BILL NUMBER: SB 1953 CHAPTERED 09/22/94 BILL TEXT CHAPTER 740 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 1994 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 21, 1994 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 1994 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 1994 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 1994 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 11, 1994 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 7, 1994 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 1994 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 1994 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 1994 INTRODUCED BY Senator Alquist FEBRUARY 25, 1994 An act to amend Section 18938 of, and to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 15097.100) and Article 9 (commencing with Section 15097.125) to Chapter 1 of Division 12.5 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to building standards, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1953, Alquist. Building standards. (1) Existing law, the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes, under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973. This bill would state the Legislature's findings that the Northridge earthquake demonstrated that hospitals built in accordance with this act suffered little damage while several built prior to the act suffered major damage. The bill would require the office to develop definitions of earthquake performance categories for certain types of hospitals, including hospitals that are not in substantial compliance with the act, and would specify the information that these definitional categories would include. It would also require the office to define rapid seismic evaluation procedures, and to develop regulations regarding seismic standards and other procedures. The bill would require the office to submit specified portions of this information to the California Building Standards Commission by June 30, 1996, and December 31, 1996, respectively, and would require the commission to review, revise as necessary, and adopt the information by December 31, 1996, and June 30, 1997, respectively. The bill would provide that the office is responsible for reviewing and approving seismic evaluations, compliance schedules, and construction documents that are developed by owners and field review of work done pursuant to these requirements. The bill would appropriate $318,000 from the Hospital Building Fund to the office for fiscal years 1994-95 through 1997-98 for the purpose of developing regulations to implement certain of the above-described requirements. The bill would authorize the office, in the event of a seismic event or other calamity, to place a tag on a hospital building indicating the opinion of the office about the structural integrity of the hospital building or any other major system of the hospital building. The bill would impose certain requirements that the owners of all general acute care hospitals would be required to meet within a specified time. These requirements would include conducting seismic evaluations in accordance with certain procedures, and preparing a comprehensive plan and compliance schedule within 3 years after certain standards are adopted by the commission and submitting it to the office for review and approval. It would provide that owners of all general acute care hospitals may be granted a one-year allowance from these requirements based on certain factors. The bill would impose additional requirements on the hospital building owners, including information the office and other entities of the hospital building's expected earthquake performance, and including certain information in emergency training and recovery plans. The bill would provide that after January 1, 2008, general acute care hospital buildings that are determined to pose certain risks shall only be used for nonacute care hospital purposes, and would authorize the office to grant a delay to this deadline based on certain factors. It would require, in accordance with the compliance schedule approved by the office, and in any case no later than January 1, 2030, owners of all acute care inpatient hospitals to demolish, replace, or change to nonhospital use, all hospital buildings that are not in substantial compliance, or seismically retrofit them so that they are in compliance with the standards. The bill would require the office to provide written notice to hospital owners of compliance with or violation of these requirements and would require the office to notify the State Department of Health Services of violations or failures to comply. The bill would require the State Department of Health Services to suspend or refuse to renew the license of a hospital that has received a notice of violation. Existing law makes violations of these provisions a crime. By expanding the scope of this crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Under existing law, building standards contained in various uniform industry codes as referenced in the California Building Standards Code apply to all occupancies throughout the state. This bill would make the standards contained in the Uniform Mechanical Code of the International Conference of Building Officials and the International Association of Plumbers and Mechanical Officials, as referenced in the California Building Standard Code, applicable to all occupancies throughout the state. Existing law provides, with certain exceptions, that an adoption, amendment, or repeal of a building standard shall become effective 180 days after its publication in the California Building Standards Code or its approval by the California Building Standards Commission. This bill would instead provide that a repeal of an amendment to the California Building Standards Code that is found by the commission to be more restrictive than the Uniform Building Code shall become effective 30 days after filing of the repeal with the Secretary of State. (3) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Article 8 (commencing with Section 15097.100) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 12.5 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: Article 8. New State Responsibilities for Seismic Safety in Hospitals 15097.100. