CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2017, VOLUME NO. 17-Z
 683TITLE 24. BUILDING STANDARDS
COMMISSION
NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTION TO
BUILDING STANDARDS
OF THE
OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL
REGARDING THE 2016 CALIFORNIA FIRE
CODE
CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS,
TITLE 24, PART 9
2016 INTERIM RULEMAKING CYCLE
Notice is hereby given that the California Building
Standards Commission (CBSC) on behalf of Office of
the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) proposes to adopt, ap-
prove, codify, and publish changes to building stan-dards contained in the California Code of Regulations(CCR), Title 24, Part 9. The OSFM is proposing build-
ing standards related to 2016 California Fire Code.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(17).)
A public hearing has not been scheduled; however,
written comments will be accepted from acceptedAPRIL 28, 2017 until 5:00 p.m. on JUNE 12, 2017.
Please address your comments to:
California Building Standards Commission
2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130
Sacramento, CA 95833Attention: Mia Marvelli, Executive Director
Written Comments may also be faxed to (916)
263−0959 or E−mailed to CBSC@dgs.ca.gov
.
Any interested person or his or her duly authorized
representative may request, no later than 15 days prior
to the close of the written comment period that a publichearing be held.
The public will have an opportunity to provide both
written and/or oral comments regarding the proposedaction on building standards at a public meeting to beconducted by the California Building Standards Com-
mission to be scheduled at a date near the end of the cur-
rent adoption cycle. A meeting notice will be issued an-
nouncing the date, time and location of the publicmeeting.POST−HEARING MODIFICATIONS TO THE
TEXT OF THE REGULATIONS
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(18),
Government Code Section 11346.8(c).)
Following the public comment period, the CBSC
may adopt the proposed building standards substantial-
ly as proposed in this notice or with modifications that
are sufficiently related to the original proposed text andnotice of proposed changes. If modifications are made,
the full text of the proposed modifications, clearly indi-
cated, will be made available to the public for at least 15
days prior to the date on which the CBSC adopts,amends, or repeals the regulation(s). CBSC will accept
written comments on the modified building standards
during the 15−day period.
NOTE: To be notified of any modifications, you
must submit written/oral comments or request that
you be notified of any modifications.
AUTHORITY AND REFERENCE
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(2).)
The California Building Standards Commission pro-
poses to adopt these building standards under the au-thority granted by Health and Safety Code section
18949.2. The purpose of these building standards is to
implement, interpret, and make specific the provisions
of Health and Safety Code section 18928. The Office of
the State Fire Marshal is proposing this regulatory ac-
tion based on Health and Safety Code Sections 13108,13211, 13113, 131 13.5, 13114, 13132.7, 13133, 13135,
13143, 13143.1, 13143.6, 13143.9, 13146, 17921 and
18897.3 and Government Code Section 11 152.5.
INFORMATIVE DIGEST
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(3).)
An informative digest drafted in plain English in a
format similar to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest shall
include the following:
Summary of Existing Laws 
Health and Safety Code Section 13108 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt building
standards related to the means of egress, the installation
of fire alarms and fire extinguishing systems in anystate−owned building or in any state−occupied
building.
Health and Safety Code Section 13113 A automatic
sprinkler system shall be installed in all 24−hour institu-
tional type occupancies, and homes for the care of aged
or senile persons.
Health and Safety Code Section 13113.5 The State
Fire Marshal shall adopt regulations requiring the in-stallation of automatic smoke detectors in all facilitiesCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2017, VOLUME NO. 17-Z
 684which provide 24−hour per day care, which house six or
fewer persons, and which do not have automatic sprin-
kler systems.
Health and Safety Code Section 13114 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall adopt regulations and standards
to control the quality and installation of fire alarm sys-tems and fire alarm devices marketed, distributed, of-fered for sale, or sold in this state, and that no personshall market, distribute, offer for sale, or sell any firealarm system or fire alarm device in this state unless the
system or device has been approved and listed by theState Fire Marshal.
Health and Safety Code Section 13132 Every per-
son, firm, or corporation maintaining or operating anyfacility for the care of the mentally handicapped shall
file a statement with the fire authority having jurisdic-
tion within five days of the admission or readmission of
a patient stating that such patient is an ambulatory or anon−ambulatory person and enumerating the reasons
for such classification. Such a statement shall also befiled for each existing patient within 30 days of the ef-fective date of this section.
Any statement required to be filed pursuant to this
section shall be certified as to its correctness by the per-
son attending such patient.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corpora-
tion required to file a statement pursuant to this section
to include false statements therein. Any such act shall
be in violation of this section and subject to the provi-
sions of Section 13112.
