Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of child daycare facilities by the State Department of Social Services. For purposes of the act, a child daycare facility includes a daycare center and a family daycare home, defined as a facility that regularly provides care, protection, and supervision for 14 or fewer children, in the provider’s own home, for periods of less than 24 hours per day. Under existing law, a violation of the act is a crime.

Existing law, the Swimming Pool Safety Act, among other requirements, requires a pool or spa to be equipped with at least 2 of 7 specified drowning prevention safety features when a building permit is issued for (1) the construction of a new swimming pool or spa or (2) the remodeling of an existing pool or spa at a private single-family home, except as provided. Existing law requires the 7 safety features to include, among others, an enclosure isolating the swimming pool from the home, a removable mesh fencing around the swimming pool with a self-closing and self-latching gate, a safety pool cover, and an alarm that sounds upon an accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water. Existing law exempts certain facilities regulated by the State Department of Social Services from the requirements of the Swimming Pool Safety Act.

This bill would repeal this exemption, making certain facilities regulated by the department subject to the Swimming Pool Safety Act, except as provided. The bill would require a licensed family daycare home operated at a private single-family dwelling with an in-ground swimming pool to have specified drowning safety features, including an enclosure and a cover or alarm, that meet specified standards. The bill would require a licensed daycare center with an in-ground swimming pool to have either a mesh fence, enclosure, or, if the pool is indoors, a self-closing door, as specified, and a 2nd, redundant feature that prevents children in the daycare center from entering the pool area unattended. The bill would also require safety equipment meeting certain specifications to be visible from the swimming pool and readily available for immediate use. The bill would require the licensees to perform a daily inspection of the safety features and safety equipment and maintain a log to be provided to the department upon request. The bill would require the department to by January 1, 2027, adopt regulations regarding bodies of water at daycare facilities regulated by the department and would require the department to prescribe drowning safety standards governing all swimming pools and bodies of water located at facilities regulated by the department. The bill would authorize the department to implement the changes by written directives until January 1, 2027. Because a willful or repeated violation of these provisions by a child daycare facility would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires a local building code official to, before the issuance of a final approval for the completion of permitted construction or remodeling work, inspect the drowning safety prevention features for compliance with the Swimming Pool Safety Act. By imposing additional duties on local officials relating to previously exempted pool or spa facilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 115922 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by SB 552 to be operative only if this bill and SB 552 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.