BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1386
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal
VERSION: 3/26/08
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 1, 2008
SUBJECT:
Carbon monoxide alarms
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires that a carbon monoxide alarm be installed in
every dwelling intended for human occupancy that has a fossil
fuel burning appliance, fireplace, or attached garage.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for adopting
state building standards. Under this process, relevant state
agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which the
BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. The Department of
Housing and Community Development is the relevant state agency
for residential building standards.
Building standards are generally prospective in that they only
to apply to new construction or to existing buildings that
undergo alteration or rehabilitation. There are a few
exceptions to this rule, however. Current law requires that all
water heaters in existing residential structures be braced,
anchored, or strapped to resist falling or horizontal
displacement due to earthquake motion. Current law also
requires that smoke detectors be installed in all existing
multifamily residential dwellings and in single family dwellings
which are sold. To comply with the smoke detector statute, an
affected residential property owner must install a smoke
detector approved and listed by the State Fire Marshal.
With respect to multifamily rental housing, the smoke detector
must be operable at the time that a tenant takes possession.
The tenant is then responsible for notifying the owner if the
smoke detector becomes inoperable. The owner must correct any
reported deficiencies in the smoke detector but is not in
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violation of the law if he or she has not received notice of any
deficiency. An owner may enter the unit for the purpose of
installing, repairing, testing, and maintaining the detector
provided that standard notice is provided. Failure to comply is
an infraction punishable by a maximum fine of $200 for each
offense.
With respect to single-family housing, a seller must provide a
buyer as soon as practicable prior to the sale with a written
statement indicating that the home is in compliance with the
smoke detector statute. Real estate agents and other agents to
the transaction, however, are not required to monitor or ensure
compliance with the law. Moreover, third-party agents to the
transaction are not held liable for any error, inaccuracy, or
omission relating to the disclosure, except that a real estate
agent may be held liable where he or she participates in the
making of the disclosure with actual knowledge of the falsity of
the disclosure. The exclusive remedy for failure to comply is
an award of actual damages up to $100. A transfer of title may
not be invalidated on the basis of a failure to comply.
This bill requires that a carbon monoxide alarm be installed in
every dwelling intended for human occupancy that has a fossil
fuel burning appliance, fireplace, or attached garage.
Specifically, the bill:
Defines a carbon monoxide alarm as an alarm designed to detect
carbon monoxide and produce a distinct, audible alarm. The
alarm must conform to specified national consensus standards
and come in one of the following forms:
? Battery-powered.
? Plug-in with a battery backup.
? Hard wired in to the dwelling's electrical system if
equipped with a battery backup.
? Connected to a more comprehensive monitoring system via
a panel.
? Combined with a smoke detector into a single unit if the
alarms clearly differentiate between smoke and carbon
monoxide.
Requires the State Fire Marshall, in consultation with the
Board of Fire Services and the Air Resources Board, to adopt
any regulations or standards necessary to control the quality
and installation of carbon monoxide alarms and provides that
if standards are updated in the future, a building owner shall
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not have to install a new alarm unless a building permit for
work in excess of $1000 is requested.
Requires the State Fire Marshall to develop a process for the
approval and listing of carbon monoxide alarms and allows him
or her to charge a fee to manufacturers to cover associated
costs.
Prohibits the marketing, distribution, and sale of carbon
monoxide alarms that are not listed and approved by the State
Fire Marshall.
Requires that an approved carbon monoxide alarm be installed
in every single-family dwelling, factory-built home,
apartment, condominium, duplex, lodging house, dormitory,
apartment complex, hotel, motel, condominium, stock
cooperative, or time-share unit that has a fossil fuel burning
appliance, fireplace, or attached garage according to the
following schedule:
? In new units issued a certificate of occupancy after
June 1, 2009.
? Upon application for a building permit requested after
June 1, 2009, if the value of the work covered by the
permit is in excess of $1000.
? By July 1, 2010 for all other dwelling units.
