BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: SBX2 6
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|AUTHOR: |Monning |
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|VERSION: |July 16, 2015 |
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|HEARING DATE: |August 19, | | |
| |2015 | | |
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|CONSULTANT: |Alma Perez-Schwab |
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SUBJECT : Smoking in the workplace
SUMMARY : Prohibits smoking in owner-operated businesses and removes
specified exemptions in existing law that allow tobacco smoking
in certain workplaces.
Existing law:
1)Establishes "smoke-free laws," which prohibit the smoking of
tobacco products in various places, including, but not limited
to, school campuses, public buildings, places of employment,
apartment buildings, day care facilities, retail food
facilities, health facilities, and vehicles when minors are
present, and makes a violation of some of the prohibitions
punishable by an infraction.
2)Prohibits employers from knowingly or intentionally permitting
the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a
place of employment.
3)Defines "enclosed space" as including lobbies, lounges,
waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a
structural part of the building and not specifically exempt.
4)Exempts the following from the workplace smoking prohibition:
a) Sixty-five percent of guestrooms in a hotel, motel,
or similar lodging establishment.
b) Hotel or motel lobbies that meet certain size
requirements;
c) Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels or motels,
except as specified;
d) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 2 of ?
smokers' lounges, as defined;
e) Warehouse facilities, as defined;
f) Gaming clubs, bars and taverns;
g) Private residences, except for those licensed as
family day care homes;
h) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care
facilities;
i) Break rooms designated for smoking by an employer;
and
j) Employers with five or fewer employees.
1)Imposes an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100
for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within one
year, and $500 for a third and each subsequent violation
within one year, for any violation of the indoor smoking
prohibition.
2)Requires local law enforcement agencies to enforce these
provisions, including local health departments, unless an
employer has been found guilty of three or more violations
which will require an investigation by the Division of
Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
3)Sets forth a uniform statewide standard for regulating the
smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment
and shall supersede and render unnecessary the local enactment
or enforcement of local ordinances regulating the smoking of
tobacco products in enclosed places of employment.
4)Authorizes employers to prohibit smoking in enclosed places of
employment for any reason.
This bill:
1)Expands on the workplace smoking prohibition by including
owner-operated businesses defined as a business having no
employees, independent contractors, or volunteers, in which
the owner-operator of the business is the only worker.
2)Expands on the definition of "enclosed space" where smoking is
prohibited to include covered parking lots.
3)Modifies the exemption that currently allows smoking in 65% of
the guestroom accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar
transient lodging establishment by reducing that amount to
20%.
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 3 of ?
4)Eliminates several exemptions in law which currently allows
the smoking of tobacco products in certain work environments,
thereby prohibiting the smoking of tobacco products indoors at
the following locations:
a) Hotel or motel lobbies;
b) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel or motel;
c) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private
smokers' lounges;
d) Warehouse facilities;
e) Gaming clubs;
f) Bars and taverns;
g) Employee break rooms; and,
h) Businesses of employers with a total of five or
fewer employees.
1)Deletes obsolete references to regulations that would have
permitted smoking at gaming clubs, bars and taverns had these
been adopted before January 1, 1998 by the Occupational Safety
and Health Standards Board if a safe level of exposure to
secondhand smoke were found that prevents anything other than
insignificant harmful effects to exposed employees. No such
regulations were ever adopted, this language is therefore
obsolete.
FISCAL
EFFECT : This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal
committee.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's statement. According to the author, the evidence is
clear and undeniable that exposure to secondhand smoke in a
workplace puts employees at risk of severe health effects. The US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that
secondhand smoke can cause severe health conditions in adults,
such as coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and serious
respiratory diseases. California was one of the first states to
enact a landmark employee-protection law that addressed exposure
to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke by prohibiting the
smoking of tobacco products in a place of employment. While most
Californians enjoy the benefits of this important workplace
protection, many employees are still subjected to secondhand smoke
exposure through the numerous exemptions written into the original
1994 law. The patrons who visit, and the employees who work in
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 4 of ?
these unsafe work environments, are receiving unequal protection
under the law, so as long as these egregious exemptions remain.
