BILL NUMBER: AB 470 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 8, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 9, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chu
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Section 115922 of Section
7195 of the Busin ess and Professions Code, and to amend
Sections 115922 and 115925 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to public health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 470, as amended, Chu. Public health: pools:
drownings.
The
Existing law, the Swimming Pool Safety Act
requires Act, provides that it does not apply to any
pool within the jurisdiction of any political subdivision that adopts
an ordinance for swimming pools, as specified. The act further
requires, when a building permit is issued for construction of
a new swimming pool or spa, or the remodeling of an existing pool or
spa, at a private, single-family home, that the pool or spa be
equipped with at least 1 of 7 drowning prevention safety features.
The act requires the local building code official to inspect and
approve the drowning safety prevention devices before the issuance of
a final approval for the completion of permitted construction or
remodeling work.
This bill would instead require, when a building permit is
issued or the home is sold, issued,
that the pool or spa be equipped with at least 2 of the 7 drowning
prevention safety features. By imposing additional duties on local
officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would remove the exemption for the
above-described political subdivisions.
Existing law defines terms related to paid home inspections,
establishes a standard of care for home inspectors, and prohibits
certain inspections in which the inspector or the inspector's
employer, as specified, has a financial interest.
This bill would require a home inspection for real property with a
swimming pool or spa to include a noninvasive physical examination
of the pool or spa and dwelling for the purpose of identifying which,
if any, of the specified 7 drowning prevention safety features the
pool or spa is equipped with.
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 Pool
Safety Act.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Swimming pools provide children and their families with a
wonderful opportunity for recreation, exercise, and fun. Keeping
children safe during this activity is supported by parents and
guardians, safety advocates, health providers, insurance companies,
and the swimming pool industry.
(a)
(b) According to both the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and
Control and the State Department of Public Health's
EPICenter EpiCenter data, residential
pool drowning is the leading cause of death for California
children between 1 to 4 one to four
years of age, inclusive.
(b)
(c) Additional children suffer near-drowning incidents
and survive, but many of those children suffer irreversible brain
injuries, which can lead to lifelong learning deficiencies that
impact not only the affected child and his or her family, but also
the resources and moneys available to California's healthcare system,
regional centers, and special education school programs.
(c) Barriers, such as those required pursuant to Section 115922 of
the Health and Safety Code, prevent young children from gaining
unsupervised access to pools and are proven to save lives, and those
barriers that utilize isolation fencing are among the most effective.
(d) Close parental supervision of children with access to swimming
pools is essential to providing pool safety for children. Barriers,
such as those required pursuant to Section 115922 of the Health and
Safety Code, can help to deter young children from gaining
unsupervised access to pools. Swimming lessons are encouraged and can
help children understand the importance of water safety.
(d)
(e) All water sports activities come with risk. Knowing
the risks and having drowning prevention strategies in place before
and during water sports activities reduce drowning incidents, and the
installation of a residential pool barrier is a critical,
necessary, and leading strategy to further California's
goal of dramatically reducing unintentional injury and
ensuring that drowning is no longer the leading cause of death and
hospitalizations for children. injury.
SEC. 3. Section 7195 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
7195. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
(a) (1) "Home inspection" is a noninvasive, physical examination,
performed for a fee in connection with a transfer, as defined in
subdivision (e), of real property, of the mechanical, electrical, or
plumbing systems or the structural and essential components of a
residential dwelling of one to four units designed to identify
material defects in those systems, structures and components. "Home
inspection" includes any consultation regarding the property that is
represented to be a home inspection or any confusingly similar term.
(2) In connection with a transfer, as defined in subdivision (e),
of real property with a swimming pool or spa, a "home inspection"
shall include a noninvasive physical examination of the pool or spa
and dwelling for the purpose of identifying which, if any, of the
seven drowning prevention safety features listed in subdivision (a)
of Section 115922 of the Health and Safety Code the pool or spa is
equipped with.
(2)
(3) "Home inspection," if requested by the client, may
include an inspection of energy efficiency . Energy efficiency items
to be inspected may include the following:
(A) A noninvasive inspection of insulation R-values in attics,
roofs, walls, floors, and ducts.
(B) The number of window glass panes and frame types.
(C) The heating and cooling equipment and water heating systems.
(D) The age and fuel type of major appliances.
(E) The exhaust and cooling fans.
