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