BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                             SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
                          Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair

          BILL NO:       SB 1087
          AUTHOR:        Walters
          AMENDED:       April 10, 2012
          HEARING DATE:  April 25, 2012
          CONSULTANT:    Orr

           SUBJECT  :  Organized camps.
           
          SUMMARY  :  Revises statutes and definitions related to the 
          licensing and regulation of "organized camps" and expands the 
          hours that the Afterschool Education and Safety Program (ASES) 
          can operate without obtaining a license, from 30 to 60 hours per 
          week, as specified.

          Existing law:
          1.Defines "organized camp" as a site with programs and 
            facilities established for the primary purpose of providing an 
            outdoor living experience for five days or more.

          2.Exempts from child care licensure recreation programs operated 
            by Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, Camp Fire, 
            or similar organizations, as determined by regulations of the 
            department; child care programs conducted by these 
            organizations remain subject to licensure. 

          3.Requires the Director of the California Department of Public 
            Health (CDPH) to establish minimum standards regulating the 
            operations of organized camps that are necessary to protect 
            the health and safety of the campers.

          4.Exempts organizations participating in ASES from child care 
            licensure if they operate no more than 30 hours per week.
          
          Existing regulations:  Establish general requirements for safety 
          and staff supervision at organized camps, including requiring a 
          criminal history record check for camp directors and camp 
          counselors and require camps to submit written operating 
          procedures and accreditation verification to local health 
          officers. 
          
          This bill:
          1.Changes the term "organized camp" to "organized resident camp" 
            and modifies the definition to mean a site with programs 
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            providing an outdoor group living experience for five 
            consecutive days or more during one or more seasons of the 
            year. Specifies that an overnight stay is not required to meet 
            this definition and that short duration programs, such as 
            conferences or retreats, held on organized campsites that are 
            less than five days are not required to meet the provisions in 
            existing statute, but are required to comply with the general 
            and safety supervision requirements in regulations.

          2.Defines the term "organized day camp" as a site serving 
            school-age children up to 17 years of age, operating 
            seasonally when school is not in session. Stipulates that 
            organized day camps typically do not provide overnight stays, 
            and instead often transport campers to off-site locations for 
            activities. Requires a qualified program director to have two 
            seasons of administrative or supervisory experience at an 
            organized camp, be present at the camp, and have staff 
            adequate to carry out the program. Requires organized day 
            camps to use the same counselor-to-camper ratios used by 
            organized resident camps.

          3.Requires an organized resident camp or organized day camp to 
            develop a written operating plan and to file the plan with the 
            local health department, as specified.  Requires the health 
            officer to acknowledge the plan within 30 days of its receipt. 
            Requires the written plan and acknowledgement to be posted in 
            a conspicuous location on camp premises and on any available 
            website associated with the camp.

          4.Requires organized resident camps or organized day camps that 
            construct or operate educational facilities or programs 
            including ropes courses, challenge courses, climbing walls or 
            similar adventure challenges to meet specified construction 
            and operating standards, establish provisions keeping campers 
            separate from day-use patrons, and include this information in 
            the written operating plan, with specified filing 
            instructions. 

          5.Provides a list of specific organizations whose camps shall be 
            considered prototypes of an organized resident camp. Provides 
            that membership in specific organizations indicate that a camp 
            meets the requirements of an organized resident camp or 
            organized day camp. 

          6.Requires that a qualified program director, as specified, be 
            present at the organized day camp. Requires employees of 




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            organized day camps to have background checks in accordance 
            with existing regulations. Requires organized day camps to use 
            the same counselor-to-camper ratio as organized camps. 

          7.Requires organized resident or day camps operated by cities or 
            counties to meet these provisions. 

          8.Requires CDPH to obtain the input and advice of organizations 
            in the field of organized camps when amending rules and 
            regulations pertaining to organized camps. 

          9.Adds recreation programs operated by the YMCA to the list of 
            programs exempt from child care licensure. 