This bill will eliminate the loopholes in California's smoke-free
workplace law, by prohibiting smoking in owner-operated
businesses, and eliminating the exemptions that allow the smoking
of tobacco products in hotel lobbies, tobacco shops, warehouse
facilities, and employee break rooms, and banquet and meeting
rooms in hotels.
2) Health impacts of secondhand smoke. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon
General, secondhand smoke exposure can cause harmful health
effects that include stroke, heart disease, heart attacks,
lung cancer, asthma and chronic respiratory problems, among
others. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies
secondhand smoke as a Class "A" human carcinogen (cancer
causing agent), the same class as asbestos. The California
Air Resources Board has declared secondhand smoke to be a
toxic air contaminant, in the same category as diesel
exhaust. According to the Department of Public Health, (DPH)
nonsmokers who are frequently exposed to high levels of
secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart
disease by 25-30%, and lung cancer by 20-30%. The U.S.
Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free
level of exposure to secondhand smoke, ventilation cannot
eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke, and
establishing smoke-free environments is the only proven way
to prevent exposure. (The Health Consequences of Involuntary
Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General,
2006). According to a 2014 report by the U.S. Surgeon
General, if smoking persists at the current rate among young
adults, 5.6 million of today's Americans younger than 18
years of age are projected to die prematurely from a
smoking-related illness. (The Health Consequences of Smoking
- 50 Years of Progress, 2014). The 2014 report also finds
that the value of lost productivity due to premature deaths
caused by exposure to secondhand smoke is estimated to be
$5.6 billion per year ($150 billion productivity loss for
smoking deaths).
3)History of smoking in the workplace in California. For years
California had been the leader in the effort to fight the
smoking epidemic and was often referred to as "America's
Non-Smoking Section," a reputation that came about when
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 5 of ?
California became the first state in the country to ban
smoking in nearly every workplace; effectively banning smoking
in indoor public spaces. California's workplace smoking
prohibition was enacted by AB 13 (Friedman Chapter 310,
Statutes of 1994), Restaurants were included in the ban, and
bars, taverns, and gaming clubs were phased in by 1998. The
law covers all "enclosed" places of employment; therefore,
patio or outdoor dining facilities may allow smoking.
While California's law is restrictive, a number of exemptions
are allowed which have prevented our state from being
considered a 100% smoke-free state by the CDC, 25 other states
are currently considered 100% indoor workplace smoke-free.
Many local jurisdictions have closed the loop on these
exemptions through the enactment of local ordinances. In
addition, gaming facilities not under the jurisdiction of the
State (tribal casinos) are not required to comply, although
some have done so voluntarily for the health of their
employees and patrons.
Unfortunately, these efforts have not been enough to protect
people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke as
evidenced by the high number of casualties. DPH estimates
that the loopholes in California's smoke free workplace law
currently allow one in seven employees to work in an
employment setting where they could be exposed to secondhand
smoke. The patrons who visit, and the employees who work in
these unsafe environments, are receiving unequal protection
under the law as long as these exemptions are in place.
4) Related Legislation. SBX2 5 (Leno)/AB X2 6 (Cooper) recast
and broaden the definition of "tobacco product" in current law
to include electronic cigarettes as specified; extend current
restrictions and prohibitions against the use of tobacco
products to electronic cigarettes; extend current licensing
requirements for manufacturers, importers, distributors,
wholesalers, and retailers of tobacco products to electronic
cigarettes; and, require electronic cigarette cartridges to be
child-resistant. SB X2 5 will be heard on August 19, 2015 in
this committee and AB X2 6 is pending in the Assembly.
