BILL NUMBER: AB 685	CHAPTERED  09/15/99

	CHAPTER   386
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 26, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 23, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 24, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 14, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 25, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 27, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Thomson, Aroner, and Wesson

                        FEBRUARY 23, 1999

   An act to add Section 4460 to the Government Code, relating to
accessibility standards.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 685, Thomson.  Accessibility standards:  blind and visually
impaired.
   Existing law imposes various requirements relating to access to
buildings by persons with disabilities, including provisions in the
California Building Standards Code, and makes the issuance of a
building permit subject to compliance with those standards.
   The bill would require that all detectable warning products and
directional surfaces installed after January 1, 2001, be approved by
an independent entity selected by the Department of General Services,
Division of the State Architect, in consultation with the Department
of Housing and Community Development when the products and surfaces
may be mandated for use in residential housing, and that the Division
of the State Architect impose fees to recover administrative and
code development costs, as necessary, to develop standards and
administer the registration and approval program.  The fees would be
paid by manufacturers of detectable warning products and directional
surfaces.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 4460 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   4460.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is essential
that detectable warning and directional surfaces comply with the
California Building Standards Code in order to ensure that those
products are adequate to meet the safety and accessibility needs of
the blind and visually impaired.
   (b) All detectable warning products and directional surfaces
installed after January 1, 2001, shall be evaluated by an independent
entity, selected by the Department of General Services, Division of
the State Architect, in consultation with the Department of Housing
and Community Development when the products and surfaces may be
mandated for use in residential housing, that shall issue and
register a two-year product approval, renewable upon reevaluation at
two-year intervals thereafter.  The approval shall include
conformation with architectural standards published in the California
Building Standards Code as well as durability criteria appropriate
for the type of installation, established by the Department of
General Services, Division of the State Architect, in consultation
with the Department of Housing and Community Development when the
products and surfaces may be mandated for use in residential housing.
  The codes developed by the Department of General Services pursuant
to this section shall ensure that shape, color fastness,
confirmation, sound-on-cane acoustic quality, resilience, and
attachment will not degrade significantly for at least five years.
The Department of General Services, Division of the State Architect,
shall impose fees to recover administrative and code development
costs, as necessary, to develop standards and administer the
registration and approval program.  The fees shall be paid by
manufacturers of detectable warning products and directional
surfaces.  All fees shall be deposited in the Access for Handicap
Account created pursuant to Section 4454 and may be expended for
costs incurred by the Department of General Services, Division of the
State Architect, in performance of the requirements of this section.

   As used in this section, "significant degradation" means that the
product maintains at least 90 percent of its approved design
characteristics.  The Department of General Services may provide
exceptions to this section for justifiable cause pursuant to Section
4451.
   (c) The independent entity selected by the Department of General
Services, Division of the State Architect, shall be recognized as
having appropriate expertise in determining whether products governed
by this section comply with the California Building Standards Code.