BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1810
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 1810 (Norby) - As Amended: March 26, 2012
SUBJECT : Custom upholsterers.
SUMMARY : Eliminates licensure and regulation of custom
upholsterers. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals current law requiring every custom upholsterer, unless
he or she holds a furniture and bedding manufacturer's
license, to hold a custom upholsterer's license.
2)Eliminates provisions making it unlawful for a person to
advertise, solicit, or contract to manufacture, repair, or
renovate upholstered furniture, as specified, without
obtaining the particular license required for the particular
type of work that is advertised or solicited from the Bureau
of Electronic and Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, and
Thermal Insulation (BEARHFTI) within the Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA).
3)Deletes current law requiring a person who advertises,
solicits, or contracts to repair or renovate upholstered
furniture and who does not do the work himself or herself or
have it done by employees but has the work done by a custom
upholsterer to obtain a license as a retail furniture dealer.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of various
manufacturers, sellers, upholsterers, and sanitizers of home
furnishings, such as furniture and bedding, under the Home
Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act (HFTI Act).
2)Provides for the BEARHFTI within DCA to administer the HFTI
Act and enforce other regulations required by the HFTI Act,
such as health and safety standards, product labeling
requirements, and truth in advertising laws.
3)Provides for the licensing and inspection of businesses that
manufacture and sell upholstered furniture, bedding and
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thermal insulation, and requires all mattresses and box
springs manufactured for sale in this state to be fire
retardant, as defined to meet the federal standards for
resistance to open-flame test, and authorizes the BEARHFTI to
adopt regulations to implement those standards.
4)Requires other bedding products to comply with regulations
adopted by the BEARHFTI specifying that those products be
resistant to open-flame ignition, and requires all seating
furniture to be fire retardant and labeled as specified.
5)Requires all flexible polyurethane foam, except as specified,
that is offered for retail sale to be fire retardant, and
defines fire retardant to mean a product that meets the
regulations adopted by the BEARHFTI.
6)Authorizes the BEARHFTI, subject to the approval of the
Director of DCA, to exempt items of upholstered furniture
which are deemed not to pose a serious fire hazard from fire
retardant requirements.
7)Under BEARHFTI regulations, establish flame retardant tests
for the filling materials of residential upholstered
furniture. Specifically, BEARHFTI regulations require filling
materials labeled as ''flame resistant'' or ''flame
retardant'' to be tested and meet the requirements of
Technical Bulletin 117.
8)Requires every custom upholsterer, unless he or she holds a
furniture and bedding manufacturer's license, to hold a custom
upholsterer's license.
9)Makes it unlawful for a person to advertise, solicit, or
contract to manufacture, repair, or renovate upholstered
furniture, as specified, without obtaining a custom
upholsterer's license from the BEARHFTI.
10)Requires a person who advertises, solicits, or contracts to
repair or renovate upholstered furniture and who does not do
the work himself or herself or have it done by employees but
has the work done by a custom upholsterer to obtain a license
as a retail furniture dealer.
11)Defines "custom upholsterer" to mean a person who, either by
himself or herself or through employees or agents, repairs,
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reupholsters, re-covers, restores, or renews upholstered
furniture, or who makes to order and specification of the user
any article of upholstered furniture, using either new
materials or owner's materials.
12)Defines "upholstered furniture" to mean any furniture,
including children's furniture, movable or stationary, which
is made or sold with cushions or pillows, loose or attached,
or is itself stuffed or filled in whole or in part with any
material, is or can be stuffed or filled in whole or in part
with any substance or material, hidden or concealed by fabric
or any other covering, including cushions or pillows belonging
to or forming a part thereof, together with the structural
units, the filling material and its container and its covering
which can be used as a support for the body of a human being,
or his or her limbs and feet when sitting or resting in an
upright or reclining position. This does not include furniture
used exclusively for the purpose of physical fitness and
exercise.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "Not all
licensed occupations have the need to be licensed, there are
certain occupations and professions where the need for a license
really doesn't benefit that particular occupation, profession,
or licensee for that matter and only serves as an impediment to
engage in a lawful profession or occupation. Some of the
occupations that actually require licensing, in fact, do not
need a license at all.
