BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1020|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1020
Author: Emmerson (R)
Amended: 8/17/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/15/09
AYES: Alquist, Strickland, Cedillo, Cox, DeSaulnier, Leno,
Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public swimming pools: anti-entrapment devices
and
systems
SOURCE : Department of Public Health
DIGEST : This bill conforms state law to the federal
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act relating to
public pool safety. This bill permits the Department of
Public Health to assess a $6 fee to cover its and the local
health offices' costs of implementation.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing federal law:
1. Establishes the United States Consumer Product Safety
Act (CPSA), which authorizes the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) to develop standards to reduce or
eliminate risk for products when it finds an
unreasonable risk of injury associated with the product.
Authorizes CPSC to enforce the provisions of the
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB Act).
2. Enacts the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety
Act, adopted December 19, 2007, which does the
following:
A. Defines main drain, swimming pool, unblockable
drain, and public pool and spa, for the purposes of
the VGB Act.
B. Defines ASME/ANSI standards as accredited by the
American National Standards Institute and published
by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
C. Requires every drain cover manufactured,
distributed, or entered into commerce in the United
States to conform to ASME/ANSI entrapment protection
standards, or any successor standards, effective one
year after the enactment of the act.
D. Requires each public pool and spa to be equipped
with anti-entrapment devices or systems that comply
with specified ASME/ANSI standards, or any successor
standards, effective one year after the enactment of
the act.
E. Requires pools with a single blockable main drain
to be equipped with at least one or more of specified
secondary safety devices, as defined.
F. Establishes a state swimming pool safety grant
program, subject to appropriation, to provide
enforcement assistance to eligible states, subject to
specified guidelines.
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G. Stipulates that state laws, at minimum, require
outdoor pools and spas to be enclosed by barriers to
prevent small children from gaining entry, and
require every pool and spa that has a blockable main
drain be equipped with a drain cover that meets the
appropriate standards.
Existing state law:
1. Authorizes the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
establish public swimming pool regulations, in order to
meet current health and safety practices, standards and
operational requirements.
2. Requires safety standards for public wading pools.
3. Specifies design and installation standards of
underwater lighting fixtures in public pools, and
requires older public pools be retrofitted to comply
with the standards by May 1, 1999.
4. Requires that every public swimming pool shall, at all
times, reflect an environment that is sanitary,
healthful and safe.
5. Authorizes local health officers to conduct inspections
to determine whether sanitary conditions, building
standards published in the State Building Standards
Code, or other regulations adopted by DPH relating to
swimming pools, are being met.
6. Provides that every person proposing to construct a
public swimming pool must file a copy of the plans,
prior to construction, with the local health officer
having jurisdiction for approval.
7. Under the Swimming Pool Safety Act, requires that
whenever a building permit is issued for construction of
a new swimming pool or spa, or for the structural
remodeling of an existing pool or spa, at a private,
single-family home, the pool must be equipped with
specified safety features. Requires that, prior to the
issuance of any final approval for the completion of
permitted construction or remodeling work, the local
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building official shall inspect to ensure that the
appropriate standards are met and that the drowning
prevention safety features are in good working
condition.
This bill:
1. Declares that, in the interest of public health, there
should be uniform statewide health and safety standards
for public swimming pools, to prevent physical
entrapment and serious injury to children and adults.
2. Codifies most applicable requirements and provisions of
the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, with
the following exceptions:
A. Excludes pools or spas open exclusively to a
municipality, township, or other local government
jurisdiction from the definition of public pool or
spa, for the purpose of this act.
B. Excludes standards for drain covers.
C. Excludes drain disablement from the list of
devices or systems designed to prevent entrapment,
when a pool has only one blockable main drain.
D. Removes portable spa from the definition of
swimming pool, and adds pools located on the premises
of an athletic club, or public or private school.
3. Deletes the exemption for pools with two main drains
from being subject to a requirement to have
anti-entrapment devices that comply with a specified
ASME/ANSI standard.
4. Adds a definition of skimmer equalizer line to
distinguish it from a main drain.
5. Requires every public swimming pool constructed on or
after January 1, 2010, to have at least two main drains
per pump that are hydraulically balanced and
symmetrically plumbed through one or more "T" fittings.
Requires the drains be located at least three feet
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apart.
6. Requires that a public swimming pool constructed prior
to January 1, 2010, be retrofitted to comply with these
anti-entrapment measures, unless the pool was already
retrofitted to meet the requirements of the VGB Act.
Requires an owner that already retrofitted pools
pursuant to the enactment of the VGB Act, or an owner of
a nonportable wading pool that completed a retrofit
prior to January 1, 2010, to do one of the following
prior to September 30, 2010:
A. File the form issued by the department, as
described.
B. File a signed statement verifying the retrofit was
completed.
(1)
Provide a document containing the name and
license number of the qualified individual who
completed the required work.
(2) Provide either a copy of the final building
permit, if required by the local agency, or a copy
of one of the following documents if no permit was
required.
(a) A document that describes the
modification in a manner that provides
sufficient information to document the work
that was done to comply with federal law.
(b) A copy of the final paid invoice. The
amount paid for the services may be omitted or
redacted from the final invoice prior to
submission.
7. Includes the performance standards of ASTM International
relating to anti-entrapment devices and systems.
8. Stipulates that any updated performance standards
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published by either ASME/ANSI or ASTM shall become the
applicable standard in California 90 days after
publication, provided that the performance standard is
approved by DPH within 90 days of the publication.
Allows the department to implement, interpret, or make
specific these standards without going through
rulemaking.
9. Requires DPH to create a form for use by an owner of a
public swimming pool to indicate compliance with this
bill's requirements. The form is to be filed with the
local department of environmental health within 30 days
of the completion of the swimming pool construction or
installation of required safety devices or systems.
