BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 287
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Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 287
(Hueso) - As Amended July 16, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires specified new buildings to have an automated
external defibrillator (AED) on the premises. Specifically this
bill:
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1)Requires the following buildings, except local government
buildings and licensed health care facilities, constructed on
or after January 1, 2017, to have an AED in compliance with
existing statutory requirements for such devices:
a) Assembly buildings, as defined by the California
Building Standards Code (BSC), with occupancies of greater
than 300.
b) Business buildings, educational buildings, factory
buildings, institutional buildings, and mercantile
buildings, as each of these building types are also defined
in the BSC, with occupancies of 200 or more.
c) Residential buildings, as defined, with occupancy of 200
or more, excluding single-family and multi-family dwelling
units.
2)Stipulates that an entity acquiring an AED pursuant to (1)
shall not be liable for civil damages related to use of the
AED.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Likely minor annual state costs, related to the purchase,
installation, and maintenance of AEDs and training on their use.
These costs would be from the General Fund and various special
funds and would depend on the number of applicable state
buildings constructed each year. At the state level, the bill
would mainly impact the Department of General Services (DGS),
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the University
of California, and the California State University. According to
DGS, the cost of an AED unit is about $2,000. In addition, DGS
provides training on AED operations through a contract costing
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$5,000 annually. Pending legislation would reduce training
requirements, however. (See Related Legislation.)
DGS notes that best practice is to have one AED on each floor,
or if a building is single-story, to have an AED within
one-minute walk of where any emergency could occur within the
building. While meeting these practices would increase costs,
this bill does not contain such requirements.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. An AED is a medical device that is used to
administer an electric shock to a person who has suffered
cardiac arrest. Built-in computers in an AED assess the
patient's heart rhythm, determine whether the person is in
cardiac arrest, and signal whether to administer the shock.
Audible cues guide the user through the process of using the
AED.
Legislation enacted in 1999 encouraged the installation and
use of AEDs in commercial buildings by providing qualified
immunity to commercial property owners who installed AEDs in
their buildings. That legislation (SB 911, Figueroa) put in
place a number of requirements for property owners who
installed AEDs and Good Samaritans who use them in order to
obtain qualified immunity for civil liability associated with
the installation or use of the AED.
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2)Purpose. This bill seeks to impose similar requirements on
newly constructed private and public buildings with occupancy
of 200 or more. Although state law provides extensive
regulation of the installation of AEDs in business properties,
the state Supreme Court has held that it was appropriate under
these circumstances to leave to the Legislature the policy
decision whether a business should be required to acquire and
make available an AED for the protection of its patrons. By
requiring the installation of AEDs on newly constructed
buildings with an occupancy of 200 or more, and providing
qualified immunity for the person who acquires an AED for
installation on the premises, this bill seeks to increase the
supply and availability of AEDs.
3)Related Legislation. SB 658 (Hill), pending in the Assembly,
expands the immunity provisions in existing law for use of an
AED and reflects current AED technology by removing, as a
condition of immunity, the requirement that a person or entity
acquiring AEDs comply with specified maintenance, training,
and notice requirements. SB 658 requires that a person or
entity acquiring an AED need only meet certain minimal
maintenance and notice requirements, and repeals training
requirements from existing law.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 287
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