SECTIONS 129750-129856 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 129750-129856

129750. The office shall observe the construction of, or addition
to, any hospital building or the reconstruction or alteration of any
hospital building, as it deems necessary to comply with this chapter
for the protection of life and property.

129760. The governing board of each hospital or other hospital
governing authority, before adopting any plans for the hospital
building, shall submit the plans to the office for approval and shall
pay the fees prescribed in this chapter.

129761. The office shall use, to the extent possible, information
technology to facilitate the timely performance of its duties and
responsibilities under this chapter.

129765. (a) Except as set forth in subdivision (b), the application
for approval of the plans shall be accompanied by the plans,
including full, complete, and accurate specifications, and structural
design computations, which shall comply with the requirements
prescribed by the office. The office may permit electronic
submission, review, and approval of plans.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the office, in its sole
discretion, may enter into a written agreement with the hospital
governing authority for the phased submittal and approval of plans.
The office shall charge a fee for the review and approval of plans
submitted pursuant to this subdivision. This fee shall be based on
the estimated cost, but shall not exceed the actual cost, of the
entire phased review and approval process for those plans. This fee
shall be deducted from the application fee pursuant to Section
129785.

129770. (a) The office shall pass upon and approve or reject all
plans for the construction or the alteration of any hospital
building, independently reviewing the design to assure compliance
with the requirements of this chapter. The office shall review the
structural systems and related details, including the independent
review of the geological data. Geological data shall be reviewed by
an engineering geologist, and structural design data shall be
reviewed by a structural engineer.
(b) Whenever the office finds a violation of this chapter that
requires correction, a citation of the violation shall be issued to
the hospital governing board or authority in writing and shall
include a proper reference to the regulation or statute being
violated.

129775. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), plans
submitted pursuant to this chapter for work that affects structural
elements shall contain an assessment of the nature of the site and
potential for earthquake damage, based upon geologic and engineering
investigations and reports by competent personnel of the causes of
earthquake damage. One-story Type V wood frame or light steel frame,
or light steel and wood frame construction of 4,000 square feet or
less, shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, unless the
project is within a special study zone established pursuant to
Section 2622 of the Public Resources Code.
(b) The requirements of subdivision (a) may be waived by the
office when the office determines that these requirements for the
proposed hospital project are unnecessary and would not be beneficial
to the safety of the public. The office, after consultation with the
Building Safety Board, shall adopt regulations defining the criteria
upon which the determination of a waiver shall be made.

