BILL ANALYSIS
AB 523
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 523 (Huffman) - As Introduced: February 25, 2009
Policy Committee: Health Vote:17-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill makes one hospital- Marin General Hospital eligible
for seismic safety extensions enacted by SB 1661 (Cox), Chapter
679, Statutes of 2006. SB 1661 authorized an extension of up to
two years for hospitals that have already received extensions of
the January 1, 2008 seismic safety compliance deadline.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable workload to OSHPD to continue oversight of
hospital seismic safety statewide. There are approximately 400
hospitals subject to seismic safety deadlines and more than
2,000 buildings owned by those hospitals subject to various
structural safety standards. This bill addresses only one
hospital.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is sponsored by the author to assist one
hospital in the author's district comply with seismic safety
deadlines. According to the author and OSHPD, as drafted, this
bill only applies to one hospital, Marin General Hospital
(Marin General). This bill allows Marin General to qualify an
additional two-year extension of seismic deadlines from 2013
to 2015, available via laws enacted by SB 1661. The reason
this bill applies only to one hospital is related to the
unique position of Marin General with respect to its
transition from being leased by Sutter Health system and
returning to Marin Healthcare District control in 2010.
2)Seismic Safety Landscape . Hospitals throughout California are
subject to statutory seismic requirements and face billions of
AB 523
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dollars of unfunded construction needs. According to OSHPD,
there is $10 billion in hospital planning and construction
currently underway statewide. According to a 2007 study by
RAND, total construction costs for California may range from
$45 billion to $110 billion in 2006 dollars. The actual costs
will depend on project size and duration, future inflation,
and construction costs.
3)Hospital Earthquake Risk . Structural Performance Category-1
(SPC-1) hospital buildings pose a significant risk of collapse
and a danger to the public after a strong earthquake. Under
current law, SPC-1 buildings must have been retrofitted,
replaced, or removed from acute-care service by January 1,
2008, unless a hospital has been granted an extension to 2013.
According to estimates, about half of the 2,000 hospital
buildings statewide are classified in the SPC-1 category and
about half of SPC-1 buildings have not met or are unable meet
2008/2013 statutory deadlines due to financial constraints.
4)Hazards United States (HAZUS) is a standardized federal
earthquake loss methodology that relies on mathematical
modeling along with information about building stock, economic
data, local geology and location and size of potential
earthquakes to estimate losses due to seismic events.
California is in the process of implementing HAZUS and
adjusting SPC ratings, as appropriate. According to
preliminary data, more than half of the SPC-1 hospital
buildings statewide may be reclassified to SPC-2 buildings and
therefore subject to less stringent requirements and
timelines. SPC-2 buildings do not significantly jeopardize
life but may not be repairable following a significant
earthquake and must be brought into seismic compliance by 2030
or removed from acute care service. Significant conclusions
about the impact of HAZUS reclassification will be available
during the summer of 2009.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081