Bill Text: CA AB821 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: School facilities: maintenance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB821 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB821-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 821 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Brownley
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 17615) to Chapter
5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 821, as amended, Brownley. School facilities: maintenance.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board of any school
district to give diligent care to the health and physical development
of pupils.
This bill would create the Clean and Healthy Schools Act, and
would make findings and declarations regarding indoor air quality and
cleaning products. The bill would require all school districts and
all nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50 or more
pupils, by the 2010-11 2011-12 school
year, or when it is economically feasible, to purchase and use
exclusively environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning
maintenance products, as specified. The bill would require a school
district or school to provide written notification
submit a letter indicating that it will not purchase and
use environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance
products to the State Department of Education and the local
governing board , annually, until it determines that it is
economically feasible to comply with the requirements described
above. The bill also would require the State Department of Education
to post on its Internet Web site information to assist school
districts and schools to comply with these provisions. Because this
bill would require school districts to perform new duties, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 5 (commencing with Section 17615) is added to
Chapter 5 of Part 10.5 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
Code, to read:
Article 5. Clean and Healthy Schools Act
17615. This article may be cited as the Clean and Healthy Schools
Act.
17615.1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Children are vulnerable to, and may be severely affected by,
exposure to chemicals, hazardous waste, and other environmental
hazards. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates
that human exposure to indoor air pollutants can be two to five times
and up to 100 times more hazardous than outdoor levels, and that
half of schools in the United States have poor indoor air quality.
The State Air Resources Board has found significant indoor air
quality problems in California's portable and traditional classrooms.
(b) Pupils, teachers, janitors, and other staff members spend a
significant amount of time inside school buildings, during which time
they are exposed to cleaners and cleaning maintenance products. Many
cleaners and cleaning maintenance products contain known
carcinogens, reproductive toxins, chemicals that cause asthma, and
other hazardous ingredients.
(c) Asthma is the primary cause of school absences due to chronic
disease in the United States, and is the leading cause of
hospitalization for children under 15 years of age in California.
(d) Section 12400 of the Public Contract Code defines
"environmentally preferable purchasing" as the procurement or
acquisition of goods and services that have a lesser or reduced
effect on human health and the environment when compared with
competing goods or services that serve the same purpose.
(e) The benefits of cleaner indoor air in schools have been shown
to reduce the incidence of asthma, allergies, and absenteeism in
pupils, as well as increase teacher retention rates and reduce
workers' compensation claims. The use of environmentally preferable
cleaning and cleaning maintenance products contributes to cleaner
indoor air quality.
(f) Third-party, independent, voluntary certification programs
exist that set standards for, and evaluate, environmentally
preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products, such as Green
Seal and EcoLogo, among others, and current standards establish
environmental requirements for industrial and institutional
general-purpose, restroom, glass, carpet cleaners, floor care
products, and handsoaps, intended for routine cleaning of offices,
schools, and institutions, and include consideration of vulnerable
populations in institutional settings, such as schools and day-care
facilities. Paint is not used or applied daily or often, and is not a
general-purpose product used for routine cleaning of school
facilities as described in this section. Products certified under
these standards cannot contain carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive
toxins, ingredients that cause asthma, ingredients that are corrosive
to skin and eyes, heavy metals, including lead, hexavalent chromium,
or selenium, either in elemental form or compounds, 2-butoxyethanol,
alkylphenol ethoxylates, phthalates, ozone-depleting chemicals, or
optical brighteners. The standards also establish specific limits on
ingredients for acute toxicity, skin absorption, volatile organic
compound content, inhalation toxicity, toxicity to aquatic life,
bioaccumulating compounds, biodegradability, eutrophication,
combustibility, and fragrances. The standards define requirements for
concentrates, dispensing systems, packaging, recyclability,
labeling, and training. Standards are revised periodically and may
apply to additional categories of products. Currently, the standards
do not apply to cleaners for household use, food preparation
operations, or medical facilities, and do not apply to air
fresheners, enzymatic, or microbially active products required to be
registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act, such as those making claims as disinfectants or sanitizers.
(g) Existing law establishes the public school system, imposes
various safety requirements, and provides state funding to school
districts that contribute to operating budgets that already include
janitorial programs. Schools are encouraged to use the State of
California Procurement Contract to purchase environmentally
preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products to maximize the
available discounts and avoid developing their own separate bids.
17615.2. As used in this article:
(a) "Economically feasible" means that there is no net increase in
the cleaning costs of a school.
(b) "Environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance
product intended for routine cleaning and cleaning maintenance,
including, but not limited to, general-purpose cleaners, bathroom
cleaners, carpet cleaners, glass cleaners, floor cleaners, floor
finishes, floor strippers, hand cleaners, and soaps" means a product
that meets independent, third-party certification criteria for lesser
or reduced effects on human health and the environment compared with
competing goods or services that serve the same purpose.
"Environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance product" does
not include any disinfecting cleaner, sanitizer, or any other
antimicrobial product regulated by the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.), until the
United States Environmental Protection Agency adopts a final rule
that may allow these products to make environmentally preferable
claims and obtain and use environmentally preferable certifications.
(c) "Third-party certification" means certification by an
established, independent, nationally recognized program developed for
the purpose of identifying environmentally preferable products and
that meets, at a minimum all of the following criteria:
(1) Has an open, public process for setting standards that
involves key stakeholders.
(2) Clearly defines the fees a manufacturer must pay for
certification.
(3) Clearly avoids conflicts of interest in the standard setting
and product evaluation process.
(4) Has the criteria and standards for certification published and
publicly available and easily accessible to purchasers,
manufacturers, and the general public, such as through the program's
Internet Web site, and includes a list of certified products that
meet the standards.
(5) Bases certification of the product and its packaging on
criteria for reducing effects on human health and safety, ecological
toxicity, other environmental impacts, and resource conservation,
including, at a minimum, consideration of chemicals that cause
cancer, mutagenic and reproductive harm, organ and nervous system
damage, asthma, smog, ozone depletion, aquatic toxicity,
bioaccumulation, and eutrophication.
(6) Requires periodic revisions and updates of the standards to
remain consistent with current research about the potential impact of
chemicals on human health and the environment.
(7) Monitors and reinforces the standards, provides for the
authority to inspect the manufacturing facilities, and periodically
does so.
(8) Has a registered, legally protected certification mark.
(9) If possible, is developed by consensus among key stakeholders.
(10) Establishes a leadership level in standards for products.
17615.3. (a) By the 2010-11 2011-12
school year, or when it is economically feasible, all school
districts, and all nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50
or more pupils, shall purchase and use exclusively environmentally
preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products if an
environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance product
exists.
(b) A school may deplete its existing cleaning and maintenance
supply stocks and implement the new requirements in the next
procurement cycle.
(c) If a school district or school determines that it is not
economically feasible to purchase and use environmentally preferable
cleaning and cleaning maintenance products by the 2010-11
2011-12 school year, the school district or
school shall provide written notification
submit a letter indicating that it will not purchase and use
environmentally preferable cleaning and cleaning maintenance products
to the State Department of Education and the local governing
board annually, until it determines that it is economically
feasible to comply with the requirements of subdivision (a).
17615.4. The State Department of Education shall post information
on its Internet Web site to assist school districts and schools in
complying with Section 17615.3.
17615.5. This article sets minimum standards for cleaning
products used in schools. Nothing in this article shall prevent local
jurisdictions from adopting guidelines that are more stringent that
those defined in this article.
SEC. 2. 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.
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