BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 488
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Date of Hearing: June 19, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Ed Chau, Chair
SB 488 (Hueso) - As Amended: May 7, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Substandard housing: regulations.
SUMMARY : Authorizes local code enforcement officers to
determine an infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents and lack
of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities
for purposes of deeming a building to be substandard.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes code enforcement officers to determine an
infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents, upon successful
completion of a course of study in the appropriate subject
matter as determined by the local jurisdiction, if an
agreement does not exist with an agency that has a health
officer to make such determinations.
2)Authorizes code enforcement officers to determine a lack of
adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal facilities if
an agreement does not exist with an agency that has a health
officer to make such determinations.
3)Makes various findings and declarations related to exposure to
pests and the resulting health impacts.
EXISTING LAW
1)Lists various conditions that, if they exist in a building
containing dwelling units to an extent that there is a danger
to the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the
public or the occupants of the building, require that the
building be declared substandard (Health and Safety Code
Section 17920.3).
2)Includes inadequate sanitation on the list of conditions that
can mean a building is substandard, and specifies that
inadequate sanitation includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
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a) Lack of, or improper water closet, lavatory, or bathtub
or shower in a dwelling unit;
b) Lack of, or improper water closets, lavatories, and
bathtubs or showers per number of guests in a hotel.
c) Lack of, or improper kitchen sink;
d) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures
in a hotel;
e) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures
in a dwelling unit;
f) Lack of adequate heating;
g) Lack of, or improper operation of required ventilating
equipment;
h) Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation
required by code;
i) Room and space dimensions less than required by code;
j) Lack of required electrical lighting;
aa) Dampness of habitable rooms;
bb) Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents as determined
by the health officer;
cc) General dilapidation or improper maintenance;
dd) Lack of connection to required sewage disposal system;
ee) Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal
facilities as determined by the health officer.
(Civil Code Section 17920.3)
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
Current law lists various conditions that, if present in a
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residential building to an extent that there is a danger to
public health and safety, require that the building be declared
substandard. Inadequate sanitation is one of those conditions,
which the law specifies includes, but is not limited to, 15
different conditions. Two of those conditions are infestation of
insects, vermin, or rodents and a lack of adequate garbage
facilities. While each jurisdiction's code enforcement
department is typically responsible for inspecting buildings and
determining whether a building is substandard, in the case of
infestations and a lack of garbage facilities the law specifies
that those determinations can only be made by a health officer.
A health officer is typically a county position; very few cities
have a health officer. Many cities across the state do not have
an agreement for the services of a health officer, so there is
no way to legally determine an infestation or inadequate garbage
facilities in these jurisdictions. This leaves tenants living in
infested housing with little recourse to ensure their housing is
safe and habitable.
A 2011, the California Healthy Housing Coalition conducted an
informal survey of code enforcement officers through the
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers and found
that 40 percent had experienced barriers to enforcing pest
infestations in their community. The types of barriers
generally fell into the following categories:
1. Efficiency-Extra coordination and time is needed for
additional inspection by the county, delaying resolution.
2. Responsiveness-For a variety of reasons, counties can be
slow to do inspections, delaying resolution.
3. Fiscal-Cities unable to pay for county services,
resulting in an inability to resolve problems.
4. Legal-Cities without county services cannot cite or
mandate compliance, resulting in a reliance on voluntary
compliance to resolve problems.
SB 488 allows local code enforcement officers to determine
infestations and inadequate garbage facilities if there is no
agreement in place for a health officer to perform this work.
The bill requires that in order to determine infestations, code
enforcement officers must first complete a course of study in
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the appropriate subject matter as determined by the local
jurisdiction.
According to the bill's sponsors, pest infestations are a common
problem in California's housing, particularly in rental housing,
and can have significant impacts on residents' health, including
triggering asthma and skin conditions. They state that a wide
range of healthy homes programs, legal aid organizations, and
public health groups that conduct home visits list pests as one
of the most common problems they encounter that make a home
unhealthy. One of the sponsors, the Regional Asthma Management
and Prevention Initiative (RAMP) cites as an example a healthy
homes program finding in the City of San Diego of pest
infestations in more than 90 percent of the 400 plus housing
units they inspected. SB 488 will ensure that infestations can
be addressed throughout the state rather than just in
jurisdictions that have a health officer or have the resources
to contract with a health officer.
Proposed amendment : On page 2, after line 24, insert language
into the findings and declarations stating the Legislature's
intent that only one entity at a time, either the health officer
or local code enforcement, may enforce regulations pertaining to
infestations and adequate garbage facilities within a
jurisdiction.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (co-sponsor)
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (co-sponsor)
Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Initiative
(co-sponsor)
California Narcotic Officer's Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Healthy Homes Collaborative
Pacoima Beautiful
San Diego Regional Asthma Coalition
San Francisco Asthma Task Force
YMCA Childcare Resources Services
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085