BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 85
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 85 (Mendoza) - As Amended: May 10, 2011
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-2
Higher Education 7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires K-12 and California Community College (CCC)
modernization projects, on or after January 1, 2012, to include
locks that allow doors to classrooms or any room with the
occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the inside.
Requires new CCC construction projects to comply with these
requirements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the locks to conform to the California Building
Standards (CBS) Code and exempts doors that are locked from
the outside at all times and pupil restrooms from this
requirement.
2)Specifies these provisions only apply to modernization and CCC
construction projects that include rehabilitation in a
classroom or any room with occupancy of five or more persons.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)For K-12 school modernization facility projects, annual state
school construction bond cost pressure, of approximately
$285,000, to require locks that allow doors to classrooms or
any other specified room to be locked from the inside, as
specified. According to the State Department of Education,
7,083 classrooms need to be modernized annually for the next
five years to meet the state's need.
2)For new CCC construction and modernization facility projects,
state and local annual costs, likely in the millions, to
AB 85
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require locks that allow doors to classrooms or any other
specified room to be locked from the inside, as specified.
3)AB 127 (Nunez), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2006, authorized
Proposition 1D: the Kindergarten-University Public Education
Facilities Bond Act of 2006 for $10.416 billion. The voters
passed Proposition 1D on November 7, 2006. Of the $10.416
billion, $7.329 billion is allocated for K-12 education
facilities and $1.5 billion for CCC facilities.
a) Of the amount provided for K-12 facilities, $3.3 billion
is for modernization. As of March 2011, there is
approximately $1.4 billion remaining for modernization
projects.
b) The $1.5 billion provided for CCC facilities may be used
to fund construction on existing campuses, including the
construction, renovation, and reconstruction of facilities,
as specified. All of this funding has been allocated.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In April 1999, two high school students at Columbine
High School in Columbine, CO used semi-automatic weapons to
kill twelve students, a teacher, and injured twenty-three
others at the high school. The students went through several
rooms in the school, including the cafeteria and library,
shooting students and school staff. Since this time, there
have been numerous incidents of violence taking place at
school sites whether instigated by students or members of the
surrounding neighborhoods.
According to the California Federation of Teachers, the
sponsor of this measure, "Lockdowns, a temporary confinement
of students and staff to classrooms, offices, and other rooms,
during or following the disturbance, have proven an effective
tool to be used at school campuses to facilitate the safety of
both students and staff during a violent situation. Many
school staff store their keys in areas where they do not have
immediate access to them and the door locks in most �areas]
where students and staff gather can only be locked from the
outside."
This bill requires all K-12 and CCC modernization projects and
CCC new construction projects, on or after January 1, 2012, to
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include locks that allow doors to classrooms or any room with
the occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the
inside.
2)Existing law requires all proposed K-12 and CCC school
modernization projects to be approved by the Division of State
Architect (DSA), which reviews architectural plans for
compliance with the Field Act (seismic safety), fire, life and
safety requirements, and specifications under the Americans
with Disability Act. DSA grants reviews projects for
compliance with the (CBS) code, as specified.
The CBS code prohibits manually operated flush bolts or
surface bolts on all exiting doors except those in residential
dwellings and for storage or equipment rooms. In addition,
the California Fire code specifies that "exit doors shall be
openable from the inside without the use of a key or any
special knowledge or effort. Exit doors shall not be locked,
chained, bolted, barred, latched or otherwise rendered
unusable. All locking devices shall be of an approved type."
These code requirements ensure that occupants are easily able
to exit a building or classroom in a panic situation, such as
a fire or earthquake.
AB 211 (Mendoza), Chapter 430, Statutes of 2010, requires K-12
new construction projects, on or after January 1, 2011, to
include locks that allow doors to classrooms or any room with
the occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the
inside. This bill proposes to extend this requirement to K-12
and CCC modernization projects and CCC new construction
projects, as specified.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081