Health and Safety Code Section 13132.7 Mandates
fire retardant roof coverings in fire hazard severityzones.
Health and Safety Code Section 13133 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall develop and adopt regulationsestablishing new occupancy classifications and specific
fire safety standards appropriate for residential facili-ties, and residential care facilities for the elderly. These
fire safety standards shall apply uniformly throughoutthe state.
Health and Safety Code Section 13135 The State
Fire Marshal shall adopt regulations for alcoholism or
drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities based on
whether the residents or patients of the facilities arenon−ambulatory.
Health and Safety Code Section 13143 grants the
State Fire Marshal authority to prepare and adopt regu-
lations establishing minimum requirements for the pre-
vention of fire and for the protection of life and property
against fire and panic in any building or structure usedor intended for use as an asylum, jail, mental hospital,hospital, home for the elderly, children’s nursery, chil-dren’s home or institution not otherwise excluded from
the coverage of this subdivision, school, or any similaroccupancy of any capacity, and in any assembly occu-pancy where 50 or more persons may gather together in
a building, room, or structure for the purpose of amuse-
ment, entertainment, instruction, deliberation, worship,
drinking or dining, awaiting transportation, oreducation.
Health and Safety Code Section 13143.1 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall prepare, adopt, and submitbuilding standards for establishing minimum require-ments for the prevention of fire and for the protection of
life and property against fire and panic in any motionpicture or television production facility.
Health and Safety Code Section 13143.6 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt regulationsestablishing minimum standards for the prevention offire and for the protection of life and property against
fire in any building or structure used intended for use as
a home or institution for the housing of any person ofany age for protective social care and supervision ser-vices by any governmental agency , certified family care
homes, out−of−home placement facilities, and halfway
houses.
Health and Safety Code Section 13143.9 (a) The
State Fire Marshal shall prepare, adopt, and submitbuilding standards and other fire and life safety regula-
tions establishing minimum requirements for the stor-age, handling, and use of hazardous materials.
Health and Safety Code Section 13211 
The State
Fire Marshal shall prepare and adopt building standards
relating to fire and panic safety in high−rise structures.
Health and Safety Code Section 17921 (b) The
State Fire Marshal shall adopt, amend, or repeal andsubmit building standards for approval pursuant to theprovisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section18935) of Part 2.6, and the State Fire Marshal shalladopt, amend, and repeal other rules and regulations for
fire and panic safety in all hotels, motels, lodging hous-
es, apartment houses and dwellings, buildings, andstructures accessory thereto. These building standardsand regulations shall be enforced pursuant to Sections13145 and 13146; however, this section is not intended
to require an inspection by a local fire agency of eachsingle−family dwelling prior to its occupancy.
Health and Safety Code Section 18928 (a) requires
each state agency adopting or proposing adoption of amodel code, national standards, or specification shallreference the most recent edition of applicable modelcodes, national standards, or specifications.
Health and Safety Code Section 18897.3 Except as
provided in Section 18930, the State Fire Marshal shall
adopt minimum fire safety regulations for organizedcamps in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The State FireMarshal shall adopt and submit building standards forapproval pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Sec-CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2017, VOLUME NO. 17-Z
 685tion 18935) of Part 2.5 of this division for the purposes
described in this section.
Health and Safety Code Section 18949.2 (b) The
State Fire Marshal shall remain the state agency respon-
sible for developing building standards to implement
the state’s fire and life safety policy. In  its role as the fire
and life safety standard developing agency, the StateFire Marshal shall continue its existing activities and
forums designed to facilitate compromise and consen-
sus among the various individuals and groups involvedin development of the state’s codes related to fire andlife safety.
(c) The state’s fire and life safety building standards,
as developed by the State Fire Marshal and as adoptedby the commission, shall continue to be based on the
state’s fire and life safety policy goals and mandates as
they existed prior to the enactment of this chapter and as
they are amended.
Summary of Existing Regulations 
The OSFM currently adopts by reference the Califor-
nia Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 9, 2016 Califor-nia Fire Code with SFM amendments and additional
building standards relating to regulations that establish
minimum requirements for the prevention of fire andfor the protection of life and property against fire and inany building or structure used or intended for use as de-
fined in each of the Health and Safety Code references
shown above.
Summary of Effect 
The general purpose of this proposed action is princi-
pally intended to update the 2016 California Fire Code
(California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 9) based
upon updated information or recent actions of the
OSFM. This proposed action:
/C0068 Repeal certain amendments to the 2015
international Fire Code and/or California Building
Standards not addressed by the model code that are
no longer necessary nor justified pursuant with
Health and Safety Code 18930(a)(7).
