Amended in Senate May 4, 2015

Senate Bill No. 328

Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 23, 2015

An act to add Section 1940.8.5 to the Civil Code, relating to rental property.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 328, as amended, Hueso. Landlords: notice of pesticide use.

Existing law regulates the hiring of dwelling units, as defined. Existing law requires a landlord of a residential dwelling unit to provide a new tenant with certain disclosures, including, but not limited to, specified notice from a registered structural pest control company regarding the use of pesticides at the dwelling unit if a contract for periodic pest control service has been executed.

This bill would require the landlord or the landlord’s authorized agent, as defined, to provide a begin delete current tenant end delete begin insert tenant, and any tenant of adjacent units, end insert with specified notice of the use of pesticides at the dwelling unit if the landlord or authorized agent applies any pesticide without a licensed begin insert structural end insert pest control operator.

begin insert

The bill would require the posing of a similar notice at least 24 hours prior to application of any pesticide to a common area without a licensed structural pest control operator, unless the pest poses an immediate threat to health and safety, in which case the notice would be required to be posted as soon as practicable, but not later than one hour after the pesticide is applied.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

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(a) Exposure to pests, such as arthropods and rodents, in one’s
home has clear health impacts. Cockroaches are known to produce
allergens that trigger asthma, especially in children. A National
Institutes of Health study found that cockroach allergens are the
primary contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city homes.
House mice can spread a type of meningitis. Bed bug bites can
cause itching and become infected, while bed bug infestations have
been linked to severe mental stress.

(b) In many cases, pesticides that are used in homes are linked
to serious health concerns. According to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, out of 94 million households
in the United States, 60 million of them use pesticides every year.
The number and concentrations of pesticides found in household
dust exceed those found in food, soil, or air. Pesticides can remain
in carpets and kitchen floors for years, creating long-term exposure
to substances that can cause various health problems, including
acute and persistent injury to the nervous system, injury to
reproductive systems, respiratory problems such as asthma, birth
defects, and cancer.

(c) Children, whose bodies and brains are still developing, are
more susceptible to pesticide poisoning than adults. For children,
exposure to pesticides can have irreversible detrimental effects,
including learning disabilities, cancer, leukemia, and asthma
development. According to 2010 data from the American
Association of Poison Control Centers, over 40,000 children are
involved in common household pesticide-related poisoning or
exposure each year in the United States.

(d) Broadcast applications of liquid pesticides, such as aerosols,
foggers, or sprays, often over-expose occupants to pesticides. Many
residential rental property owners use those broadcast applications
on a regular schedule to suppress pests, resulting in continuous
exposure to tenants. Additionally, broadcast applications of liquid
pesticides have been proven ineffective in managing cockroaches
and other pests. Pests often return after the use of these applications
because the underlying conditions go unaddressed. Evidence also
suggests that in some cases, pesticide applications increase the
allergens produced by cockroaches, exacerbating their negative
health impact.

end delete begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (a) end insert  Existing law requires licensed pest control operators to
provide to tenants begin delete prior to a pesticide application, end delete advance written
notification that includes the pest to be targeted, the pesticide to
be used, the frequency of its use, and a health and safety statement.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  Landlords or begin delete property managers commonly end delete begin insert authorized
agents may end insert apply commercial pesticides without using the services
of a licensed begin delete professional. end delete begin delete Currently, there is no notification
requirement for end delete begin insert structural pest control operator, as defined in
Section 8506 of the Business and Professions Code. There is no
requirement for landlords or authorized agents to notify end insert tenants
when pesticides are applied begin delete by a nonprofessional. end delete begin insert to their units or
common areas. end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 1940.8.5 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

1940.8.5.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Authorized agent” means an individual, organization, or
other entity that has entered into an agreement with a landlord to
act on the landlord’s behalf in relation to the management of a
residential rental property.

(2) “Landlord” means an owner of residential rental property.

(3) “Pest” means a living organism that causes damage to
property or economic loss, or transmits or produces diseases.

begin insert

(4) “Pesticide” means any substance, or mixture of substances,
that is intended to be used for controlling, destroying, repelling,
or mitigating any pest or organism.

end insert begin insert

(5) “Licensed structural pest control operator” has the same
meaning as “structural pest control operator” as set forth in
Section 8506 of the Business and Professions Code.

