Child daycare facilities: fire clearance requirements.

Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of child daycare facilities, including daycare centers, employer-sponsored childcare centers, and family daycare homes, by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law requires a prospective applicant, before obtaining licensure, to secure and maintain a fire clearance approval for the applicant's facility from the local fire enforcing agency or the State Fire Marshal, whichever has primary fire protection jurisdiction. Existing law requires that prospective applicants be notified of this requirement and other information relating to the fire safety clearance application. Under existing law, upon receipt of a request from a prospective child daycare facility, the local fire enforcing agency or the State Fire Marshall, whichever has primary jurisdiction, is required to conduct a preinspection of the facility before the final fire clearance approval. Existing law requires the primary fire enforcing agency to complete the final fire clearance inspection under a specified timeline. This bill would require the local fire enforcing agency or the State Fire Marshal, whichever has primary fire protection jurisdiction, to conduct a preinspection of a prospective applicant for licensure, without being conditioned on a request from the prospective licensee. The bill would require the preinspection to verify whether the facility is authorized to enroll ambulatory children only or both ambulatory and nonambulatory children, as defined, even if the facility is not actively seeking to enroll nonambulatory children, for purposes of identifying any applicable modifications that are required for compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The bill would exempt a child daycare facility from a revised fire clearance for the addition of each nonambulatory child once approved for enrolling nonambulatory children, unless the facility exceeds current capacity or the facility makes additional modifications after already obtaining fire clearance approval. Under the bill, that provision would also apply to a child daycare facility that obtained fire clearance approval before January 1, 2025, authorizing the facility to enroll a nonambulatory person, as specified. By creating new duties for local fire enforcing agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 the statutory provisions noted above.