BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2161
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 5, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Rudy Salas, Chair
AB 2161
(Quirk) - As Introduced February 17, 2016
NOTE: This bill is double-referred, and if passed by this
Committee, it will be referred to the Assembly Committee on
Insurance.
SUBJECT: Parking lots: design: insurance discount.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the California Building Standards
Commission (CBSC), in collaboration with the Division of the
State Architect (DSA) and the Office of the State Fire Marshal
(OSFM), to update building standards, as it deems necessary, for
the installation of vehicle barriers any new commercial property
parking lot.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the CBSC within the Department of General
Services, and requires any building standard adopted or
proposed by state agencies to be submitted to, and approved
by, the CBSC prior to codification into the California
Building Standards Code (CBC). (Health and Safety Code (HSC)
§§ 18920, 18930)
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2)Requires the CBSC to adopt, approve, codify, and publish
building standards providing the minimum standards for the
design and construction of state buildings, including
buildings constructed by the Trustees of the California State
University and, to the extent permitted by law, to buildings
designed and constructed by the Regents of the University of
California. (HSC § 18934.5)
3)Requires the OSFM to develop building standards to implement
the state's fire and life safety policy, and transfers any
responsibilities of the OSFM to adopt building standards
through a formal rulemaking process to the CBSC. (HSC §
18949.2)
THIS BILL:
1)Requires the CBSC, in collaboration with the DSA and the OSFM,
to consider standards, and update standards as it determines
necessary, for the installation of vehicle barriers to protect
persons located within, or in or on the property of,
buildings, or to protect pedestrians, from collisions into
those buildings by motor vehicles.
2)Defines a "vehicle barrier" as a horizontal or vertical
protective device placed to protect persons located within, or
in or on the property of, buildings, or to protect
pedestrians, from collisions into those buildings by motor
vehicles.
3)Requires the standards considered to include existing
standards adopted or developed by a standard-setting
organization recognized by the commission, including, but not
limited to, the American Society for Testing and Materials
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(ASTM) or another similar organization.
4)Authorizes an insurer to consider the installation of vehicle
barriers approved by the CBSC to protect persons located
within, or in or on the property of, buildings, or to protect
pedestrians, from collisions into those buildings by motor
vehicles, on a commercial property parking lot as a safety
measure and may provide or offer a discount on the property
owner's insurance covering damage or loss to the covered
commercial property, or liability arising out of the
ownership, maintenance, or use of the commercial property
relative to the reduced risk to the property as a result of
installation of the barriers, as specified.
5)Provides that any discounts on insurance provided in
accordance with this section shall be determined to be
actuarially sound and approved by the commissioner prior to
their use.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the author. According to
the author, this bill "will prevent storefront crashes by
encouraging the adoption of protective barrier standards, when
considering building occupant safety options, for buildings and
parking lots. Additionally, it will authorize an insurer to
consider these barriers as a safety measure eligible for
discounted building insurance rates."
Background. The California Building Standards Law establishes
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the CBSC and the process for adopting state building standards.
Under this process, state agencies propose building standards
for building types under their jurisdiction, beginning with a
model code developed by a national code-writing entity which the
agency proposes amendments to reflect California's needs. The
CBSC must then adopt, modify, or reject those standards.
The state agencies involved in the development and proposal of
building standards include the following: 1) the Department of
Housing and Community Development (for hotels, apartments, and
dwellings); 2) the DSA (for public schools, community colleges,
and accessibility in public accommodations and public housing);
3) the OSFM (for fire and life safety for hotels, apartments,
dwellings, and assembly and high-rise buildings); 4) the Office
of Statewide Health Planning and Development (for hospitals and
clinics); 5) the Department of Consumer Affairs, and various
boards therein (for certain places of business); and 6) the
California Department of Public Health (for camps, public
swimming pools). In addition, other state agencies, including
the California Energy Commission, the State Lands Commission,
and the Department of Water Resources, develop and adopt their
own building standards, which are approved by the CBSC.
However, not all buildings fall under the general jurisdiction
of a relevant state agency. For example, many commercial
occupancies may fall under the jurisdiction of the OSFM for fire
and panic safety standards, and under the DSA for accessibility
standards, but are not part of any state agency's general
jurisdiction.
The CBSC is responsible for developing building standards for
state owned buildings, including University and State College
buildings, and for developing green building standards for most
buildings except for housing, public schools, and hospitals.