Allows local governments to adopt ordinances requiring carbon
monoxide alarms in dwellings intended for human occupancy if
the ordinance satisfies the minimum requirements of the bill
and is consistent with this bill.
Provides that failure to install an approved alarm by the
required deadline is an infraction. An owner shall first be
given a 30-day notice to correct the violation and thereafter
is subject to a fine of $200 for each offense. Such fines are
levied by local fire marshals or fire departments or, in cases
where the local government has adopted an ordinance to that
effect, by the local building or code enforcement departments.
Requires the owner of a rental dwelling to test and maintain
carbon monoxide alarms within the unit. The alarm must be
operable at the time that the tenant takes possession. The
tenant is then responsible for periodically testing the alarm
and notifying the owner if the alarm becomes inoperable. The
owner must correct any reported deficiencies in the alarm but
is not in violation of the law if he or she has not received
notice of any deficiency.
On and after July 1, 2009, requires a seller of a
single-family home, factory-built home, condominium, duplex,
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stock cooperative, or time-share unit to provide a buyer as
soon as practicable prior to the sale with a written statement
indicating that the home is in compliance with the carbon
monoxide alarm statute.
Provides that real estate agents and other agents to a sales
transaction are not required to monitor or ensure compliance
with the law.
Provides that third-party agents to a sales transaction are
not held liable for any error, inaccuracy, or omission
relating to the disclosure, except that a real estate agent
may be held liable where he or she participates in the making
of the disclosure with actual knowledge of the falsity of the
disclosure.
Provides that the exclusive remedy for failure to disclose is
an award of actual damages up to $100 and that a transfer of
title may not be invalidated on the basis of a failure to
disclose.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The Air Resources Board estimates that
every year in California carbon monoxide poisoning accounts
for between 30 and 40 deaths, between 175 and 700 emergency
room and hospital visits, and possibly thousands of illnesses.
According to the author, these deaths and illnesses are
preventable through the use of carbon monoxide alarms. The
author further states that carbon monoxide alarms provide a
vital, highly effective, and low-cost protection against
carbon monoxide poisoning, and equipping every home with two
carbon monoxide alarms would cut accident-related costs by 93
percent. Sixteen states and a number of large cities have
already passed laws mandating the use of carbon monoxide
alarms. The author believes that adopting such a mandate in
California will significantly improve public health.
2.Hearing results . On November 27, 2007, the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee conducted an
informational hearing on the topic of preventing carbon
monoxide hearing. Upon conclusion of the hearing, committee
staff made the following findings:
Carbon monoxide poisoning significantly impacts the
public health, resulting in dozens of fatalities, hundreds
of hospitalizations, and thousands of illnesses in
California each year.
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs most frequently as a
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result of the improper installation or maintenance of
furnaces and stoves in the home, but also is commonly the
result of the improper use of grills, generators, and
camping equipment indoors or of idling engines in attached
garages.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is of equal if not greater
concern in older homes due to the existence of older
appliances or the lack of central heating.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is generally preventable
through better education of consumers and improved
maintenance of combustion appliances.
When carbon monoxide does enter a home, carbon monoxide
alarms can and do alert the residents and prevent or
significantly decrease the severity of a poisoning.
With respect to the technology used for carbon monoxide
alarms, there may be room for improvement.
Any legislation to require the installation of carbon
monoxide alarms in homes would need to provide guidance on
the number of alarms required and where they should be
placed.
Any legislative mandate must be coupled with a public
campaign that educates consumers on the hazards of carbon
monoxide poisoning, the requirements of the law, and the
need to replace alarms at the end of their useful life.
Emergency service providers must also receive training in
response protocols for possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
This bill addresses many of the findings from the hearing in
that is seeks to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning through the
required use of carbon monoxide alarms, covers older homes,
and allows the State Fire Marshall to adopt standards for the
quality of alarms and regulations regarding the installation
and placement of alarms. The bill does not include an
education component for either consumers or emergency service
providers.