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (1) The Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 was created because of the loss of life in the collapse of hospitals during the Sylmar earthquake of 1971. (2) We were reminded of the vulnerability of hospitals in the Northridge earthquake of January 17, 1994. (3) Several hospitals built prior to the act suffered major damage and had to be evacuated. (4) Hospitals built to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act standards resisted the Northridge earthquakes with very little structural damage demonstrating the value and necessity of this act. (5) Both pre- and post-act hospitals suffered damage to architecture and to power and water systems that prevented hospitals from being operational, caused the loss of one life, triggered evacuations, unacceptable property losses, and added additional concerns on emergency medical response. (6) An earthquake survivability inventory of California's hospitals completed by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development in December 1989 indicated that over 83 percent of the state's hospital beds were in buildings that did not comply with the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act because they were issued permits prior to the effective date of the act. Furthermore, 26 percent of the beds are in buildings posing significant risks of collapse since they were built before modern earthquake codes. The older hospitals pose significant threats of collapse in major earthquakes and loss of functions in smaller or more distant earthquakes. (7) The 1989 survey also states: "Of the 490 hospitals surveyed, nine hospitals are in Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Rupture Zones, 31 are in areas subject to soil liquefaction, 14 in areas with landslide potential, 33 in flood zones, and 29 have a possible loss or disruption of access. Two hundred five hospitals had no emergency fuel for their main boilers on hand, 19 had no emergency fuel for their emergency generators. Onsite emergency potable water was available at 273 hospitals and nonpotable water was available at 102 hospitals. Four hundred eighteen hospitals had emergency radios onsite, and 419 hospitals had inadequate or partially adequate equipment anchorage. In terms of available emergency preparedness, inadequate or partially inadequate equipment anchorage is still the most widespread shortcoming." (8) This survey identifies many of the shortcomings that caused 23 hospitals to suspend some or all operations after the Northridge earthquake. However, one hospital was rebuilt to comply with the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act after an older hospital building had partially collapsed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The rebuilt hospital suffered failures in water distribution systems and had to be evacuated. (9) The state must rely on hospitals to support patients and offer medical aid to earthquake victims. (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature, that: (1) By enacting this article, the state shall take steps to ensure that the expected earthquake performance of hospital buildings housing inpatients and providing primary basic services is disclosed to public agencies that have a need and a right to know, because the medical industry cannot immediately bring all hospital buildings into compliance with the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act. (2) The state shall encourage structural retrofits or replacements of hospital buildings housing inpatients and providing primary basic services that place lives at risk because of their potential for collapse during an earthquake. (3) The state shall also encourage retrofits and enhancements to critical hospital architecture, equipment, and utility and communications systems to improve the ability of hospitals to remain operational for those hospitals that do not pose risk to life. 15097.101. By June 30, 1996: (a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, hereinafter called the office, shall develop definitions of earthquake performance categories for earthquake ground motions for both new and existing hospitals that are: (1) Reasonably capable of providing services to the public after a disaster, designed and constructed to resist, insofar as practical, the forces generated by earthquakes, gravity, and winds, and in full compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act. (2) In substantial compliance with the pre-1973 California Building Standards Codes, but not in substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act. These buildings may not be repairable or functional but will not significantly jeopardize life. (3) Potentially at significant risk of collapse and that represent a danger to the public. (b) The office may define other earthquake performance categories as it deems necessary to meet the intent of this article and the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act. (c) Earthquake performance categories shall also include subgradations for risk to life, structural soundness, building contents, and nonstructural systems that are critical to providing basic services to hospital inpatients and the public after a disaster. (d) Earthquake performance categories shall, as far as practicable, use language consistent with definitions and concepts as developed in the model codes and other state and federal agencies. Where the office finds that deviations from other's definitions and concepts are necessary and warranted to comply with the intent of the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act, the act that added this article, or the specific nature or functions of hospitals, the office shall provide supporting documentation that justifies these differences. (e) Insofar as practicable, the office shall define rapid seismic evaluation procedures that will allow owners to determine with reasonable certainty the existing applicable earthquake performance categories and the minimum acceptable earthquake performance categories for hospital buildings. These procedures shall allow for abbreviated analysis when known vulnerability is clear and when construction in accordance with post-1973 codes allows for an evaluation focusing on limited structural and nonstructural elements. (f) The office, in consultation with the Hospital Building Safety Board, shall develop regulations to identify the most critical nonstructural systems and to prioritize the timeframes for upgrading those systems that represent the greatest risk of failure during an earthquake. (g) The office shall develop regulations as they apply to the administration of seismic standards for retrofit designs, construction, and field reviews for the purposes of this