| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 28, 2006 |
CONTACT: Ben Fuchs
(916) 319-2019 |
|
Assemblymember Gene Mullin’s (D-South San Francisco) Assembly Bill 2977, which would require that swimming pool and spa remodels include updated safety features, was approved by the state Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing late Tuesday.
The measure, which passed out of the committee on a bipartisan vote of 10-2 after clearing the Assembly last month with overwhelming support, aims to prevent Californians from becoming trapped in pool and spa drains by requiring that all newly-constructed pools and spas be equipped with an anti-entrapment drain cover and at least two of seven other eligible safety features. All pools and spas undergoing structural remodels must include an anti-entrapment drain cover and at least one of the seven other safety features, which include safety pool covers, exit alarms on doors, and removable mesh fencing. Existing state law mandates only that new pools include one of five eligible safety features.
A recent report produced through a collaboration involving ASTM International, the National Spa & Pool Institute, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., recommends that pools and spas utilize numerous “layers of protection,” such as those proposed and strengthened under AB 2977, to safeguard against accidents. As the leading cause of accidental death for California toddlers between the ages of 1 and 4, drowning takes the lives of more than 50 children each year on average; roughly 29 of these accidents occur in pools or spas. For every fatality, there are as many as four more near-drownings, many of which leave children with brain damage and other lifelong disabilities. While young children face the highest risk of injury and death due to hair and body entrapment in pool and spa drains, adults are also susceptible to becoming ensnared.
“Californians should feel as safe using older pools and spas as they do in newer models,” said Mullin. “Tuesday’s vote marks another step toward ensuring all pools and spas in our state reflect a level of safety we should have demanded a long time ago.”
AB 2977, which has support from the California Coalition for Children’s Safety and Health and Safe Kids California, now moves to the state Senate Committee on Judiciary.