Senate Bill No. 1167

Introduced by Senator Hueso

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Sections 17980, 116125, 116130, 116135, 116140, and 116145 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to vector control.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1167, as introduced, Hueso. Vector control: rodents.

(1) Existing law requires a person who possesses a place that is infested with rodents to immediately proceed and continue in good faith to exterminate and destroy the rodents. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health, a county board of supervisors, or a governing board of a city to take specified actions, including purchasing poison, traps, and other materials, for the purpose of exterminating and destroying rodents.

This bill instead would require that the rodents be eliminated and that remedial measures be taken to eliminate contributing conditions. The bill would authorize the department, the county board of supervisors, and the governing body of a city to take specified actions, including purchasing materials, to eliminate rodents and remediate contributing conditions.

(2) Existing law requires the building department of every city or county to enforce within its jurisdiction all the provisions published in the State Building Standards Code and other housing standards. Existing law provides various methods of remediating building code and safety violations, including repair, rehabilitation, vacation, or demolition of the building.

This bill would require, where the enforcement agency determines that the building is substandard due to an infestation, as specified, that the agency order the owner of the building to remediate conditions contributing to the infestation. The bill would also require that a proscribed notice be given to affected tenants when eradication is required. By requiring local building departments to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 17980 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

17980.  

(a) If begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert building is constructed, altered, converted,
or maintained in violation of any provision of, or in violation of
any order or notice that gives a reasonable time to correct that
violation issued by an enforcement agency pursuant to this part,
the building standards published in the California Building
Standards Code, or other rules and regulations adopted pursuant
to this part, or if a nuisance exists in begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert building or upon the
lot on which it is situated, the enforcement agency shall, after 30
days’ notice to abate the nuisance or violation, or a notice to abate
with a shorter period of time if deemed necessary by the
enforcement agency to prevent or remedy an immediate threat to
the health and safety of the public or occupants of the structure,
institute begin delete any end delete appropriate action or proceeding to prevent, restrain,
correct, or abate the violation or nuisance. Notwithstanding the
above, if a person has purchased and is in the process of diligently
abating any violation at a residential property that had been
foreclosed on or after January 1, 2008, an enforcement agency
shall not commence begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert action or proceeding until at least 60
days after the person takes title to the property, unless a shorter
period of time is deemed necessary by the enforcement agency,
in its sole discretion, to prevent or remedy an immediate threat to
the health and safety of the neighboring community, public, or
occupants of the structure.

(b) If begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert entity releases a lien securing a deed of trust or
mortgage on a property for which a notice of pendency of action,
as defined in Section 405.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, has
been recorded against the property by an enforcement agency
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17985 of the Health and
Safety Code or Section 405.7 or 405.20 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, it shall notify in writing the enforcement agency that
issued the order or notice within 30 days of releasing the lien.

(c) (1) Whenever the enforcement agency has inspected or
caused to be inspected begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert building and has determined that the
building is a substandard building or a building described in Section
17920.10, the enforcement agency shall commence proceedings
to abate the violation by repair, rehabilitation, vacation, or
demolition of the building. The enforcement agency shall not
require the vacating of a residential building unless it concurrently
requires expeditious demolition or repair to comply with this part,
the building standards published in the California Building
Standards Code, or other rules and regulations adopted pursuant
to this part. The owner shall have the choice of repairing or
demolishing. However, if the owner chooses to repair, the
enforcement agency shall require that the building be brought into
compliance according to a reasonable and feasible schedule for
expeditious repair. The enforcement agency may require vacation
and demolition or may itself vacate the building, repair, demolish,
or institute any other appropriate action or proceeding, if any of
the following occur:

(A) The repair work is not done within the period required by
the notice.

(B) The owner does not make a timely choice of repair or
demolition.

(C) The owner selects an option which cannot be completed
within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the
enforcement agency, for any reason, including, but not limited to,
an outstanding judicial or administrative order.

(2) In deciding whether to require vacation of the building or
to repair as necessary, the enforcement agency shall give preference
to the repair of the building whenever it is economically feasible
to do so without having to repair more than 75 percent of the
dwelling, as determined by the enforcement agency, and shall give
full consideration to the needs for housing as expressed in the local
jurisdiction’s housing element.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) and notwithstanding
local ordinances, tenants in a residential building shall be provided
copies of any of the following:

(A) The notice of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert violation described in subdivision (a)
that affects the health and safety of the occupants and that causes
the building to be substandard pursuant to Section 17920.3 or in
violation of Section 17920.10.