article. (h) The office shall develop regulations for the purpose of reviewing requests and granting delays to hospitals demonstrating a need for more time to comply with Section 15097.127. (i) The office shall submit all information developed pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, to the California Building Standards Commission by June 30, 1996. (j) The office shall submit all information developed pursuant to subdivisions (g) and (h) to the California Building Standards Commission by December 31, 1996. (k) "Hospital building," as used in Article 8 and Article 9 of this chapter means a hospital building as defined in Section 15026 and that is also licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1250, but does not include these buildings if the beds licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1250, as of January 1, 1995, comprise 10 percent or less of the total licensed beds of the total physical plant, and does not include facilities owned or operated, or both, by the Department of Corrections. 15097.102. The office is responsible for reviewing and approving seismic evaluation reports, compliance schedules and construction documents that are developed by hospital owners, and field review of construction for work done pursuant to this article. 15097.103. For the 1994-95 through 1997-98 fiscal years, the sum of three hundred eighteen thousand dollars ($318,000) is hereby appropriated from the Hospital Building Fund to the office for the purpose of developing regulations pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (j) of Section 15097.101. 15097.104. (a) By December 31, 1996, the California Building Standards Commission shall review, revise as necessary and adopt earthquake performance categories, seismic evaluation procedures, and standards and timeframes for upgrading the most critical nonstructural systems as developed by the office. By June 30, 1997, the California Building Standards Commission shall review, revise as necessary, and adopt seismic retrofit building standards and procedures for reviewing requests and granting delays to hospitals that demonstrate a need for more time to comply with Section 15097.127. (b) For purposes of this section all submittals made by the office pursuant to subdivisions (i) and (j) of Section 15097.101 shall be deemed as emergency regulations and adopted as such. 15097.105. (a) In the event of a seismic event, or other natural or manmade calamity that the office believes is of such a magnitude that it may have compromised the structural integrity of a hospital building, or any major system of a hospital building, the office shall send one or more authorized representatives to examine the structure or system. "System" for these purposes shall include, but not be limited to, the electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire and life safety system of the hospital building. If in the opinion of the office, the structural integrity of the hospital building or any system has been compromised and damaged to a degree that the hospital building has been made unsafe to occupy, the office may cause to be placed on the hospital building either a red tag, a yellow tag, or a green tag. (b) A "red" tag shall mean the hospital building is unsafe and shall be evacuated immediately. Access to red-tagged buildings shall be restricted to persons authorized by the office to enter. (c) A "yellow" tag shall mean that the hospital building has been authorized for limited occupancy, and the authorized representative of the office shall write directly on the yellow tag that portion of the hospital building that may be entered with or without restriction and those portions that may not. (d) A "green" tag shall mean the hospital building and all of its systems have been inspected by an authorized agent of the office, and have been found to be safe for use and occupancy. (e) Any law enforcement or other public safety agency of this state shall grant access to hospital buildings by authorized representatives of the office upon the showing of appropriate credentials. SEC. 2. Article 9 (commencing with Section 15097.125) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 12.5 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: Article 9. Hospital Owner Responsibilities 15097.125. (a) Within three years after the adoption of the standards described in Section 15097.104, owners of all general acute care hospitals shall: (1) Conduct seismic evaluations in accordance with procedures developed by the office pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 15097.101 and submit evaluations to the office for its review and approval. (2) Identify the most critical nonstructural systems that represent the greatest risk of failure during an earthquake and submit the timetables for upgrading those systems pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 15097.101 to the office for its review and approval. (b) Within three years after the adoption of standards described in Section 15097.104, owners of all general acute care hospitals shall prepare a plan and compliance schedule for each building under the office's jurisdiction that indicates the steps by which the hospital intends to bring their hospital buildings into substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act, identifies the phasing out of or retrofit of noncomplying structures and systems, or outlines steps for relocation of acute care services to facilities that comply with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act, and presents comprehensive plans and compliance schedules to the office for its review and approval, and integrates this schedule into the facility's master plan. (c) Owners of all general acute care hospitals may be granted a one year allowance from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 15097.125 by the office if they demonstrate a need for more time to prepare plans and compliance schedules for their buildings. 15097.126. Within 60 days following the office's approval of the report submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 15097.125, general acute hospital building owners shall do all of the following: (a) Inform the local office of emergency services or the equivalent agency, the California Office of Emergency Services, and the office, of each building's expected earthquake performance. (b) Include all pertinent information regarding the building' s expected earthquake performance in emergency training, response, and recovery plans. (c) Include all pertinent information regarding the building' s expected earthquake performance in capital outlay plans. 