BILL NUMBER: AB 2697 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 426
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 11, 1998
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 11, 1998
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 1998
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 26, 1998
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 12, 1998
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 1998
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ducheny
FEBRUARY 23, 1998
An act to amend Sections 18949.6 and 116049.1 of the Health and
Safety Code, relating to building standards, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2697, Ducheny. Building standards.
(1) Existing law requires a notice of the proposed adoption,
amendment, or repeal of a regulation by a state agency to include,
among other things, a statement that the action would have a
significant effect on housing costs, if that is determined to be the
case, and requires an evaluation of the proposed action to be made
available.
This bill would require the Trade and Commerce Agency, if
requested by the California Building Standards Commission, to provide
an economic review of the housing cost impact statement or related
study submitted by a building standards code change proponent.
(2) Existing law requires all dry-niche light fixtures and all
underwater wet-niche light fixtures operating at more than 15 volts
in public swimming pools operated for the use of the general public
with or without charge, or for the use of the members and guests of a
private club, including any swimming pool located on the grounds of
a hotel, motel, inn, apartment complex, or any residential setting
other than a single-family home, and those public swimming pools
owned or operated by the state or by local agencies, to be protected
by a ground-fault circuit interrupter in the branch circuit and to
have light fixtures that have encapsulated terminals. Any of these
public swimming pools that do not meet these requirements as of
January 1, 1998, are required to be retrofitted by July 1, 1998, and
to be inspected by September 1, 1998.
Existing law also designates the State Department of Health
Services as having supervision over these requirements, and requires
every health officer, within his or her jurisdiction, to enforce
building standards relating to swimming pools. Existing law makes
violation of these requirements a misdemeanor.
This bill would revise and recast these requirements, as the
Yasmin Paleso'o Memorial Swimming Pool Safety Law, to require that
the design and installation of all underwater lighting systems,
operating at more than 15 volts, supplied from a branch circuit
either directly or by way of a transformer, be installed according to
specified requirements so that there is no shock hazard with any
likely combination of fault conditions during normal use. Any public
swimming pool that does not meet these requirements would be
required to be retrofitted by May 1, 1999. The bill would delete the
exemption for public swimming pools owned or operated by the state
or any local government from these provisions.
The bill would also require the owner or operator of a public
swimming pool, on or before May 1, 1999, to obtain an inspection by a
local health officer or a qualified contractor and to certify to the
local health officer that the facility complies with these
provisions. By changing the definition of a crime and increasing the
inspection duties of local officers, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(3) 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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
(4) This bill would take effect immediately as an urgency
statute.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 18949.6 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
18949.6. (a) The commission shall adopt regulations setting forth
the procedure for the adoption of building standards and
administrative regulations that apply directly to the implementation
or enforcement of building standards.
(b) Regulatory adoption shall be accomplished so as to facilitate
the triennial adoption of the specified model codes pursuant to
Section 18928.
(c) The regulations shall allow for the distribution of proposed
building standards and regulatory changes to the public for review in
compliance with the requirements of the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and
for the acceptance of responses from the public.
(d) With regard to proposed residential building standards, the
Trade and Commerce Agency shall provide, if requested by the
commission, an economic review of the housing cost impact statement
or related study submitted by the code change proponent pursuant to
Section 11346.5 of the Government Code.
SEC. 2. Section 116049.1 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
116049.1. (a) "Public swimming pool," as used in this section,
means any swimming pool operated for the use of the general public
with or without charge, or for the use of the members and guests of a
private club, including any swimming pool located on the grounds of
a hotel, motel, inn, an apartment complex, or any residential setting
other than a single-family home. For purposes of this section,
public swimming pool shall not include a swimming pool located on the
grounds of a private single-family home.
(b) The design and installation of all underwater lighting
systems, operating at more than 15 volts, supplied from a branch
circuit either directly or by way of a transformer, shall be
installed in a public swimming pool, as defined in this section, so
that there is no shock hazard with any likely combination of fault
conditions during normal use, and shall comply with both of the
following requirements:
(1) An approved ground-fault circuit interrupter shall be
installed in the branch circuit that supplies all fixtures operating
at more than 15 volts.
(2) Only approved underwater lighting fixtures shall be used and
no lighting fixtures shall be installed for operations at more than
150 volts between conductors.
(c) Any public swimming pool that does not meet the requirements
specified in subdivision (b) , shall be retrofitted to comply with
these requirements by May 1, 1999.
(d) The ground-fault circuit interrupter required pursuant to this
section shall comply with standards acceptable to the authority
having jurisdiction.
(e) The owner or operator of a public swimming pool shall , on or
before May 1, 1999, comply with both of the following:
(1) Obtain an inspection of its public swimming pool by the local
health officer or a qualified contractor as set forth in subdivision
(f).
(2) Certify to the local health officer as set forth in Section
116053 that the public swimming pool facility is in compliance with
this section.
(f) All electrical work required for compliance with this section
shall be performed by a person licensed to perform electrical work
within his or her general, specialty, or limited specialty contractor'
s licensed scope of practice pursuant to Section 7059 of the Business
and Professions Code.
(g) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Yasmin
Paleso'o Memorial Swimming Pool Safety Law.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because in that regard this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
other 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. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide that the design and installation of all
underwater lighting systems in public swimming pools are retrofitted
to appropriate safety standards at the earliest possible date, it is
necessary for this act to take effect immediately.