BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
660 (Torrico)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 06/30/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: GO 9-3
AB 660 (Torrico), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 660 requires any person installing or modifying
a fire sprinkler system or related equipment to be licensed by
the State Fire Marshal.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Developing regulations $50 General
Implementation and $700 $700 Special
*
enforcement
* State Fire Marshal Licensing and Certification Fund.
Reimbursed with fees.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Under current law, the Contractor's State License Board issues
licenses to contracting businesses in the state, including
contractors whose operations include the servicing or testing of
fire extinguishing systems. In addition, existing law requires
the installation of a fire protection system to be performed
only by a contractor holding a fire protection contractor
classification.
Under current law, a person may only service or test automatic
fire extinguishing systems if they have a license from the State
Fire Marshal or the Contractors State License Board.
This bill requires any person installing or modifying a fire
sprinkler system or related systems to have a certificate of
registration from the State Fire Marshal. Under the bill, the
State Fire Marshal is authorized to issue a sprinkler fitter
certificate, a limited sprinkler fitter certificate, or a
sprinkler fitter apprentice permit to individuals seeking to
install fire safety systems. Applicants are required to pay a
fee. Applicants for a certificate or limited certificate are
required to pass an examination developed by the State Fire
AB 660 (Torrico), Page 2
Marshal.
Until June 30, 2010, the bill requires the State Fire Marshal to
issue either a sprinkler fitter certificate or limited scope
sprinkler fitter certificate, without an examination, to any
applicant who submits an application, pays required fees, and
demonstrates that they meet specified criteria. Certificates
granted under this provision would expire on December 31, 2010
and would thereafter have to be renewed in accordance with the
requirements of the bill.
Until January 2014, the State Fire Marshal shall issue a
sprinkler fitter trainee permit, if the applicant meets
specified criteria. This would allow the trainee to work on a
fire suppression system during that time period.
The bill requires the State Fire Marshal to maintain a central
registry of all persons who have been issued certificates or
permits. The bill also requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt
a schedule of fees to cover the cost of administering the
program. The bill requires the State Fire Marshal to enforce the
provisions of the bill. A violation of the requirements of the
bill would result in civil penalties of $500 to $1000 per
violation.
The bill also authorizes a city or county fire department to
adopt fees to cover their costs of enforcing the provisions of
the bill.
The State Fire Marshal indicates that initial costs to develop
regulations would be about $50,000. Those costs would be
incurred before any fees are collected and would therefore
likely require General Fund support. Ongoing costs to implement
and enforce the bill are estimated to be about $700,000 per
year. Those costs would be supported by fees.
This bill is substantially similar to AB 2288 (Torrico) of 2008
which was held on this committee's Suspense File.