quality Management District


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The bill's sponsor, the California  
          Hospital Association (CHA), states that current law was  
          modified in 2003 through AB 390 and subsequently in 2008  
          with AB 2216 in response to concerns that hospitals were,  
          in accordance with 25-year-old regulations, over-testing  
          their backup generators.  CHA argues that this bill clearly  
          states the current requirements under industry  
          accreditation guidelines and will reduce diesel particulate  
          matter in the environment and provide a clear testing path  
          for facilities. 









                                                               AB 1863
                                                                Page  
          5

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,  
            Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,  
            Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,  
            Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,  
            Norby, Vacancy


          CTW:mw  8/3/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                ****  END  ****