BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: August 25, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
Rob Bonta, Chair
ABX2 7
(Mark Stone) - As Introduced July 16, 2015
SUBJECT: Smoking in the workplace.
SUMMARY: Removes many (but not all) exemptions in existing law
that allow tobacco smoking in certain indoor workplaces and
expands the prohibition on smoking in a place of employment to
include owner-operated businesses. Specifically, this bill:
1)Extends the workplace smoking prohibition to include
owner-operated businesses in which the owner-operator of the
business is the only worker.
2)Expands the definition of enclosed space to include covered
parking lots.
3)Reduces from 65% to 20% the amount of the guestroom
accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar transient lodging
establishment in which smoking is allowed.
4)Eliminates several exemptions in law which currently allow the
smoking of tobacco products in certain work environments,
thereby prohibiting the smoking of tobacco products indoors at
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the following locations:
a) Hotel or motel lobbies;
b) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel or motel;
c) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private smokers'
lounges;
d) Warehouse facilities;
e) Gaming clubs;
f) Bars and taverns;
g) Employee break rooms; and,
h) Businesses with a total of five or fewer employees.
5)Deletes obsolete references to regulations that would have
permitted smoking at gaming clubs, bars, and taverns had these
been adopted before January 1, 1998 by the Occupational Safety
and Health Standards Board if a safe level of exposure to
secondhand smoke were found that prevents anything other than
insignificant harmful effects to exposed employees. No such
regulations were ever adopted.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes "smoke-free laws," which prohibit the smoking of
tobacco products in various places, including, but not limited
to, school campuses, public buildings, places of employment,
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apartment buildings, day care facilities, retail food
facilities, health facilities, and vehicles when minors are
present, and makes a violation of some of the prohibitions
punishable by an infraction.
2)Prohibits an employer from knowingly or intentionally
permitting the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed
space at a place of employment.
3)Defines an enclosed space as including lobbies, lounges,
waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a
structural part of the building.
4)Exempts certain places of employment from the prohibition on
smoking tobacco products in an enclosed space, including:
a) Hotel or motel lobbies that meet certain size
requirements;
b) Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels or motels;
c) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private smokers'
lounges;
d) Warehouse facilities;
e) Gaming clubs, bars, and taverns;
f) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care
facilities;
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g) Break rooms designated for smoking by an employer; and,
h) Businesses with five or fewer employees, among others.
1)Makes a violation of the prohibition an infraction punishable
by fines of $100 for a
first violation, $200 for a second violation within one year,
and $500 for a third and for each subsequent violation within
one year.
2)Provides for enforcement of the prohibition by local law
enforcement agencies, including health departments.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS:
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, California's
workers and business patrons are integral to maintaining a
strong California economy and it is vital that California
protect the health and safety of these people. The author
states that secondhand smoke is a Toxic Air Contaminant and it
is well known that there is no safe amount of exposure to
these dangerous chemicals. The author notes secondhand smoke
contributes to many cases of lung cancer, heart disease, and
strokes which can lead to death, and due to the many workplace
smoking exemptions, California cannot join 26 other states
including Washington D.C. in being named "smoke-free" by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The author
concludes, in order to protect California's workers and to
take one step closer to joining the 26 other states, it is
imperative that California remove exemptions to its'
smoke-free workplace laws.
2)BACKGROUND.
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a) Secondhand smoke. The California Air Resources Board
(ARB) has classified secondhand smoke as a toxic air
contaminant. ARB notes that tobacco smoke releases 40 tons
of nicotine, 365 tons of particulate matter, and 1900 tons
of carbon monoxide into the California environment each
year. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
has noted clearly established links between exposure to
secondhand smoke and a number of adverse health effects
including: premature births; low birth rates; sudden
infant death syndrome; the exacerbation of asthma; ear and
respiratory infections; lung and nasal sinus cancer; heart
disease; and, eye and nasal irritation.
