BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2432
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 2432 (John A. Perez) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUBJECT : Food facilities: toilet facilities.
SUMMARY : Exempts a retail facility that sells nonfood-related
items and comprises more than 10,000 square feet of floor space
from existing law governing restroom requirements for retail
food facilities.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Retail Food Code (CRFC) to govern
all aspects of retail food safety and sanitation in California
and makes local environmental health departments primarily
responsible for enforcing CRFC through local food safety
inspection programs.
2)Defines a retail food facility as an operation that stores,
prepares, packages, serves, vends, or otherwise provides food
for human consumption at the retail level, including, but not
limited to public and private school cafeterias, restricted
food service facilities, licensed health care facilities,
commissaries, temporary food facilities, vending machines,
certified farmers markets, as specified, and, farm stands, as
specified.
3)Requires food facilities to provide toilet facilities for use
by employees during all hours of operation. Requires each
food facility to provide public toilet facilities when there
is onsite consumption of food or when the food facility has
more than 20,000 square feet of floor space. A food facility
with more than 20,000 square feet of floor space is required
to provide at least one separate toilet facility for men and
one for women.
4)Requires toilet facilities that are provided for use by
patrons to be situated so that patrons do not pass through
food preparation, food storage, or utensil washing areas.
Requires handwashing facilities in food facilities to be
provided within or adjacent to toilet rooms and be equipped to
provide warm (100?F) water under pressure for a minimum of 15
AB 2432
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seconds through a mixing valve or combination faucet.
5)Requires toilet rooms in food facilities to be provided with
at least 20-foot candles of light and the floors, walls, and
ceilings to have surfaces that are smooth, durable,
nonabsorbent, easily cleanable, and light in paint color.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL . According to the author, this bill is
needed in response to a recent incident that occurred in Los
Angeles county in which a Home Depot that sold bottled water
and candy was deemed a food facility by a local health
inspector and told to renovate all bathrooms in its 48
locations to meet the restroom requirements in current law for
food facilities. The author notes that current law requires a
food facility to provide public bathrooms if the facility was
built after 1984 and has more than 20,000 square feet. This
bill clarifies that the part of a 10,000 square foot or larger
store where non-food items are sold is not to be considered
part of the existing 20,000 square footage threshold for food
facilities to provide a restroom. The author states that food
facilities have appropriately more stringent standards for
restrooms since food is prepared on site. This bill seeks to
establish a statewide standard to permit non-grocery retailers
that sell prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous foods, such
as bottled water and candy bars, from being required to comply
with the list of requirements that are applicable to restrooms
in grocery stores, restaurants, and other food facilities that
handle and prepare food.
2)SUPPORT . The sponsor of this bill, the California Retailers
Association, writes that this bill is intended to provide less
stringent restroom requirements for businesses with incidental
sales of pre-packaged, non-potentially hazardous foods. The
sponsor states that it would have cost Home Depot more than $1
million to renovate all bathrooms in its 48 stores in Los
Angeles county to meet the strict toilet facility requirements
for lighting, paint color, and sink specifications that
currently apply to food facilities. The sponsor asserts that
non-grocery retailers like Home Depot will still be required
to have public restrooms but they should not have to meet the
restroom specifications for food facilities since food
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preparation does not take place on their premises. The Home
Depot states in support that establishing a statewide standard
for incidental sales of pre-packaged, non-potentially
hazardous foods will prevent unreasonable and unnecessary
costs to both retailers and regulatory agencies. Lastly, the
California Business Properties Association writes in support
that this bill will clarify that restrooms for retail
establishments, such as home improvement stores, electronics
stores, and furniture or clothing stores, are not subject to
the same strict health code requirements applicable to
establishments that primarily sell or prepare food, simply
because these stores sell such incidental items as bottled
water, soda, or candy bars near the cash registers.
3)DRAFTING CONCERN . The CRFC is currently silent on what
qualifies as an incidental sale and this bill makes no
reference to incidental sales of pre-packaged, non-potentially
hazardous foods. This bill should be amended to define a
statewide threshold for incidental sales in the CRFC.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Retailers Association (sponsor)
California Business Properties Association
The Home Depot
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Rafanan / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097