Public safety: pools and spas.

Under the Swimming Pool Safety Act, upon the issuance of a building permit for the construction of a new swimming pool or spa, or the remodeling of an existing pool or spa, at a private, single-family home, the pool or spa is required to be equipped with at least 2 of 7 specified drowning prevention safety features. Under existing law, these features include, among others, an approved safety pool cover, as defined; exit alarms, as defined, on a private single-family home's doors that provide direct access to the swimming pool or spa, as specified; an alarm that, when placed in a swimming pool or spa, will sound upon detection of accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water; or other means of protection that afford an equal or greater degree of protection than those features specified in the act and that has been independently verified as meeting standards for those features established by ASTM International or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) . The act requires the local building code official to inspect and approve the drowning safety prevention features before the issuance of a final approval for the completion of permitted construction or remodeling work. This bill would remove the definition of an approved safety pool cover and would recast that drowning safety feature as a manually operated or power-operated safety pool cover to be accompanied by a label verifying that the cover meets certain specifications. The bill would remove the definition of exit alarms and would recast that drowning safety feature to include windows that provide direct access to the swimming pool or spa, as specified. The bill would require that an alarm that sounds upon accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water, as described above, be in good repair and operable as designed. The bill would also specify that the other means of protection may meet standards established by another nationally recognized standards development organization as an alternative to meeting the standards of the ASTM International or ASME, and require that the feature be accompanied by a label verifying that it meets those standards. The bill would specify that the requirements involving 2 of 7 drowning prevention safety features are not satisfied by specified combinations, including an exit alarm and a self-closing, self-latching device on the same door. Existing law, as part of the definition of home inspection for the transfer of real property, specifies that an appropriate inspection of real property with a swimming pool or spa includes noninvasive physical examination of the pool or spa and dwelling for the purpose of identifying which, if any, of the 7 specified drowning prevention safety features the pool or spa is equipped with. Existing law also requires this information to be included in the home inspection report. This bill would revise the specification of the above-described inspection to include identifying which, if any, of the 7 specified drowning prevention safety features is in good repair, operable as designed, and labeled, as specified, and to include this information in the home inspection report. The bill would require the report to include a written statement regarding pool isolation fences, as specified. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that, among other things, clarifies that a home inspector, as defined, is not required to determine whether an equipped drowning prevention safety feature, as specified, meets certain standards. By imposing additional requirements on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 115922 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 2866 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2866 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.