129780. The engineering investigation shall be correlated with the
geologic evaluation made pursuant to Section 129775.

129785. (a) (1) The office shall determine an application filing
fee that will cover the costs of administering this chapter. For a
hospital facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of
Section 1250, the fee shall not exceed 2 percent of a project's
estimated construction cost. For a skilled nursing or intermediate
care facility, as defined in subdivision (c), (d), (e), or (g) of
Section 1250, the fee shall not exceed 1.5 percent of a project's
estimated construction cost. Application filing fees shall be
established in accordance with applicable procedures established in
Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the minimum application filing
fee in any case shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(b) The office shall issue an annual permit upon submission of an
application, pursuant to Section 129765, for one or more projects of
a hospital facility, as defined in subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of
Section 1250, if the total estimated construction cost is fifty
thousand dollars ($50,000) or less per fiscal year. The fee for the
annual permit shall be five hundred dollars ($500) and shall be in
lieu of an application filing fee. The annual permit shall cover all
projects undertaken for a particular hospital facility up to a total
estimated construction cost of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
during the state fiscal year in which the annual permit is issued. If
a hospital facility chooses not to apply for an annual permit to
cover a project or projects costing fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
or less in total, the hospital facility may instead submit the
project or projects for review and approval as otherwise specified in
this chapter, including paying the application filing fee determined
under subdivision (a).
(c) The office shall issue an annual permit upon submission of an
application, pursuant to Section 129765, for one or more projects of
a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility, as defined in
subdivision (c), (d), (e), or (g) of Section 1250, if the total
estimated construction cost is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
or less per fiscal year. The fee for the annual permit shall be two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) and shall be in lieu of an application
filing fee. The annual permit shall cover all projects undertaken for
a particular skilled nursing or intermediate care facility up to a
total estimated construction cost of twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) during the state fiscal year in which the annual permit is
issued. If a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility chooses
not to apply for an annual permit to cover a project or projects
costing twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less in total, the
skilled nursing or intermediate care facility may instead submit the
project or projects for review and approval as otherwise specified in
this chapter, including paying the application filing fee determined
under subdivision (a).
(d) If the actual construction cost exceeds the estimated
construction cost by more than 5 percent, a further fee shall be paid
to the office, based on the above schedule and computed on the
amount that the actual cost exceeds the amount of the estimated cost.
If the estimated construction cost exceeds the actual construction
cost by more than 5 percent, the office shall refund the excess
portion of any paid fees, based on the above schedule and computed on
the amount that the estimated cost exceeds the amount of the actual
cost. A refund is not required if the applicant did not complete
construction or alteration of 75 percent of the square footage
included in the project, as contained in the approved drawings and
specifications for the project. In addition, the office shall adopt
regulations specifying other circumstances when the office shall
refund to an applicant all or part of any paid fees for projects
submitted under this chapter. The regulations shall include, but not
be limited to, refunds of paid fees for a project that is determined
by the office to be exempt or otherwise not reviewable under this
chapter, and for a project that is withdrawn by the applicant prior
to the commencement of review by the office of the drawing and
specifications submitted for the project. All refunds pursuant to
this section shall be paid from the Hospital Building Account in the
Architecture Public Building Fund, as established pursuant to Section
129795.

129787. (a) The payment of the filing fee described in Section
129785 may be postponed by the office if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The proposed construction or alteration has been proposed as a
result of any event that has been declared to be a disaster by the
Governor.
(2) The office determines that the applicant cannot presently
afford to pay the filing fee.
(3) The applicant has applied for federal disaster relief from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with respect to the
disaster described in paragraph (1).
(4) The applicant is expected to receive disaster assistance
within one year from the date of the application.
(b) If the office does not receive full payment of any fee for
which payment has been postponed pursuant to subdivision (a) within
one year from the date of plan approval, the statewide office may
request an offset from the Controller for the unpaid amount against
any amount owed by the state to the applicant, and may request
additional offsets against amounts owed by the state to the applicant
until the fee is paid in full. This subdivision shall not be
construed to establish an offset as described in the preceding
sentence as the exclusive remedy for the collection of any unpaid fee
amount as described in that same sentence.

129790. The office shall propose specific space, architectural,
structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical standards for
correctional treatment centers in cooperation with the Board of
Corrections, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of the
Youth Authority.

129795. All fees shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited
to the Hospital Building Fund, that is hereby created and
continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years for the use
of the office, subject to approval of the Department of Finance, in
carrying out this chapter. Adjustments in the amounts of the fees, as
determined by the office and approved by the Department of Finance,
shall be made within the limits set in Section 129785 in order to
maintain a reasonable working balance in the account. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, any moneys collected pursuant to this
chapter contained in the hospital building fund established by the
Department of Finance, that are in the fund on January 1, 1994, shall
be available for expenditure in accordance with this section.

129800. The director shall request the Department of Finance or the
Auditor General to perform an audit of the uses of fees collected
pursuant to Section 129785. This audit shall include, but not be
limited to, an accounting of staff resources allocated to hospital
plan reviews by the office and by the Office of the State Architect
in the Department of General Services since these reviews are funded
by fees collected pursuant to Section 129785. If the Department of
Finance and the Auditor General indicate that other audit
responsibilities will prohibit them from performing and completing
the audit within six months of being initially requested to do so,
then the office may contract with an independent organization to
perform the audit.

