BILL NUMBER: AB 56 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 11, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Ammiano, Brown, Holden, and
Maienschein )
( Coauthor: Senator Cannella
)
JANUARY 7, 2013
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) to Chapter
1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 56, as amended, Weber. School facilities: carbon monoxide
devices.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998,
requires certain new school facilities construction projects that
require the approval of the Department of General Services, as
specified, to include an automatic fire detection, alarm, and
sprinkler system. The act also requires certain modernization
projects that require the approval of the department to include an
automatic fire detection and alarm system, as specified.
Existing law requires an owner of a dwelling unit intended for
human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device, as specified, in
each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage.
This bill would require any private or public school building used
for educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is built or modernized on or after January 1, 2014,
and that has a furnace located inside the school building to have a
carbon monoxide device. The bill would require that the carbon
monoxide device be installed in close proximity to each furnace
located within the school building.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) (1) Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced
when fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal, is burned.
Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing the
delivery of oxygen to the body's organs, such as the heart, brain,
and tissues. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
are headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and
confusion. Long-term breathing of carbon monoxide can affect the
memory, brain function, behavior, and cognition. According to the
American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of
accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Gas furnaces and
other fuel-burning appliances are common sources of carbon monoxide
poisoning.
(2) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimate that each year more than 400 Americans die from
unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 visit the
emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to carbon
monoxide poisoning. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell carbon monoxide. At
high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a person in minutes.
(3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year carbon
monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths, possibly
thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and 700 avoidable
emergency room and hospital visits.
(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide,
including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches, concentration
problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson's disease, memory impairment,
and personality alterations.
(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported nationwide in
educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents occurred in school
buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(b)
(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia, was
evacuated after firefighters discovered a carbon monoxide leak from
the school's furnace. Firefighters responded to the school after
reports came in that people at the school were unconscious. Although
no one was found unconscious, firefighters found people sickened and,
in total, 43 students and 10 adults were taken to the local
hospital.
(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to
have, and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.
(c)
(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session
(Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is
intended for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning
heater or appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a
carbon monoxide alarm, as specified.
(d) Carbon
(e) Because carbon monoxide affects
individuals differently and symptoms of exposure can mimic
symptoms of common ailments such as the influenza virus, it is
difficult to quantify the exact number of carbon monoxide incidents
in school buildings and it is highly probable that the number of
carbon monoxide incidents is underreported. Additionally, the number
of carbon monoxide incidents in schools will likely rise in future
years as school buildings and their infrastructure become outdated
over time. Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly
effective, and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning
and these devices should be made available to every school in
California to help prevent students from being exposed to the effects
of carbon monoxide.
SEC. 2. Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 7. Carbon Monoxide Devices
32080. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any
A private or public school building that is used
for educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is built or modernized on or after January 1, 2014,
and that has a furnace located inside the school building shall have
a carbon monoxide device, as defined in Section 13262 of the Health
and Safety Code, installed in that building.
(b) This article shall not apply to a private or public school
building that has completed construction or modernization prior to
January 1, 2014.
(c)
(b) A private or public school used for educational
purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that
has a furnace located inside the school building, and that was built
or modernized prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a
carbon monoxide device installed in the building.
32085. A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
32080 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
within the public or private school building so that the device can
accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.