Amended in Assembly April 23, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 299

Introduced by Assembly Member Brown

February 12, 2015

An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 116090.5) to Chapter 5 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 299, as amended, Brown. Public health: drownings.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health in state government. Existing law vests within the department certain duties and powers to protect and preserve the public health. Existing law provides for the regulation of recreational water use, as specified, including, but not limited to, swimming pools and wave pools.

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to create, by regulation, a submersion incident report form for the reporting of all statewide drownings or nonfatal drownings, as specified. The bill would require the form to be used and completed by every begin delete local law enforcement entity, fire department, and any other end delete first responder, as defined, begin insert within 72 hours end insert for every drowning or nonfatal drowning for which the begin delete entity, department, or end delete first responder provides services or investigates and for which a person is treated or hospitalized for respiratory distress. The bill would require the form to be submitted to the begin delete department and each end delete local county health department. begin insert The bill would require local county health departments to send aggregated data quarterly to the department. end insert The bill would require the department and begin delete those entities end delete begin insert each local county health department end insert to compile specified data from those forms and to post that data annually on their Internet Web sites.

By imposing additional duties on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Brandon Patrick Water Safety Act.

SEC. 2.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 116090.5) is
added to Chapter 5 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

 

Article 7.  Drownings

 

116090.5.  

(a) The department shall, by regulation, create a
submersion incident report form for the reporting of all statewide
drownings or nonfatal drownings for use as required pursuant to
this section. The form shall, at a minimum, include all of the
following:

(1) The title, “Submersion Incident Report Form.”

(2) A box to be filled in entitled, “Basic Incident Information”
to include the date of incident, time of incident, address of incident,
and type of dwelling. For the “type of dwelling,” the form shall
include an additional question as to whether the dwelling was a
“house, apartment, or other____ (specify).”

(3) A box to be filled in entitled, “Victim Information” to include
the age and gender of the victim, the victim’s race or ethnicity,
where the victim was last seen, the estimated length of time
submersed, the type of clothing worn by the victim, whether a
flotation device was worn by the victim, and the circumstances
that led to the drowning or nonfatal drowning. For those
“circumstances,” the form shall include an additional question as
to whether “drugs, alcohol, trauma, a preexisting condition, or
other____ (specify)” led to, or were involved in, the drowning or
nonfatal drowning.

(4) A box to be filled in entitled, “Water Source Information”
to include a description of the site of incident, water clarity, water
depth, water type, whether there were toys or objects in the water,
and, if applicable, whether the pool or spa was built before 1998.
For the “water type,” the form shall include an additional question
as to whether the water type was a “pool, spa, lake, river, pond,
bathtub, ocean, or other____ (specify).”

(5) A box to be filled in entitled, “Adult Supervision” to include
a description of who the supervisor was at the time of, or prior to,
the incident, and whether a child protective services referral was
made. For purposes of this paragraph, the form shall also include
the following:

(A) An additional question as to whether the supervisor at the
time of incidence was the victim’s “mother, father, babysitter,
relative, or other ____ (specify).”

(B) With regard to whether a child protective services referral
has been made, a “Yes or No” to be printed, for the person filling
out the form to circle.

(C) The question, “Was submersion witnessed?”

(D) The question, “Was there a trained lifeguard on duty?”

(6) A box to be filled in entitled, “Barrier Information” to
include whether water barriers, other barriers, or an alarm were
present or activated and information on how the water was accessed
by the victim. For purposes of this paragraph, the form shall also
include the following:

(A) The question, “Was there a working barrier?”

(B) The question, “Was there a secondary barrier in working
order around the water (or pool)?”

(C) The question, “Were there other barriers?”

(7) A box to be filled in entitled, “Classes/Emergency
Preparation” to include whether rescue equipment was near the
water, whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed and,
if so, by whom, whether the victim ever took swim classes, and
whether the victim was dead on the scene. For purposes of this
paragraph, the form shall also include the following:

(A) The question, “Who pulled the victim out of the water?”

(B) The question, “Was CPR performed?”

(C) The question, “If CPR was performed, was the person CPR
trained?”

(D) The question, “If CPR was performed, what type of CPR
was performed? Chest compression only, rescue breathing only,
or both?”

(b) (1) The form created pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
used and completed by begin delete every local law enforcement entity, fire
department, and any other end delete begin insert the end insert first responder at the scene begin insert , within
72 hours, end insert for every person who is treated or hospitalized for
respiratory distress from submersion or immersion in liquid for
which the begin delete entity, department, or end delete first responder provides services
or investigates. After completion, the form shall be submitted to
begin delete the department and to end delete the local county health department. begin insert Local
county health departments shall send aggregated data quarterly
to the department. end insert This form is not required for persons rescued
and released who do not have signs or symptoms of respiratory
distress.

(2) Based upon the forms received pursuant to paragraph (1),
the department and each local county health department shall
compile and distribute statistical information on those drownings
and nonfatal drownings by posting that information on their
Internet Web sites on an annual basis by February 1 of each year.

(c) The department shall make the form available on its Internet
Web site in a manner that allows every city, county, and city and
county to download the form and use it as their official form for
purposes of subdivision (b).

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), every city, county, and
city and county may also affix its official logo to the form and its
official contact information, including, but not limited to, telephone
number, facsimile number, or electronic mail address.

(e) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:

(1) “Department” means the State Department of Public Health.

(2) “Drowning” means the process of experiencing respiratory
impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid.

(3) “First responder” begin delete includes, but is not limited to, any entity
that arranges for, or provides, emergency medical services within
its boundaries, including lifeguards. end delete begin insert means an authorized registered
nurse or mobile intensive care nurse, emergency medical
technician-I, emergency medical technician-II, emergency medical
technician-paramedic, lifeguard, firefighter, or peace officer, as
defined or described by Section 1797.56, 1797.80, 1797.82,
1797.84, 1797.182, or 1797.183, respectively, or a physician and
surgeon who provides prehospital emergency medical care or
rescue services as an official member of a designated prehospital
system. end insert

(4) “Nonfatal drowning” means survival after drowning.

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.