129805. (a) All plans and specifications shall be prepared under
the responsible charge of an architect or a structural engineer, or
both. A structural engineer shall prepare the structural design and
shall sign plans and specifications related thereto. Administration
of the work of construction shall be under the responsible charge of
the architect and structural engineer, except that where plans and
specifications for alterations or repairs do not affect architectural
or structural conditions, the plans and specifications may be
prepared under the responsible charge of, and work of construction
may be administered by, a professional engineer duly qualified to
perform the services and holding a valid certificate under Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code for performance of services in that branch of
engineering in which the plans, specifications, and estimates and
work of construction are applicable.
(b) The office may exempt projects from the requirements of
subdivision (a) where the plans and specifications are not
ordinarily, in the standard practice of architecture and engineering,
prepared by licensed architects or registered engineers, or both,
and are not a component of a project prepared under the responsible
charge of a licensed architect or registered engineer, or both. To
implement this authority, the office shall adopt regulations,
consistent with this section, that specify which projects may be
exempted from the requirements of subdivision (a).

129810. Before commencing any construction or alteration of any
hospital building, the written approval of the necessary plans as to
safety of design and construction, by the office, shall be obtained.

129812. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office may
utilize an over-the-counter plan review process.

129815. Any permit or authorization issued or provided pursuant to
this chapter shall be subject to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
15374) of Part 6.7 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

129820. No contract for the construction or alteration of any
hospital building, made or executed on or after January 1, 1983, by
the governing board or authority of any hospital or other similar
public board, body, or officer otherwise vested with authority to
make or execute the contract, is valid, and no money shall be paid
for any work done under the contract or for any labor or materials
furnished in constructing or altering the hospital building, unless
all of the following requirements are satisfied:
(a) The plans and specifications comply with this chapter and the
requirements contained in the California Building Standards Code.
(b) The written approval thereof has first been obtained from the
office.
(c) The hospital building is to be accessible to, and usable by,
persons with disabilities.
(d) The plans and specifications comply with the fire and panic
safety requirements of the California Building Standards Code.

129825. (a) The hospital governing board or authority shall provide
for and require competent and adequate inspection during
construction or alteration by an inspector satisfactory to the
architect or structural engineer, or both, and the office. Except as
otherwise provided in subdivision (b), the inspector shall act under
the direction of the architect or structural engineer, or both, and
be responsible to the board or authority. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit any licensed architect, structural
engineer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, or any facility
maintenance personnel, if approved by the office, from performing the
duties of an inspector.
(b) If alterations or repairs are to be conducted under the
supervision of a professional engineer pursuant to Section 129805,
the inspector need only be satisfactory to the office and to the
professional engineer, and the inspector shall act under the
direction of the professional engineer.
(c) The office shall make an inspection of the hospital buildings
and of the work of construction or alteration as in its judgment is
necessary or proper for the enforcement of this chapter and the
protection of the safety of the public.
Whenever the office finds a violation of this chapter that
requires correction, the citation of the violation shall be issued to
the hospital governing board or authority in writing and shall
include a proper reference to the regulation or statute being
violated.
(d) The office shall approve inspectors that shall be limited to
the following:
(1) "A" inspectors, who may inspect all areas of construction
specialty, including, but not limited to, structural.
(2) "B" inspectors, who may inspect all areas of construction
specialty, except structural.
(3) "C" inspectors, who may inspect one or more areas of
construction specialty, including structural, but may not inspect the
scope of construction specialties authorized for "A" or "B"
inspectors.
(e) (1) As part of its approval process, the office shall
initially and periodically examine inspectors by giving either a
written examination or a written and oral examination. The office may
charge a fee for the examination process calculated to cover its
costs. Inspectors who have not passed a written examination shall not
be approved by the office until they have successfully passed the
written examination. No employee of the office performing field
inspections or supervising the field inspections shall be approved as
an inspector on any construction project pursuant to this chapter
for a period of one year after leaving employment of the office.
(2) The office shall develop regulations for the testing and
approval of inspectors.

