BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: ABX2 7
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|AUTHOR: |Mark Stone |
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|VERSION: |March 3, 2016 Amended |
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|HEARING DATE: |March 7, 2016 | | |
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|CONSULTANT: |Alma Perez-Schwab |
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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.
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,
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 employers from knowingly or intentionally permitting
the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a
place of employment.
3)Defines "enclosed space" as including lobbies, lounges,
waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a
structural part of the building and not specifically exempt.
4)Exempts the following from the workplace smoking prohibition:
a) Sixty-five percent of guestrooms in a hotel, motel,
or similar lodging establishment;
b) Hotel or motel lobbies that meet certain size
requirements;
c) Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels or motels,
except as specified;
d) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private
ABX2 7 (Mark Stone) Page 2 of ?
smokers' lounges, as defined;
e) Warehouse facilities, as defined;
f) Gaming clubs, bars and taverns;
g) Private residences, except for those licensed as
family day care homes;
h) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care
facilities;
i) Break rooms designated for smoking by an employer;
and
j) Businesses with five or fewer employees.
1)Makes a violation of the indoor smoking prohibition an
infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 for a first
violation, $200 for a second violation within one year, and
$500 for a third and each subsequent violation within one
year.
2)Requires local law enforcement agencies to enforce these
provisions, including local health departments, unless an
employer has been found guilty of three or more violations
which will require an investigation by the Division of
Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
3)Authorizes employers to prohibit smoking in enclosed places of
employment for any reason.
This bill:
1) Extends the workplace smoking prohibition to include
owner-operated businesses in which the owner-operator is
the only worker and there are no employees, independent
contractors, or volunteers.
2) Expands the definition of "enclosed space" where smoking
is prohibited to include covered parking lots.
3) Reduces from 65% to 20% the amount of guestroom
accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar transient
lodging establishment in which smoking is allowed.
4) Eliminates several exemptions in law which currently
allows the smoking of tobacco products in certain work
environments, thereby prohibiting the smoking of tobacco
products indoors at the following locations:
ABX2 7 (Mark Stone) Page 3 of ?
a) Hotel or motel lobbies;
b) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel or motel;
c) Warehouse facilities;
d) Gaming clubs;
e) Bars and taverns;
f) Employee break rooms; and,
g) 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.
6) Contains double-jointing language to address chaptering
out issues with SBX2 6 (Monning), ABX2 6 (Cooper), and SBX2
5 (Leno) of the current extraordinary legislative session.
FISCAL
EFFECT : According to the Assembly Finance Committee, minor and
absorbable costs for the Department of Public Health to provide
local public health departments, law enforcement, and the media
with information about these new statutory changes, and minor
enforcement costs to local law enforcement agencies, including
health departments.
PRIOR
VOTES :
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|Assembly Floor: |49-25 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |6-3 |
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|Assembly Public Health and |10 - 3 |
|Developmental Services Committee: | |
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ABX2 7 (Mark Stone) Page 4 of ?
COMMENTS :
1)Author's statement. 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)Health impacts of secondhand smoke. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon
General, secondhand smoke exposure can cause harmful health
effects that include stroke, heart disease, heart attacks, lung
cancer, asthma and chronic respiratory problems, among others. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies secondhand smoke
as a Class "A" human carcinogen (cancer causing agent), the same
class as asbestos. The California Air Resources Board has
declared secondhand smoke to be a toxic air contaminant, in the
same category as diesel exhaust. According to the Department of
Public Health, (DPH) non-smokers who are frequently exposed to
high levels of secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing
heart disease by 25-30%, and lung cancer by 20-30%. The U.S.
Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of
exposure to secondhand smoke, ventilation cannot eliminate
exposure of non-smokers to secondhand smoke, and establishing
smoke-free environments is the only proven way to prevent
exposure. (The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to
Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006). According
to a 2014 report by the U.S. Surgeon General, if smoking persists
at the current rate among young adults, 5.6 million of today's
Americans younger than 18 years of age are projected to die
prematurely from a smoking-related illness. (The Health
Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress, 2014). The 2014
report also finds that the value of lost productivity due to
premature deaths caused by exposure to secondhand smoke is
estimated to be $5.6 billion per year ($150 billion productivity
ABX2 7 (Mark Stone) Page 5 of ?
loss for smoking deaths).
3)History of smoking in the workplace in California. For years
California had been the leader in the effort to fight the
smoking epidemic and was often referred to as "America's
Non-Smoking Section," a reputation that came about when
California became the first state in the country to ban
smoking in nearly every workplace; effectively banning smoking
in indoor public spaces. California's workplace smoking
prohibition was enacted by AB 13 (Friedman Chapter 310,
Statutes of 1994), Restaurants were included in the ban, and
bars, taverns, and gaming clubs were phased in by 1998. The
law covers all "enclosed" places of employment; therefore,
patio or outdoor dining facilities may allow smoking.