According to the 2014 Surgeon General's Report, How Tobacco
Smoke Causes Disease, there have been more than 20 million
smoking-related deaths in the U.S. since 1964; 2.5 million
of those deaths were among non-smokers who died from
exposure to secondhand smoke. Each year in the United
States alone, secondhand smoke is responsible for an
estimated 42,000 deaths from heart disease in people who
are current non-smokers; about 7,000 lung cancer deaths in
non-smoking adults; worse asthma and asthma-related
problems in up to 1 million asthmatic children; and,
between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract (lung
and bronchus) infections in children under 18 months of
age, with 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year. In
the U.S., the costs of extra medical care, illness, and
death caused by second hand smoke are over $10 billion per
year.
b) Smoke-free workplaces. According to the California
Tobacco Program, smoke-free workplace laws not only protect
workers and the public from secondhand smoke, they have
also been found to reduce the rate of heart attacks by an
average of 17% after one year and 26% after three years.
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They also help smokers quit by decreasing cigarette
consumption and increasing rates of quit attempts.
3)SUPPORT. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
supports this bill because it will eliminate loopholes in
current law that allow for smoking in workplaces. SEIU notes
that one in seven workers report being exposed to secondhand
smoke in the workplace, and low income workers, young adults,
and Latinos are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke
at work. SEIU concludes, secondhand smoke should not be a
condition of employment.
Numerous supporters including the California Pan-Ethnic Health
Network, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and
the Association of Northern California Oncologists state that
secondhand smoke has been linked to lung cancer, and once the
nation's leader in protecting workers from the deadly effects
of secondhand smoke, California has fallen behind the national
standard set by the CDC and is not considered a 100%
smoke-free state.
4)OPPOSITION. The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association
(SFATA) is opposed to this bill unless it is amended to
clarify that shops that cater only to electronic or
e-cigarettes and vapor product use (vape shops) would not be
affected by the proposed workplace use restrictions. SFATA
notes, if the proposed restrictions were to be applied to vape
shops, which are specifically geared to allow customers to
sample various products in a welcoming and social environment,
approximately 1,400 vape shops would be forced to shut their
doors, destroying the investment and livelihoods of small
business owners and their employees throughout the state.
5)RELATED LEGISLATION.
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a) SBX2 6 (Monning) is substantially similar to this bill.
SBX2 6 was heard on August 19, 2015 in the Senate Committee
on Public Health and Developmental Disabilities and passed
on a 9 to 2 vote. SBX2 6 is currently pending in the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
b) SBX2 5 (Leno) and ABX2 6 (Cooper) define the term
smoking for purposes of the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids
Enforcement Act; expand the definition of a tobacco product
to include e-cigarettes and extends current restrictions
and prohibitions against the use of tobacco products to
e-cigarettes. Extend current licensing requirements for
manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and
retailers of tobacco products to e-cigarettes. SBX2 5 was
heard in the Senate Committee on Public Health and
Developmental Disabilities on August 19, 2015 and passed
out on a vote of 9 to 3. SBX2 5 is currently pending in
the Senate Committee on Appropriations, ABX2 6 is set to
be heard on August 25th in this Committee.
c) SBX2 7 (Ed Hernandez) and ABX2 8 (Wood) increase the
minimum legal age to purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to
21. SBX2 7 was heard on August 19, 2015 in the Senate
Committee on Public Health and Developmental Disabilities
and passed on a 9 to 3 vote. SBX2 7 is currently pending
in the Senate Appropriations Committee. ABX2 8 is set for
hearing on August 25th in this Committee.
