BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1167
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 18, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Ed Chau, Chair
SB 1167 (Hueso) - As Amended: March 26, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Vector infestations
SUMMARY : Requires property owners to abate substandard
building conditions causing pest infestations, in addition to
destroying the pests.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Lists various conditions that, if they exist in a building
containing dwelling units to an extent that there is a danger
to the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the
public or the occupants of the building, require that the
building be declared substandard
(Health and Safety Code Section 17920.3)
2)Includes inadequate sanitation on the list of conditions that
can mean a building is substandard, and specifies that
inadequate sanitation includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
a) Lack of, or improper water closet, lavatory, or bathtub
or shower in a dwelling unit;
b) Lack of, or improper water closets, lavatories, and
bathtubs or showers per number of guests in a hotel;
c) Lack of, or improper kitchen sink;
d) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures
in a hotel;
e) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures
in a dwelling unit;
f) Lack of adequate heating;
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g) Lack of, or improper operation of required ventilating
equipment;
h) Lack of minimum amounts of natural light and ventilation
required by code;
i) Room and space dimensions less than required by code;
j) Lack of required electrical lighting;
aa) Dampness of habitable rooms;
bb) Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents as determined
by a health officer or, if an agreement does not exist with
an agency that has a health officer, the infestation can be
determined by a code enforcement officer upon successful
completion of a course of study in the appropriate subject
matter as determined by the local jurisdiction;
cc) General dilapidation or improper maintenance;
dd) Lack of connection to required sewage disposal system;
ee) Lack of adequate garbage and rubbish storage and removal
facilities, as determined by a health officer or, if an
agreement does not exist with an agency that has a health
officer, the lack of adequate garbage and rubbish removal
facilities can be determined by a code enforcement officer.
(Health & Safety Code Section 17920.3)
3) Includes structural hazards, unsafe wiring, faulty plumbing
systems, and faulty weather protection on the list of conditions
that can mean a building is substandard.
(Health & Safety Code Section 17920.3)
4) Authorizes code enforcement officers to cite substandard
conditions and to require that a property owner correct the
violations.
5) Provides that, if a property owner fails to correct
violations within the relevant timeframe, the enforcement agency
must institute appropriate actions or proceedings to prevent,
restrain, correct, or abate the violation.
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(Health & Safety Code Section 17980)
6) Provides that a person who possesses any place that is
infested with rodents to endeavor to exterminate and destroy the
rodents.
(Health & Safety Code Section 116125)
7) Authorizes the Department of Public Health (DPH) and local
health officers to inspect places for rodent infestation.
(Health & Safety Code Section 116130)
8) Provides that, if the possessor of the property fails to
endeavor to exterminate and destroy rodents, DPH or the local
health officer must exterminate and destroy the rodents and may
place a lien against the property to recover its costs.
(Health & Safety Code Sections 116140, 116145)
9) Provides that, independent of any particular property, a
city or county may also order and pay for the extermination and
destruction of rodents on both private and public property.
(Health & Safety Code Section 116135)
FISCAL EFFECT : None.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill : According to the sponsors, "SB 1167 would
ensure that those cited for a pest infestation also address any
substandard housing conditions that contribute to the
infestation by simply aligning existing codes related to pest
infestations and habitability. Addressing conditions that
contribute to an infestation will result in more effective
long-term elimination of pest infestation, healthier living
conditions for residents, and healthier communities."
Pest Infestations : Current law lists various conditions that,
if present in a residential building to an extent that there is
a danger to public health and safety, require that the building
be declared substandard. These conditions include structural
hazards, unsafe wiring, faulty plumbing systems, and faulty
SB 1167
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weather protection. Inadequate sanitation is also one of these
conditions, which the law specifies includes, but is not limited
to, 15 different conditions. One of those conditions is an
infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents.
SB 488 (Hueso), Chapter 89, Statutes of 2013, empowered local
code enforcement officers, if an agreement does not exist with
an agency that has a health officer, to determine an infestation
of insects, vermin, or rodents for purposes of deeming a
building to be substandard due to inadequate sanitation. In
addition to identifying and citing substandard conditions, code
enforcement officers are authorized to require that a property
owner correct the violations. If the owner fails to do so after
30 days' notice, or within a shorter notice period if the
enforcement agency deems it necessary to prevent or remedy an
immediate threat to the health and safety of the public, the
enforcement agency must institute appropriate actions or
proceedings to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate the
violation.
Similarly, state environmental health law requires a person who
possesses (i.e., owns or leases) any place that is infested with
rodents to endeavor to exterminate and destroy the rodents. The
law allows the DPH and local health officers to inspect places
for rodent infestation. If the possessor of the property fails
to endeavor to exterminate and destroy the rodents, DPH or the
local health officer must exterminate and destroy the rodents
and may place a lien against the property to recover its costs.
Independent of any particular property, a city or county may
also order and pay for the extermination and destruction of
rodents on both private and public property.
Staff Comments : This bill requires both building and health
inspectors responding to an infestation to order the abatement
of both the infestation and substandard building conditions that
cause the infestation. Existing law already gives building
inspectors the authority to cite any substandard building
condition causing the infestation, but this bill would require
it.
This bill also expands the authority and obligations of DPH and
local health officers to abate substandard conditions causing a
rodent infestation. As such, this bill reduces the need for
multiple inspections to address a single problem.
SB 1167
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Asthma Coalition of Los Angeles County
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO),
Co-Sponsor
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Co-Sponsor
Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), Co-Sponsor
Sierra Club California
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca Rabovsky / H. & C.D. / (916)
319-2085