BILL ANALYSIS �
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2030|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2030
Author: Olsen (R)
Amended: 5/31/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM. : 8-0, 6/12/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/26/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Building standards: disabled accessibility to
small stadium press boxes
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Building Standards
Commission (BSC) to exempt certain press boxes in stadium
bleachers from accessibility standards contained in current
building standards.
ANALYSIS : The California Building Standards Law
establishes the BSC and the process for adopting state
building standards. Under this process, relevant state
agencies propose amendments to model building codes which
the BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. The Division
CONTINUED
AB 2030
Page
2
of the State Architect (DSA) is the relevant state agency
for disabled accessibility standards.
Existing law requires BSC to publish the California
Building Standards Code in its entirety once every three
years. BSC has just begun its 2012 triennial code adoption
cycle. State agencies submitted their initial proposals on
June 1, 2012, which begins the public review process. BSC
is scheduled to adopt the final building codes on January
7, 2013, and the codes it adopts will take effect on
January 1, 2014.
Current state building standards require that all stadium
press boxes be located on a route that is accessible to
persons with disabilities. Recent changes to federal
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility
standards create exemptions to this rule for press boxes of
less than 500 square feet in some circumstances. DSA has
been developing new state accessibility standards that
harmonize federal ADA standards and state building
standards. DSA submitted these revised building standards
to the BSC on June 1 for public comment. In the interests
of not decreasing accessibility, the proposed DSA building
standards generally maintain the stricter of the current
state or federal standards. With respect to stadium press
boxes, that means that the new standards continue to
require that all press boxes, including press boxes of less
than 500 square feet, be located on an accessible route.
This bill requires the BSC, as part of the next triennial
building code cycle that begins on or after January 1,
2013, to adopt building standards for press boxes in
stadiums that contain the following exceptions to the
general rule requiring location of the press box on a route
that is accessible to persons with disabilities:
When the press box will be located in bleachers that
have points of entry at only one level, provided that
the aggregate area of all press boxes is at a maximum
of 500 square feet.
When a free-standing press box is elevated at least
12 feet above the ground, provided that the aggregate
area of all press boxes is at a maximum of 500 square
AB 2030
Page
3
feet.
Comments
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office,
California's accessibility standards for stadium press
boxes, which are stricter than federal standards, place a
heavy financial burden on schools with small sports
facilities. Many schools are simply unable to provide
press box facilities due to the prohibitive cost of
including a ramp, elevator, or platform wheelchair lift to
provide an accessible route. Conforming California's
standards to the federal standards and exempting small
press boxes from the accessible route requirement will
significantly reduce building costs for public and private
schools with smaller sports facilities, allowing them to
provide press boxes for announcers and reporters covering a
sporting event.
District example . This bill came about as a result of a
situation in the author's district. A private school had
built sports facilities, including a football field, over a
number of years with donations of money and labor. Two
years ago, the school added bleachers for 450 persons to
the football field. The school desired to add an elevated
press box to the football field for the announcer,
scorekeepers, statisticians, and game spotters who need to
be elevated above the bleachers for proper visibility. The
cost for the press box itself is estimated to be $55,000,
but the additional cost of an elevator to lift people to a
height of 17.5 feet to meet the building code requirement
for disabled access is estimated at nearly $135,000. The
school has not had the funds to cover this additional cost,
so it has never built the press box and instead uses a
donated mechanical construction lift with no tables to seat
the game officials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/12)
Big Valley Christian Schools
AB 2030
Page
4
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/26/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Furutani, Halderman, Harkey,
Jones, Smyth
JJA:k 6/26/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****