BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1783|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1783
Author: Dodd (D), et al.
Amended: 8/16/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/22/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,
Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: School facilities: nonstructural earthquake
hazards: inspection
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, subject to an appropriation, requires a
local educational agency (LEA) located in an area of higher
seismicity to complete an inspection of the contents in each
school building to assess whether furniture and equipment meet
specified safety guidelines in the event of an earthquake.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of
AB 1783
Page 2
1998 for the purpose of providing state funds for the
construction or modernization of K-12 school facilities
pursuant to the School Facilities Program (SFP). The SFP
provides funding for the design, construction, testing,
inspection, and furniture and equipment costs related to the
actual construction of the school facility, and requires the
State Allocation Board (SAB) to utilize a per-pupil
allocation formula to provide the funds for these costs.
Additionally, the SFP provides funding for site acquisition,
site development, and certain other construction related
costs. (Education Code § 17070.10, et seq.)
2) Establishes the Field Act, which provides reasonable minimum
standards for the design and construction of new school
buildings, as specified. (Education Code § 17365-17374)
3) Requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES), in
cooperation with the California Department of Education, the
Department of General Services, and the Seismic Safety
Commission to develop an educational pamphlet for use by
grades K-14 personnel to identify and mitigate the risks
posed by nonstructural earthquake hazards. The OES is
required to print and distribute the pamphlet to the school
and community college districts and also make it available to
private schools upon request. (Government Code § 8587.7)
This bill:
1) Makes various legislative findings and declarations
regarding damages from major California earthquakes and 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.
2) Requires, by January 1, 2020, each LEA located in an area of
higher seismicity to complete an inspection of the contents
in each of its school buildings of areas that are accessible
to or occupied by pupils, including classrooms, hallways,
libraries, gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms, cafeterias,
computer rooms, administrative offices, and other similar
spaces.
3) Provides that within 60 days of completing the inspection, a
checklist of compliant and noncompliant contents shall be
AB 1783
Page 3
reported to the governing board of the school district,
county board of education, or the governing board of the
charter school. The report shall include a prioritization of
noncompliant items that present an immediate and serious
threat to the safety of pupils and school personnel and a set
of recommended corrective actions to bring high-priority
noncompliant contents into compliance with the published
guidelines.
4) Requires the governing board of the school district, county
board of education, or the governing body of the charter
school to review the report in a public meeting, as
specified, and post the report on its Internet Web site.
5) Requires the superintendent of a school district, the county
superintendent of schools, or the chief administrator of a
charter school to annually certify in writing which
corrective actions have been taken and requires the
certifications to be posted on each governing body's Internet
Web site.
6) Specifies that if an LEA completes an assessment before
January 1, 2017, it may report the assessment and any
corresponding corrective actions it takes to its respective
governing bodies to meet the reporting requirement.
7) Defines "higher seismicity" as an area with the result of
.30g or greater on the California Geological Survey's Ground
Motion Interpolator found on the Department of Conservation
Internet Web site.
8) Requires the Department of Conservation, on or before
February 1, 2017, to post instruction or a hyperlink on its
Internet Web site on how to determine whether an LEA is
located in an area of higher seismicity.
9) 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 and storage racks.
AB 1783
Page 4
10)Provides that the bill's provisions shall only be
implemented if funding is provided for these purposes in the
annual Budget Act or another statute.
Comments
Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "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 exists, 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. In
addition to the school contents related life safety hazards
during the South Napa earthquake, there were significant
financial impacts. Replacing and repairing contents damaged by
the earthquake was estimated at $9 million for schools in Napa
Unified. The observed damage was essentially all
non-structural, affecting the building cladding, interior
partitions and ceilings, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
equipment and contents."
School Facility Program and Field Act. LEAs may apply for and
receive state bond funds for school facility new construction
and/or modernization projects through the SFP. As part of the
application process, the SFP requires an LEA to receive approval
from the California Department of Education for the proposed
school site that is selected site to ensure that the school site
specifications are safe and meet the school's education plan.
The LEA must also receive approval from the Division of State
Architect 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 was enacted in 1933 after an earthquake in Long
Beach, and authorized the Division of the State Architect (DSA)
to develop a statewide building code to make all buildings,
especially school buildings, safe from earthquakes. Because of
this, public schools are commonly considered to be the safest
public buildings in the state.
AB 1783
Page 5
Field Act does not apply to building contents. While the Field
Act addresses the structural integrity of buildings, there are
no requirements that apply to their contents. Following the
1994 Northridge earthquake, SB 1122 (Alarcon, Chapter 294,
Statutes of 1999) was enacted to require the OES to develop an
educational pamphlet. As a result, 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." This guide covers several
components within a building, including the ceilings, walls, and
furniture, and specifies various guidelines and recommendations
for ensuring earthquake safety related to these components.
However, it is unclear how many school districts have actually
used the recommendations to secure the contents within their
school buildings.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there would be
unknown state cost pressure to provide funding for this bill,
but likely at least in the millions. Assuming about 30 counties
are subject to the requirements of this bill, representing about
4.5 million students, the inspection requirement for an
estimated 150,000 classrooms could cost almost $2 million. If
an estimated 600 school districts within the 30 counties
possibly located in higher seismicity areas spent $2,000 on
retrofitting buildings, statewide costs would be about $1.2
million. Charter schools would also incur significant costs for
these activities. Actual costs would depend upon a number of
unknown factors. (Proposition 98)
There would also be minor costs to the Department of
Conservation to provide guidance on how to determine whether an
LEA has school buildings located in an area of higher
seismicity, and potential significant cost avoidance at the
local level to the extent the preventative measures required by
this bill mitigates damage and injuries in the event of an
earthquake.
AB 1783
Page 6
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
American Red Cross
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Structural Engineers Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines
Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/17/16 16:05:12
**** END ****