SCR 57 Senate Concurrent Resolution

BILL NUMBER: SCR 57	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Vargas

                        AUGUST 22, 2011

   Relative to building standards.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 57, as introduced, Vargas. Building standards.
   This measure would urge the Division of the State Architect, in
cooperation with the California Building Standards Commission and the
Department of Housing and Community Development, to hold hearings to
determine if the building codes subject to a scheduled review should
be amended to require the installation of devices that shut off
natural gas and electrical power in the event of an earthquake at the
time of initial construction and major renovations.
   Fiscal committee: yes.



   WHEREAS, Recent devastating earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand,
Haiti, Chile, Iran, and China have focused Californians on our state'
s own vulnerability in the face of a major earthquake; and
   WHEREAS, California is located on the "Ring of Fire" and is known
to be the site of hundreds of active seismic faults, including the
San Andreas fault; and
   WHEREAS, These major seismic faults run through some of the most
populated areas of the state; and
   WHEREAS, Seismic activity on these fault lines is continually
being detected; and
   WHEREAS, On average, 100 seismic events are detected each day
somewhere in California; and
   WHEREAS, The potential of a major movement along any one of these
fault lines presents a potentially catastrophic danger to the health
and well-being of the citizens of California; and
   WHEREAS, The potential property damage resulting from a major
earthquake in a densely populated urban area could reach into the
hundreds of billions of dollars, severely damaging the state's
ability to sustain its economy; and
   WHEREAS, Seismologists estimate that worldwide there are
approximately 150 major earthquakes every year; and
   WHEREAS, Seismologists estimate that it is a question of when, not
if, California will suffer another major earthquake; and
   WHEREAS, Since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, there have
been 160 major earthquakes in California which have exceeded 6.0 on
the Richter Scale; and
   WHEREAS, In the last 25 years, California has experienced the 1994
Northridge earthquake (6.7), the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1),
and the 2010 Northern Baja California earthquake (7.2); and
   WHEREAS, During the 1994 Northridge earthquake 6.7, there were an
estimated 110 fires generated by the earthquake, $25 billion in
property damage, 57 fatalities, and 8,700 injuries; and
   WHEREAS, During the Northridge earthquake, 56 percent of the fires
were caused by damaged electrical systems; and
   WHEREAS, During the Northridge earthquake, 26 percent of the fires
were caused by natural gas ruptures; and
   WHEREAS, Fire damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake 7.1 was
responsible for the greatest earthquake-related loss since the 1906
San Francisco earthquake; and
   WHEREAS, Fire damage in the Japanese earthquake would have been
even more substantial had not the tsunami swept much of the burning
and burned buildings away; and
   WHEREAS, During the Japanese earthquake, fire consumed almost the
entire City of Kensennuma, a city with a prequake population of
70,000 people; and
   WHEREAS, The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the
California Geological Survey (CAGS) sponsored a 2007 study of the
potential impacts from fire in the event of a major earthquake at the
southern end of the San Andreas fault; and
   WHEREAS, The USGS- and CAGS-sponsored study predicted that fire
damage from a 7.8 earthquake at the southern end of the San Andreas
fault would be devastating with: (1) the equivalent of 133,000
single-family dwellings destroyed, (2) the loss of thousands of
lives, (3) property damage in excess of $50 billion, (4) an estimated
1,606 initial fire ignitions that would exceed the ability of the
1,900 fire engines to contain, (5) the uncontained fires would spread
to adjoining properties eventually forming several urban firestorms,
(6) the tying up of the resources of much needed first responders
preventing them from search and rescue operations of people trapped
under fallen debris; and
   WHEREAS, The City of Los Angeles adopted an ordinance requiring
seismic gas shutoff valves on all construction in 1996; and
   WHEREAS, The City and County of San Francisco has included in
their draft Seismic Safety Plan a mandate for the installation of
seismic gas shutoff valves for certain buildings; and
   WHEREAS, The projected cost to property insurers from fire damage
in a 7.8 earthquake would be between $40 billion and $60 billion,
taxing the national insurance industry's financial viability; and
   WHEREAS, The fire damage would severely reduce local government
revenues from property taxes at a time when financial resources to
recover from the earthquake would be most critical; and
   WHEREAS, Fires engage first responders' time and attention that
could otherwise be utilized rescuing citizens trapped under fallen
debris; and
   WHEREAS, A major earthquake could damage the water supply system,
making it harder to fight fires; and
   WHEREAS, A major earthquake could damage roads, making it harder
for firefighters to reach earthquake-generated fires; and
   WHEREAS, A major earthquake could generate more fires than the
current supply of engine companies, making it difficult to contain
the fires; and
   WHEREAS, A major earthquake could generate fires that would spread
rapidly due to the lack of firefighting capacity and would create an
urban firestorm threatening entire neighborhoods and communities;
and
   WHEREAS, Fires from a major earthquake will threaten the safety of
citizens and first responders alike; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas lines in the event of a
major earthquake have been on the market for many years; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off electrical power in the event of an
earthquake have been recently developed and patented; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas and electrical power in
an earthquake have the capacity to reduce the property damage from
fire in a major earthquake; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas and electrical power in
an earthquake have the capacity to limit the amount of risk from
fire damage for property insurers; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas and electrical power in
an earthquake have the capacity to limit the loss of life of
citizens; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas and electrical power in
an earthquake have the capacity to reduce the threat of fire to
first responders; and
   WHEREAS, Devices that shut off natural gas and electrical power in
an earthquake have the capacity to reduce the demands on first
responders to put out fires and free them to concentrate their
efforts on search and rescue of people trapped under fallen debris;
now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully urges the Division of the State Architect in cooperation
with the California Building Standards Commission, and the
Department of Housing and Community Development, as a part of the
2012 scheduled triennial building code review, to hold hearings to
determine if the building codes should be amended to require the
installation of devices that shut off natural gas and electrical
power in the event of an earthquake at the time of initial
construction and major renovations; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Division of the State
Architect in cooperation with the California Building Standards
Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development
to, as a part of their deliberations, at a minimum, consider all of
the following: (1) the possible inclusion of a requirement for the
devices as a part of the next triennial edition of the California
Building Standards Code against the development of a model ordinance
for local government adoption, or the development of a pilot program;
(2) whether the requirements should be adopted statewide, for all
earthquake fault zones, or specified earthquake fault zones; (3)
whether the devices should be required for new school construction,
installation at the time of school facility renovations, particularly
earthquake-related renovations, or for all schools; (4) the
technological feasibility of the devices including a consideration of
potential false activations; (5) the commercial availability of the
devices including current pricing; (6) whether the devices should be
capable of being reset by the property owner or the utility; (7) the
magnitude of an earthquake that will activate the devices; and (8)
the definition of major renovation for the purpose of requiring a
building to be retrofit with the devices; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the Governor, to the Director of the Department of
General Services, to the Division of the State Architect, to the
Chair of the California Building Standards Commission, to the
Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, and
to the author for appropriate distribution.