BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1394|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1394
Author: Lowenthal (D)
Amended: 8/23/12
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM : 8-0, 04/17/12
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 32-3, 5/21/12
AYES: Alquist, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,
Gaines, Hancock, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, La Malfa, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Dutton, Harman, Hernandez,
Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
SOURCE : California State Firefighters Association
DIGEST : This bill delays the date by which an owner must
install a carbon monoxide device in an existing hotel and
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motel unit from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2016, and
makes a number of changes to existing laws relating to the
installation of smoke detectors in residential dwellings.
Assembly Amendments make numerous substantive changes
including (1) requiring the owner of a dwelling intended
for human occupancy in which one or more units is rented or
leased to install additional smoke alarms as needed to
ensure that smoke alarms are located in compliance with
current building standards on or before January 1, 2016, as
specified; (2) requiring the State Fire Marshal to approve
the manufacturer's instructions for each smoke alarm and to
ensure that the instructions are consistent with current
building standard requirements for the location and
placement of smoke alarms; (3) allowing the State Fire
Marshal to suspend enforcement of the new smoke alarm
requirements for up to six months if the Fire Marshal
determines that a sufficient amount of tested and approved
smoke alarms are not available to property owners to meet
the requirements; (4) specifying that if the State Fire
Marshal elects to suspend enforcement of the new smoke
alarm requirements, the Department of Housing and Community
Development shall notify the Secretary of State of its
decision and shall post a public notice that describes its
finding and decision on its Web site; (5) giving the State
Fire Marshal the authority to create exceptions to the
above smoke alarm listing requirements through its
regulatory process and specifies that the exceptions that
may be considered as part of the regulatory process shall
include, but are not limited to, fire alarm systems with
smoke detectors, fire alarm devices that connect to a
panel, or other devices that use a low-power radio
frequency wireless communication signal; and (6) deleting
provisions in the bill which required owners of
single-family dwellings that are rented or leased to be
responsible for testing and maintaining smoke alarms.
ANALYSIS : The California Building Standards Law
establishes the California Building Standards Commission
(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 Department of
Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the relevant
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state agency for residential building standards.
Building standards are prospective in that they only to
apply to new construction or to existing buildings that
undergo alteration or rehabilitation. In a few instances,
however, the Legislature has applied building standard-like
requirements to existing buildings. Current law requires
that smoke detectors be installed in all existing
multifamily residential dwellings and in existing
single-family dwellings that are sold. To comply with the
smoke detector statute, an affected residential property
owner must install a smoke detector approved and listed by
the State Fire Marshal. With respect to multifamily rental
housing, the smoke detector also must be operable at the
time that a tenant takes possession. The tenant is then
responsible for notifying the owner if the smoke detector
becomes inoperable. The owner must correct any reported
deficiencies in the smoke detector but is not in violation
of the law if he or she has not received notice of any
deficiency. Failure to comply is an infraction punishable
by a maximum fine of $200 for each offense.
Under SB 183 (Lowenthal), Chapter 19, Statutes of 2010, an
owner of an existing dwelling unit must install a carbon
monoxide device approved by the State Fire Marshal in each
existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater
or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage, by the
following dates:
July 1, 2011 for all existing single-family homes.
January 1, 2013 for all other existing dwelling units.
SB 183 further requires an owner to install the devices in
a manner consistent with building standards applicable to
new construction for the relevant type of occupancy or with
the manufacturer's instructions if it is technically
feasible to do so. Upon discovery of a violation, an
enforcement agency must give the owner a 30-day notice to
correct. If the owner fails to correct the violation
within that time period, the owner is subject to an
infraction punishable by a maximum fine of $200 for each
offense.
This bill:
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1. Delays the date by which an owner must install a
carbon monoxide device in an existing hotel and motel
unit from January 1, 2013, to January 1, 2016.
2. Requires HCD, on or before July 1, 2014, to submit to
the BSC for adoption building standards for the
installation of carbon monoxide detectors in hotel and
motel units. In developing these standards, HCD must
convene and consult a stakeholder group and review and
consider the most current national standards available
related to the installation of carbon monoxide
detectors.
3. After January 1, 2014, requires that a smoke alarm,
in order for the State Fire Marshal to approve and list
the device, display the date of manufacture, provide a
place where the date of installation can be written,
incorporate a hush feature (which allows a resident to
manually turn off a sounding alarm), incorporate an
end-of-life feature providing notice that the device
needs to be replaced, and, if battery-operated, contain
a nonreplaceable, nonremovable battery that is capable
of powering the smoke alarm for a minimum of 10 years.
