BILL NUMBER: AB 603 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dutra
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to amend and repeal Section 19161 of, and to add
and repeal Section 19161.2 of, Sections 19089.5,
19161, and 19170 of the Business and Professions Code, relating
to home furnishings.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 603, as amended, Dutra. Home furnishings.
(1) The Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act,
which establishes the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation, requires, among other matters, that all mattresses
manufactured for sale in this state as well as specified furniture
sold or offered for sale for use in a place of public accommodation
in this state and specified reupholstered furniture be fire
retardant. Under the act, the failure to comply with these
provisions is a crime.
This bill would require, on and after January 1, 2003
2004 , that all mattresses and box springs
manufactured for sale in this state, except in specified
establishments with automatic fire extinguishing systems and
mattresses required to higher requirements , be resistant
to an open flame under a standard specified by the bureau. The bill
would provide that this requirement is repealed upon the
enactment of a federal open flame resistance standard unless it is
less stringent may be made applicable to other bedding
products if the bureau concludes that they contribute to mattress
fires. The bill would make these regulations inoperative if a flame
resistance standard for mattresses and box springs is adopted under
federal law and would require the bureau to report to the Legislature
on its progress in developing these regulations .
(2) Existing provisions of the act authorize the chief of the
bureau to set license fees not exceeding specified amounts for
licenses under the act.
This bill would increase the maximum fees that could be set for an
importer's license and a furniture and bedding manufacturer's
license under the act.
(3) Because a violation of the bill's expanded fire
protection standard applicable to mattresses would be a crime, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the
scope of an existing crime.
(4) 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: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) On average, 28,000 residential mattress fires occur annually
in the United States, killing 571 people, severely injuring 3,000
others, and causing three hundred thirty-four million dollars
($334,000,000) in property damage. Many of these victims are young
children. Nearly one-half of these fires, 13,000, are caused by
small open flame sources.
(2) The single greatest ignition factor in mattress and bedding
fires is a child playing with matches or a lighter. Children under
the age of five years start one-third of all mattress fires, and
children under the age of 14 years caused two-thirds of the open
flame mattress ignitions. On average, 75 percent of all fire deaths
are caused by smoke inhalation.
(3) The resistance of residential mattresses to smoldering
cigarettes was regulated in 1973 by the United States Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) under the federal Flammable Fabrics
Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1191 et seq.). However, the CPSC standard in
Sections 1632 and following of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations did not address the risk of open flame ignition of
mattresses or their specific components.
(4) Despite the CPSC regulations, the death rate per thousand
attributed to open flame mattress fires has actually increased since
the adoption of these regulations in 1973. The unregulated, yet
highly combustible, foam cushioning components in residential
mattresses constitute the primary fuel in a mattress fire. The foam
components in the mattress burn rapidly enough to prevent escape and
to cause severe burn or inhalation injuries before emergency
personnel can respond. There exists no tangible evidence of the
effect of CPSC regulations on open flame mattress ignition, or with
regard to the foam cushioning fuel component.
(5) The State of California recognizes that a proportionate number
of the deaths and injuries described in paragraph (1) from mattress
fires occur annually in this state. The severe burn victims tend to
be members of lower socioeconomic populations and are treated at
state-funded burn units under the Medi-Cal program. The cost to
initially treat a severely burned child in a state-funded burn unit
exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per month, and
this treatment lasts two to four months.
(6) The United Kingdom banned the use of foam in residential
mattresses in 1988. In the United States, many state and federal
facilities, including military facilities, dormitories, prisons,
mental health care facilities, and other state institutional
buildings are required to be furnished with flame retardant
mattresses. The state, therefore, recognizes that an elimination of
the fire hazard necessarily requires that the foam cushioning be
either flame retardant or isolated from ignition sources through the
use of a fire blocking layer known as a barrier. For more than 10
years, mattresses have been made open flame resistant through the use
of modified foams and barriers.
(7) The State of California, therefore, recognizes that no
applicable federal flammability standard exists that either addresses
the open flame mattress fire risk or the open flame foam cushioning
risk. Further, the state of the art technology in open flame
resistant mattress components has advanced to the point that these
very risks can be minimized or eliminated by the inclusion of this
technology in residential mattresses. The federal cigarette standard
in Part 1632 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations has not
been revised in accordance with this technology in either open flame
mattress fire performance or in open flame foam cushioning fire
performance.
(b) The Legislature declares that because of an absence of federal
regulation, this act establishes an open flame flammability standard
for foam cushioning used in residential mattresses manufactured for
sale in the State of California.
SEC. 2. Section 19089.5 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:
19089.5. Any upholstered furniture or mattress which is made from
or contains nonflame retardant cellular foam shall be labeled in a
manner approved by the chief. On and after January 1, 2004, all
bedding that is made from or contains nonflame retardant cellular
foam shall also be labeled in a manner approved by the chief.
