BILL NUMBER: AB 603 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 199
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 13, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 12, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 20, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 17, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dutra
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to amend Sections 19089.5, 19161, and 19170 of the Business
and Professions Code, relating to home furnishings.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 603, Dutra. Home furnishings.
(1) The Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act, which
establishes the Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation,
requires, among other matters, that all mattresses manufactured for
sale in this state as well as specified furniture sold or offered for
sale for use in a place of public accommodation in this state and
specified reupholstered furniture be fire retardant. Under the act,
the failure to comply with these provisions is a crime.
This bill would require, on and after January 1, 2004, that all
mattresses and box springs manufactured for sale in this state,
except in specified establishments with automatic fire extinguishing
systems, be resistant to an open flame under a standard specified by
the bureau. The bill would require that this requirement be made
applicable to other bedding if the bureau concludes that they
contribute to mattress fires. The bill would make these regulations
inoperative if a flame resistance standard for these products is
adopted under federal law and would require the bureau to report to
the Legislature summarizing its regulatory findings.
(2) Existing provisions of the act authorize the chief of the
bureau to set license fees not exceeding specified amounts for
licenses under the act.
This bill would increase the maximum fees that could be set for an
importer's license and a furniture and bedding manufacturer's
license under the act.
(3) Because a violation of the bill's expanded fire protection
standard applicable to mattresses would be a crime, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the scope of an
existing crime.
(4) 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Mattresses are currently subject to federal and state
flammability requirements. In the early 1970's, the United States
Consumer Product Safety Commission (the CPSC) established the Federal
Mattress Flammability Standard, which requires that mattresses
resist ignition by smoldering cigarettes. In addition, the bureau
and the mattress industry developed California Technical Bulletin 129
(TB-129), which establishes an open-flame standard for mattresses
used in high-occupancy institutional settings such as prisons,
dormitories, and hospitals. TB-129, in turn, provided the impetus
for ASTM E 1590, a consensus standard promulgated by the American
Society for Testing and Materials to establish product performance
test methods for mattresses used in institutional settings.
(b) Beginning in the 1990's, national fire statistics indicated
that the Federal Mattress Flammability Standard did not materially
affect the incidence of residential mattress fires ignited by small
open flames. More recent research conducted by the CPSC, the fire
safety community, and private industry also shows that in many
mattress fires involving open-flame ignitions, the bedding, which
includes the pillow, comforter, and bedspread, is the first product
to ignite, as opposed to the mattress itself.
(c) As a result, the mattress industry commissioned the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to conduct scientific
research into the interaction between ignited bedding and a mattress.
In 2000, NIST published the results of its initial research, which
indicate that bedding and box springs, also known as the mattress
foundation, have a material impact on the rate at which a mattress
ignites and the resulting fire spreads, as well as the fire's
intensity and the risk that it will spread beyond the bedroom. NIST'
s continuing research will use computer models to estimate the number
of fire-related casualties that can be avoided if the fire size and
spread rate for bedding and mattress-related fires are reduced to
specified levels.
(d) Although Section 19161 of the Business and Professions Code,
within the Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation Act (Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 19000) of Division 8 of the Business and
Professions Code), requires that all mattresses sold in this state be
fire retardant, it does not authorize the bureau to set flammability
standards for bedding or box springs. This act would authorize the
bureau to better protect the public from open-flame ignited mattress
fires by establishing flammability standards for not only mattresses,
but also for box springs and bedding, as the bureau considers
appropriate.
SEC. 2. Section 19089.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19089.5. Any upholstered furniture or mattress that is made from
or contains nonflame retardant cellular foam shall be labeled in a
manner approved by the chief. On and after January 1, 2004, all
bedding that is made from or contains nonflame retardant cellular
foam shall also be labeled in a manner approved by the chief.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no label is required
for a product that complies with the regulations required by Section
19161 or with applicable federal flammability regulations.
SEC. 3. Section 19161 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19161. (a) All mattresses and box springs manufactured for sale
in this state shall be fire retardant. The bureau shall adopt
regulations no later than January 1, 2004, requiring that fire
retardant mattresses and box springs meet a resistance to open-flame
test that uses a pass or fail performance criteria based on a test
method developed by the bureau or that is based on ASTME 1590. If
the bureau concludes that other bedding contributes to mattress
fires, the regulations shall require the other bedding to be flame
retardant under the resistance to open-flame test. If feasible, the
bureau's regulations shall permit a manufacturer to comply with the
resistance to open-flame test by testing a small scale version of its
product. In developing these regulations, the bureau may contract,
cooperate, or otherwise share resources with other government
agencies, private organizations, or independent contractors that it
considers appropriate for purposes of reviewing test criteria and
methods, equipment specifications, and other relevant subjects.
These regulations shall become inoperative upon the effective date of
any federal law or regulation establishing an open-flame resistance
standard for these products. The bureau shall submit a report to
the Legislature on or before January 1, 2004, summarizing its
regulatory findings.
(b) Requirements for flame resistant mattresses, box springs, or
other bedding products shall not apply to any hotel, motel, bed and
breakfast, inn, or similar transient lodging establishment that has
an automatic fire extinguishing system that conforms to the
specifications established in Section 904.1 of Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(c) All seating furniture sold or offered for sale by an importer,
manufacturer, or wholesaler for use in this state, including any
seating furniture sold to or offered for sale for use in a hotel,
motel, or other place of public accommodation in this state, and
reupholstered furniture to which filling materials are added, shall
be fire retardant and shall be labeled in a manner specified by the
bureau.
(d) "Fire retardant," as used in this section, means a product
that meets the regulations adopted by the bureau. This does not
include furniture used exclusively for the purpose of physical
fitness and exercise.
SEC. 4. Section 19170 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19170. (a) The fee imposed for the issuance and for the biennial
renewal of each license granted under this chapter shall be set by
the chief, with the approval of the director, at a sum not more nor
less than that shown in the following table:
Maximum Minimum
fee fee
Importer's license ....................... $750 $120
Furniture and bedding manufacturer's
license ................................ 750 120
Wholesale furniture and bedding dealer's
license ................................ 540 120
Supply dealer's license .................. 540 120
Custom upholsterer's license ............. 360 80
Sanitizer's license ...................... 360 80
Retail furniture and bedding dealer's
license ................................ 240 40
Retail furniture dealer's license ........ 120 20
Retail bedding dealer's license .......... 120 20
(b) Individuals who, in their own homes and without the employment
of any other person, make, sell, advertise, or contract to make
pillows, quilts, quilted pads, or comforters are exempt from the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a). However, these individuals
shall comply with all other provisions of this chapter.
(c) Retailers who only sell "used" and "antique" furniture as
defined in Sections 19008.1 and 19008.2 are exempt from the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a). Those retailers are also
exempt from the other provisions of this chapter.
(d) A person who makes, sells, or advertises upholstered furniture
and bedding as defined in Sections 19006 and 19007, and who also
makes, sells, or advertises furniture used exclusively for the
purpose of physical fitness and exercise, shall comply with the fee
requirements imposed by subdivision (a).
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because 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.