BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 328|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 328
Author: Hueso (D)
Amended: 8/17/15
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/12/15
AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Moorlach, Anderson
SENATE FLOOR: 23-15, 6/2/15
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu,
McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski,
Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Glazer, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nielsen, Runner,
Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mendoza, Nguyen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/20/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Landlords: notice of pesticide use
SOURCE: California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
Regional Asthma Management and Protection
DIGEST: This bill requires a landlord or a landlords agent to
provide affected tenants with advance written notice of the use
of pesticides at a dwelling unit if the landlord or authorized
agent applies any pesticide without a licensed pest control
operator. This bill requires the posting of a similar notice at
least 24 hours prior to applying a pesticide in a common area
without a licensed pest control operator, unless the pest poses
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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.
Assembly Amendments exclude antimicrobial pesticides from the
scope of the bill, require advance notification to tenants of
routine pesticide application pursuant to a schedule in common
areas prior to initial application, and make other technical and
clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Regulates the terms and conditions of residential
tenancies and generally requires a landlord to keep a rental
unit in a condition fit for occupancy. (Civ. Code Sec. 1940
et seq.)
2) Creates an implied covenant of quiet enjoyment in every
lease, requiring that the tenant shall not be disturbed in
his or her possession by the landlord. (Civ. Code Sec. 1927;
Pierce v. Nash (1954) 126 Cal.App.2d 606, 612.)
3) Provides that any building or portion thereof including
any dwelling unit, guestroom or suite of rooms, in which
there exists an infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents
to an extent that endangers the life, limb, health,
property, safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants
thereof shall be deemed a substandard building. (Health &
Saf. Code Sec. 17920.3.)
4) States that a registered structural pest control company
shall provide the owner, or owner's agent, and tenant of the
premises for which work is to be done with clear written
notice. (Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 8538.)
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5) Specifies that the notice described above shall contain
the following statements and information using words with
common and everyday meaning:
the pest to be controlled;
the pesticide or pesticides proposed to be used, and
the active ingredient or ingredients;
a statement which, among other things, provides
"CAUTION-PESTICIDES ARE TOXIC CHEMICALS." The statement
must also include notice regarding possible symptoms of
illness, and various persons to contact for further
information; and
if a contract for periodic pest control has been
executed, the frequency with which the treatment is to be
done. (Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 8538.)
1) States that the notice described above shall be provided
at least 48 hours prior to application of pesticides, except
as provided. (Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 8538.)
2) Requires a landlord of a residential dwelling unit to
provide each new tenant that occupies the unit with a copy
of the notice provided by a registered structural pest
control company if a contract for periodic pest control
service has been executed. (Civ. Code Sec. 1940.8.)
3) Requires, by regulation, registered structural pest
control operators to leave in a conspicuous location a
written notice identifying the common, generic or chemical
name of each pesticide applied within or around a structure,
and states that such notice may be provided by a door
hanger, invoice, billing statement or other similar written
document which contains the registered company's name,
address, and telephone number. Existing regulations specify
that in the case of a multiple family structure, such notice
may be given to the designated agent or the owner, and that
for external pest control servicing to a multiple family
dwelling consisting of more than 4 units, notices shall be
posted in heavily frequented, highly visible areas
including, but not limited to, all mailboxes, the manager's
apartment, in all laundry rooms, and community rooms. (16
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Cal. Code Reg. Sec. 1970.4.)
This bill:
1) Requires a landlord or authorized agent that applies any
pesticide to a dwelling unit without a licensed pest control
operator to provide a tenant of that dwelling unit and, if
making broadcast applications, or using total release
foggers or aerosol sprays, any tenant in an adjacent
dwelling unit that could reasonably be impacted by the
pesticide use with written notice that contains the
following statements and information using words with common
and everyday meaning:
the pest or pests to be controlled;
the name and brand of the pesticide product proposed
to be used;
the approximate date, time, and frequency with which
the pesticide will be applied; and
a specified statement regarding the toxicity of
pesticides.
1) Requires, at least 24 hours prior to application of the
pesticide to the dwelling unit, that the landlord or
authorized agent provide notice to the tenant of the
dwelling unit, as well as any tenants in adjacent units that
are required to be notified, in at least one of the
following ways:
first-class mail;
personal delivery to the tenant, someone of suitable
age and discretion at the premises, or under the usual
entry door of the premises;
electronic delivery, if an electronic mailing
address has been provided by the tenant; or
posting a written notice in a conspicuous place at
the unit entry in a manner in which a reasonable person
would discover the notice.
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1) Authorizes the landlord or authorized agent, with the
consent of the tenant, to apply a pesticide less than 24
hours after giving notice of intent to apply pesticides.
2) Requires a landlord or authorized agent that applies any
pesticide to a common area without a licensed pest control
operator, except as provided, to post written notice in a
conspicuous place in the common area in which a pesticide is
to be applied, or to provide written notice to all tenants,
that contains the following statements and information using
words with common and everyday meaning:
the pest or pests to be controlled;
the name and brand of the pesticide product proposed
to be used;
the approximate date, time, and frequency with which
the pesticide will be applied; and
a specified statement regarding the toxicity of
pesticides.
1) Specifies that the above notice shall be posted before a
pesticide application in a common area and shall remain
posted for at least 24 hours after the pesticide is applied.
