Amended in Senate July 10, 2013

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.

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 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 would require that the carbon monoxide device be installed in close proximity to each furnace located within the schoolbegin delete building, and would authorize the Office of Public School Construction to adopt rules and regulations deemed necessary to implement these provisions.end deletebegin insert building.end insert

begin insertExisting law, the California Building Standards Law, requires the California Building Standards Commission to approve or adopt proposed building standards that are submitted by state agencies during an 18-month code adoption cycle.end insert

begin insert This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to propose appropriate standards for implementing the bill’s provisions in the next code adoption cycle of the California Building Standards Commission.end insert

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
P3    1the emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to
2carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the United States
3Environmental Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell
4carbon monoxide. At high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a
5person in minutes.

6(3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year
7carbon monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths,
8possibly thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and
9700 avoidable emergency room and hospital visits.

10(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
11 carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon
12monoxide, including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches,
13concentration problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease,
14memory impairment, and personality alterations.

15(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
16Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
17year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported
18nationwide in educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents
19occurred in school buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or
20grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

21(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
22Atlanta, Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a
23carbon monoxide leak from the school’s furnace. Firefighters
24responded to the school after reports came in that people at the
25school were unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious,
26firefighters found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and
2710 adults were taken to the local hospital.

28(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
29monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
30of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.

31(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to have,
32and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
33detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
34legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.

35(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter
3619 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended
37for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
38appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
39monoxide alarm, as specified.

P4    1(e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently
2and symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common
3ailments such as the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the
4exact number of carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings
5and it is highly probable that the number of carbon monoxide
6incidents is underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon
7monoxide incidents in schools will likely rise in future years as
8school buildings and their infrastructure become outdated over
9time. Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly effective,
10and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning and
11these devices should be made available to every school in
12California to help prevent students from being exposed to the
13effects of carbon monoxide.

14

SEC. 2.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added
15to Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
16Code
, to read:

17 

18Article 7.  Carbon Monoxide Devices
19

 

20

32080.  

For purposes of this article, “fossil fuel” has the same
21meaning as defined in Section 13262 of the Health and Safety
22Code.

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 built on or after January 1, 2014, and that has a
26fossil fuel burning furnace located inside the school building, shall
27have a carbon monoxide device,begin delete as defined inend deletebegin insert approved and listed
28pursuant to end insert
Sectionbegin delete 13262end deletebegin insert 13263end insert of the Health and Safety Code,
29installed in that building.

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 builtbegin delete prior toend deletebegin insert beforeend insert
33 January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide device
34installed in the building.

35

begin delete32085.end delete
36begin insert32082.end insert  

A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
3732081 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
38within the public or private school building so that the device can
39accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.

begin delete
P5    1

32086.  

The Office of Public School Construction may adopt
2rules and regulations deemed necessary to implement this article.

end delete
begin insert
3

begin insert32083.end insert  

The State Fire Marshal shall propose appropriate
4standards for the implementation of this article in the next code
5adoption cycle of the California Building Standards Commission.

end insert


O

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