Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 18, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 2, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 11, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 56


Introduced by Assembly Member Weber

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Brown, Holden, Maienschein, and Wieckowski)

(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.begin delete 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.end delete

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 builtbegin delete or modernizedend delete on or after January 1, 2014, and that has a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside the school building, to have a carbon monoxide device. The bill wouldbegin delete define “modernized” as a rehabilitation project that has an estimated total cost in excess of $200,000, and wouldend delete require that the carbon monoxide device be installed in close proximity to each furnace located within the school buildingbegin delete. The bill would also requireend deletebegin insert, and would authorizeend insert thebegin delete State Fire Marshalend deletebegin insert Office of Public School Constructionend insert to adopt rules and regulationsbegin delete that he or she deemsend deletebegin insert deemedend insert necessary to implement these provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) (1) Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced
4when fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal, is burned.
5Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing
6the delivery of oxygen to the body’s organs, such as the heart,
7brain, and tissues. The most common symptoms of carbon
8monoxide poisoning are headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea,
9vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Long-term breathing of carbon
10monoxide can affect the memory, brain function, behavior, and
11cognition. According to the American Medical Association, carbon
12monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in
13the United States. Gas furnaces and other fuel-burning appliances
14are common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning.

15(2) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
16estimate that each year more than 400 Americans die from
17unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 visit
18the emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to
19carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the United States
20Environmental Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell
P3    1carbon monoxide. At high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a
2person in minutes.

3(3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year
4carbon monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths,
5possibly thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and
6700 avoidable emergency room and hospital visits.

7(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
8carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon
9monoxide, including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches,
10concentration problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease,
11memory impairment, and personality alterations.

12(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
13Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
14year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported
15nationwide in educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents
16occurred in school buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or
17grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

18(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
19Atlanta, Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a
20carbon monoxide leak from the school’s furnace. Firefighters
21responded to the school after reports came in that people at the
22school were unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious,
23firefighters found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and
2410 adults were taken to the local hospital.

25(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
26monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
27of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.

28(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to have,
29and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
30detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
31legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.

32(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter
3319 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended
34for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
35appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
36monoxide alarm, as specified.

37(e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently
38and symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common
39ailments such as the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the
40exact number of carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings
P4    1and it is highly probable that the number of carbon monoxide
2incidents is underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon
3monoxide incidents in schools will likely rise in future years as
4school buildings and their infrastructure become outdated over
5time. Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly effective,
6and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning and
7these devices should be made available to every school in
8California to help prevent students from being exposed to the
9effects of carbon monoxide.

10

SEC. 2.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added
11to Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
12Code
, to read:

13 

14Article 7.  Carbon Monoxide Devices
15

 

16

32080.  

For purposes of this article,begin delete the following definitions
17shall apply:end delete

18begin delete(a)end deletebegin deleteend deletebegin delete“Fossilend deletebegin insert “fossilend insert fuel” has the same meaning as defined in
19Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code.

begin delete

20(b) “Modernized” means a rehabilitation project that has an
21estimated total cost in excess of two hundred thousand dollars
22($200,000).

end delete
23

32081.  

(a) A private or public school building that is used for
24educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
25inclusive, that is builtbegin delete or modernizedend delete on or after January 1, 2014,
26and that has a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside the school
27 building, shall have a carbon monoxide device, as defined in
28Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code, installed in that
29building.

30(b) A private or public school used for educational purposes for
31kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that has a furnace
32located inside the school building, and that was built begin deleteor modernizedend delete
33 prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide
34device installed in the building.

35

32085.  

A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
3632081 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
37within the public or private school building so that the device can
38accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.

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32086.  

Thebegin delete State Fire Marshal shallend deletebegin insert Office of Public School
2Construction mayend insert
adopt rules and regulationsbegin delete that he or she deemsend delete
3begin insert deemedend insert necessary to implement this article.



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