SEC. 3. Section 19161 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:
19161. (a) All mattresses and box springs manufactured
for sale in this state , including any mattress
manufactured for sale for use in a hotel, motel, or other place of
public accommodation in this state, shall shall
be fire retardant. The bureau shall adopt regulations no later
than January 1, 2004, requiring that fire retardant mattresses and
box springs meet the resistance to open flame test that uses a pass
or fail performance criteria based on a test method developed by the
bureau or that is based on ASTME 1590. If the bureau concludes that
other bedding products contribute to mattress fires, the regulations
shall require the other bedding products to be flame retardant under
the resistance to open flame test. If feasible, the bureau
regulations shall permit a manufacturer to comply with the resistance
to open flame test by testing a small scale version of its product.
In developing these regulations, the bureau may contract, cooperate,
or otherwise share resources with other government agencies, private
organizations, or independent contractors that it considers
appropriate for purposes of reviewing test criteria and methods,
equipment specifications, and other relevant subjects. These
regulations shall become inoperative upon the effective date of any
federal law or regulation establishing an open flame resistance
standard for mattresses and box springs. The bureau shall submit two
reports to the Legislature on its progress in developing these
regulations. The bureau shall submit the first report on or before
July 1, 2002, and the second report on or before July 1, 2003.
(b) Requirements for flame resistant mattresses, box springs, or
other bedding products shall not apply to any hotel, motel, bed and
breakfast, inn, or similar transient lodging establishment that has
an automatic fire extinguishing system that conforms to the
specifications established in Section 904.1 of Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(c) All seating furniture sold or offered for sale by an
importer, manufacturer, or wholesaler for use in this state,
including any seating furniture sold to or offered for sale for use
in a hotel, motel, or other place of public accommodation in this
state, and reupholstered furniture to which filling materials are
added, shall be fire retardant and shall be labeled in a manner
specified by the bureau. "Fire
(d) "Fire retardant," as used in this section, means a
product that meets the regulations adopted by the bureau. This does
not include furniture used exclusively for the purpose of physical
fitness and exercise.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 19161.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
19161.2. (a) All mattresses manufactured for sale in this state
shall be resistant to open flame pursuant to the California Technical
Bulletin 129 Test Method as issued by the California Bureau of Home
Furnishings, or any other standard as the bureau may establish or
adopt.
(b) This section shall not apply to the following:
(1) Any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, inn, or similar transient
lodging establishment that has an automatic fire extinguishing
system that conforms to the specifications established in Section
904.1 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(2) Any mattresses required by federal, state, or municipal law to
possess a greater level of open flame resistance than that specified
in subdivision (a).
(c) The bureau shall develop regulations that permit a mattress
manufacturer to comply with the provisions of this section by testing
a small-scale version of its product.
(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2003.
(e) This section shall become inoperative and is repealed upon the
effective date of any federal law or regulation establishing an open
flame resistance standard for finished mattresses, unless the
federal law or regulation provides for an open flame resistance
standard that is less stringent than the standard established or
adopted by the bureau pursuant to subdivision (a).
SEC. 4. Section 19170 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19170. (a) The fee imposed for the issuance and for the biennial
renewal of each license granted under this chapter shall be set by
the chief, with the approval of the director, at a sum not more nor
less than that shown in the following table:
Maximum Minimum
fee fee
Importer's license ....................... $540
$120
$750
Furniture and bedding manufacturer's
license ................................ 540
120
750
Wholesale furniture and bedding dealer's
license ................................ 540 120
Supply dealer's license .................. 540 120
Custom upholsterer's license ............. 360 80
Sanitizer's license ...................... 360 80
Retail furniture and bedding dealer's
license ................................ 240 40
Retail furniture dealer's license ........ 120 20
Retail bedding dealer's license .......... 120 20
(b) Individuals who, in their own homes and without the employment
of any other person, make, sell, advertise, or contract to make
pillows, quilts, quilted pads, or comforters are exempt from the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a). However, these individuals
shall comply with all other provisions of this chapter.
(c) Retailers who only sell "used" and "antique" furniture as
defined in Sections 19008.1 and 19008.2 are exempt from the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a). Those retailers are also
exempt from the other provisions of this chapter.
(d) A person who makes, sells, or advertises upholstered furniture
and bedding as defined in Sections 19006 and 19007, and who also
makes, sells, or advertises furniture used exclusively for the
purpose of physical fitness and exercise, shall comply with the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a).
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that upon the enactment of
the amendments to this section, the two hundred twenty-four thousand
dollars ($224,000) unallocated reduction proposed in the 1993-94
Governor's Budget shall be restored to the Bureau of Home Furnishings
and Thermal Insulation Fund.
SEC. 4.
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.