10.Allows local health departments to collect the fee and
retain up to $1 to cover the costs of administering the
fee.
11.Allows DPH to additionally impose an annual fee on the
owners of public swimming pools not to exceed $6 to
defray costs of fulfilling its duties under this act.
Owners who are currently exempt from local swimming pool
permit fees shall also be exempt from the fees imposed
pursuant to this bill.
12.Requires local health officials to collect this fee on
behalf of DPH, and transmit those fees to the State
Controller. Creates the Recreational Health Fund within
the State Treasury. Requires the State Controller to
deposit those fees collected from local health officials
for the purpose of enforcement of this act, into this
fund. Stipulates that local health officers will not be
required to collect any unpaid fees owed by pool owners,
and instead will transmit a list of the owners who are
over 90 days late in paying their fees to DPH, along
with their contact information. Moneys collected by the
Recreational Health Fund shall not be redirected for any
other purpose.
13.Requires the California Building Standards Commission to
publish the text of this bill in the California Code of
Regulations, within the California Building Standards
Code (Title 24, Part 2).
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Background
Although current codes and standards for pools and spas
contain requirements to prevent body entrapment, hair
entrapment/entanglement, and evisceration, incidents and
deaths continue to occur. CPSC is aware of 74 cases of
body entrapment, including 13 confirmed deaths, between
January 1990 and August 2004. The deaths were the result
of drowning after the body, or a limb, was held against the
drain by the suction of the circulation pump, and they
occurred in both residential and public settings. Any open
drain, or any flat grating that the body can cover
completely, coupled with a plumbing configuration that
allows a strong suction force to persist if the drain is
blocked, can present this hazard.
The purpose of the VGB Act is to increase the safety of
swimming pools and spas and decrease the risk of entrapment
by (1) requiring the use of proper devices, such as
anti-entrapment drain covers and fences or barriers, (2)
educating the public about drowning prevention, (3)
establishing a federal swimming pool and spa drain cover
standard, and (4) establishing a grant incentive program to
encourage states to enact comprehensive pool and spa laws.
The standards under the VGB Act became effective on
December 19, 2008. Although the federal law requires
public pools and spas to have federally approved
anti-entrapment drain covers, current state law requires
only that wading pools, new pools, or pools being renovated
have these covers. Federal law also now requires all public
pools with a single main drain to have a device or system
designed to prevent entrapment. However, current state law
requires only public wading pools to have these preventive
measures. This bill adopts the new federal standards for
all public pools, which would allow local health officers
to enforce the requirements and put the state in compliance
with federal law.
The DPH Division of Drinking Water and Environmental
Management is responsible for coordinating services and
activities pertaining to the safe use of public swimming
pools and other recreational water venues in the state. DPH
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estimates that there are approximately 80,000 public
swimming pools throughout the state.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States CPSC is charged with protecting the
public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death
from thousands of types of consumer products under the
agency's jurisdiction. In addition to pool and spa safety,
the CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families
from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or
mechanical hazard. The CPSC has published "Guidelines for
Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer" to provide
safety information that will help identify and eliminate
dangerous entrapment hazards in swimming pools, wading
pools, spas, and hot tubs. They address the hazards of
body entrapment, hair entrapment/entanglement, and
evisceration/disembowelment. The guidelines are intended
for use in building, maintaining, and upgrading public and
private pools and spas, and are based on information
assembled by the CPSC from many sources, including the
Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP), the
National Swimming Pool Foundation (NSPF), swimming pool and
spa equipment suppliers and maintenance firms, state health
officials, and voluntary standards organizations. The CPSC
believes that following these guidelines can reduce the
possibility of body entrapment, hair
entrapment/entanglement, and evisceration, which can have
life-threatening consequences. However, these guidelines
do not contain all possible approaches for addressing the
identified hazards.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DPH staffing and regulations $0
$250$250 Special*
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Public education campaign $0 $150
$150Special*
Local health officials' unknown, but likely in the
hundreds Local
enforcement of thousands or millions of
dollars,
offset by an increase of local fees
Local revenues to offset $0 $80
$80Special
enforcement
DPH fee revenues to offset $0 $400
$400Special*
expenditures
* Recreational Health Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/9/09) (per Senate Health Committee
analysis)
Department of Public Health (source)
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California Association of Realtors
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health
(if amended)
California Professional Firefighters
California State PTA
Pool Safety Council
Spa and Pool Education Council (if amended)
Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/9/09) (per Senate Health
Committee analysis)
Modoc County Health Services Environmental Health
Department
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Association of Regional Center
Agencies says that some of the greatest tragedies they see
in their caseloads are normally developed children who
become eligible for regional center services after a
near-death drowning accident resulting in brain damage.
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The Pool Safety Council supports this measure because the
VGB Act will help eliminate entrapment and drowning
accidents in California. They believe the passage of the
VGB Act was a victory for pool safety advocates, parents,
and communities nationwide, and encourage California to
codify, yet not expand upon, the provisions of the VGB Act.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Modoc County Health
Services Environmental Health Department opposes the
state-mandated surcharge this bill will impose on public
pools, and the requirement that local jurisdictions bill,
collect, and remit money to the state. Modoc County has
only three seasonal public pools and does not charge fees
for the inspection of those pools, as long as the pools are
in compliance. They note that local jurisdictions have been
managing pool programs for many years with few problems,
and that the state has historically not provided much
support. They believe amending the bill to remove the
state surcharge would be more prudent for the efficiency of
smaller jurisdictions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani,
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen,
John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Block, Duvall, Hagman,
Miller
AGB:mw 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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