BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1783
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 1783
(Dodd) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: School facilities: nonstructural earthquake hazards:
annual assessment
SUMMARY: Requires local educational agencies to develop a plan
and to conduct an assessment of the contents in each school
building to assess whether furniture and equipment meet
specified safety guidelines in the event of an earthquake.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, by January 1, 2018, each school district, county
office of education (COE), and charter schools to develop a
plan for the inspection of the contents in all school
buildings.
2)Specifies that the purpose of the plan shall be to assess
whether the contents comply with the guidelines set forth in
Chapter 3 of the "Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural
Earthquake Hazards in California School" (Guide) on furniture
and equipment published by the Office of Emergency Services
(OES), to identify school building contents that do not comply
with the guidelines, and to develop corrective actions.
AB 1783
Page 2
3)Requires the plan to 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.
4)Requires the plan to include the following:
a) Designate the person responsible for performing the
assessment and developing corrective actions.
b) Identify all school buildings that are to be assessed
and the order of assessment.
c) A cost estimate for the assessment.
5)Requires the plan to be submitted to the governing board of
the school district, the COE, or the governing body of the
charter school at a public meeting.
6)Requires each school district, COE, and charter school to
complete the assessment by January 1, 2020. Requires the
person conducting the inspection to, at minimum, complete the
checklist published in the Guide.
7)Requires, within 60 days of completing the assessment, the
checklist of compliant and noncompliant contents to be
reported to the governing bodies of the school district, COE
or charter school. Requires the report to include a
prioritization of noncompliant items that present an immediate
and serious threat to the safety of pupils and school
AB 1783
Page 3
personnel and a set of recommended corrective actions.
8)Requires the governing bodies to review the report in a public
meeting and post the report on their Internet Web site.
9)Specifies that if corrective actions have been taken, the
superintendent of a school district, the county superintendent
of schools, or the chief administrator of a charter school
shall certify in writing to each governing body which
corrective actions have been taken and requires the
certifications to be posted on each governing body's Internet
Web site.
10)Defines "contents" as including, but 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.
11)Makes findings and declarations regarding damages from major
California earthquakes and that the August 24, 2014 South Napa
earthquake caused significant nonstructural damage that could
have been life threatening had the earthquake occurred during
school hours. Further finds and declares that school
classrooms should be examined to ensure that furnishings and
equipment are property located, anchored and braced to prevent
harm to pupils and school personnel, and to ensure egress from
any room after an earthquake.
EXISTING LAW:
AB 1783
Page 4
1)Prohibits the State Allocation Board from apportioning school
bond funds to any school district that has not received
approval from the Division of State Architect (DSA) that the
project meets Field Act requirements.
2)Requires the DSA, under the police power of the state, to
supervise the design and construction of any school building
or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any
school building to ensure that plans and specifications comply
with existing law and Title 24 regulations.
3)Requires the OES to develop and disseminate an educational
pamphlet for identifying and mitigating nonstructural
earthquake hazards in schools and community colleges.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. The Legislative Counsel has keyed this
bill as a state-mandated local program.
COMMENTS: Local educational agencies (LEAs) are eligible for
state school facilities bond funds administered through the
School Facility Program (SFP). The SFP requires a local
educational agency to receive approval from the California
Department of Education, to ensure that the selected site and
school specifications are safe and meet the school's education
plan; and the DSA, to ensure that the architectural design plans
meet fire, life and safety requirements, Field Act requirements,
and access requirements under the Americans with Disability Act.
The Field Act, named after the author of the bill establishing
the Act, Assemblymember C. Don Field, was enacted in 1933 after
an earthquake in Long Beach. The Act authorized the State
Architect to develop a statewide building code to make all
buildings, especially school buildings, safe from earthquakes.
The Act has been strengthened since then and California's public
schools are commonly considered to be the safest public
buildings in the state. When DSA determines that the project
plans comply with all the necessary building codes and the Field
Act, the school district may proceed to construction of the
AB 1783
Page 5
project.
The Field addresses the structure of buildings. There are no
requirements regarding the contents, although there are
guidelines established in regulations under the Division of
Industrial Safety or requirements for insurance purposes.
Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, SB 1122 (Alarcon),
Chapter 294, Statutes of 1999, was enacted to require the OES to
develop an educational pamphlet. According to a Senate
Committee analysis of the bill, the author stated that while the
Northridge earthquake caused minimal structural damage,
nonstructural hazards (e.g., light fixtures, ceilings, storage
cabinets, broken glass, etc.) may be life threatening to
students. The California Emergency Management Agency, in
consultation with the DSA, the Seismic Safety Commission and the
California Department of Education, developed the "Guide and
Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in California
School." The Guide covers three components within a building -
Ceilings and Overhead, Walls and Wall Mounted, and Furniture and
Equipment. It is unclear how many school districts have used
the recommendations in the Guide to secure nonstructural
contents within a school building.
What does this bill do? This bill requires school districts,
COEs and charter schools to develop a plan for assessing whether
furniture and equipment are in compliance with the
recommendations established in the Guide. Examples of
recommendations in the chapter for Furniture and Equipment
include arranging and fastening together file cabinets that are
more than three feet or securing the cabinets to walls to
prevent overturning, and restraining large or heavy office
equipment to prevent sliding or from blocking an exit way.
School districts, COEs and charter schools are required to
complete the plan by January 1, 2018, conduct the assessment of
all schools in their jurisdictions by January 1, 2020, and
submit a report to each of their governing bodies within 60 days
AB 1783
Page 6
after completing the assessment. The bill requires the report
to prioritize the noncompliant items that present an immediate
and serious threat to the safety of pupils and school personnel
along with recommended corrective actions. The bill requires
district superintendents, county superintendents and chief
administrators of charter schools to certify in writing
corrective actions that have been taken.
Committee amendments:
1)The bill requires the plan to be developed in consultation
with specified individuals, including a representative of the
local fire service agency of each school building. It is not
clear why there needs to more than one fire service agency
representative for a districtwide plan. Staff recommends
requiring one representative of a local fire service agency
rather than one representative serving each school building.
2)Staff recommends limiting the requirement to school districts
located in areas of higher seismicity.
3)Staff recommends limiting assessments to areas in a school
that are accessible to or that are occupied by students,
including classrooms, hallways, libraries,
gymnasiums/multipurpose rooms, cafeterias, computer rooms,
administrative offices, and other similar spaces.
4)The bill requires the person conducting the assessment to
complete the checklist published in the Guide. The checklist
includes all components (ceilings and walls) that are not
addressed by this bill. Staff recommends clarifying that the
checklist to be covered are those for Chapter 3 for furniture
and equipment minus electrical equipment, mechanical
equipment, plumbing equipment and kitchen equipment that are
already addressed by the DSA. Staff recommends making
conforming changes to the definition of "contents."
5)The bill requires a district superintendent, a county
superintendent and a charter school administrator to inform
AB 1783
Page 7
their respective governing bodies in writing upon completion
of a corrective action. Staff recommends requiring a report
once a year on all corrective actions taken during the year
rather following every action taken.
Arguments in support. The author states, "The South Napa
Earthquake struck early in the 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. Post-earthquake inspection showed file cabinets had
collapsed on desks, a drill press lying on the floor, and
bookcases blocking exits, among many other hazards. The safety
hazards posed by school contents during the South Napa
earthquake have been found in the aftermath of a number of other
earthquakes elsewhere in the state in previous years."
According to the author, replacing and repairing contents
damaged by the earthquake was estimated at $9 million for
schools in the Napa Unified School District.
Arguments in opposition. The California School Boards
Association (CSBA) has an "oppose unless amended" position, and
states, "A properly developed compliance document would
distinguish between higher risks and minor ones. For example,
is it equally important that LEAs secure potted plants placed on
the floor to the wall with cables and bolts, and that they
secure ceiling- or wall-mounted HVAC units? Treating all risks
as equal and effectively making these recommendations statutory
requirements, would impose a significant burden on LEAs without
consideration of the relative value of each recommendation."
CSBA made a number of suggested amendments, a couple of which
were incorporated in the March 28th amendments.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
AB 1783
Page 8
Support
Structural Engineers Association of California
Opposition
California School Boards Association (unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087