BILL NUMBER: SB 328 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 4, 2015
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 current tenant
tenant, and any tenant of adjacent units, with specified
notice of the use of pesticides at the dwelling unit if the landlord
or authorized agent applies any pesticide without a licensed
structural pest control operator.
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.
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:
(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.
(e)
(a) Existing law requires licensed pest control
operators to provide to tenants prior to a pesticide
application, 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.
(f)
(b) Landlords or property managers commonly
authorized agents may apply commercial
pesticides without using the services of a licensed
professional. Currently, there is no notification
requirement for 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
tenants when pesticides are applied by a nonprofessional.
to their units or common areas.
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.
(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.
(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.
(b) (1) (A) If a
A landlord or authorized agent that
applies any pesticide to a dwelling unit without a
licensed structural pest control operator, the
landlord or authorized agent operator shall
provide, consistent with the requirements of subparagraph
(B), an affected paragraph (2), a tenant of
that dwelling unit and a tenant in each neighboring dwelling unit
that could reasonably be impacted by the pesticide use with
written notice that contains, in nontechnical language and in a
clear and coherent manner, the following statements and
information:
(i)
(A) The pest or pests to be controlled.
(ii)
(B) The name and brand of the pesticide
product proposed to be used.
(iii)
(C) "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 allows 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.
If within 24 hours following application you experience
of a pesticide, a person experiences symptoms
similar to common seasonal illness comparable to influenza,
you the person should contact your
physician or local poison control center a physician,
appropriate licensed health care provider, or the California Poison
Control System (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
(telephone number). (telephone number)."
(iv)
(D) The approximate date, time, and
frequency with which the pesticide will be applied.
(E) The following notification:
"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."
(B)
(2) The tenant must shall
receive the notice at least 48 24 hours
prior to application of the pesticide in at least one of the
following ways:
(i)
(A) First-class mail.
(ii)
(B) Personal delivery.
(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.
(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:
(A) The pest or pests to be controlled.
(B) The name and brand of the pesticide product proposed to be
used.
(C) "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 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.
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).
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)."
(D) The approximate date, time, and frequency with which the
pesticide will be applied.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(2)
(d) 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.
(c)
(e) Nothing in this section authorizes a landlord or
authorized agent to enter a tenant's dwelling unit in violation of
Section 1954.