BILL NUMBER: AB 3305 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 1996
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 1996
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 1996
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Setencich and Speier
FEBRUARY 23, 1996
An act to amend, add, and repeal Section 1102.6 of the Civil Code,
and to add Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 115920) to Chapter 5
of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating
to swimming pools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3305, as amended, Setencich. Swimming pool: safety:
disclosures.
(1) Existing law requires a seller of residential property to make
disclosures upon the transfer of that property, and sets forth the
content and form of these disclosures.
This bill would, commencing July 1, 1997, add to the listing of
required disclosures the presence or absence of a child-resistant
safety fence barrier, as prescribed,
for a pool, and a locking safety cover for a spa or hot tub.
(2) Existing law makes certain safety and sanitation requirements
applicable to public swimming pools, including, but not limited to,
the requirement that every person operating or maintaining a public
swimming pool do so in a sanitary, healthful, and safe manner.
Existing law designates the State Department of Health Services as
having supervision over these requirements, and requires every
health officer, within his or her jurisdiction, to enforce building
standards relating to swimming pools, as defined.
This bill would, in addition, enact the Swimming Pool Safety Act
to establish certain safety standards requiring swimming pool
enclosures, powered safety pool covers, or exit
alarms, as defined. This bill would make these standards applicable
commencing January 1, 1998, to any swimming pool located on
the premises of a private , single-family home
for which a construction permit for a new swimming pool
has been issued on or after January 1, 1998. This bill would also
require any person entering into an agreement to build a swimming
pool to give the consumer notice of the requirements of this bill.
This bill would provide that it does not create or expand
any duty of any state or local public official, and that no state or
local officer is required to administer or enforce any of its
provisions. By increasing the enforcement duties of
local health and safety officers, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
This bill would exclude hot tubs with certain safety covers,
public swimming pools, as defined, and any pool within the
jurisdiction of a political subdivision that adopts an ordinance with
requirements at least as stringent as the requirements of this bill.
This bill would exclude facilities regulated by the State
Department of Social Services from requirements of this bill.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:
no yes . State-mandated local program:
no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1102.6 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1102.6. (a) The disclosures required by this article pertaining
to the property proposed to be transferred are set forth in, and
shall be made on a copy of, the following disclosure form:
(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 1997, and, as
of January 1, 1998, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 1998, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 1102.6 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1102.6. (a) The disclosures required by this article pertaining
to the property proposed to be transferred are set forth in, and
shall be made on a copy of, the following disclosure form:
(b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1997.
SEC. 2. Section 1102.6 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1102.6. (a) The disclosures required by this article pertaining
to the property proposed to be transferred are set forth in, and
shall be made on a copy of, the following disclosure form:
(b) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1997.
SEC. 3. Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 115920 is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
Article 2.5. The Swimming Pool Safety Act
115920. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Swimming
Pool Safety Act.
115921. As used in this article the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Swimming pool" means any manmade watertight tank or cavity or
other contained body of water, that is wider than eight feet at any
point and contains water more than 18 inches in depth, intended for
the use of persons in bathing, wading, swimming, water sports, or
other aquatic activity. "Swimming pool" means these structures
whether placed below or above ground level, and means only those
structures located on the premises of a private single-family home.
(a) "Swimming pool" or "pool" means any structure intended for
swimming or recreational bathing that contains water over 18 inches
deep. "Swimming pool" includes in-ground and above-ground structures
and includes, but is not limited to, hot tubs, spas, portable spas,
and nonportable wading pools.
(b) "Public swimming pool" means a swimming pool operated for the
use of the general public with or without charge, or for the use of
the members and guests of a private club. Public swimming pool does
not include a swimming pool located on the grounds of a private
single-family home.
(c) "Enclosure" means a fence, wall, or other barrier that
isolates a swimming pool from access to the home.
(d) "Hot tub or spa" means a manmade structure containing water
intended for recreational use in which all controls, water-heating
equipment, and water-circulating equipment are an integral part of
the unit.
