BILL NUMBER: AB 1783	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dodd
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk)

                        FEBRUARY 4, 2016

   An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) to Part
10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to
school facilities.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1783, as introduced, Dodd. School facilities: nonstructural
earthquake hazards: annual assessment.
   Existing law, the Field Act, generally requires the Department of
General Services to supervise the design and construction of, the
reconstruction or alteration of, or the addition to, a school
building to ensure, among other things, that plans and specifications
comply with adopted rules and regulations and building standards,
including those relating to seismic safety. Existing law requires the
Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with the State
Department of Education, the Department of General Services, and the
Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, to develop an
educational pamphlet for use by school personnel to identify and
mitigate the risks posed by nonstructural earthquake hazards.
   This bill would require each school district, county office of
education, and charter school, on or before January 1, 2018, to
develop a plan for the annual inspection of the contents in each of
its school buildings for purposes to assess whether the contents
comply with the guidelines set forth in the pamphlet, to identify
school building contents that do not comply with the guidelines, and
to develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant content into
compliance. The bill would require, among other things, that the plan
be developed in consultation with specified persons, that it
designate the responsible person or persons who will perform the
assessment and develop the corrective action plans for noncompliant
contents, and that it include a cost estimate for the annual
assessment. The bill would require each school district, county
office of education, and charter school to complete its initial
annual assessment on or before January 1, 2019, and to complete each
subsequent annual assessment on or before January 1 of each year
thereafter. The bill would require, within 60 days of completing an
assessment for each school building, a checklist of compliant and
noncompliant contents to be presented to the governing board of the
school district, the county board of education, or the governing body
of the charter school, as applicable, with a set of recommenced
corrective actions to bring all noncompliant contents into compliance
with the published guidelines and a recommended schedule to
implement the corrective actions, as specified. By imposing
additional duties on local educational agency officials, the 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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Following significant damage to school buildings in the 1933
Long Beach earthquake, the Field Act was enacted to mandate the
earthquake-resistant construction of schools.
   (b) The Division of the State Architect (DSA) reviews the design,
construction, alteration, addition, and rehabilitation of K-12 public
schools and community colleges.
   (c) The DSA also monitors the safety of nonstructural components
installed in school facilities.
   (d) Implementation of the Field Act, as defined pursuant to
Section 17281 of the Education Code, is a complex interrelationship
with dispersed responsibilities between state departments and
agencies, school districts, local government building departments,
educational institutions, and the construction industry.
   (e) The South Napa earthquake struck in the early morning on
August 24, 2014. Structural damage to schools was minimal. However,
nonstructural damage was significant and could have been life
threatening had the earthquake occurred during school hours.
   (f) The earthquake highlighted dangers posed by light fixtures,
unrestrained bookcases, storage units, furniture, and other similar
school contents that are not subject to the Field Act's requirements.

   (g) The DSA has issued guidelines for nonstructural earthquake
hazards in California schools, which include furniture and equipment.
However, there are no requirements in state law similar to the
requirements of the Field Act that require the DSA, local fire
agencies, or school districts to inspect schools to ensure that
school contents comply with the DSA nonstructural component
guidelines.
   (h) School classrooms should be examined on an annual basis to
ensure that furnishings and equipment are properly located, anchored
and braced to prevent harm to pupils and school personnel, and to
ensure egress from any room after an earthquake.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) is added to Part
10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 8.  NONSTRUCTURAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS


   17660.  (a) By no later than January 1, 2018, each school
district, county office of education, and charter school shall
develop a plan for the annual inspection of the contents, as
described in Section 17762, in each of its school buildings.
   (b) The purpose of the plan shall be to assess whether the
contents comply with the guidelines set forth in Chapter 3 (Furniture
and Equipment) of the "Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural
Earthquake Hazards in California Schools," the educational pamphlet
published by the Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with
the State Department of Education, the Department of General
Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission
pursuant to Section 8587.7 of the Government Code, to identify school
building contents that do not comply with the guidelines, and to
develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant content into
compliance.
   (c) The plan shall be developed in consultation with a California
licensed civil or structural engineer or a California licensed
architect, a representative of the local fire service agency of each
school building, a school administrator or school business official,
a classroom teacher, and a representative of classified school
employees.
   (d) The plan shall designate the responsible person or persons in
the school district, county office of education, or charter school,
as applicable, who will perform the assessment and develop the
corrective action plans for noncompliant contents. The plan shall
also identify all school buildings that are to be assessed and the
order of assessment.
   (e) The plan shall include a cost estimate for the annual
assessment.
   (f) The plan shall be presented to the governing board of the
school district, the county board of education, or the governing body
of the charter school, as applicable, at a public meeting held
pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government
Code), or, in the case of a statewide charter school, the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code).
   17661.  (a) Each school district, county office of education, and
charter school shall complete its initial annual assessment pursuant
to the plan developed pursuant to Section 17660 on or before January
1, 2019, and shall complete each subsequent annual assessment on or
before January 1 of each year thereafter.
   (b) The person or persons designated pursuant to subdivision (d)
of Section 17660 shall, at minimum, complete the checklist published
in the "Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in
California Schools," identifying all compliant and noncompliant
contents found pursuit to the checklist.
   (c) (1) Within 60 days of completing an assessment for each school
building, the checklist of compliant and noncompliant contents shall
be presented to the governing board of the school district, the
county board of education, or the governing body of the charter
school, as applicable, with a set of recommended corrective actions
to bring all noncompliant contents into compliance with the published
guidelines and a recommended schedule to implement the corrective
actions.
   (2) The governing board of the school district, the county board
of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, shall review and approve the recommended corrective
actions in a public meeting held pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act
(Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of
Title 5 of the Government Code), or, in the case of a statewide
charter school, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code), and shall post each assessment
and the recommended approved actions on its Internet Web site.
   (d) (1) Upon completion of all of the recommended corrective
actions for noncompliant contents in each school building in the
school district, the county office of education, or charter school,
the superintendent of the school district, the county superintendent
of schools, or the chief administrator of the charter school, as
applicable, shall certify in writing to the governing board of the
school district, the county board of education, or the governing body
of the charter school, as applicable, and the local fire service
agency consulted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17760, the
State Department of Education, and the Division of the State
Architect that all corrective actions have been completed.
   (2) The certifications for each school building shall be posted to
the school district's, county office of education's, or charter
school's Internet Web site, as applicable.
   17662.  For purposes of this chapter, "contents" includes, but is
not limited to, file cabinets, bookcases, desktop and countertop
equipment, equipment on carts, display cases, art objects, potted
plants, aquariums, equipment on wheels or rollers, such as pianos and
chalkboards, office equipment, refrigerators, vending machines, shop
and gym equipment, gas cylinders, gas piping, storage racks,
electrical equipment, mechanical equipment, plumbing equipment, and
kitchen equipment.
  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.