d) SBX2 8 (Liu) and ABX2 9 (Thurmond and Nazarian) clarify
charter school eligibility for tobacco use prevention
program (TUPE) funds; require the California State
Department of Education to require all school districts,
charter schools, and county offices of education receiving
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TUPE funds to adopt and enforce a tobacco-free campus
policy; prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine products
in any county office of education, charter school, or
school district-owned or leased building, on school or
district property, and in school or district vehicles; and,
require all schools, districts, and offices of education to
post a sign reading "Tobacco use is prohibited" at all
entrances. SBX2 8 passed the Senate Committee on Public
Health and Developmental Disabilities with a vote of 9 to 3
on August 19, 2015 and is currently pending in the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. ABX2 9 is set for hearing on
August 25th in this Committee.
e) SBX2 9 (McGuire) and ABX2 10 (Bloom) allow counties to
impose a tax on the privilege of distributing cigarettes
and tobacco products. SBX2 9 was heard on August 19, 2015
in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Developmental
Disabilities and passed with a vote of 9 to 2 and is
currently pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
ABX2 10 is set for hearing on August 25th in this
Committee.
f) SBX2 10 (Beall) and ABX2 11 (Nazarian) revise the
Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to
change the retailer license fee from a $100 one-time fee to
a $265 annual fee, and increase the distributor and
wholesaler license fee from $1,000 to $1,200. SBX2 10 was
heard on August 19, 2015 in the Senate Committee on Public
Health and Developmental Disabilities and passed with a
vote of 9 to 3 and is currently pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee. ABX2 11 is set for hearing on
August 25th in this Committee.
6)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION.
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a) SB 575 (DeSaulnier) of 2011 would have expanded the
prohibition on smoking in a place of employment to include
an owner-operated business, and also eliminated most of the
specified exemptions that permit smoking in certain work
environments, such as hotel lobbies, bars and taverns,
banquet rooms, warehouse facilities, private residences
used as family day care homes, and employee break rooms.
SB 575 was held in the Assembly Committee on Governmental
Organization.
b) AB 1467 (DeSaulnier) of 2007 would have removed the
exemptions that permit smoking in specified bars,
warehouses, hotel lobbies, employee break rooms, and
meeting and banquet rooms, while retaining exemptions for
other types of businesses. In addition, AB 1467 would have
prohibited smoking in specified owner-operated businesses
regardless of whether or not they have employees. AB 1467
was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, who cited his
concerns with placing additional restrictions on
businesses.
c) AB 2067 (Oropeza), Chapter 736, Statutes of 2006, adds a
further definition of "enclosed spaces" to current law that
prohibits smoking in enclosed spaces of employment to
include areas such as lobbies, lounges, waiting areas,
elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a structural
part of the building at places of employment. Defines
"covered parking lot" with respect to public buildings to
mean an area designated for the parking of vehicles that is
enclosed or contains a roof or ceiling, but excludes
certain areas, as defined above, that are a structural part
of the parking lot.
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d) AB 3037 (Cannella), Chapter 989, Statutes of 1996,
extends exemptions to the prohibition of smoking in bars,
taverns, and gaming clubs to January 1, 1998. Smoking in
bars, taverns, and gaming clubs could only continue beyond
that date if regulations were adopted by either the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board or the
federal Environmental Protection Agency on an exposure
level of environmental tobacco smoke that carried
insignificantly harmful effects to exposed persons.
e) AB 13 (Friedman), Chapter 310, Statutes of 1994,
prohibits employers from knowingly or intentionally
permitting; or any person from engaging in, the smoking of
tobacco products in enclosed places of employment, with
specific exemptions. AB 13 allows for the smoking of
tobacco products in bars, taverns, and gaming clubs until
January 1, 1997 if regulations were adopted by either the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board or the
federal Environmental Protection Agency on an exposure
level of environmental tobacco smoke that carried
insignificantly harmful effects to exposed persons.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Lung Association in California
Association of Northern California Oncologists
California Black Health Network
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California Chronic Care Coalition
California Dental Association
California Labor Federation
California Medical Association
California Optometric Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Primary Care Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
Community Action Fund of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San
Bernardino Counties
Health Access California
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest
Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund
Service Employees International Union, California
Opposition
Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association
Analysis Prepared by:Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
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