(F) The type of thermostat and other systems.
(G) The general integrity and potential leakage areas of walls,
window areas, doors, and duct systems.
(H) The solar control efficiency of existing windows.
(b) A "material defect" is a condition that significantly affects
the value, desirability, habitability, or safety of the dwelling.
Style or aesthetics shall not be considered in determining whether a
system, structure, or component is defective.
(c) A "home inspection report" is a written report prepared for a
fee and issued after a home inspection. The report clearly describes
and identifies the inspected systems, structures, or components of
the dwelling, any material defects identified, and any
recommendations regarding the conditions observed or recommendations
for evaluation by appropriate persons. In a dwelling with a pool
or spa, the "home inspection report" shall identify which, if any,
of the seven drowning prevention safety features listed in
subdivision (a) of Section 115922 of the Health and Safety Code the
pool or spa is equipped with and shall specifically state
if the pool or spa has fewer than two of the listed drowning
prevention safety features.
(d) A "home inspector" is any individual who performs a home
inspection.
(e) "Transfer" is a transfer by sale, exchange, installment land
sales contract, as defined in Section 2985 of the Civil Code, lease
with an option to purchase, any other option to purchase, or ground
lease coupled with improvements, of real property or residential
stock cooperative, improved with or consisting of not less than one
nor more than four dwelling units.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 115922 of
the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
115922. (a) Except as provided in Section 115925, when a building
permit is issued for the construction of a new swimming pool or spa
or the remodeling of an existing swimming pool or spa,
spa at a private single-family home, or
when a private single-family home with an existing swimming pool or
spa is sold, the swimming pool or spa shall be equipped
with at least two of the following seven drowning prevention safety
features:
(1) An enclosure that meets the requirements of Section 115923 and
isolates the swimming pool or spa from the private single-family
home.
(2) Removable mesh fencing that meets American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) Specifications F 2286 standards in conjunction
with a gate that is self-closing and self-latching and can
accommodate a key lockable device.
(3) An approved safety pool cover, as defined in subdivision (d)
of Section 115921.
(4) Exit alarms on the private single-family home's doors that
provide direct access to the swimming pool or spa. The exit alarm may
cause either an alarm noise or a verbal warning, such as a repeating
notification that "the door to the pool is open."
(5) A self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism
placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor on the private
single-family home's doors providing direct access to the swimming
pool or spa.
(6) An alarm that, when placed in a swimming pool or spa, will
sound upon detection of accidental or unauthorized entrance into the
water. The alarm shall meet and be independently certified to the
ASTM Standard F 2208 "Standards Specification for Pool Alarms," which
includes surface motion, pressure, sonar, laser, and infrared type
alarms. A swimming protection alarm feature designed for individual
use, including an alarm attached to a child that sounds when the
child exceeds a certain distance or becomes submerged in water, is
not a qualifying drowning prevention safety feature.
(7) Other means of protection, if the degree of protection
afforded is equal to or greater than that afforded by any of the
features set forth above and has been independently verified by an
approved testing laboratory as meeting standards for those features
established by the ASTM or the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME).
(b) Before the issuance of a final approval for the completion of
permitted construction or remodeling work, the local building code
official shall inspect the drowning safety prevention features
required by this act and, if no violations are found, shall give
final approval.
(c) (1) Before an individual may sell a private single-family home
with an existing swimming pool or spa, the local building code
official shall inspect the drowning prevention features required by
this act and, if no violations are found, shall certify that the
private single-family home is in compliance with this section.
(2) No transfer of title shall be invalidated on the basis of a
failure to comply with this section, and the exclusive remedy for the
failure to comply with this section is an award of actual damages
not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), exclusive of any court
costs and attorney's fees. This subdivision is not intended to affect
any duties, rights, or remedies otherwise available at law.
SEC. 5. Section 115925 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
115925. The requirements of this article shall not apply to any
of the following:
(a) Public swimming pools.
(b) Hot tubs or spas with locking safety covers that comply with
the American Society for Testing Materials-Emergency Performance
Specification (ASTM-ES 13-89).
(c) Any pool within the jurisdiction of any political subdivision
that adopts an ordinance for swimming pool safety that includes
requirements that are at least as stringent as this article.
(d)
(c) An apartment complex, or any residential setting
other than a single-family home.
SEC. 4. SEC. 6. 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.