BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2218
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Date of Hearing: April 17, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 2218 (Williams) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : Consumer safety: table saws.
SUMMARY : Prohibits the sale of any new table saw on or after
January 1, 2015, unless that table saw is equipped with active
injury mitigation technology. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits the sale of any new table saw on or after January 1,
2015, unless that table saw is equipped with active injury
mitigation technology.
2)Subjects any seller who violates the requirements of this bill
to a civil fine up to $5,000 for each sale.
3)Authorizes the Attorney General to maintain an action against
any seller who violates the requirements of this bill for
injunctive and any other appropriate relief.
4)Defines the following terms:
a) "Active injury mitigation technology" means technology
to detect contact with, or dangerous proximity between, a
hand or finger and the teeth of the blade above the table
top of a table saw, and to prevent the blade from cutting
the hand or finger deeper than one-eighth of an inch when
the hand or finger approaches any portion of the blade
above the table top at a speed of one foot per second from
any direction and along any path. Active injury mitigation
technology may be temporarily deactivated by a person so
that a saw can cut material which would otherwise be
detected as a person.
b) "Seller" means any person who deals in or engages in the
business of selling table saws or any other person who
sells table saws; and,
c) "Table saw" means a saw that is designed primarily for
cutting wood with a generally planar, circular blade having
teeth around its periphery and having a nominal diameter of
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12 inches or less, where the table saw includes a table top
for supporting a work piece, and where at least a portion
of the blade extends above the table top to cut a work
piece on the table top, as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits the sale of certain products determined to be unsafe
for the public, including, specified bunk beds, infant cribs,
and toys.
2)Requires certain types of table saws to be guarded by a hood
and to contain various safety features to prevent injury.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, "Table saws are
used by workers, students, and consumers alike at the workplace,
school, and home. These popular saws are powered by electric
motors spinning the blade at 4,000 RPM. Most table saw
manufacturers have not changed their technology in 50 years.
Accidents occur when one's fingers, hand, or arms come in
contact with the fast spinning blade.
"New technologies exist that would prevent almost all of these
injuries at a manufacturing cost of approximately $50 to $75 per
saw. AB 2218 mandates the end result of a performance based
standard. The bill does not mandate a specific technology. The
bill simply requires new table saws to be equipped with some
type of active injury mitigation system. Table saw
manufacturers are free to develop their own active injury
mitigation systems.
"Table saws typically cost anywhere from $200 to as much as
$3,500. This small cost is a huge savings when balanced against
the cost of medical bills and job loss resulting from a table
saw injury."
Background . According to United States Consumer Products Safety
Commission (CPSC), there are 67,300 medically treated blade
contact injuries to consumers alone every year. These types of
injuries are generally very serious including lacerations,
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fractures, and avulsions. About 4,000 of these are amputations.
That means there are approximately 184 injuries per day, seven
days per week, or one table saw injury every 2 minutes during
an eight hour day. Assuming that California comprises 10 % of
those injuries, Californians experience 6,730 table saw injuries
per year or 18 every day of the week. CPSC data shows table saw
injuries cost society more than $2.36 billion a year or $35,000
per injury.
Federal regulation . The CPSC unanimously voted to consider
whether a performance safety standard is needed to address an
unreasonable risk of injury associated with table saws. The
CPSC is currently taking comments through March 16, 2012.
Advocates of this bill maintain that the CPSC's process is very
lengthy and there is no guarantee that a national standard will
be adopted.
Support . The State Building and Construction Trades Council
writes in support, "Construction work is often at the top of the
list of most dangerous professions in the United States
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Our workers deal
with dangerous work sites and dangerous tools in order to do
their jobs. The unionized construction industry in California
takes health and safety training very seriously. All of our
workers are given extensive ÝOccupational Safety & Health
Administration] hazard training and are trained to remember that
they are on a jobsite with many other workers whose health and
safety is in each other's hands. The technology mandated by AB
2218 would help ensure that workers using dangerous table saws
would have one more way to remain safe on the job."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
SD3 (sponsor)
California Conference of Carpenters
California Labor Federation
California Medical Association
California Public Interest Research Group
California State Council of Laborers
Consumer Action
Consumer Attorneys of California
National Consumers League
State Building and Construction Trades Council
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301