Amended in Senate April 14, 2015

Senate Bill No. 476

Introduced by Senator Mendoza

February 26, 2015

An act to amend Section 18897 of, to add Section 18897.8 to, and to repeal and add Section 18897.1 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 476, as amended, Mendoza. Organized camps.

Existing law requires the State Public Health Officer to establish rules and regulations establishing minimum standards for organized camps, and regulating the operation of organized camps that he or she determines are necessary to protect the health and safety of the campers. Existing law establishes minimum standards for the operation, regulation, and enforcement of organized camps, as defined.

This bill would recast those provisions and instead define an “organized camp” to include an “organized resident camp” and an “organized day camp,” as specified begin insert , that provides activities that promote environmental awareness and education. This bill would exclude from “organized camps” physical education, sports training, and theatre program end insert . The bill would require begin delete those end delete begin insert the included end insert camps to develop a written operating plan and provide the local public health officer with the plan, or written verification that the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association, at least 30 days prior to commencing operation of the camp. The bill would also require those camps to comply with applicable safety and supervision requirements relating to camp directors and counselors, install a carbon monoxide detector in specified buildings, and store firearms and bows and arrows in a locked storage cabinet when not in use, as specified.

The bill would authorize the local public health officer to inspect the camp and charge a fee for that purpose. The bill would also require the State Department of Public Health, in adopting or amending the rules and regulations pertaining to organized camps, to make reasonable efforts to obtain the input and advice of prescribed organizations.

Because this bill would impose additional duties upon local public health officers in cities and counties, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 18897 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

18897.  

(a) “Organized camp” means an organized resident
camp or an organized day camp that operates seasonally to provide
group-based recreation and expanded learning opportunities with
social, spiritual, educational, or recreational begin delete services end delete begin insert activities that
promote environmental awareness and education end insert on a seasonal
basis.

(1) A group that leases an organized camp for the purpose of
conducting a camp for children under 18 years of age shall comply
with this part.

(2)  An “organized camp” does not include any of the following:

(A) A hotel, motel, tourist camp, trailer park, resort, hunting
camp, auto court, labor camp, penal or correctional camp, drug
and alcohol resident rehabilitation program or other program or
facility subject to occupancy taxes, home-finding agencies, or a
licensed child day care facility as defined in Section 1596.750.

(B) A charitable or recreational organization that complies with
the rules and regulations for recreational trailer parks.

(C) Sites or programs that are used by adults or groups for
counseling, religious retreats, reunions, conferences, and special
events on an intermittent, short-term basis of less than four
consecutive overnight stays.

(D)  begin delete Day camp programs end delete begin insert Programs end insert offered by museums, zoos,
cities, counties, begin delete or end delete special begin delete districts. end delete begin insert districts, sports training
organizations, gymnastics studios, theatre groups, or other physical
education-based organizations. end insert

(b) “Organized resident camp” means a site or sites with
programs and facilities established for the primary purposes of
providing group living experiences and that provides overnight
stays during one or more seasons of the year, excluding field trips
as provided for under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c).

(c) (1) “Organized day camp” means a program that is
established for the primary purpose of providing group experiences
for children under 18 years of age during the day.

(2) An organized day camp may do all of the following:

(A) Transport campers to parks, beaches, campsites, and other
locations for activities.

(B) Provide for offsite field trips for no more than three
consecutive days. Any organized day camp that provides offsite
field trips for more than two consecutive nights shall be considered
an organized resident camp.

(3) An organized day camp shall have adequate staff to carry
out the program, including, but not limited to, a qualified program
director who has at least two seasons of administrative or
supervisory experience at an organized day camp or a youth
program. The program director shall be present at all times during
the operation of the organized day camp.

(d) “Camper” means any person in an organized camp on a fee
or nonfee basis who is a participant in the regular program and
training of an organized camp.

SEC. 2.  

Section 18897.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.

SEC. 3.  

Section 18897.1 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

18897.1.  

(a) An organized day camp or an organized resident
camp shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop a written operating plan begin insert pursuant to Section 30704
of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations end insert and provide the
plan, or written verification that the camp is accredited by the
American Camp Association (ACA), to the local public health
officer or his or her designee at least 30 days prior to commencing
operation of the camp. Year-round camps shall submit their plans
on an annual basis.

(2) Meet the applicable requirements of Section 30751 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations.

(3) Install a carbon monoxide detector in any building intended
for human occupancy that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage.

(4) Store all firearms, including rifles, pellet guns, and air guns,
and bows and arrows in a locked cabinet designated for this use
when those items are not in use for authorized camp activities. The
director, or a qualified designee begin insert of the director end insert that meets the
requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 30751 of Title 17 of
the California Code of Regulations, of the organized camp shall
maintain possession of the key to this cabinet.

(b) The local public health officer shall acknowledge receipt of
the operating plan or verification of accreditation described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) within 30 days. The local public
health officer may charge a fee for the review of an operating plan
that shall not exceed the actual cost of review. The local public
health officer begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not charge a fee for an acknowledgment
of camp accreditation. Upon receipt of the local public health
officer’s acknowledgment, the organized day camp or organized
resident camp shall post a copy of the acknowledgment in a
conspicuous location on the camp premises.

(c) (1) The local public health officer may inspect the organized
day camp or organized resident camp and begin delete any end delete charge a fee for that
purpose, not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection. The
local public health officer shall provide, within 30 days, a summary
of any violations of health and safety standards established in the
rules and regulations establishing minimum standards for organized
camps.

(2) If the local public health officer does not conduct an
inspection, he or she begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert not impose any charges on the
organized day camp or organized resident camp other than for
reviewing the begin insert written operating end insert plan pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a).

(d) An organized day camp or organized resident camp that has
been cited for failing to meet legal requirements may appeal the
citation to the local health department.

SEC. 4.  

Section 18897.8 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, immediately following Section 18897.7, to read:

18897.8.  

The State Department of Public Health, in adopting
or amending the rules and regulations pertaining to begin delete organized
resident camps and end delete organized day camps begin insert and organized resident
camps end insert under this part, shall make reasonable efforts to obtain the
input and advice of organizations in the field. All costs incurred
by the participating organizations shall be borne by the
organizations themselves. The department shall implement this
section in the most cost-effective manner deemed feasible.

SEC. 5.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.