While California's law is restrictive, a number of exemptions are
allowed which have prevented our state from being considered a
100% smoke-free state by the CDC, 25 other states are currently
considered 100% indoor workplace smoke-free. Many local
jurisdictions have closed the loop on these exemptions through the
enactment of local ordinances. In addition, gaming facilities not
under the jurisdiction of the State (tribal casinos) are not
required to comply, although some have done so voluntarily for the
health of their employees and patrons.
Unfortunately, these efforts have not been enough to protect
people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke as evidenced
by the high number of casualties. DPH estimates that the
loopholes in California's smoke free workplace law currently allow
one in seven employees to work in an employment setting where they
could be exposed to secondhand smoke. The patrons who visit, and
the employees who work in these unsafe environments, are receiving
unequal protection under the law as long as these exemptions are
in place.
4)Related legislation. SBX2 5 (Leno) recasts and broadens the
definition of "tobacco product" in current law to include
electronic cigarettes as specified; extends current restrictions
and prohibitions against the use of tobacco products to electronic
cigarettes; extends current licensing requirements for
manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers
of tobacco products to electronic cigarettes; requires electronic
cigarette cartridges to be child-resistant; and exempts active
duty military personnel, as specified, from the requirement of
being 21 years of age or older to purchase tobacco products. SBX2
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5 is pending on the Senate Floor.
SBX2 7 (Hernandez) increases the minimum legal age to purchase
or consume tobacco from 18 to 21. The bill also removes
penalty provisions for those under 21 in possession of tobacco
and exempts military personnel from the age increase. SBX2 7
is pending on the Senate Floor.
ABX2 9 (Thurmond) extends current tobacco use prevention
funding eligibility and requirements for county offices of
education and school districts to include charter schools;
broadens the definition of products containing tobacco and
nicotine, as specified, and prohibits their use in specified
areas of schools and school districts, regardless of funding;
and requires specified signs to be prominently displayed at
all entrances to school property. ABX2 9 will be heard in this
committee on March 7, 2016.
ABX2 10 (Bloom) allows counties to impose a tax on the
privilege of distributing cigarettes and tobacco products.
ABX2 10 will be heard in this committee on March 7, 2016.
ABX2 11 (Nazarian) revises 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.
ABX2 11 will be heard in this committee on March 7, 2016.
5)Prior legislation. SB 575 (DeSaulnier, 2011), and AB 1467
(DeSaulnier, 2007), were almost identical to this bill and would
have eliminated most of the exemptions in code which permit
smoking in certain work environments. SB 575 died in Assembly
Governmental Organization Committee, and, AB 1467 was vetoed by
the Governor.
AB 217 (Carter, 2011), would have restricted smoking in long-term
health care facilities by only allowing smoking in a designated
patient smoking area that is outdoors, as specified. AB 217 was
vetoed by the Governor.
AB 2067 (Oropeza, Chapter 736, Statutes of 2006), prohibits
smoking in covered parking lots and adds to the definition of
"enclosed spaces" lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators,
stairwells and restrooms that are a structural part of the
building, thereby prohibiting smoking in those areas.
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AB 846 (Vargas, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2003), prohibits smoking
inside a public building and within 20 feet of a main exit,
entrance, or operable window of a public building.
6)Support. Proponents argue that tobacco use is the single most
preventable cause of death and disease, nearly 40,000 Californians
lost their lives to tobacco related illnesses last year. There is
overwhelming scientific evidence that secondhand tobacco smoke is
a direct cause of heart disease, the number one killer of both men
and women in California. According to the American Lung
Association in California, smoking costs the state of California
$23 billion a year in both health costs and lost productivity with
$3.5 billion directly linked to Medi-Cal. Proponents argue that
every Californian deserves to work in a healthy environment and
should not have to make a choice between a good job and good
health. Given the human cost and the economic burden of smoking,
proponents believe it is time for California to become a 100%
smoke-free state.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: American Lung Association in California
Association of Northern California Oncologists
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Academy of Preventive Medicine
California Chapter of the American College of
Emergency Physicians
California Chronic Care Coalition
California Dental Association
California Labor Federation
California Optometric Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Society of Anesthesiologists
Cancer Action Network, American Cancer Society
County Health Executives Association of California
First 5 Association of California
Health Access California
Health Officers Association of California
March of Dimes
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition
SEIU California
State of California Tobacco Education and Research
Oversight Committee
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Oppose: None received
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