AB X2 7 (Stone) prohibit smoking in owner-operated businesses
and remove specified exemptions in existing law that allow
tobacco smoking in certain workplaces. AB X2 7 is pending in
the Assembly.
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 6 of ?
SBX2 7 (Hernandez)/AB X2 8 (Wood) increase the minimum legal
age to purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21. SB X2 7 will
be heard on August 19, 2015 in this committee and AB X2 8 is
pending in the Assembly.
SBX2 8 (Liu)/ABX2 9 (Thurmond and Nazarian) extend current
tobacco use prevention funding eligibility and requirements to
charter schools; broaden the definition of products containing
tobacco and nicotine, as specified, and prohibit their use in
specified areas of schools and school districts, regardless of
funding; and require specified signs to be prominently
displayed at all entrances to school property. SB X2 8 will be
heard on August 19, 2015 in this committee and AB X2 9 is
pending in the Assembly.
SBX2 9 (McGuire)/ABX2 10 (Bloom) allow counties to impose a
tax on the privilege of distributing cigarettes and tobacco
products. SB X2 9 will be heard on August 19, 2015 in this
committee and AB X2 10 is pending in the Assembly.
SBX2 10 (Beall)/ABX2 11 (Nazarian) revise the Cigarette and
Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to change the retailer
license fee from a $100 one-time fee to a $265 annual fee, and
increase the distributor and wholesaler license fee from
$1,000 to $1,200. SB X2 10 will be heard on August 19, 2015 in
this committee and AB X2 11 is pending in the Assembly.
5)Prior legislation. SB 575 (DeSaulnier, 2011), and AB 1467
(DeSaulnier, 2007), were almost identical to this bill and
would have eliminated most of the exemptions in code which
permit smoking in certain work environments. SB 575 died in
Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, and, AB 1467 was
vetoed by the Governor.
AB 217 (Carter, 2011), would have restricted smoking in
long-term health care facilities by only allowing smoking in a
designated patient smoking area that is outdoors, as
specified. AB 217 was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 2067 (Oropeza, Chapter 736, Statutes of 2006), prohibits
smoking in covered parking lots and adds to the definition of
"enclosed spaces" lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators,
stairwells and restrooms that are a structural part of the
building, thereby prohibiting smoking in those areas.
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 7 of ?
AB 846 (Vargas, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2003), prohibits
smoking inside a public building and within 20 feet of a main
exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building.
6)Support. Proponents argue that tobacco use is the single most
preventable cause of death and disease, nearly 40,000
Californians lost their lives to tobacco related illnesses
last year. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that
secondhand tobacco smoke is a direct cause of heart disease,
the number one killer of both men and women in California.
According to the American Lung Association in California,
smoking costs the state of California $23 billion a year in
both health costs and lost productivity with $3.5 billion
directly linked to Medi-Cal. Proponents argue that every
Californian deserves to work in a healthy environment and
should not have to make a choice between a good job and good
health. Given the human cost and the economic burden of
smoking, proponents believe it is time for California to catch
up to the rest of the nation and become a 100% smoke-free
state.
7)Author's Amendment. The author requests the committee approve
an amendment that would restore the following section from
current law which exempts these locations from the workplace
smoking prohibition:
(e) (4) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private
smokers' lounges.
For purposes of this paragraph:
(A) "Private smokers' lounge" means any enclosed area
in or attached to a
retail or wholesale tobacco shop that is dedicated to the
use of tobacco products, including, but not limited to,
cigars and pipes.
(B) "Retail or wholesale tobacco shop" means any
business establishment
the main purpose of which is the sale of tobacco products,
including, but not
limited to, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smoking accessories.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: American Cancer Society - Cancer Action Network
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
SBX2 6 (Monning) Page 8 of ?
American Lung Association in California
Association of Northern California Oncologists
California Black Health Network
California Dental Association
California Medical Association
California Optometric Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Primary Care Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
First 5 Association of California
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California,
Inc.
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Service Employees International Union
Oppose: None received
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