Bill Text: CA AB56 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: School facilities: carbon monoxide devices.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2013-10-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 475, Statutes of 2013. [AB56 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB56-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 56	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 2, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 11, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Weber
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Brown, Holden, Maienschein,
and Wieckowski)
   (Coauthor: Senator Cannella)

                        JANUARY 7, 2013

   An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) to Chapter
1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to school facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 56, as amended, Weber. School facilities: carbon monoxide
devices.
   Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998,
requires certain new school facilities construction projects that
require the approval of the Department of General Services, as
specified, to include an automatic fire detection, alarm, and
sprinkler system.  The act also requires certain
modernization projects that require the approval of the department to
include an automatic fire detection and alarm system, as specified.

   Existing law requires an owner of a dwelling unit intended for
human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device, as specified, in
each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage.
   This bill would require any private or public school building used
for educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is built  or modernized  on or after
January 1, 2014, and that has a fossil fuel burning furnace located
inside the school building, to have a carbon monoxide device. The
bill would  define "modernized" as a rehabilitation project
that has an estimated total cost in excess of $200,000, and would
 require that the carbon monoxide device be installed in
close proximity to each furnace located within the school building
 . The bill would also require   , and would
authorize  the  State Fire Marshal   Office
of Public School Construction  to adopt rules and regulations
 that he or she deems   deemed  necessary
to implement these provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) (1) Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced
when fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal, is burned.
Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing the
delivery of oxygen to the body's organs, such as the heart, brain,
and tissues. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
are headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and
confusion. Long-term breathing of carbon monoxide can affect the
memory, brain function, behavior, and cognition. According to the
American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of
accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Gas furnaces and
other fuel-burning appliances are common sources of carbon monoxide
poisoning.
   (2) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimate that each year more than 400 Americans die from
unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 visit the
emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to carbon
monoxide poisoning. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell carbon monoxide. At
high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a person in minutes.
   (3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year carbon
monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths, possibly
thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and 700 avoidable
emergency room and hospital visits.
   (4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide,
including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches, concentration
problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson's disease, memory impairment,
and personality alterations.
   (b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported nationwide in
educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents occurred in school
buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
   (c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in Atlanta,
Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a carbon
monoxide leak from the school's furnace. Firefighters responded to
the school after reports came in that people at the school were
unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious, firefighters
found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and 10 adults were
taken to the local hospital.
   (2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
   (3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to
have, and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.

   (d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter 19 of
the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended for
human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
monoxide alarm, as specified.
   (e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently and
symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common ailments such as
the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the exact number of
carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings and it is highly
probable that the number of carbon monoxide incidents is
underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon monoxide incidents
in schools will likely rise in future years as school buildings and
their infrastructure become outdated over time. Carbon monoxide
devices provide a vital, highly effective, and low-cost protection
against carbon monoxide poisoning and these devices should be made
available to every school in California to help prevent students from
being exposed to the effects of carbon monoxide.
  SEC. 2.  Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
to read:

      Article 7.  Carbon Monoxide Devices


   32080.  For purposes of this article,  the following
definitions shall apply: 
    (a)     "Fossil
  "fossil  fuel" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code. 
   (b) "Modernized" means a rehabilitation project that has an
estimated total cost in excess of two hundred thousand dollars
($200,000). 
   32081.  (a) A private or public school building that is used for
educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that is built  or modernized  on or after
January 1, 2014, and that has a fossil fuel burning furnace located
inside the school building, shall have a carbon monoxide device, as
defined in Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code, installed in
that building.
   (b) A private or public school used for educational purposes for
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that has a furnace
located inside the school building, and that was built  or
modernized  prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have
a carbon monoxide device installed in the building.
   32085.  A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
32081 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
within the public or private school building so that the device can
accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.
   32086.  The  State Fire Marshal shall  
Office of Public School Construction may  adopt rules and
regulations  that he or she deems   deemed 
necessary to implement this article.