The CBSC publishes the CBC in Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations (CCR) every three years, and its supplements, such
as the California Green Building Standards Code, in intervening
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years. The building codes apply to all building occupancies,
and related features and equipment throughout the state, and set
requirements for structural, mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing systems, and require measures for energy conservation,
green design, construction and maintenance, fire and life
safety, and accessibility.
Vehicle-Into-Building Crashes. According to the Texas A&M
Transportation Institute (TTI), "With 500 people reportedly
killed each year by vehicles crashing into retail stores,
sidewalk cafes, hair salons and other businesses, low speed
barrier crashes have been called 'one of the largest unaddressed
safety issues in the country.'" According to the TTI, these
accidents occur most frequently when a driver is entering or
leaving a parking space perpendicular to a building, and even at
relatively low speeds, can cause serious injury or death.
However, the TTI notes that simple, preventative measures can
protect pedestrians, store employees, and patrons from being
injured or killed when these accidents occur. In recognition of
the safety risks posed by errant vehicles and the increasingly
important use of protective barriers as a way to prevent or
minimize the damages from these types of accidents, the ASTM, an
international standards development organization, in conjunction
with the researchers at the TTI, recently approved a test
standard, known as the Test Method for Low Speed Barriers for
Errant Vehicles, to set parameters for bollards, barriers, and
other devices most often seen protecting storefronts and
high-traffic pedestrian areas to help standardize the use of
protective barriers. Prior to the adoption of this standard,
there was no objective way to evaluate the effectiveness of
vertical pipes, decorative planters, and other devices that
could serve to protect a business from damages caused by a
vehicle-into-building collision.
According to the Storefront Safety Council, more than 60
vehicle-into-building crashes occur each day, resulting in over
3,650 injuries per year. Most often, these storefront crashes
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involve pedal or other driver error, with elderly drivers
accounting for nearly half of all storefront crashes.
According to the author, while building codes already exist that
have design standards to protect gas meters, fire hydrants, and
chemical tanks, few localities have established appropriate
standards for protection of building occupants. While many
major retailers in the United States already use impact
protection devices, other commercial property owners have been
slower to recognize the problem or have been awaiting government
guidelines on which preventative measures to adopt.
Prior Legislation. AB 764 (Quirk) of 2015 would have authorized
the CBSC to adopt building standards to require that the
installation of bollards be added to the list of considerations
in the design of any new commercial property parking lot. NOTE:
This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown because "it would be more
prudent to leave the matter of vehicle barrier installation to
the building owners and local authorities."
AB 1092 (Levine), Chapter 410, Statutes of 2013, required the
Department of Housing and Community Development to propose
mandatory building standards for the installation of future
electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in
multifamily dwellings, and required the CBSC to adopt those
standards in addition to standards for nonresidential
development.
AB 2644 (Butler) of 2011 would have required the CBSC to adopt
building standards for the construction, installation, and
alteration of electric vehicle charging stations for parking
spaces in single-family residential real property, in accordance
with prescribed requirements. NOTE: This bill was held in the
Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
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IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES:
According to the author, the goal of this bill is to incentivize
private and government owners of buildings that are open to the
public to install vehicle protection devices. The bill seeks to
do so in two ways: 1) allowing insurance carriers to provide
discounts for the installation of vehicle barriers and 2)
creating a state-wide vehicle barrier safety standard for
insurance carriers to rely on. However, per the Governor's veto
message for AB 764 (Quirk) of 2015, the last iteration of this
bill, the administration seems hesitant to develop any new
state-wide standards.
Therefore, the author may wish to amend the bill to incorporate
existing standards. For instance, the OSFM has adopted
standards for vehicle impact protection devices in the
California Fire Code (CFC), which is published in the CBC.
Section 312 of the CFC contains specifications for guard posts
and other physical barriers designed to stop vehicles.
AMENDMENT(S):
As noted above, the author may wish to amend the bill to
reference existing standards, rather than require the creation
of new standards:
1)Page 2, strike lines 1-17, inclusive.
2)Page 2, line 25, strike "approved by the California Building
Standards" and strike lines 26-28, inclusive.
3)Page 2, line 29, strike "parking lot".
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4)Page 3, line 4, strike "includes" and strike lines 5-7, and
insert:
is a safety device that meets, at a minimum, vehicle impact
protection standards adopted by the State Fire Marshal and
published in the California Building Standards Code and
installed to protect persons located within, or in or on the
property of, buildings, or to protect pedestrians, from
collisions into those buildings by motor vehicles.
REGISTERED SUPPORT:
California Restaurant Association
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurants
Parking Design Group
Storefront Safety Council
1 individual
REGISTERED OPPOSITION:
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301
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