AB 2330 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Public health: cold spas and cold plunge tubs.

Summary

Existing law requires that every person, including both public and private entities, operating or maintaining a public swimming pool do so in a sanitary, healthful, and safe manner, and authorizes the State Department of Public Health to supervise the sanitation, healthfulness, and safety of public swimming pools. Existing law requires the department to make and enforce regulations pertaining to public swimming pools as it deems proper and to enforce specified building standards relating to public swimming pools. Existing law also requires every health officer to enforce the specified building standards relating to swimming pools and other regulations adopted by the department. Existing law defines public swimming pool for these purposes. Existing law makes a person who violates these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a specified fine or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. This bill would expand the definition of a public swimming pool to include a cold spa. The bill would define a cold spa for these purposes, and would require cold spas to be subject to specified requirements related to the construction and operation of a spa or spa pool, except as specified. Because this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also establish requirements for a cold plunge tub, including, among other things, that the cold plunge tub is prohibited from being placed or used within the same enclosure as a public pool or spa. The bill would define a cold plunge tub to mean an aboveground, individual use therapeutic tub that is maintained at temperatures between 35 degrees Fahrenheit and 60 degrees Fahrenheit by use of a mechanical chiller, among other things. The bill would specify that a cold plunge tub is not considered a public swimming pool and is not subject to any of the construction or sanitation standards mentioned above. 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/16/26 - Amended Assembly → AB2330 · 2 edits

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The differences are entirely presentational: the bill text was reformatted from a traditional legislative document layout (with line numbers, page breaks, and column formatting) into a web-based display format for the California Legislature website. All four sections of the bill remain identical in content.

TECHNICAL

The bill was reformatted from a printed legislative document style (with line numbers, page headers/footers, and two-column layout) into a single-column web page format with navigation elements, search fields, and metadata sections.

Website navigation and utility elements were added, including skip-to-content links, accessibility options, quick search by bill number or keyword, version history display, and share/track/favorite buttons.

04/06/26 - Amended Assembly → 04/16/26 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Apr 16, 2026

MODERATE

The April 16 amendment removes the entire standalone Article 5.5 (Sections 116069-116069.5) that created a separate regulatory framework for cold spas with preemption of local rules, and replaces it with a simpler approach that folds cold spas into existing public swimming pool regulations. The cold spa definition is narrowed from any structure or installation (including above-ground and portable) to specifically an in-ground public swimming pool. Most significantly, all preemption language prohibiting local governments from imposing stricter requirements on cold spas has been eliminated.

SCOPE

Entire Article 5.5 (Sections 116069-116069.5) was deleted, including the preemption provision that declared cold spa regulation a matter of statewide concern and prohibited counties, cities, and local health departments from adopting more stringent rules covering lifeguard staffing, onsite medical personnel, construction classifications, drain-and-fill frequency, and permitting standards.

The bill now operates by simply adding 'cold spa' to the existing definition of 'public swimming pool' in Section 116025 and making cold spas subject to existing spa/spa pool construction and operation requirements (with a chiller exception replacing the water jet/aeration requirement), rather than creating a separate regulatory article.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Cold Spa' was narrowed from any structure, device, or installation (whether in-ground, above-ground, portable, or integrated into another facility) to specifically an 'in-ground public swimming pool' designed for brief therapeutic immersion at 35-60 degrees Fahrenheit that can support multiple users.

REQUIREMENT

Optional provisions allowing cold spas to use ozone/UV disinfection in place of manual drain-and-fill, to operate with a lifeguard under an approved safety plan instead of full pool supervision rules, to have a medical director onsite, and to be classified as a special purpose pool were all removed.

ENFORCEMENT

The preemption clause that would have voided conflicting local ordinances as applied to cold spas was removed, meaning local jurisdictions may now impose additional requirements beyond state law on cold spas.

02/19/26 - Introduced → 04/06/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Apr 6, 2026

MODERATE

The amendment significantly expands the bill's scope by integrating cold spas into the existing public swimming pool regulatory framework (amending Section 116025) and adding two new sections: one defining and regulating 'cold plunge tubs' as a distinct, lightly regulated category, and another formally defining 'Cold Spas' as in-ground multi-user pools subject to standard spa construction rules with a chiller exception. The bill now also carries a state-mandated local program designation because it expands the scope of an existing misdemeanor.

Scope change

The bill's scope broadens substantially: it now amends the core public swimming pool definition (Section 116025) to include cold spas, adds a new exempt category for individual-use cold plunge tubs with minimal regulation, and formally defines multi-user Cold Spas as a subset of public pools subject to standard spa rules. The preemption provisions from the introduced version are retained but repositioned after the new sections.

SCOPE

Section 116025 is amended to add 'cold spa' to the definition of 'public swimming pool,' bringing cold spas under all existing public pool sanitation, construction, and enforcement provisions.

New Section 116027 defines a 'Cold Spa' as an in-ground public swimming pool for brief therapeutic immersion at 35-60 degrees Fahrenheit supporting multiple users, subject to all standard spa construction and operation rules except the water jet or aeration system requirement, which is replaced by a chiller requirement.

DEFINITION

New Section 116026 defines a 'cold plunge tub' as an aboveground, individual-use therapeutic tub maintained at 35-60 degrees Fahrenheit by mechanical chiller, with automatic chlorine or bromine disinfection, that must be drained daily and cannot share an enclosure with a public pool or spa.

REQUIREMENT

Cold plunge tubs must display signage in minimum one-inch contrasting letters stating they are not under health regulation as a public swimming pool and that use is at the user's own risk.

FISCAL

A new Section 4 provides that no state reimbursement is required because any local costs arise from creating or changing a crime or infraction under Government Code Section 17556.

ENFORCEMENT

The state-mandated local program designation changes from 'no' to 'yes' because the bill expands the scope of an existing misdemeanor by adding cold spas to the public swimming pool definition.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

In committee: Held under submission.

lower

May 13, 2026

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 20, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 15, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 14).

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Apr 6, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

lower

Feb 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 22.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors