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 ****