4. Prohibits, for all dwellings intended for human
occupancy for which a building permit is issued on or
after January 1, 2014, for alterations, repairs, or
additions exceeding $1,000, the permit issuer from
signing off on the completion of work until the
permittee demonstrates that all smoke alarms required
for the dwelling are approved and listed by the State
Fire Marshal.
5. Provides that a fire alarm system with smoke
detectors installed in accordance with the State Fire
Marshal's regulations may be installed in lieu of the
devices approved and listed by the State Fire Marshal.
6. Requires, on or before January 1, 2016, the owner of
a dwelling unit intended for human occupancy in which
one or more units is rented or leased to install
additional smoke alarms, as needed, to ensure that
smoke alarms are located in compliance with current
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building standards and specifies that existing alarms
need not be replaced unless the alarm is inoperable.
7. Exempts from the above requirement fire alarm systems
with smoke detectors, fire alarm devices that connect
to a panel, or other devices that use a low-power radio
frequency wireless communication signal.
8. Requires, starting January 1, 2014, a smoke alarm to
display the date of manufacture on the device, provide
a place on the device where the date of installation
can be written, incorporate a hush feature, incorporate
an end-of-life feature that provides notice that the
device needs to be replaced, and, if battery operated,
contain a nonreplaceable, nonremovable battery that is
capable of powering the smoke alarm for a minimum of 10
years.
9. Gives the State Fire Marshal the authority to create
exceptions to the above smoke alarm listing
requirements through its regulatory process and
specifies that the exceptions that may be considered as
part of the regulatory process shall include, but are
not limited to, fire alarm systems with smoke
detectors, fire alarm devices that connect to a panel,
or other devices that use a low-power radio frequency
wireless communication signal.
10. Requires the State Fire Marshal to approve the
manufacturer's instructions for each smoke alarm and
ensure that the instructions are consistent with
current building standard requirements for the location
and placement of smoke alarms.
11. Allows the State Fire Marshal to suspend enforcement
of the new smoke alarm requirements for up to six
months if the Fire Marshal determines that a sufficient
amount of tested and approved smoke alarms are not
available to property owners to meet the requirements.
12. Specifies that if the State Fire Marshal elects to
suspend enforcement of the new smoke alarm
requirements, the department shall notify the Secretary
of State of its decision and shall post a public notice
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that describes its finding and decision on its Web
site.
13. Expands the definition of "dwelling units intended
for human occupancy" for these purposes to include
factory-built housing, as defined.
14. Deletes the requirement that a smoke detector be
installed in the common stairwells of apartment
complexes and other multiple-dwelling complexes.
15. Requires, commencing January 1, 2014, owners of
single-family dwellings that are rented or leased to be
responsible for testing and maintaining smoke alarms,
as specified.
16. Requires an owner of a multifamily rental, at the
time a new tenancy is created, to ensure that smoke
alarms are operable and located in compliance with
current building code standards.
Comments
The Task Force recommendations . Among the consensus
recommendations in the State Fire Marshal's Smoke Alarm
Task Force final report from August 2011 are the following:
Legislation should be introduced to require smoke alarms
in existing residential occupancies that are being sold,
leased, or rented to conform to current building
standards for the location of smoke alarms. The smoke
alarms should bear a manufacturer's marking confirming
they are less than ten years old and be either AC powered
with battery backup or be powered by a long life primary
battery.
Regulations should be adopted that require smoke alarms
and smoke detectors to be replaced when they fail to
respond to operability tests or no longer than ten years
from the date of manufacture marked on the product.
Regulations should be revised to require smoke alarms
that are solely battery powered to be packaged and sold
with a ten year battery and have a silence feature.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this
bill results in minor costs of less than $25,000 to the
State Fire Marshal and HCD.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/12)
California State Firefighters' Association (source)
California Coalition for Children's Safety and Health
California Hotel and Lodging Association
California Travel Association
Kidde
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, properly
operating smoke alarms can mean the difference between life
and death. Data clearly shows that most fire deaths today,
over two-thirds, happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no
working alarms. To enhance the effective utilization of
smoke alarms in single and multi-family dwellings in order
to better prevent fire related injuries or death, this bill
seeks to implement some of the recommendations of the State
Fire Marshal's recent Smoke Alarm Task Force. In addition,
the author seeks to give hotel and motel owners more time
and more direction on how to comply with recent legislation
requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms
because, according to the author, the current location
placement standards may not be appropriate for hotels and
motels.
JJA:nm 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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