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SB-1598 Tenancies: prohibition of smoking of tobacco products.(2007-2008)



Current Version: 06/12/08 - Amended Assembly

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SB1598:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 12, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  May 06, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  April 14, 2008

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1598

Introduced  by  Senator Padilla

February 22, 2008

An act to add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 104497) to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to smoking.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1598, as amended, Padilla. Tenancies: prohibition of smoking of tobacco products.
Existing law generally regulates the use and sale of tobacco products, and prohibits the smoking of tobacco products in various locations, including, but not limited to, all enclosed spaces of employment, in or around state buildings, and playgrounds and tot lots, subject to certain exceptions.
Existing law separately regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies.
This bill would authorize a landlord of a residential dwelling unit, or his or her agent, to prohibit, in accordance with specified conditions, the smoking of a cigarette, as defined, or other tobacco products, as described, on the property or in any building or portion thereof that is located on the property. The bill would also provide that a violation of a smoking prohibition imposed pursuant to these provisions would constitute a material violation of the rental agreement, as described.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) More than 440,000 people die in the United States from tobacco-related diseases every year, making it the nation’s leading cause of preventable death. More than 40,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases every year in California.
(b) The State Department of Public Health has estimated that 86 percent of adult Californians are nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke is responsible for an estimated 38,000 deaths among nonsmokers each year in the United States, which includes 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 deaths due to heart disease and cancer in humans.
(c) Secondhand smoke exposure adversely affects fetal growth with elevated risk of low birth weight and increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in infants of mothers who smoke.
(d) Secondhand smoke exposure causes as many as 300,000 children in the United States under the age of 18 months to suffer lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis; exacerbates childhood asthma; and increases the risk of acute, chronic, middle-ear infections in children.
(e) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a group A carcinogen, the most dangerous class of carcinogen.
(f) The United States Surgeon General has concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
(g) The California Air Resources Board has put secondhand smoke in the same category as the most toxic automotive and industrial air pollutants by categorizing it as a toxic air contaminant for which there is no safe level of exposure.
(h) The California Environmental Protection Agency has included secondhand smoke on the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm.
(i) More than 30 percent of California’s housing is multiunit residences, such as apartments and condos.
(j) A large majority of Californians support laws that would prohibit smoking in outdoor common areas of multiunit housing, and that would require that apartment buildings offer nonsmoking sections of units within those apartments.

SEC. 2.

 Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 104497) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
Article  1.5. Smoking of Tobacco Products in Residential Rental Units

104497.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a landlord of a residential dwelling unit, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1940 of the Civil Code, or his or her agent, may prohibit the smoking of a cigarette, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 104556, or other tobacco products, as that term is used in Section 6404.5 of the Labor Code, on the property or in any building or portion thereof, including any dwelling unit, other interior or exterior area, or the premises on which the same is located, in accordance with this article.
(b) (1) Every lease or rental agreement entered into on or after January 1, 2009, for a residential dwelling unit located on property on any portion of which the smoking of tobacco products has been prohibited pursuant to this article, shall include a provision that specifies the areas on the property in which smoking is prohibited.
(2) For lease or rental agreements entered into before January 1, 2009, a prohibition against tobacco smoking in any portion of a property in which smoking was previously permitted shall constitute a change of terms of tenancy, requiring adequate notice under subdivision (a) of Section 827 of the Civil Code.
(c) (1)  This section shall not apply to the inside of the tenant’s dwelling unit for as long as the tenant continues to reside in the same unit, if the rental agreement was executed before a prohibition of smoking of tobacco products was imposed pursuant to this article. However, the tenant shall not be exempt from prohibitions against tobacco smoking imposed pursuant to this article that affect other areas of the property.
(2) A prohibition of smoking of tobacco products imposed pursuant to this article shall apply to any portion of the property that is located in a city, county, or city and county that has in effect that is subject to any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations may be offered for rent, including any local, state, or federal program that regulates the amount of rent that may be charged to the tenant or requires just cause for an eviction, if both of the following are true:
(A) The rental agreement was executed after January 1, 2009.
(B) The prior tenancy ended in either a voluntary vacancy or eviction for cause, as permitted by the local ordinance, charter provision, rule, or regulation.

(d)A violation of a prohibition against tobacco smoking that has been imposed pursuant to this article shall constitute a material violation of the rental agreement, allowing the owner to issue a three-day notice pursuant to subdivision (3) of Section 1161 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(d) If a tenant of a residential dwelling unit that is subject to any control or system of control on the price at which accommodations may be offered for rent voluntarily vacates that unit or is evicted for just cause, the landlord, or his or her agent, may establish that unit as “smoke free” for purposes of any subsequent tenancies.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this article, a city, county, or city and county may enact an ordinance, regulation, or policy to prohibit the smoking of cigarettes or tobacco products on the property, or in any building, or portion thereof, including any dwelling unit, and areas adjacent to the unit, located on the property within its jurisdiction.