1.Costs and benefits . A quick search on the internet found
carbon monoxide alarms ranging in price from $19.50 to $90,
with many models offered in the $20-$40 range. Using this
latter range, the total cost of purchasing one alarm for each
of the roughly 13 million households in California would range
from $260 to $520 million. It is possible that the
regulations adopted pursuant to the bill will require more
than one alarm in many residences, which would increase the
total cost accordingly. Carbon monoxide alarms are considered
to have a useful life of four to seven years, meaning that
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dwelling owners would be required to replace their alarms at
some interval.
On the other hand, a carbon monoxide alarm mandate has the
potential to significantly reduce the 30 to 40 deaths that
occur each year in California due to unintentional carbon
monoxide poisoning. Additional societal savings would result
from reduced hospital visits and disabilities that result from
carbon monoxide poisoning and the lost productivity and wages
that accompany them.
2.Reliability . One of the main issues raised by opponents to a
mandate is that the current alarm technology is not adequately
reliable, resulting in false alarms or no alarm at all. The
most recent study available was conducted in 2006 by Wilson
Environmental Associates for Southern California Gas Company,
a subsidiary of one of the opponents of this bill. The study
selected two carbon monoxide alarm models based on
availability and a high ranking by Consumer Reports magazine,
purchased 50 alarms of each model at retail stores, and tested
their performance in a lab. All the alarms from one model
performed according to national standards. With respect to
the second model, most of the alarms were triggered well below
nationally-established limits, and two became inoperable
within the first few days. The study also retested 134 alarms
purchased in 2002 from three manufacturers. Four years later,
38% of these alarms were no longer operable. The remainder
continued to perform according to national standards.
The reliability question has also affected attempts to require
carbon monoxide alarms though national building codes. The
International Code Council, which writes a national model
building code, recently rejected two proposals to require the
installation of carbon monoxide alarms in new dwellings,
citing the lack of clear direction for placement of the alarms
and the propensity for false alarm indications.
Manufacturers respond by stating that alarm technology is
constantly improving and that the models on the market today
are superior in performance even to those that were available
in 2006. In addition, staff points out while false alarms are
an annoyance and generate costs, when it comes to poisoning
prevention, any alarm is better than no alarm.
3.Arguments in opposition . Opponents believe that by failing to
assign comprehensive compliance monitoring to an appropriate
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state or local agency, this bill effectively puts the onus on
real estate agents to ensure compliance when a dwelling is
sold. They believe it is unfair to place this burden on
private parties to achieve a societal public safety goal. In
addition, because compliance will only be verified at time of
sale, opponents believe that this bill will add time and cost
to sale transactions when timing and cost are most critical.
As an alternative to prevent carbon monoxide poisonings,
opponents suggest educating consumers about the dangers of
carbon monoxide in the Homebuyers Guide to Environmental
Hazards, by including consumer information with the sale of
fuels, and by requiring the State Fire Marshall to strengthen
standards for heaters and other combustion appliances.
4.Technical amendments .
In Section 13263(a)(1) strike "June" and insert "July"
In Section 13264(d) strike "alarm" and insert "alarm"
In Section 13266(c)(2) clarify that the requirement to update
a carbon monoxide alarm to new standards when a building
permit is requested applies only to the individual unit or
units covered by the building permit.
1.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill to both the Transportation and Housing Committee and the
Committee on Governmental Organization.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, March 26,
2008)
SUPPORT: American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees
California Coalition for Children's Safety and
Health
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Industrial Hygiene Council
California State Firefighters Association
Fire Districts Association of California
Friends of the Earth
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 6 (San Francisco)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 180 (Napa/Solano)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 302 (Contra Costa)
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International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 340 (Sacramento/Redding)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 441 (Orange)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 551 (North Coast)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 595 (
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
Local 617 (San Mateo)
National Fire Protection Association
Residential Fire Safety Institute
Safe Kids California
State Association of Electrical Workers
OPPOSED: California Association of Realtors