end insert

(b) (1)  begin delete (A) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete If a end delete begin insert A end insert landlord or authorized agent begin insert that end insert applies any
pesticide begin insert to a dwelling unit end insert without a licensed begin insert structural end insert pest
control begin delete operator, the landlord or authorized agent end delete begin insert operator end insert shall
provide, consistent with the requirements of begin delete subparagraph (B), an
affected end delete begin insert paragraph (2), a end insert tenant begin insert of that dwelling unit and a tenant
in each neighboring dwelling unit that could reasonably be
impacted by the pesticide use end insert with written notice that contains, in
nontechnical language and in begin insert a end insert clear and coherent manner, the
following statements and information:

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  The pest begin insert or pests end insert to be controlled.

begin delete

(ii)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  The begin insert name and brand of the end insert pesticide product proposed to
be used.

begin delete

(iii)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  “State law requires that you be given the following
information:

CAUTION - PESTICIDES ARE TOXIC CHEMICALS. The
California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the United
States Environmental Protection Agency begin delete allows end delete begin insert allow end insert the
unlicensed use of certain pesticides based on existing scientific
evidence that there are no appreciable risks if proper use conditions
are followed or that the risks are outweighed by the benefits. The
degree of risk depends upon the degree of exposure, so exposure
should be minimized.

If within 24 hours following application begin delete you experience end delete begin insert of a
pesticide, a person experiences end insert symptoms similar to common
seasonal illness comparable to influenza, begin delete you end delete begin insert the person end insert should
contact begin delete your physician or local poison control center end delete begin insert a physician,
appropriate licensed health care provider, or the California Poison
Control System end insert (telephone number).

For further information, contact any of the following: for Health
Questions - the County Health Department (telephone number)
and for Regulatory Information - the Department of Pesticide
Regulation begin delete (telephone number). end delete begin insert (telephone number).” end insert

begin delete

(iv)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert  The begin insert approximate date, time, and end insert frequency with which the
pesticide will be applied.

begin insert

(E) The following notification:

end insert begin insert

“The approximate date, time, and frequency of this pesticide
application is subject to change if a tenant in the unit the pesticides
will be applied waives the 24-hour waiting period.”

end insert begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  The tenant begin delete must end delete begin insert shall end insert receive the notice at least begin delete 48 end delete begin insert 24 end insert hours
prior to application of the pesticide in at least one of the following
ways:

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  First-class mail.

begin delete

(ii)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  Personal delivery.

begin insert

(3) Upon receipt of written notification, the tenant may sign a
waiver to allow the landlord or authorized agent to apply a
pesticide at an agreed upon time within 24 hours.

end insert begin insert

(c) (1) If a landlord or authorized agent applies any pesticide
to a common area without a licensed structural pest control
operator, the landlord or authorized agent shall post written notice
in a conspicuous place in the common area in which a pesticide
is to be applied that contains, in nontechnical language and in
clear and coherent manner, the following information:

end insert begin insert

(A) The pest or pests to be controlled.

end insert begin insert

(B) The name and brand of the pesticide product proposed to
be used.

end insert begin insert

(C) “State law requires that you be given the following
information:

end insert begin insert

CAUTION - PESTICIDES ARE TOXIC CHEMICALS. The
California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the United
States Environmental Protection Agency allow the unlicensed use
of certain pesticides based on existing scientific evidence that there
are no appreciable risks if proper use conditions are followed or
that the risks are outweighed by the benefits. The degree of risk
depends upon the degree of exposure, so exposure should be
minimized.

end insert begin insert

If within 24 hours following application of a pesticide, a person
experiences symptoms similar to common seasonal illness
comparable to influenza, the person should contact a physician,
appropriate licensed health care provider, or the California Poison
Control System (telephone number).

end insert begin insert

For further information, contact any of the following: for Health
Questions - the County Health Department (telephone number)
and for Regulatory Information - the Department of Pesticide
Regulation (telephone number).”

end insert begin insert

(D) The approximate date, time, and frequency with which the
pesticide will be applied.

end insert begin insert

(2) (A) The notice shall be posted at least 24 hours before a
pesticide application in a common area and shall remain posted
for at least 24 hours after the pesticide is applied.

end insert begin insert

(B) Landlords and their authorized agents are not liable for
any notice removed from a common area without the knowledge
or consent of the landlord or authorized agent.

end insert begin insert

(C) If the pest poses an immediate threat to health and safety,
thereby making compliance with the 24-hour prior notice
requirements of subparagraph (A) unreasonable, a landlord or
authorized agent shall post the notification as soon as practicable,
but not later than one hour after the pesticide is applied.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Nothing in this section abrogates the responsibility of a
registered structural pest control company to abide by the
notification requirements of Section 8538 of the Business and
Professions Code.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  Nothing in this section authorizes a landlord or authorized
agent to enter a tenant’s dwelling unit in violation of Section 1954.