          10.Increases the hours per week that an ASES program may operate 
            from 30 to 60 hours. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal 
          committee.

           COMMENTS  :  
           1.Author's statement.  According to the author, the purpose of 
            the bill is to acknowledge in statute the requirements for 
            operating a day camp and set standards for the construction 
            and operation of challenge and rope courses. SB 1087 is a 
            re-introduction of SB 737 (Walters) which passed the Senate 
            with a 40 - 0 floor vote in 2011. This bill would also include 
            the YMCA in the list of organizations whose recreation 
            programs are exempt from licensure. The author reports that 
            the list of recreation program providers exempt from child 
            care licensure requirements does not currently include the 
            YMCA, which means the YMCA's recreation programs do not always 
            receive an exemption from licensure while other similar 
            organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs do.  
          2.Day camps.  While similar in purpose, the difference between 
            resident camp programs and day camp programs appears to be 
            primarily one of siting. Organized camps are fixed sites that 
            provide activities in a permanent location for five days or 
            more. In contrast, organized day camps are generally for less 
            than one whole day, and typically do not provide overnight 
            stays. They frequently transport campers to off-site 
            activities, such as beaches, parks, and campsites.

            In arguing for SB 737, the author asserted that organized day 
            camps are being treated in some counties similarly to the way 




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            the statute treats organized camps (overnight programs), while 
            in other counties, health officers are not applying health and 
            safety rules to organized day camps that are being applied to 
            organized camps. This bill, which is substantially similar to 
            SB 737, intends to define organized day camps in statute and 
            redefine organized camps as resident camps, clarify 
            distinctions between organized day camps and organized 
            resident camps, and require that organized day camps be 
            regulated in the same way that organized resident camps are 
            regulated.

          3.Double referral. This bill was heard in the Senate Education 
            Committee on March 28, 2012, and passed with a 9-0 vote.

          4.Prior legislation. SB 737 (Walters, 2011) is substantially 
            similar to this bill.  SB 737 was vetoed with the message: "I 
            agree with the author's intent to clarify and simply the 
            regulation of organized camps, but this measure does not 
            achieve this goal. I am directing the Department of Public 
            Health and Department of Social Services to work with the 
            author and interested advocates to resolve this issue in the 
            coming year."
            
          5.Support.  Supporters claim this bill provides clarification 
            and definition for programs that serve the children of our 
            state. This bill defines an "organized day camp," specifies 
            appropriate oversight and approval for ropes and challenge 
            courses operated by organized camps, and requires camps to 
            provide written operating plans to their local health 
            departments.
            
          6.Policy Comments.
              a.    Previous veto. According to the author, SB 737 was 
                vetoed by the Governor based on some late concerns 
                expressed by CDPH and the Department of Social Services. 
                The Governor indicated that the two departments should 
                work with the sponsors and the author to resolve those 
                concerns. The author claims to have coordinated meetings 
                with these two agencies, and now believes the concerns 
                addressed by the two departments have been adequately 
                addressed.
              b.    After school program provisions. In addition to 
                provisions regarding organized camps, this bill also makes 
                changes to the hours per week that an after-school program 
                may operate. These provisions are within the jurisdiction 
                of the Education Committee and are not addressed in the 




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                comments section of this analysis. There is no link 
                between the organized camps provisions and the 
                after-school program provisions both contained in this 
                bill.

          7.Technical and clarifying amendments. Staff suggests several 
            technical and clarifying amendments to codify an uncodified 
            section of the bill, clarifying the distinctions between 
            organized resident and day camps, and to reorganize some of 
            the paragraphs.  
          
           SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION  :
          Support:  AbilityFirst
                    California Collaboration for Youth
                    California State Alliance of YMCAs
                    Camp Ocean Pines
                    Camp Summertime
                    Rawhide Ranch
                    Walton's Grizzly Lodge Summer Camp
                    
          Oppose:   None received.
          
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