(B) An order of the code enforcement agency issued after
inspection of the premises declaring the dwelling to be in violation
of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert provision described in subdivision (a).

(C) The enforcement agency’s decision to repair or demolish.

(D) The issuance of a building or demolition permit following
the abatement order of an enforcement agency.

(2) Each document provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
provided to each affected residential unit by the enforcement
agency that issued the order or notice, in the manner prescribed
by subdivision (a) of Section 17980.6.

(e) All notices issued by the enforcement agency to correct
violations or to abate nuisances shall contain a provision notifying
the owner that, in accordance with Sections 17274 and 24436.5
of the Revenue and Taxation Code, a tax deduction may not be
allowed for interest, taxes, depreciation, or amortization paid or
incurred in the taxable year.

(f) The enforcement agency may charge the owner of the
building for its postage or mileage cost for sending or posting the
notices required to be given by this section.

begin insert

(g) Where the enforcement agency determines that the building
is substandard due to an infestation pursuant to paragraph (12)
of subdivision (a) of Section 17920.3 or Section 116125, in addition
to any orders pursuant to this part, the agency shall order that the
owner of the building remediate conditions contributing to the
infestation, including substandard characteristics pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 1941.1 of the Civil Code.

end insert begin insert

(h) Where an order requires eradication of an infestation, the
order shall be accompanied by a written notice to the affected
tenant that contains, in nontechnical language and in a clear and
coherent manner, the following statements and information:

end insert begin insert

(1) The pest to be controlled.

end insert begin insert

(2) The pesticide product proposed to be used.

end insert begin insert

(3)  The telephone number of the local poison control center
immediately following this statement:

end insert
begin insert end insert
begin insert

“If within 24 hours following application you experience
symptoms similar to common seasonal illness, including symptoms
comparable to influenza, you should contact your physician or
poison control center.”

end insert
begin insert end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 116125 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

116125.  

Every person possessing begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert place that is infested
with rodents, as soon as their presence comes to his or her
knowledge, shall at once proceed and continue in good faith to
endeavor to begin delete exterminate and destroy the rodents, by poisoning,
trapping, and other appropriate means end delete begin insert eliminate the rodents and
remediate conditions contributing to infestation, including
substandard characteristics pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
1941.1 of the Civil Code end insert .

SEC. 3.  

Section 116130 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

116130.  

The department, the board of supervisors of each
county, local health officers, or inspectors appointed by any of
them, as provided in this article and Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 116250), may inspect begin delete all places end delete begin insert a place end insert for the purpose
of ascertaining whether begin delete they are end delete begin insert it is end insert infested with rodents and
whether the requirements of this article and Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 116250) as to begin delete their extermination and
destruction end delete begin insert the elimination of the rodents and the remediation of
contributing conditions end insert are being complied with. However, no
building occupied as a dwelling, hotel, or rooming house, shall be
entered for inspection purposes except between the hours of 9 a.m.,
and 5 p.m.

SEC. 4.  

Section 116135 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

116135.  

The board of supervisors of each county and the
governing body of each city, whenever it may by resolution
determine that it is necessary for the preservation of the public
health or to prevent the spread of contagious or infectious disease,
communicable to mankind, or when it determines that it is
necessary to prevent great and irreparable damage to crops or other
property, may appropriate money for the purchase of, and may
purchase, begin delete poison, traps, and other end delete materials for the purpose of
begin delete exterminating and destroying end delete begin insert eliminating end insert rodents begin insert and remediating
contributing conditions end insert in that county or city, and may employ
and pay inspectors, who shall prosecute the work of begin delete extermination
and destruction end delete begin insert elimination and remediation end insert on both private and
public property in the county or city.

SEC. 5.  

Section 116140 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

116140.  

Whenever begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert person possessing begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert place that
is infested with rodents, fails, neglects begin insert , end insert or refuses to proceed and
to continue to endeavor to begin delete exterminate and destroy end delete begin insert eliminate end insert the
rodents begin insert and remediate the contributing conditions end insert , as required in
this article and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 116250), the
department and its inspectors, the county board of supervisors and
its inspectors, and the local health officer, shall at once cause the
rodents to be begin delete exterminated and destroyed end delete begin insert eliminated and
contributing conditions to be remedied end insert .

SEC. 6.  

Section 116145 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

116145.  

The expense of begin delete exterminating and destroying end delete
begin insert eliminating end insert the rodents begin insert and remediating contributing conditions end insert
is a charge against the county or city in which the work is done,
and the board of supervisors or other governing body shall allow
and pay it.

SEC. 7.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.