BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 433 (Gordon) - Contractors: fire protection systems: fire
safety: State Fire Marshal.
Amended: August 13, 2013 Policy Vote: B&P 10-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 26, 2013
Consultant: Mark McKenzie
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 433 would authorize plumbing contractors to
install residential fire protection systems in one- or
two-family dwellings until January 1, 2017. The bill would also
explicitly authorize the State Fire Marshal to propose, adopt,
and administer regulations and building standards necessary to
ensure fire safety in buildings and structures in CA, as
specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Minor and absorbable costs to the Contractors' State License
Board (CSLB) for any enforcement actions related to plumbers
installing fire sprinkler systems.
No new costs to the State Fire Marshal related to the
clarification of the authority to propose, adopt, and
administer fire safety regulations and building standards.
The bill provides authority for the Fire Marshal to recover
any costs associated with the broad regulatory authority
provided in the bill by charging reasonable fees for
specified activities.
Background: CSLB regulations establish a fire protection
contractor classification as a contractor that lays out,
fabricates, and installs all types of fire protection systems,
excluding electrical alarm systems. CSLB regulations establish
a plumbing contractor classification as a contractor that
provides a means for a supply of safe water for the purpose
intended and the proper disposal of fluid waste from the
premises in all structures. Existing law specifies that the
installation of a fire protection system may only be performed
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by a contractor holding a fire protection contractor
classification, or by an owner-builder of an owner-occupied,
single-family dwelling.
The CA Building Standards Code was updated in 2010 to require
that all new residential dwellings constructed after January 1,
2011 must be equipped with a fire sprinkler system. CSLB
indicates that there were only 2,148 active fire protection
contractors licensed as of February of this year, and only 25%
of those install residential sprinkler systems.
Existing law authorizes the State Fire Marshal to develop
building standards related to fire and panic safety and to
submit those standards to the Building Standards Commission
(BSC) for approval. Building standards serve as the basis for
design and construction of buildings in California. Existing
law expressly requires the Fire Marshal to propose and adopt
building standards related to fire protection in the following
structures: state-owned or occupied buildings; buildings in fire
hazard severity zones; structures in wildland interface
communities; access to roof areas of commercial establishments;
specified buildings used for assembly of 50 or more persons;
buildings used to house persons for protective social care; and
high-rise structures. The Fire Marshal must also approve
building standards proposed by other agencies, if it promotes
fire and panic safety.
In addition to regulations that are building standards, the Fire
Marshal also has broad authority to adopt regulations related to
fire safety. For example, existing law provides authority for
the Fire Marshal to develop and implement licensing, inspection,
and certification programs for fireworks, flame retardant
chemicals and fabrics, automatic extinguishing systems, gasoline
vapor recovery systems, hazardous liquid pipelines, consumer
product testing laboratories, and building materials. Numerous
statutes for these various programs authorize the Fire Marshal
to charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of performing each
of the specified services.
Proposed Law: AB 433 would authorize a contractor holding a
plumber contractor classification to install a residential fire
protection system, excluding electrical alarm systems, in a one-
or two-family dwelling until January 1, 2017. The bill would
also expressly authorize the State Fire Marshal to propose,
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adopt, and administer regulations deemed necessary to ensure
fire safety in buildings and structures in the state, including
those related to construction, modification, installation,
testing, inspection, labeling, listing, certification,
registration, licensing, reporting, operation, and maintenance.
Any regulations that are building standards must be submitted to
the BSC for approval. Finally, the bill authorizes the Fire
Marshal to collect reasonable fees necessary to implement any of
the specified regulatory activities.
Staff Comments: This bill is intended to provide a 3-year window
in which plumbing contractors would be authorized to install
fire sprinkler systems in one- and two-family residential
dwellings. This limited window would allow time to determine
whether it is appropriate to continue this authority or require
plumbers to obtain additional education and experience
requirements before being authorized to install residential fire
sprinkler systems. The CSLB does not anticipate a significant
increase in enforcement actions as a result of plumbing
contractors installing residential fire protection systems.
AB 433 would authorize the State Fire Marshal to propose, adopt,
and administer regulations deemed necessary to ensure fire
safety in buildings and structures, as specified above. Any
regulations that are building standards must be submitted to the
BSC for approval. Under existing law, the Fire Marshal has
express authority to propose fire safety regulations for about
80 percent of buildings and structures, and implied authority in
various other statutory provisions. This bill is intended to
provide explicit authority for the Fire Marshal to adopt and
administer fire safety standards for all buildings and
structures, and to consolidate the Fire Marshal's disparate
authority to regulate fire safety and collect reasonable fees
into a single code section. There have been occasions in the
past when the Fire Marshal's authority has been challenged
during the BSC process for approval of certain building fire
safety standards, which resulted in significant delays in the
regulatory process. This bill would provide a comprehensive
statute that can be referenced as an authority citation when
conducting a rulemaking proceeding. Since the Fire Marshal is
already actively involved in fire safety building standards
process, this bill would not result in any new costs to the Fire
Marshal or Building Standards Commission.
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