BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1513
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1513 (Allen)
As Amended August 15, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |49-26|(May 14, 2012) |SENATE: |25-12|(August 21, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY : Revises the California Retail Food Code (CRFC), which
governs all aspects of retail food safety and sanitation in
California, to include sanitation and safety requirements for indoor
and outdoor playgrounds on the premises of retail food facilities.
The Senate amendments reinstate current law defining playgrounds as
outdoor play areas and make other minor technical changes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to
the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The author states that indoor playgrounds offered by
restaurants can pose unique challenges for cleanliness and safety
due to their close proximity to food. The author maintains that
current law governing food safety and sanitation, the CRFC, lacks
clarity with respect to ensuring that playgrounds that are a part of
food establishments are sufficiently clean and safe for use by
California's children. According to the author, this bill is
intended to bring more specificity to state and local regulation of
the nonfood areas in food facilities by clarifying that indoor and
outdoor playgrounds are to be treated as part of a food facility's
premises that must be kept clean, fully operative, and in good
repair; and, requiring a food facility with an indoor playground to
develop a plan to keep the playground areas clean and free of
hazards to children, including cracked or broken play structures.
According to the author, a group called Kids Play Safe was founded
by two mothers, one of whom is a child development professor and the
other a microbiologist, to raise awareness of the potential health
and safety risks that indoor play areas in restaurants pose to
AB 1513
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children. The author notes that these women have visited dozens of
restaurants with playgrounds in 11 states, including California, in
recent months to test them for cleanliness. The author states that
their visits and the results from lab analyses of samples they
collected have revealed the widespread presence of an array of
pathogens, from coliform (fecal) bacteria to staphylococcus, at
levels that indicate these playgrounds are not disinfected as
frequently as necessary.
The Consumer Federation of California writes in support that adding
indoor and outdoor food facility playgrounds to current law
requiring the premises to be kept clean, fully operative, and in
good repair will ensure that these playgrounds are safe for use and
protect children from the health and safety risks associated with
their wear and tear.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN:
0004941