California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 967

Introduced by Assembly Member Hueso

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 17920.3 and 17961 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 967, as introduced, Hueso. Substandard housing: regulations.

(1) Existing law specifies that any building, including any dwelling unit, shall be deemed to be a substandard building when a health officer determines that, among other things, an infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents exists to the extent that it endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or its occupants, or there is a lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities.

This bill would authorize a local enforcement agency, including an environmental agency, housing department, or building department, to make these determinations, as specified, in addition to a health officer.

(2) Existing law provides that the housing or building department of every city, county, or city and county is required to enforce within its jurisdiction all of the State Housing Law. Existing law further provides that the health department of every city, county, or city and county, or any environmental agency or local building department, may enforce regulations related to lead hazards, as specified, and is required to coordinate enforcement activities with other interested departments and agencies in order to avoid unnecessary duplication.

This bill would specify that a local housing department is authorized to enforce regulations related to lead hazards.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Exposure to pests, such as arthropods and rodents, in one’s
home has clear health impacts. Cockroaches are known to produce
allergens that trigger asthma, especially in children. A study
conducted by the National Institutes of Health found that cockroach
allergens are the primary contributor to childhood asthma in
inner-city homes. House mice can spread a type of meningitis.
Bed bug bites can cause itching and become infected, while bed
bug infestations have been linked to severe mental stress.

(b) State law limits the enforcement authority for pest
infestations to county health officers. Cities lacking an agreement
or the resources needed to contract with a county for the services
of the county health officer are left without any authority to address
pest infestations.

SEC. 2.  

Section 17920.3 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

17920.3.  

Any building or portion thereof including any
dwelling unit, guestroom or suite of rooms, or the premises on
which the same is located, in which there exists any of the
following listed conditions to an extent that endangers the life,
limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or the
occupants thereof shall be deemed and hereby is declared to be a
substandard building:

(a) Inadequate sanitation shall include, but not be limited to,
the following:

(1) Lack of, or improper water closet, lavatory, or bathtub or
shower in a dwelling unit.

(2) Lack of, or improper water closets, lavatories, and bathtubs
or showers per number of guests in a hotel.

(3) Lack of, or improper kitchen sink.

(4) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in
a hotel.

(5) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures in
a dwelling unit.

(6) Lack of adequate heating.

(7) Lack of, or improper operation of required ventilating
equipment.

(8) Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation
required by this code.

(9) Room and space dimensions less than required by this code.

(10) Lack of required electrical lighting.

(11) Dampness of habitable rooms.

(12) Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents as determined by
begin delete the end delete begin insert a end insert health officer begin insert or, if a health officer is not available or a city
has not entered into an agreement with the county for the provision
of these services, as determined by a local enforcement agency,
as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 105251 end insert .

(13) General dilapidation or improper maintenance.

(14) Lack of connection to required sewage disposal system.

(15) Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal
facilities begin insert , end insert as determined by begin delete the end delete begin insert a end insert health officer begin insert or local enforcement
agency, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 105251 end insert .

(b) Structural hazards shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:

(1) Deteriorated or inadequate foundations.

(2) Defective or deteriorated flooring or floor supports.

(3) Flooring or floor supports of insufficient size to carry
imposed loads with safety.

(4) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that
split, lean, list, or buckle due to defective material or deterioration.

(5) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that
are of insufficient size to carry imposed loads with safety.

(6) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceilings and roof supports, or
other horizontal members which sag, split, or buckle due to
defective material or deterioration.

(7) Members of ceiling, roofs, ceiling and roof supports, or other
horizontal members that are of insufficient size to carry imposed
loads with safety.

(8) Fireplaces or chimneys which list, bulge, or settle due to
defective material or deterioration.

(9) Fireplaces or chimneys which are of insufficient size or
strength to carry imposed loads with safety.

(c) Any nuisance.

(d) All wiring, except that which conformed with all applicable
laws in effect at the time of installation if it is currently in good
and safe condition and working properly.

(e) All plumbing, except plumbing that conformed with all
applicable laws in effect at the time of installation and has been
maintained in good condition, or that may not have conformed
with all applicable laws in effect at the time of installation but is
currently in good and safe condition and working properly, and
that is free of cross connections and siphonage between fixtures.

