BILL NUMBER: AB 1711 CHAPTERED 03/28/00 CHAPTER 6 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MARCH 28, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR MARCH 28, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE MARCH 16, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MARCH 16, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 29, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 7, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leach JANUARY 3, 2000 An act to amend Section 2216.2 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Sections 24533, 24534, 24535, and 24537 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to consumer protection, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1711, Leach. Consumer protection. (1) Existing law, the Bunk Bed Safety Act of 1999, prohibits on or after January 1, 2000, any commercial user, as defined, from remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, contracting to sell or resell, leasing, subletting, or otherwise placing in the stream of commerce in this state a bunk bed that is unsafe for any child user, except as specified. The act provides that a bunk bed is presumed to be unsafe for these purposes if it does not conform to the American Society for Testing Materials Voluntary Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bunk Beds, F1427-96, with specified modifications. This bill instead would apply that prohibition on or after June 19, 2000, and would make related changes. The bill would provide that a bunk bed is presumed to be unsafe if it does not conform to federal laws, rules, or regulations relative to safety standards for bunk beds. (2) The Cosmetic and Outpatient Surgery Patient Protection Act provides that a physician and surgeon who fails to provide adequate security by liability insurance or by participation in an interindemnity trust for claims by patients arising out of surgical procedures performed outside of a general acute care hospital is guilty of unprofessional conduct. Existing law lists the providers of acceptable security. This bill would add to that list an insurer licensed to transact liability insurance in at least one state of the United States. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 2216.2 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 2216.2. (a) It is unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to fail to provide adequate security by liability insurance, or by participation in an interindemnity trust, for claims by patients arising out of surgical procedures performed outside of a general acute care hospital as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) For purposes of this section, the board shall determine what constitutes adequate security. (c) Nothing in this section shall require an insurer admitted to transact liability insurance in this state to provide coverage to a physician and surgeon. (d) The security required by this section shall be acceptable only if provided by any one of the following: (1) An insurer admitted pursuant to Section 700 of the Insurance Code to transact liability insurance in this state. (2) An insurer that appears on the list of eligible surplus line insurers pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 1765.1 of the Insurance Code. (3) A cooperative corporation authorized by Section 1280.7 of the Insurance Code. (4) An insurer licensed to transact liability insurance in at least one state of the United States. SEC. 2. Section 24533 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 24533. (a) No commercial user shall sell, on or after June 19, 2000, a bunk bed that is unsafe for any child using the bunk bed. (b) A bunk bed is presumed to be unsafe for the purposes of this section if it does not conform to federal laws, rules, or regulations relative to safety standards for bunk beds. SEC. 3. Section 24534 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 24534. Any commercial user who willfully and knowingly violates Section 24533 is guilty of an infraction and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000). SEC. 4. Section 24535 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 24535. Any person may maintain an action against any commercial user who violates Section 24533 to enjoin the sale of a bunk bed that is unsafe for any child using the bunk bed, and for reasonable attorney's fees and costs. This section shall not apply to hotels, motels, or similar transient lodging until July 1, 2003. SEC. 5. Section 24537 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 24537. This chapter does not apply to any bunk bed that was manufactured prior to June 19, 2000, if the sale of the bunk bed is accompanied by a disclosure statement attached in a conspicuous place on the bunk bed that states the following: "This bunk bed does not conform to the Bunk Bed Safety Act of 1999. Exercise caution before you select this product." SEC. 6. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to ensure the protection of consumers at the earliest point in time, it is necessary that this act go into immediate effect.