129830. From time to time, as the work of construction or
alteration progresses and whenever the office requires, the architect
or structural engineer, or both, in charge of construction or
registered engineer in charge of other work, the inspector on the
work, and the contractor shall each make a report, duly verified by
him or her, upon a form prescribed by the office showing, of his or
her own personal knowledge, that the work during the period covered
by the report has been performed and materials used and installed are
in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, setting
forth detailed statements of fact as required by the office.
The term "personal knowledge," as used in this section and as
applied to the architect or registered engineer, or both, means the
personal knowledge that is obtained by periodic visits to the project
site of reasonable frequency, for the purpose of general observation
of the work, and that is also obtained from the reporting of others
as to the progress of the work, testing of materials, and inspection
and superintendence of the work that is performed between the
periodic visits of the architect or the registered engineer.
Reasonable diligence shall be exercised in obtaining the facts.
The term "personal knowledge," as applied to the inspector, means
the actual personal knowledge that is obtained from the inspector's
personal continuous inspection of the work of construction in all
stages of its progress at the site where the inspector is responsible
for inspection, and when work is carried out away from the site,
that personal knowledge that is obtained from the reporting of others
on the testing or inspection of materials and workmanship, for
compliance with plans, specifications, or applicable standards.
Reasonable diligence shall be exercised in obtaining the facts.
The term "personal knowledge," as applied to the contractor, means
the personal knowledge that is obtained from the construction of the
building. The exercise of reasonable diligence to obtain the facts
is required.

129835. Upon written request to the office by the governing board
or authority of any hospital, the office shall make, or cause to be
made, an examination and report on the condition of any hospital
building subject to the payment by the governing board or authority
of the actual expenses incurred by the office.

129840. Subsequent to the occurrence of any earthquake, the office
may make, or cause to be made, studies of health facilities within
the area involved.

129850. Except as provided in Sections 18929 and 18930, the office
shall from time to time make any regulations that it deems necessary,
proper, or suitable to effectually carry out this chapter. The
office shall also propose and submit building standards to the
California Building Standards Commission for adoption and approval
pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5 of
Division 13 relating to seismic safety for hospital buildings.

129851. Written rules and regulations by the office to clarify the
application of the California Building Standards Code pursuant to
this chapter shall be made available to the public upon request.

129855. The office may enter into any agreements and contracts with
any qualified person, department, agency, corporation, or legal
entity, as determined by the office, when necessary in order to
facilitate the timely performance of the duties and responsibilities
relating to the review and inspection of architectural, mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing systems of hospital buildings to be
constructed or altered or buildings under construction or alteration.
If the office determines that the structural review of plans for a
hospital building cannot be completed without undue delay, the
office may enter into contractual agreements with private structural
engineers or local governments for the purpose of facilitating the
timely performance of the duties and responsibilities relating to the
review and inspection of plans and specifications of the structural
systems of hospital construction projects.
The office, with the advice of the Building Safety Board, shall
prepare regulations, containing qualification criteria, for
implementing the contractual agreement provisions of this section.

129856. (a) Contingent on an appropriation in the annual Budget
Act, the office shall establish a program for training fire and life
safety officers. The goal of this program shall be to provide a
sufficient number of qualified persons to facilitate the timely
performance of the office's duties and responsibilities relating to
the review of plans and specifications pertaining to the design and
observation of construction of hospital buildings and buildings
described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section
129725, in order to ensure compliance with applicable facility design
and construction codes and standards.
(b) The office shall prepare a comprehensive report on the
training program setting forth its goals, objectives, and structure.
The report shall include the number of fire and life safety officers
to be trained annually, a timeline for training completion, a process
for gathering information to evaluate the training programs
efficiency that includes dropout and retention rates, and a mechanism
to annually assess the need for the training program to continue.
The report shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee by April 1, 2007.
(c) The office may establish other training programs as necessary
to ensure that a sufficient number of qualified persons are available
to facilitate the timely performance of the office's duties and
responsibilities relating to the review of plans and specifications
pertaining to the design and construction of hospital buildings and
buildings described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 129725, to ensure compliance with applicable safety codes and
standards.
(d) If additional training programs are established pursuant to
subdivision (c), the office shall prepare a comprehensive report on
the training program setting forth its goals, objectives, and
structure. The report shall include the number of individuals trained
pursuant to subdivision (c) annually, a timeline for training
completion, a process for gathering information to evaluate the
training programs efficiency that includes dropout and retention
rates, and a mechanism to annually assess the need for the training
program to continue. The report shall be submitted to the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee three years after the training program
has been implemented.