BILL NUMBER: SB 582 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 17, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 19, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hall
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Section 835 to the Civil Code, and to amend
Sections 17151 and 17152 of the Food and Agricultural Code,
relating to electrified fences.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 582, as amended, Hall. Electrified fences.
Existing law prohibits an electrified fence to be offered for
sale, sold, installed, or used in the state, or otherwise connected
to a source of electrical current, unless the electrical current is
limited and regulated by an electrical controller that meets or
exceeds specified standards or specifications. Existing law also
provides that the owner of land in fee has the right to the surface
and to everything permanently situated beneath or above it.
This bill would amend the list of institutes and associations
that may set the standards according to which the lawfulness of an
electrified fence is measured and exclude from the definition of
electrified fence used in that provision an electrified security
fence, as defined. The bill would authorize an owner of real
property to install and operate an electrified security
fence on his or her property if the property is not in a residential
zone, the fence is identified by prominently placed warning signs,
the height of the fence does not exceed 10 feet, the fence is
located behind a perimeter fence that is not less than 6 feet in
height, and the fence meets specified electrotechnical and
local requirements.
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. Section 835 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
835. (a) Subject to subdivision (b), an
(a) As used in this chapter, "electrified security fence" means
any fence, other than an electrified fence described in Section 17151
of the Food and Agricultural Code, that meets the following
requirements:
(1) The fence is powered by an electrical energizer with both of
the following output characteristics:
(A) The impulse repetition rate does not exceed 1 hertz (hz).
(B) The impulse duration does not exceed 10 milliseconds, or
10/10000 of a second.
(2) The fence is used to protect and secure commercial or
industrial property.
(b) An owner of real property may
install and operate an electrified security fence on his
or her property consistent with subject to
all of the following:
(1) The property is not located in a residential zone.
(2) The fence meets the requirements specified by
2006 international standards and specifications of
the International Electrotechnical Commission for electric
fence energizers in "International Standard IEC 60335-2-76."
60335, Part 2-76. "
(3) The fence is identified by prominently placed warning signs
that are legible from both sides of the fence. At a minimum, the
warning signs shall meet all of the following criteria:
be
(A) The warning signs are placed
at each gate and access point, and at intervals along the
fence not exceeding 10 meters, and adjacent
30 feet. to
(B) The warning signs are adjacent to
any other signs relating to chemical, radiological, or
biological hazards.
(C) The warning signs are marked with a written warning or a
commonly recognized symbol for shock, a written warning or a commonly
recognized symbol to warn people with pacemakers, and a written
warning or commonly recognized symbol about the danger of touching
the fence in wet conditions.
(4) The height of the fence does not exceed 10 feet and is located
behind a perimeter fence that is not less than 6 feet in height.
(b)
(c) An owner of real property shall not install and
operate an electric electrified security
fence where a local ordinance prohibits that installation and
operation. If a local ordinance allows the installation and operation
of an electric electrified security
fence, the installation and operation of the fence shall meet the
requirements of that ordinance and the requirements of
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a).
subdivision (b).
SEC. 2. Section 17151 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
17151. (a) As used in this chapter,
"electrified fence" means any fence and appurtenant devices,
including, but not limited to, fences and devices used in animal
control, and including, but not limited to, a fence consisting of a
single strand of wire supported by posts or other fixtures, which has
an electrical charge or is connected to a source of electrical
current and which is so designed or placed that a person or animal
coming into contact with the conductive element of the fence receives
an electrical shock.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, "electrified fence" does not
include an electrified security fence as described in Section 835 of
the Civil Code.
SEC. 3. Section 17152 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
17152. No electrified fences shall be offered for sale, sold,
installed, or used in this state, or otherwise connected to a source
of electrical current, unless the electrical current is limited and
regulated by an electrical controller which meets or exceeds the
standards or specifications of the National Electrical Code of the
National Fire Protection Association, the New Zealand
Standards Institute, the Standards Association of Australia,
international standards of the International
Electrotechnical Commission, or the Underwriters Laboratories
for intermittent type electric fence or electrified fence
controllers.