BILL NUMBER:  SB 1386
  VETOED	DATE: 09/30/2008




To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 1386 without my signature.

This bill would require that carbon monoxide devices be installed in
residences beginning in 2010, thus placing a building standard in
statute.  This bill would also require that the Department of Housing
and Community Development develop additional building standards
concerning specific installation requirements for these devices.

While I am certainly concerned with the health and safety of
Californians, this bill is an undesirable approach.  Building
standards should not be statutory.  The Building Standards Commission
(BSC) was created to ensure an open public adoption process allowing
experts to develop standards and periodic updates to the building
codes.  Placing building standards in statute rather than regulation
circumvents the existing state regulatory adoption process and
excludes the input of safety and construction experts.

Smoke detectors in homes were approved by the BSC after a process of
review of the safety, need, and reliability of the product. This
process should be utilized for carbon monoxide devices.

Additionally, product reliability is an issue that has also affected
attempts to require carbon monoxide devices through 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 devices in new residential dwellings,
citing the lack of clear direction for placement of the devices and
the propensity for false alarm indications.  A recent test study
indicated that alarm technology is not adequately reliable, resulting
in false alarms or no alarm at all.

For these reasons, I am returning this bill without my signature.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger