Bill Text: CA AB1783 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: School facilities: nonstructural earthquake hazards: inspection.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2016-09-28 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB1783 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1783-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1783 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 17, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dodd
(Principal coauthor: Senator Wolk)
FEBRUARY 4, 2016
An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) to Part
10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to
school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1783, Dodd. School facilities: nonstructural earthquake
hazards: inspection.
Existing law, the Field Act, generally requires the Department of
General Services to supervise the design and construction of, the
reconstruction or alteration of, or the addition to, a school
building to ensure, among other things, that plans and specifications
comply with adopted rules and regulations and building standards,
including those relating to seismic safety. Existing law requires the
Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with the State
Department of Education, the Department of General Services, and the
Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission, to develop an
educational pamphlet for use by school personnel to identify and
mitigate the risks posed by nonstructural earthquake hazards.
This bill would require each school district, county office of
education, and charter school, on or before January 1, 2020, to
complete an inspection of the contents in areas that are accessible
to or occupied by pupils in each of its school buildings located in
an area of higher seismicity, as defined, to assess whether the
contents in each area comply with the guidelines set forth in the
pamphlet and to develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant
contents into compliance with the published guidelines. The bill
would require, within 60 days of completing the inspection for each
area within a school building, that a checklist of compliant and
noncompliant contents be reported to the governing board of the
school district, the county board of education, or the governing body
of the charter school, as applicable, with a prioritization of
noncompliant items that threaten the safety of pupils and school
personnel and a set of recommended corrective actions to bring
high-priority noncompliant contents into compliance with the
published guidelines. By imposing additional duties on local
educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program. The bill would require the Department of Conservation,
on or before February 1, 2017, to post instructions or a hyperlink
on its Internet Web site on how to determine whether a school
district, county office of education, or charter school building is
located in an area of higher seismicity. The bill would make
implementation of these provisions contingent upon funding being
provided in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Following significant damage to school buildings in the 1933
Long Beach earthquake, the Field Act was enacted to mandate the
earthquake-resistant construction of schools.
(b) The Division of the State Architect (DSA) reviews the design,
construction, alteration, addition, and rehabilitation of K-12 public
schools and community colleges.
(c) The DSA also monitors the safety of nonstructural components
installed in school facilities.
(d) Implementation of the Field Act, as defined pursuant to
Section 17281 of the Education Code, depends upon a complex
interrelationship with dispersed responsibilities among state
departments and agencies, school districts, local government building
departments, educational institutions, and the construction
industry.
(e) The South Napa earthquake struck in the early morning on
August 24, 2014. Structural damage to schools was minimal. However,
nonstructural damage was significant and could have been life
threatening had the earthquake occurred during school hours.
(f) The earthquake highlighted dangers posed by light fixtures,
unrestrained bookcases, storage units, furniture, and other similar
school contents that are not subject to the Field Act's requirements.
(g) The DSA has issued guidelines for nonstructural earthquake
hazards in California schools, which include furniture and equipment.
However, there are no requirements in state law similar to the
requirements of the Field Act that require the DSA, local fire
agencies, or school districts to inspect schools to ensure that
school contents comply with the DSA nonstructural component
guidelines.
(h) School classrooms should be examined to ensure that
furnishings and equipment are properly located, anchored, and braced
to prevent harm to pupils and school personnel, and to ensure egress
from any room after an earthquake.
SEC. 2. Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 17660) is added to Part
10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8. NONSTRUCTURAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS
17660. (a) (1) On or before January 1, 2020, each school
district, county office of education, and charter school shall
complete an inspection of the contents, as described in Section
17661, in areas that are accessible to or occupied by pupils,
including classrooms, hallways, libraries, gymnasiums, multipurpose
rooms, cafeterias, computer rooms, administrative offices, and other
similar spaces in each of its school buildings located in an area of
higher seismicity to assess whether the contents in each area comply
with the guidelines set forth in Chapter 3 (Furniture and Equipment)
of the "Guide and Checklist for Nonstructural Earthquake Hazards in
California Schools," published by the Office of Emergency Services in
cooperation with the State Department of Education, the Department
of General Services, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety
Commission pursuant to Section 8587.7 of the Government Code, and to
develop corrective actions to bring noncompliant contents into
compliance with the published guidelines.
(2) For purposes of this section, "higher seismicity" means an
area with the result of .30g or greater on the California Geological
Survey's Ground Motion Interpolator found on the Department of
Conservation Internet Web site.
(3) The Department of Conservation, on or before February 1, 2017,
shall post instructions or a hyperlink on its Internet Web site on
how to determine whether a school district, county office of
education, or charter school building is located in an area of higher
seismicity.
(b) (1) Within 60 days of completing the inspection for each area
within a school building described in subdivision (a), a checklist of
compliant and noncompliant contents shall be reported to the
governing board of the school district, the county board of
education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable. The report shall include a prioritization of noncompliant
items that present an immediate and serious threat to the safety of
pupils and school personnel and a set of recommended corrective
actions to bring high-priority noncompliant contents into compliance
with the published guidelines.
(2) The governing board of the school district, the county board
of education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, shall review the report in a public meeting held pursuant
to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950)
of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), or, in
the case of a statewide charter school, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and shall post
the report on its Internet Web site.
(c) (1) The superintendent of a school district, the county
superintendent of schools, or the chief administrator of a charter
school, as applicable, shall annually certify in writing to the
governing board of the school district, the county board of
education, or the governing body of the charter school, as
applicable, which corrective actions recommended in the report
submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) have been
taken and completed.
(2) The certifications for each school building shall be posted to
the school district's, county office of education's, or charter
school's Internet Web site, as applicable.
(d) If a school district, county office of education, or charter
school completes an inspection pursuant to subdivision (a) before
January 1, 2017, the school district, county office of education, or
charter school may report the inspection and any corresponding
corrective actions it takes to the governing board of the school
district, the county board of education, or the governing body of the
charter school, as applicable, to comply with paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b).
17661. For purposes of this chapter, "contents" includes, but is
not limited to, file cabinets, bookcases, desktop and countertop
equipment, equipment on carts, display cases, art objects, potted
plants, aquariums, equipment on wheels or rollers, such as pianos and
chalkboards, office equipment, refrigerators, vending machines, shop
and gym equipment, gas cylinders, gas piping, and storage racks.
17662. This chapter shall not be implemented unless funding is
provided for its implementation in the annual Budget Act or another
statute.
SEC. 3. 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.
