BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 56
Author: Weber (D), et al.
Amended: 9/3/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/3/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Monning, Torres
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/30/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Carbon monoxide devices
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill, by July 1, 2015, requires the State Fire
Marshal (SFM) to propose for adoption by the Building Standards
Commission (CBSC), for the CBSCs next triennial code adoption
cycle, appropriate standards for the installation of carbon
monoxide (CO) devices in school buildings, and requires the
building standards CO devices to be installed in public and
private school buildings that meet certain criteria, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires, under the School Facility
Program, all new construction projects to include an automatic
fire detection, alarm, and sprinkler system, and all
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modernization projects in excess of $200,000 to include an
automatic fire detection and alarm system.
Existing law establishes the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Prevention Act of 2010 and, under the Act, requires the SFM to
develop a certification and decertification process to approve
and list CO devices and to disapprove and delist previously
approved devices, if necessary. Existing law prohibits any
person from marketing, distributing, offering for sale, or
selling any CO device in this state unless the device and the
instructions have been approved and listed by the SFM.
This bill, by July 1, 2015, requires the SFM to propose for
adoption by the CBSC, for the CBSC's next triennial code
adoption cycle, appropriate standards for the installation of CO
devices in school buildings, and requires the building standards
CO devices to be installed in public and private school
buildings that meet all of the following criteria:
1. The school building is constructed pursuant to the 2016
California Building Standards Code (CBS Code), as specified,
or any amendments to the CBS Code which follow.
2. The school building is used for educational purposes for
grades K-12.
3. A fossil fuel burning furnace is located inside the school
building.
A private or public school that uses a school building for
educational purposes for K-12, that was built before the
adoption and has a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside
the school, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide device
installed in the building.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Bond funding: Likely minor, but potentially significant
bond pressure to install a CO device in each building of a
school that contains a fossil fuel burning furnace, for every
school building built after January 1, 2014. Costs will be
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minor for any individual school (as part of its construction)
but, in aggregate, could be significant pressure on state
bonds for future construction.
Implementation standards: Minor costs and workload for the
SFM to develop implementation standards for adoption by the
CBSC during its next regular triennial standards adoption
cycle.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/13)
AFSCME
California Automatic Fire Alarm Association
California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health
California Federation of Teachers
California Fire Chiefs Association
California School Employees Association
California State Firefighters Association
California State PTA
Honeywell
National Electrical Manufacturers Association
Safe Kids California
Siemens
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill was introduced following reports of a CO leak at Finch
Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia on December 3, 2012. The
author's office reports that 42 students and up to 10 adults
were taken to the local hospital after firefighters discovered a
CO leak from the school's furnace. The elementary school did
not have CO detectors in its classrooms, nor does the State of
Georgia require their installation. The author's office
believes that these devices provide a vital, highly effective,
and low-cost protection against CO poisoning and should be made
available to every school in California.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
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Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Holden, Wilk, Vacancy
PQ:k 9/3/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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