BILL NUMBER: SB 1405 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 730
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 1998
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 21, 1998
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 1998
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 10, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 8, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 16, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 3, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 18, 1998
INTRODUCED BY Senators Polanco and Lee
(Principal coauthors: Senator Sher and Assembly Member Aroner)
(Coauthors: Senators Monteith and Vasconcellos)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Lempert, Prenter, and Vincent)
JANUARY 13, 1998
An act to amend Section 13113.9 of, and to add Sections 13114.1,
13114.2, and 13114.3 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to
housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1405, Polanco. Security bars: fire safety: regulations.
Existing law known as the State Housing Law generally regulates
the construction, maintenance, occupancy, and use of buildings used
for human habitation, including regulation of fire safety by the
State Fire Marshal. Existing law also generally requires the State
Fire Marshal to prepare, adopt, and submit for approval building
standards pursuant to the California Building Standards Code, and
other regulations relating to fire and panic safety establishing
minimum requirements for the installation and maintenance of security
bars that present a fire or panic hazard.
Existing law also prohibits the sale of security bars, referred to
as "burglar bars," in California at wholesale or retail unless the
burglar bars are either labeled or their packaging contains warning
information pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Fire
Marshal. Existing law also prohibits any person from installing for
profit unopenable burglar bars on a residential dwelling where
openable burglars bars are required for emergency escape or rescue,
or on mobilehomes or manufactured housing unless at least one window
or door to the exterior in each bedroom is openable for emergency
escape or rescue.
This bill would delete the element in the latter prohibition that
requires the installation to be done for profit. It would require
the State Fire Marshal to distribute public education materials about
the dangers of illegal burglar bars, to the extent that resources
are available. It would also require the State Fire Marshal to adopt
on or before September 1, 1999, regulations and standards to control
the quality and installation of burglar bars and safety release
mechanisms installed, marketed, distributed, offered for sale, or
sold in California.
The bill would also prohibit any person, on or after October 1,
1999, from installing, marketing, distributing, offering for sale, or
selling burglar bars and safety release mechanisms that have not
been approved by a testing laboratory recognized by the State Fire
Marshal, and would also prohibit on or after January 1, 1999, the
installation or maintenance of burglar bars on any residential
dwelling that is owned or leased by a public agency, unless the
burglar bars meet current state and local requirements, as
applicable, for burglar bars and safety release mechanisms.
A violation of provisions of the State Housing Law and provisions
relating to the State Fire Marshal constitutes a misdemeanor.
Because this bill would make changes to those provisions and thereby
create new crimes, 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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 13113.9 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
13113.9. (a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Burglar bars" are security bars located on the inside or
outside of a door or window of a residential dwelling.
(2) "Residential dwelling" means a house, apartment, motel, hotel,
or other type of residential dwelling subject to the State Housing
Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13) and a
manufactured home, mobilehome, and multiunit manufactured housing as
defined in the Mobilehome-Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13).
(b) On or before July 1, 1998, the State Fire Marshal shall
develop and adopt regulations for the labeling and packaging of
burglar bars addressing the requirements in the California Building
Standards Code intended to promote safety in the event of a fire.
For this purpose, the regulations shall include specification of the
language to be printed on the packaging, the location of the language
on the packaging, and the height and stroke of the print type to be
utilized. The regulations shall direct the consumer or installer to
contact the local fire department or local building official to
determine whether the city or county requires that the burglar bars
have a release mechanism on the outside for use by the fire
department in the event of a fire emergency.
(c) Burglar bars shall not be sold in California at wholesale or
retail unless the burglar bars are either labeled or their packaging
contains the warning information specified in the regulations adopted
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(d) Any contractor or installer of burglar bars shall provide the
owner of the residential dwelling a copy of the warning information
required pursuant to subdivision (b) prior to installing burglar
bars.
(e) No person shall install unopenable burglar bars on a
residential dwelling (1) where the California Building Standards Code
requires openable burglar bars for emergency escape or rescue, or
(2) on mobilehomes, manufactured homes, or multiunit manufactured
housing unless at least one window or door to the exterior in each
bedroom is openable for emergency escape or rescue.
SEC. 2. Section 13114.1 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
13114.1. To the extent that resources are available, the State
Fire Marshal shall prepare and distribute for use by local agencies,
community groups, and private firms, public education materials about
the dangers of illegal burglar bars. These public education
materials shall use multiple media, including Braille, 18-point type,
cassette tape, and computer disk for those who are print impaired,
and multiple languages, as the State Fire Marshal determines
appropriate.
SEC. 3. Section 13114.2 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
13114.2. (a) On or before September 1, 1999, the State Fire
Marshal shall adopt regulations and standards to control the quality
and installation of burglar bars and safety release mechanisms
installed, marketed, distributed, offered for sale, or sold in this
state.
(b) On and after October 1, 1999, no person shall install, market,
distribute, offer for sale, or sell burglar bars and safety release
mechanisms in this state unless the burglar bars and safety release
mechanisms have been approved by a testing laboratory recognized by
the State Fire Marshal.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) "Burglar bars" means security bars located on the inside or
outside of a door or window of a residential dwelling.
(2) "Residential dwelling" means a house, apartment, motel, hotel,
or other type of residential dwelling subject to the State Housing
Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13) and a
manufactured home, mobilehome, and multiunit manufactured housing as
defined in the Mobilehomes-Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13).
SEC. 4. Section 13114.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
13114.3. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and
after January 1, 1999, no burglar bars shall be installed or
maintained on any residential dwelling that is owned or leased by a
public agency, unless the burglar bars meet current state and local
requirements, as applicable, for burglar bars and safety release
mechanisms.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Burglar bars" means security bars located on the inside or
outside of a door or window of a residential dwelling.
(2) "Public agency" means any of the following:
(A) A state agency, department, board, or commission.
(B) The University of California.
(C) A local agency, including, but not limited to, a city,
including a charter city, county, city and county, community
redevelopment agency, housing authority, special district, or any
other political subdivision of the state.
(3) "Residential dwelling" means a house, apartment, motel, hotel,
or other type of residential dwelling subject to the State Housing
Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13) and a
manufactured home, mobilehome, and multiunit manufactured housing as
defined in the Mobilehomes-Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13).
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
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.