BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 56
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 56 (Weber) - As Amended: April 18, 2013
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires a K-12 public or private school building that
is used for educational purposes, is built or modernized on or
after January 1, 2014, and has a fossil fuel burning surface
located inside the building to have a carbon monoxide (CO)
device installed in the building, as specified. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires a CO device to be installed in close proximity to
each furnace located within the public or private school
building to detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.
2)Defines fossil fuel as coal, kerosene, oil, wood, fuel gases,
and other petroleum or hydrocarbon products, which emit carbon
monoxide as a byproduct of combustion.
3)Defines modernized as a rehabilitation project that has an
estimated total cost in excess of $200,000.
4)Requires the State Fire Marshal (SFM) to adopt rules and
regulations that he or she deems necessary to implement this
measure.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)School and local school construction bond cost pressure,
likely in the range of $100,000 per year ($1 million over a
10-year period), to install a carbon monoxide device in a
public school built or modernized after January 1, 2014.
There are approximately 10,000 public school buildings in the
state and approximately 50% are at least 50 years old.
AB 56
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According to the Office of Public School Construction, the
state has no remaining modernization funds for K-12 school
construction projects.
2)One time GF administrative costs to the SFM, likely between
$100,000 and $150,000, to conduct a regulatory process as
specified in this measure.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . CO is a colorless, odorless gas produced from
heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and
cooking devices. According to the Center for Disease Control
(CDC), the most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache,
dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and
confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of
consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be
difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other
illnesses. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from
CO poisoning before ever experiencing symptoms. The CDC
reports CO poisoning is responsible for approximately 15,000
emergency department visits and nearly 500 deaths annually in
the United States.
According to the CDE, between 2000-2009, 68,316 incidences of
CO exposure (non-fire related) were reported to poison
centers. Of this number, 2,016 were reported to have occurred
at schools. The author cites an incident in an Atlanta public
school as the impetus for this measure. Specifically, in
December 3, 2012, 43 students and 10 adults were evacuated
from a public elementary school and taken to the hospital
after firefighters discovered a CO monoxide leak from the
school's furnace. The elementary school did not have any CO
detectors in its classrooms.
2)SB 183 (Lowenthal), Chapter 183, Statutes of 2010 , required CO
detectors to be installed in existing single family dwellings
intended for human occupancy that have a fossil fuel burning
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage by January 1,
2013. Motels and Hotels that meet these criteria must have a
CO device by January 1, 2016. This bill extends these
provisions to K-12 public and private school buildings, as
specified.
AB 56
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3)Existing law requires all new school construction projects to
include automatic fire detection, alarm, and sprinkler system.
It further requires all modernization projects in excess of
$200,000 to include these systems as well. This bill would
apply the same modernization project funding threshold with
regard to the installation to a CO device.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081