BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: AB 1819
AUTHOR: Hall
AMENDED: May 15, 2014
HEARING DATE: June 11, 2014
CONSULTANT: Bain
SUBJECT : Family day care home: smoking prohibition.
SUMMARY : Extends the existing prohibition against the tobacco
smoking in a private residence that is licensed as a family day
care home to outside the hours of operation of the home.
Existing law:
1.Prohibits the smoking of tobacco in a private residence that
is licensed as a family day care home during the hours of
operation as a family day care home and in those areas of the
family day care home where children are present.
2.Prohibits existing law from prohibiting a city or county from
enacting or enforcing an ordinance relating to smoking in a
family day care home if the ordinance is more stringent than
the above provision.
3.Prohibits the smoking of tobacco on the premises of a licensed
day care center.
4.Prohibits employers from knowingly or intentionally allowing,
and prohibits individuals from engaging in, the smoking of
tobacco products in an enclosed space at a place of
employment, with specified exemptions.
This bill: repeals the exemption for family day care homes that
permits tobacco smoking in a private residence licensed as a
family care home outside of the hours of operation of the home,
thereby prohibiting tobacco smoking in these homes.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1.Unknown, likely minor, costs to the Department of Social
Services (DSS) for staff training and any increased complaint
response against licensed facilities for violation of the
24-hour smoking ban.
Continued---
AB 1819 | Page 2
2.Any local government costs resulting from the mandate in this
measure would not be state-reimbursable because the mandate
only involves the definition of a crime or penalty for
conviction of a crime.
PRIOR VOTES :
Assembly Human Services: 5- 2
Assembly Governmental Organization:14- 0
Assembly Appropriations: 12- 4
Assembly Floor: 58- 13
COMMENTS :
1.Author's statement. According to the author, while current
law prohibits smoking tobacco products in a family day care
home during the hours of operation, this policy only protects
children from immediate exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS).
It does nothing to protect children from tobacco residue that
lingers in the air and on surfaces hours after cigarettes have
been extinguished. Exposure to SHS and third hand smoke (THS)
leads to lifelong health issues that will require continued
medical attention and increased health care costs. This bill
will have a direct impact on reducing childhood exposure to
SHS and THS and decreasing the chance of a child developing
health issues related to smoking.
2.Tobacco use and family day care homes. Child day care
facilities, including family day care homes, are required to
be licensed by the DSS under the California Child Day Care
Facilities Act (the Act). A "family day care home" is a home
that regularly provides care, protection, and supervision for
14 or fewer children under age 18, in the provider's own home,
for periods of less than 24 hours per day, while the parents
or guardians are away. Family day care homes are either a
large family day care home (family day care for 7 to 14
children) or a small family day care home (8 or fewer
children). Under the Act, any person who willfully or
repeatedly violates provisions of law pertaining to child day
care facilities is guilty of a misdemeanor. As of September
2013, there were 33,481 family day care homes. AB 615 (Gotch),
Chapter 335, Statutes of 1993 enacted the current tobacco use
restriction in family day care homes. Complaints for
violations of the Act can be made either orally or in writing
to the regional Community Care Licensing Division's Child Care
Offices within DSS. Under existing law, when DSS receives a
complaint, it is required to make a preliminary review and
make an onsite inspection within 10 days after receiving the
AB 1819 | Page
3
complaint, unless it determines that the complaint is
willfully intended to harass a licensee or the compliant is
without any reasonable basis. DSS indicates it has received
the following number of complaints from 2008-2013 related to
cigarette smoking in family child care homes:
---------------------------
|Year| Total Number of | |
| | Complaint | |
| | Allegations for | |
| | Smoking in Family | |
| | Child Care Home | |
| | During Operating | |
| | Hours | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | Cigarette Smoking | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
|2013| 30 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
|2012| 30 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
|2011| 20 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
|2010| 24 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
|2009| 24 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
AB 1819 | Page 4
|----+--------------------+-|
|2008| 38 | |
| | | |
|----+--------------------+-|
| | | |
---------------------------
3.Prior legislation. AB 352 (Hall), Chapter 292, Statutes of 2013,
prohibits a person who is licensed or certified to provide
residential care in a foster family home or certified family home
from smoking or permitting any other person to smoke inside the
facility, and, when the child is present, on the outdoor grounds
of the facility.
4.Support. Health care providers and anti-smoking organizations
write in support that broad smoke-free policies make non-smoking
behavior the norm, encourage smokers to quit or cut down on their
smoking, and thus reduce the risk of future smoking-related
disease. Supporters argue tobacco residue continues to linger in
the air and on surfaces, such as floors, countertops, upholstery,
carpets, clothing and other fabrics, long after a cigarette has
been extinguished,. Supporters argue children are the most
vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke as the developing
lungs of young children are severely affected by exposure to
secondhand smoke because children are still developing physically,
have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control
over their indoor environments.
5.Does "thirdhand smoke" present a health risk? Cigarette
smoking is a significant health threat for smokers and
non-smokers alike. According to a January 2014 study entitled
"Cigarette Smoke Toxins Deposited on Surfaces: Implications
for Human Health," THS is defined as the accumulation of SHS
on surfaces that ages with time that become progressively more
toxic, is a potential health threat to children, spouses of
smokers and workers in environments where smoking is, or has
been, allowed. The goal of the study was to investigate the
effects of THS on liver, lung, skin healing, and behavior,
using an animal model exposed to THS under conditions that
mimic exposure of humans. The study found THS-exposed mice
show alterations in multiple organ systems and excrete levels
of a tobacco-specific carcinogen biomarker similar to those
found in children exposed to SHS (and consequently to THS). In
the liver, THS leads to increased lipid levels and
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a precursor to cirrhosis
and cancer and a potential contributor to cardiovascular
AB 1819 | Page
5
disease. In the lung, THS stimulates excess collagen
production and high levels of inflammatory cytokines,
suggesting propensity for fibrosis with implications for
inflammation-induced diseases such as chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and asthma. In wounded skin, healing in
THS-exposed mice has many characteristics of the poor healing
of surgical incisions observed in human smokers. Lastly,
behavioral tests show that THS-exposed mice become
hyperactive. The latter data, combined with emerging
associated behavioral problems in children exposed to SHS/THS,
suggest that, with prolonged exposure, they may be at
significant risk for developing more severe neurological
disorders. The authors of the study state the results provide
a basis for studies on the toxic effects of THS in humans and
inform potential regulatory policies to prevent involuntary
exposure to THS.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: Alameda County Board of Supervisors
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American College of Emergency Physicians - California
Chapter
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
American Lung Association
California Alternative Payment Program
March of Dimes California Chapter
National Association of Social Workers, California
Chapter
13 Individuals
Oppose: None received
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