(f) All mechanical equipment, including vents, except equipment
that conformed with all applicable laws in effect at the time of
installation and that has been maintained in good and safe
condition, or that may not have conformed with all applicable laws
in effect at the time of installation but is currently in good and safe
condition and working properly.

(g) Faulty weather protection, which shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:

(1) Deteriorated, crumbling, or loose plaster.

(2) Deteriorated or ineffective waterproofing of exterior walls,
roof, foundations, or floors, including broken windows or doors.

(3) Defective or lack of weather protection for exterior wall
coverings, including lack of paint, or weathering due to lack of
paint or other approved protective covering.

(4) Broken, rotted, split, or buckled exterior wall coverings or
roof coverings.

(h) Any building or portion thereof, device, apparatus,
equipment, combustible waste, or vegetation that, in the opinion
of the chief of the fire department or his deputy, is in such a
condition as to cause a fire or explosion or provide a ready fuel to
augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from
any cause.

(i) All materials of construction, except those begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert are
specifically allowed or approved by this code, and begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert have
been adequately maintained in good and safe condition.

(j) Those premises on which an accumulation of weeds,
vegetation, junk, dead organic matter, debris, garbage, offal, rodent
harborages, stagnant water, combustible materials, and similar
materials or conditions constitute fire, health, or safety hazards.

(k) Any building or portion thereof that is determined to be an
unsafe building due to inadequate maintenance, in accordance with
the latest edition of the Uniform Building Code.

(l) All buildings or portions thereof not provided with adequate
exit facilities as required by this code, except those buildings or
portions thereof whose exit facilities conformed with all applicable
laws at the time of their construction and that have been adequately
maintained and increased in relation to any increase in occupant
load, alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy.

When an unsafe condition exists through lack of, or improper
location of, exits, additional exits may be required to be installed.

(m) All buildings or portions thereof that are not provided with
the fire-resistive construction or fire-extinguishing systems or
equipment required by this code, except those buildings or portions
thereof that conformed with all applicable laws at the time of their
construction and whose fire-resistive integrity and
fire-extinguishing systems or equipment have been adequately
maintained and improved in relation to any increase in occupant
load, alteration or addition, or any change in occupancy.

(n) All buildings or portions thereof occupied for living,
sleeping, cooking, or dining purposes that were not designed or
intended to be used for those occupancies.

(o) Inadequate structural resistance to horizontal forces.

“Substandard building” includes a building not in compliance
with Section 13143.2.

However, a condition that would require displacement of sound
walls or ceilings to meet height, length, or width requirements for
ceilings, rooms, and dwelling units shall not by itself be considered
sufficient existence of dangerous conditions making a building a
substandard building, unless the building was constructed, altered,
or converted in violation of those requirements in effect at the time
of construction, alteration, or conversion.

SEC. 3.  

Section 17961 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

17961.  

(a) The housing or building department or, if there is
no building department acting pursuant to this section, the health
department of every city, county, or city and county, or any
environmental agency authorized pursuant to Section 101275, shall
enforce within its jurisdiction all of this part, the building standards
published in the State Building Standards Code, and the other rules
and regulations adopted pursuant to this part pertaining to the
maintenance, sanitation, ventilation, use, or occupancy of apartment
houses, hotels, or dwellings. The health department or the
environmental agency may, in conjunction with a local housing
or building department acting pursuant to this section, enforce
within its jurisdiction all of this part, the building standards
published in the State Building Standards Code, and the other rules
and regulations adopted pursuant to this part pertaining to the
maintenance, sanitation, ventilation, use, or occupancy of apartment
houses, hotels, or dwellings. Each department and agency, as
applicable, shall coordinate enforcement activities with each other
and interested departments and agencies in order to avoid
unnecessary duplication.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the health department of
every city, county, or city and county, or any environmental agency
authorized pursuant to Section 101275 may, in addition to the local
building begin insert or housing end insert department, if any, enforce within its
jurisdiction the provisions of Section 17920.10 and shall coordinate
enforcement activities with other interested departments and
agencies in order to avoid unnecessary duplication.

(c) The State Department of Health Services may enforce
Section 17920.10 if any local agency or department specified in
subdivisions (a) and (b) enters into a written agreement, approved
and published pursuant to local government procedures, with the
State Department of Health Services to enforce that section, or
provides the State Department of Health Services with a written
request to enforce that section for a specific case following the
identification of a lead poisoned child in that jurisdiction.