15097.127. After January 1, 2008, any general acute care hospital building that is determined to be a potential risk of collapse or pose significant loss of life shall only be used for nonacute care hospital purposes. A delay in this deadline may be granted by the office upon a demonstration by the owner that compliance will result in a loss of health care capacity that may not be provided by other general acute care hospitals within a reasonable proximity. Upon compliance with this section, the hospital shall be issued a written notice of compliance by the office. The office shall send a written notice of violation to hospital owners that fail to comply with this section. 15097.128. In accordance with the compliance schedule approved by the office, but in any case no later than January 1, 2030, owners of all acute care inpatient hospitals shall either: (a) Demolish, replace, or change to nonacute care use all hospital buildings not in substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act. (b) Seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospital buildings so that they are in substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act. Upon compliance with this section, the hospital shall be issued a written notice of compliance by the office. The office shall send a written notice of violation to hospital owners that fail to comply with this section. 15097.129. The office shall notify the State Department of Health Services of the hospital owners that have received a written notice of violation for failure to comply with either Section 15097.127 or 15097.128. Unless the hospital places its license in voluntary suspense, the state department shall suspend or refuse to renew the license of a hospital that has received a notice of violation from the office because of its failure to comply with either Section 15097.127 or 15097.128. The license shall be reinstated or renewed upon presentation to the state department of a written notice of compliance issued by the office. SEC. 3. Section 18938 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 18938. (a) Building standards shall be filed with the Secretary of State and codified only after they have been approved by the commission and shall not be published in any other title of the California Code of Regulations. Emergency building standards shall be filed with the Secretary of State and shall take effect only after they have been approved by the commission as required by Section 18937. The filing of building standards adopted or approved pursuant to this part, or any certification with respect thereto, with the Secretary of State, or elsewhere as required by law, shall be done solely by the commission. (b) The building standards contained in the Uniform Fire Code of the International Conference of Building Officials and the Western Fire Chiefs Association, Inc., the Uniform Building Code of the International Conference of Building Officials, Appendix Chapter 1 of the Uniform Code for Building Conservation of the International Conference of Building Officials, the Uniform Plumbing Code of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, the National Electrical Code of the National Fire Protection Association, and the Uniform Mechanical Code of the International Conference of Building Officials and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, as referenced in the California Building Standards Code, shall apply to all occupancies throughout the state and shall become effective 180 days after publication in the California Building Standards Code by the California Building Standards Commission or at a later date after publication established by the commission. (c) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, an adoption, amendment, or repeal of a building standard shall become effective 180 days after its publication in the triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code or one of its supplements, or at any later date as approved by the California Building Standards Commission, with the exceptions of building standards adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, standards adopted pursuant to Section 25402 of the Public Resources Code, and those regulations that implement or enforce building standards. Building standards adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and those regulations that implement or enforce building standards shall become effective 30 days after filing by the commission with the Secretary of State. This subdivision shall not apply to emergency building standards, and building standards approved pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 142.3 of the Labor Code and published pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 18943. A repeal of an amendment to the California Building Standards Code that is found by the commission to be more restrictive than the Uniform Building Code shall become effective 30 days after filing of the repeal by the commission with the Secretary of State. (d) Emergency standards defined in subdivision (a) of Section 18913 shall become effective when approved by the commission, and filed with the Secretary of State, or upon any later date specified therein, and remain in effect as provided by Section 11346.1 of the Government Code and Section 18937 of this code. Emergency standards shall be distributed as soon as practicable after publication to all interested and affected parties. Notice of repeal, pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, of emergency standards defined in subdivision (a) of Section 18913 within the period specified by that section, shall also be given to the parties by the affected agencies promptly after the termination of the statutory period pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. (e) This section shall not be applicable to the time limits set forth in Sections 17922 and 17958 for approval of uniform codes and for changes by local agencies in the California Building Standards Code. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs which may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, changes the definition of a crime or infraction, changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, or eliminates a crime or infraction. Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless otherwise specified in this act, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the California Constitution.