BILL NUMBER: AB 821INTRODUCED BILL TEXT 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 introduced, 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, when it is economically feasible, but not later than the 2010-11 school year, all school districts and all nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50 or more pupils to purchase and use exclusively environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance products, as specified. The bill would require a school district or school to provide written notification that it will not purchase and use environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance products to the State Department of Education, annually, if it determines that it is not economically feasible to purchase and use those products, until it is feasible to do so. The bill also would require the Department of General Services and the State Department of Education to post on their Internet Web sites 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 Federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates that human exposure to indoor air pollutants can be two to five times and up to 100 times higher than outdoor levels, and that half of schools in the United States have poor indoor air quality. The California 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 maintenance products. Cleaners and 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 worker compensation claims. The use of environmentally preferable cleaning and 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 maintenance products, including Green Seal GS-37 and EcoLogo CCD-146. The current standards establish environmental requirements for industrial and institutional general-purpose, restroom, glass, and carpet cleaners, 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. 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, recycleability, labeling, and training. Standards are revised periodically and may apply to additional categories of products. 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 sterilizers, 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 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 maintenance product" means a product that meets independent, third-party certification criteria for lesser or reduced effects on human health and environment compared with competing goods or services that serve the same purpose. (c) "Third-party certification" means certification by an established and legitimate, independent, nationally recognized program developed for the purpose of identifying environmentally preferable products, such as Green Seal or EcoLogo. Any third-party certification program shall meet all of the following criteria: (1) Have an open, transparent process for setting standards that involves the public and 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) Have a criteria for certification that is available publically and is transparent. (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. (7) Monitors and reinforces the standards, provides for the authority to inspect the manufacturing facilities, and periodically does so. (8) Have a registered, legally protected certification mark. (9) Makes the standards easily accessible to purchasers and manufacturers, for example, making them available on the program's Internet Web site. (10) If possible, is developed by consensus. (11) Establishes leadership levels in standards for products. (12) Provides a list of certified products that meet the standards. (13) Requires that product manufacturers or distributors provide training on the appropriate and safe use of their certified products. 17615.3. (a) When it is economically feasible, but not later than the 2010-11 school year, all school districts, and all nonpublic elementary and secondary schools with 50 or more pupils, shall purchase and use exclusively environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance products if an environmentally preferable cleaning and 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 maintenance products, the school district or school shall provide written notification that it will not purchase and use environmentally preferable cleaning and maintenance products to the State Department of Education annually, until it is feasible to do so. 17615.4. The Department of General Services and the State Department of Education shall post information on their Internet Web sites 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 these 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.