"Licensing is also detrimental to most of the small businesses
that have to apply and re-register in order to go through the
licensing process because of the fee they must pay. Whether it
be an annual, bi-annual or any other sort of fee, this sets the
small business back on an expensive and unnecessary fee used to
pay for the new license.
"AB 1810 will repeal the need for a license for people who want
to engage in the profession of 'custom upholstery.' It is
unnecessary to require 'custom upholsterers' to have a license
to practice their profession because there is not health or
public safety issues involved; it is an unnecessary regulation."
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Background . The BEARHFTI enforces the HFTI Act, which protects
consumers of upholstered furniture, bedding, and thermal
insulation. BEARHFTI's mission is to protect and serve
consumers while ensuring a competent and fair marketplace.
A fundamental requirement of the HFTI Act is the licensing and
inspection of businesses that manufacture and sell upholstered
furniture, bedding and thermal insulation. The BEARHFTI also
enforces other regulations required by the Act, such as health
and safety standards, product labeling requirements and truth in
advertising laws. The BEARHFTI enforces safety standards by
testing products at its laboratory in North Highlands,
California.
The BEARHFTI enforces Technical Bulletin 117, which requires
upholstered furniture sold to California consumers to be flame
resistant. Upholstered furniture that meets the standard is
less likely to ignite rapidly, and, if ignited, is less likely
to burn quickly or sustain burning.
The BEARHFTI enforces a more stringent mandatory flammability
standard for upholstered furniture used in public occupancies
such as hospitals, hotels, prisons, theaters and dormitories.
The standard provides an additional measure of safety in crowded
spaces. The BEARHFTI developed an open-flame standard for
mattresses used in public occupancies that has been widely
adopted by fire code authorities and public agencies, both in
California and nationally.
The BEARHFTI reports there are 504 licensed custom upholsters in
California, who pay a license fee of $360 every two years.
This bill eliminates all licensing and regulation of custom
upholsterers under the BEARHFTI, thereby eliminating all
consumer protections for those who use the services of custom
upholsterers. Given the state's stringent safety standards for
upholstered furniture, which are designed to protect consumers
from accidental fire and resulting injury or death, it isn't
clear what benefit would result from deregulating this sector of
the industry. On the contrary, if this bill were to go into
effect, there would be no enforcement mechanism for the consumer
or BEARHFTI in the event that a custom upholsterer violates the
state's safety standards for upholstered furniture. In
addition, de-regulating this particular segment of the industry
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could create an unfair playing field for the remaining licensing
categories under the BEARHFTI who would continue to be subject
to licensure.
Previous legislation .
SB 147 (Leno) of 2011 requires the BEARHFTI, on or before March
1, 2013, to modify Technical Bulletin 117 regarding product
standards for fire retardant furniture to include a smolder
flammability test to provide an alternative method of compliance
that can be met without the use of chemical fire retardants and
does not compromise fire safety; requires the Bureau, in
developing the smolder flammability test, to consider the draft
smolder standard proposed by the federal Consumer Product Safety
Commission, to take into consideration the cost to manufacturers
and consumers, and amend existing label specifications to
identify any products meeting that adopted standard. The bill
further authorizes the Bureau Chief to additionally exempt
polyurethane foam from the fire retardant requirements, as
specified. This bill was held in Senate Business, Professions
and Economic Development Committee.
SB 772 (Leno) of 2009, would have exempted "juvenile products,"
as defined, from the fire retardant requirements pursuant to
federal law and the regulations of the Bureau of Home
Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, except that the Bureau could
have, by regulation, modifed this exemption if the Bureau
determined that any juvenile products posed a serious fire
hazard. This bill was held in Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
Double-referral . This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
AB 1810
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319-3301