BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1126 (Rendon) - School facilities: heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning: inspection reports
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|Version: April 20, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: July 6, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires the following information to be
posted on public school websites: (1) the most recent date of a
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system
inspection report, and (2) information on how the report may be
obtained.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown, potentially significant reimbursable mandate costs to
post online the dates of recent reports, as well as develop
and post instructions on how best to obtain the report. See
staff comments.
Background: Existing law defines "good repair" as a facility that is
maintained in a manner that assures that it is clean, safe, and
functional as determined by an inspection and evaluation
AB 1126 (Rendon) Page 1 of
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instrument developed by the Office of Public School
Construction. Existing law requires that these instruments
include specified criteria, including that mechanical systems,
including HVAC systems, are functional and unobstructed and
appear to supply adequate amount of air to all classrooms, work
spaces, and facilities. (Education Code § 17002)
Existing law requires the State Allocation Board (SAB) to
require school districts to make all necessary repairs, renewals
and replacements to ensure that a project funded by state bond
funds is at all times maintained in good repair, working order
and condition and requires a school district to establish a
restricted account within the school district general fund for
the purpose of providing moneys for ongoing and major
maintenance of school buildings. (EC § 17070.75)
Existing law authorizes the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board (Board) to adopt, amend, or repeal occupational
safety and health standards and orders. (Labor Code §142.3)
Under this authority the Board has adopted regulations regarding
the inspection and maintenance of HVAC systems. These
regulations require HVAC inspection at least annually, and
problems found during these inspections must be corrected within
a reasonable time. Inspections and maintenance of the HVAC
system must be documented in writing and the employer is
required to record the name of the individual(s) inspecting
and/or maintaining the system, the date of the inspection and/or
maintenance, and the specific findings and actions taken. The
employer is required to retain these records for at least five
years and to make all records required by this section available
for examination and copying, within 48 hours of a request, as
specified. (California Code of Regulations, Title 8, § 5142)
Proposed Law:
This bill requires the most recent date of a HVAC system
inspection report and information on how the report may be
obtained to be posted on the website of all of the following:
A public school that maintains a website.
AB 1126 (Rendon) Page 2 of
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A school district for a school that does not maintain a
website.
A county office of education for schools in its jurisdiction.
Staff
Comments: This bill imposes a new requirement on public
schools, school districts, and county offices of education to
post on their websites specified information regarding the
latest HVAC system inspection report. The Commission on State
Mandates is likely to determine this requirement to be a higher
level of service as compared to existing law and therefore
reimbursable by the state. Staff time devoted to implement the
following activities is likely to be determined reimbursable by
the Commission:
One-time: Public schools would need to determine and
post online, how the report may be obtained. School
districts would be required to identify any public schools
that do not maintain a website, and if any, work with the
school to determine how the report can be obtained. County
offices of education would need to work with schools in its
jurisdiction to gather dates of inspection reports,
determine how best to obtain them, and post this
information on their websites.
Ongoing: Public schools would need to post the most
recent date of a HVAC inspection report. School districts,
if applicable, and county offices of education would need
to monitor and post updated report dates.
Assuming all public schools maintained a website, school
districts would not incur costs to post information on their
websites. If approximately 10,000 public schools and 58 county
offices of education spent just one hour on one-time and ongoing
activities, costs incurred by the state could be over $600,000.
Existing law allows a county superintendent of schools to submit
a combined claim on behalf of school districts within its
jurisdiction provided it is the fiscal agent for the districts
AB 1126 (Rendon) Page 3 of
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if the claim exceeds the minimum required threshold to submit a
claim of $1,000 in expenses in a given year. Since the
enactment of the Budget Act of 2012, the state has funded a
mandate block grant in which local educational agencies may opt
in at their own discretion. This bill could create pressure to
increase funding to the block grant if its requirements are
determined to be a reimbursable state mandate.
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