BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2432
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2432 (John A. Perez)
As Amended April 13, 2010
Majority vote
HEALTH 18-0
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|Ayes:|Monning, Fletcher, |
| |Ammiano, Carter, Conway, |
| |Bradford, De Leon, |
| |Emmerson, Eng, Gaines, |
| |Hayashi, Hernandez, |
| |Jones, Nava, |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas, |
| |Smyth, Audra Strickland |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Exempts the areas of a retail facility that sell
nonfood-related items and pre-packaged, nonpotentially hazardous
food and comprise 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
AB 2432
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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
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 : 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.
The sponsor of this bill, the California Retailers Association,
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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 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Rafanan / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0003876