2) States that if the pest poses an immediate threat to
health and safety, thereby making compliance with
notification prior to the pesticide application
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.
3) Specifies that 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.
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4) Specifies that a landlord or authorized agent that
routinely applies pesticide in a common area on a set
schedule without a licensed pest control operator shall
provide a tenant in each dwelling unit with written notice
that contains the following statements and information using
words with common and everyday meaning:
the pest or pests to be controlled;
the name and brand of the pesticide product proposed
to be used;
the schedule pursuant to which the pesticide will be
routinely applied; and
a specified statement regarding the toxicity of
pesticides.
1) Defines the following terms:
"Adjacent dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit that
is directly beside, above, or below a particular dwelling
unit.
"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.
"Broadcast application" means spreading pesticide
over an area greater than two square feet.
"Electronic delivery" means delivery of a document
by electronic means to the electronic address at or
through which a tenant, landlord, or authorized agent has
authorized electronic delivery.
"Landlord" means an owner of residential rental
property.
"Pest" means a living organism that causes damage to
property or economic loss, or transmits or produces
diseases.
"Pesticide" means any substance, or mixture of
substances, that is intended to be used for controlling,
destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest or
organism, excluding antimicrobial pesticides as defined
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by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136(mm)).
"Licensed pest control operator" means anyone
licensed by the state to apply pesticides.
1) Makes related findings and declarations.
Background
According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers,
Americans placed over 3 million calls to poison control centers
in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available.
(American Association of Poison Control Centers, 2013 Annual
Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers'
National Poison Data System
Page 8
U.S. EPA states:
one of the greatest causes of pesticide exposure to humans is
the use of pesticides in and around the home. Anyone can buy
a wide variety of "off the shelf " pesticide products to
control weeds, unwanted insects, and other pests. No special
training is required to use these pesticides. Yet, many of
the products can be hazardous to people, especially when
stored, handled, applied, or disposed of improperly. The
results achieved by using chemical pesticides are generally
temporary, and repeated treatments may be required. Over
time, some pests become pesticide resistant, meaning they
adapt to the chemical and are no longer harmed by it. This
forces you to choose another product or method. If used
incorrectly, home-use pesticide products can be poisonous to
humans. (U.S. EPA, Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and
Pesticide Safety (Mar. 2005)
Page 9
to pesticides. As a result, tenants have no way to protect
their families from these harmful toxins.
SB 328 would require landlords that apply pesticide products
to their properties to provide tenants with prior notification
of the pest being treated, the product being used, and basic
health and safety information, including symptoms to look for
and phone numbers to local poison control centers. Landlords
already must get consent from tenants to enter their units.
Adding this notification to the existing landlord-tenant
communication process when pesticides are being applied will
standardize the information shared and ensures tenants are
fully aware of the pesticide products used in their homes.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1167 (Hueso, Chapter 81, Statutes of 2014) expanded the duty
of individuals who possess property infested with rodents to
immediately exterminate and destroy the rodents, to also require
those individual to abate specified conditions causing the
infestation. This bill also authorized specified agencies and
governing bodies to abate the conditions causing the rodent
infestation, and directed that an agency's abatement order
include abatement of specified conditions that the agency
determines to have caused the infestation.
SB 1411 (Jackson, 2014) would have authorized county
agricultural commissioners to adopt regulations to prohibit the
use of any pesticide within one-quarter mile of a school, and
would have required schools and other specified sites within
one-quarter mile of planned pesticide application be notified in
writing in advance. This bill would have required the placement
of signs in agricultural fields that include the name of the
pesticide, date and time of any restricted entry interval, and
the telephone numbers of the commissioner and pesticide
applicator. This bill died in the Senate Agriculture Committee.
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SB 2143 (Bowen, Chapter 234, Statutes of 2000) required the
landlord of a residential dwelling unit to provide each new
tenant that occupies the unit with a copy of the notice provided
by a registered structural pest control company if a contract
for periodic pest control service has been executed. This bill
specified that the required notice contain information about the
frequency of treatment if a contract for periodic pest control
has been executed.
AB 2260 (Shelley, Chapter 718, Statutes 2000) established the
Healthy Schools Act of 2000. This bill required that the
preferred method of managing pests at schoolsites be "effective
least toxic pest management practices," required each schoolsite
to maintain records of all pesticide use at the schoolsite for a
period of 4 years and make the records available to the public
upon request, and required, on an annual basis, the school
district to provide to all staff and parents or guardians of
pupils enrolled at a school written notification addressing,
among other things, expected pesticide use.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/14/15)
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (co-source)
Regional Asthma Management and Protection (co-source)
Black Women for Wellness
Breast Cancer Action
California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy
Center for Environmental Health
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Clean Air
Environmental Working Group
Healthy Homes Collaborative
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Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California
Oakland Tenants Union
Pacoima Beautiful
Pest Control Operators of California
Pesticide Action Network, North America
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
San Francisco Asthma Task Force
San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility
SoCalCOSH
Society for Allergy Friendly Environment
Unquilinos Unidos/United Tenants
Western Center on Law & Poverty
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/14/15)
None Received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/20/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chu, Patterson
Prepared by:Tobias Halvarson / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/21/15 16:05:06
**** END ****
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