BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2161


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          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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