BILL ANALYSIS
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2021
Author: Fletcher (R)
Amended: 6/30/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Wright, Harman, Calderon, Denham, Florez, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Price, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 5/17/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Fire protection: Designated Campus Fire
Marshal
SOURCE : University of California
DIGEST : This bill grants the State Fire Marshal the
authority to allow campus fire marshals to inspect and
enforce fire and life safety standards on all University of
California campuses and properties.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal
(SFM), the chief fire official of any city, county, or fire
protection district and their authorized representatives to
enforce regulations and building standards
relating to fire and panic safety published in the
California Building Standards Code in all state-owned
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buildings, state-occupied buildings, and state institutions
throughout the state.
Existing law establishes the California Building Standards
Code under Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
Existing law also establishes the building design and
construction standards for the SFM under Title 19 of the
California Code of Regulations.
Existing law permits the SFM, upon written request from the
chief fire official of any city, county, or fire protection
district, to authorize that person, in their geographical
area of responsibility, to make fire prevention inspections
of state-owned or state-occupied buildings, other than
state institutions, for the purpose of enforcing
regulations relating to fire and panic safety adopted by
the SFM and published in the California Code of
Regulations.
This bill:
1. Authorizes the SFM to enforce building standards and
other regulations of the SFM on all University of
California campuses and properties and also to delegate
that authority to the person of his/her choice for each
UC campus who would be known as the "Designated Campus
Fire Marshal" (DCFM).
2. Makes other conforming changes in the Health and Safety
Code with respect to DCFMs and their responsibility to
make fire prevention inspections and enforce fire and
panic safety regulations.
3. Makes minor code maintenance changes by replacing
references to the California Building Standards Code
with references to Titles 19 and 24 of the California
Code of Regulations.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill is intended to
codify a 16-year-old Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the University of California (UC) and the SFM,
giving authorization to the SFM to allow DCFMs to enforce
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building standards and other regulations relating to fire
safety at UC facilities.
According to UC, the current MOU with the SFM allows
qualified DCFMs to act on behalf of the SFM to ensure
compliance with fire and life safety standards at UC
facilities. An MOU was first initiated as a two-year pilot
program in 1994 to determine the effectiveness of this
practice. The program proved to be an acceptable means of
ensuring on-site fire plan approval for UC construction
projects and existing UC campus facilities.
Under the MOU, campuses submit projects to the DCFM in lieu
of submittals to the SFM. This allows for faster and more
thorough reviews of UC's large and complex capital program.
DCFMs interact with the SFM to ensure UC compliance with
all applicable codes and standards, and assist planners,
architects, and engineers in identifying alternative fire
safety solutions.
According to the author's office, UC has attempted to renew
the existing MOU with the SFM. However, the current Acting
SFM has voiced a concern about the relationship between the
SFM and UC not being codified in state statute. UC
believes that unless the existing relationship between the
SFM and UC is codified in state statute, the Acting SMF
will no longer allow the relationship under the MOU. UC
believes that ending the relationship outlined in the MOU
will place additional burdens on the SFM and reduce the
oversight quality that is provided by DCFMs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
University of California (source)
UC San Diego
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
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Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Tom Berryhill, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Furutani, Silva, Torlakson, Yamada, Vacancy
TSM:do 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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