(e) "Approved safety pool cover" means a safety pool
(d) "Approved safety pool cover" means a manually or
power-operated safety pool cover that meets all of the
Emergency Performance Specifications of the American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM-ES 13-89).
(f) performance standards of the American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM), in compliance with standard
F1346-91.
(e) "Exit alarms" means devices that make audible,
continuous alarm sounds when any door or window, that permits access
from the residence to the pool area that is without any intervening
enclosure, is opened or is leftajar. left
ajar. Exit alarms may be battery operated or may be connected to the
electrical wiring of the building.
115922. Commencing January 1, 1998, except as provided in Section
115925, every residence containing a swimming pool for
which whenever a construction permit is issued
on or after January 1, 1998, shall comply with at least one
of the following: for construction of a new swimming
pool at a private, single-family home it shall be equipped with at
least one of the following child resistant barriers:
(a) The pool shall be isolated from access to a home by a
fence, wall, or other barrier that meets the requirements of this
article. an enclosure that meets the requirements of
Section 115923.
(b) The pool shall be equipped with an approved safety pool cover.
(c) The residence shall be equipped with exit alarms on those
doors providing direct access to the pool.
(d) A self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism
located at a minimum of 54 inches above the floor on all doors
providing direct access to the pool.
(e) Other means of protection, if the degree of protection
afforded is not less than that afforded by any of the devices set
forth in this section.
(d) All doors providing direct access from the home to the
swimming pool shall be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching
device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above
the floor.
(e) Other means of protection, if the degree of protection
afforded is equal to or grater than that afforded by any of the
devices set forth in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, as
determined by the building official of the jurisdiction issuing the
applicable building permit.
115923. An enclosure shall have all of the following
characteristics:
(a) It isolates the swimming pool from the remainder of the
property on which it is located, and from any children's play area.
(a) Any access gates through the enclosure open away from the
swimming pool, and are self-closing with a self-latching device
placed no lower than 60 inches above the ground.
(b) A minimum height of 60 inches.
(c) A maximum vertical clearance from the ground to the bottom of
the enclosure of two inches.
(d) Openings Gaps or voids , if any,
do not allow passage of a sphere equal to or greater than four
inches in diameter.
(e) An outside surface free of protrusions, cavities, or other
physical characteristics that would serve as handholds or footholds
that could enable a child below the age of five years to climb over.
(f) It is placed no less than 20 inches from the edge of the
swimming pool.
(g) Except as provided in subdivision (h), any access doors or
gates open away from the swimming pool and are self-closing with a
self-latching device placed no lower to the ground than 60 inches.
(h) Where a disabled person resides on the property where the
swimming pool is located, a key-locking latch may be substituted for
the self-latching device.
(i) A wall of a building may serve as one portion of an enclosure
only if the wall contains no doors or windows that open to provide
access into the pool enclosure.
115924. Any person entering into an agreement to build a swimming
pool shall give the consumer notice of the requirements of this
article.
115925. The requirements of this article shall not apply to any
of the following:
(a) Public swimming pools.
(b) Hot tubs or spas with locking safety covers that comply with
the American Society for Testing Materials-Emergency Performance
Specification (ASTM-ES 13-89).
(c) Any pool within the jurisdiction of any political subdivision
that adopts an ordinance for swimming pool safety that includes
requirements that are at least as stringent as this article.
(d) An apartment complex, or any residential setting other than a
single-family home.
115926. Notwithstanding any provision of law, nothing in this
article creates or expands any duty of any state or local public
official relating to the administration or enforcement of this
article, and no state or local official is required to administer or
enforce any provisions of this article.
115926. This article does not apply to any facility regulated by
the State Department of Social Services even if the facility is also
used as the private residence of the operator. Pool safety in those
facilities shall be regulated pursuant to regulations adopted
therefor by the State Department of Social Services.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB 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.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.