/C0068 Adopt and implement additional necessary
amendments to the 2016 California Fire Code that
address inadequacies of the 2015 international
Fire Code as they pertain to California laws.
/C0068 Codify non−substantive editorial and formatting
amendments to the 2016 California Fire Code.
Comparable Federal Statute or Regulations 
The OSFM has determined that there are no compara-
ble federal regulations or statues addressing the fire andlife safety requirements as presented in this notice.
Policy Statement Overview
The specific purpose of this rulemaking effort by the
OSFM is to act accordance with Health and Safety Code
section 18929.1, which requires all proposed regula-tions to specifically comply with this section in regards
to the annual code adoption cycle.
The actions described above are reasonably neces-
sary to carry out the purpose for which it Is proposed.
The rationale for these actions is to establish minimum
requirements for the prevention of fire and for the pro-
tection of life and property against fire and panic in oc-
cupancies addressed in the 2015 international Fire Code
and published as the 2016 California Fire Code.
The OSFM further proposes to offer new amend-
ments where necessary to ensure that the regulations of
the California Building Code, establish and or maintain
minimum requirements for the prevention of fire and
panic for the protection of life and property against fire
and panic in any building or structure used or intended
for use as defined in each of the Health and Safety Code
references shown above in the summary of existinglaws.
Evaluation of consistency
The proposed regulations are consistent with existing
state regulations.
OTHER MATTERS PRESCRIBED BY STATUTE
APPLICABLE TO THE AGENCY OR TO ANY
SPECIFIC REGULATION OR CLASS
OF REGULATIONS
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(4).)
The OSFM has determined that there are no other pre-
scribed statutes or any specific regulation or class ofregulation applicable to the amendments and building
standards relating to the 2016 California Fire Code,
MANDATE ON LOCAL AGENCIES OR
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
(Government Code Section 11340.5(a)(5).)
The OSFM has determined that the proposed regula-
tory action would not impose a mandate on local agen-
cies or school districts.
ESTIMATE OF COST OR SA VINGS
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(6).)
An estimate, prepared in accordance with instruc-
tions adopted by Department of Finance, of cost or sav-
ings to any state agency, local agency, or school district.
Provide a copy of the “Economic and Fiscal ImpactStatement” (Form 399)
A. Cost or Savings to any state agency: NO
B. Cost to any local agency required to be reimbursed
under Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4: NO
C. Cost to any school district required to be
reimbursed under Part 7 (commencing withSection 17500) of Division 4: NOCALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2017, VOLUME NO. 17-Z
 686D. Other nondiscretionary cost or savings imposed
on local agencies: NO
E.  Cost or savings in federal funding to the state: NO
INITIAL DETERMINATION OF NO
SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE ADVERSE
ECONOMIC IMPACT ON BUSINESSES
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(8).)
If the agency makes an initial determination that the
adoption/amendment/repeal of this regulation will nothave a significant, statewide adverse economic impact
directly af fecting business, including the ability of Cali-
fornia businesses to compete with businesses in otherstates, it shall make a declaration to that ef fect.
The OSFM has made an initial determination that the
adoption/amendment/repeal of this regulation will not
have a significant statewide adverse economic impacton businesses, including the ability of California busi-
nesses to compete with business in other states.
DECLARATION OF EVIDENCE
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(8).)
The declaration the agency shall provide in the record
of facts, evidence, documents, testimony, or other evi-
dence that the agency relies upon to support its initial
determination of no effect.
The OSFM affirms that this rulemaking action com-
plies specifically with the mandates of Health and Safe-
ty Code Sections 13143, 18928, 18949.2(b), 18949(c)and the mandates of the statutory authority of the OSFMas shown in the Informative Digest.
Therefore, the OSFM’s initial determination of no
significant, statewide adverse economic impact direct-
ly affecting business in California and their ability tocompete with businesses in other states does not require
any additional evidence, documents or other evidence
to support this action.
FINDING OF NECESSITY FOR THE PUBLIC’S
HEALTH, SAFETY , OR WELFARE
(Government Code Section 11346.3(d).)
Any regulation that requires a report shall not apply to
businesses, unless the agency makes a finding that it is
necessary for the health, safety, or welfare of the public
that the regulations apply to businesses.
The OSFM has assessed the proposed code changes
and has determined that these changes would not re-quire a report; therefore, a finding is not necessary forthe health, safety, or welfare of the people of the state
that the regulation is applicable to businesses.
COST IMPACT ON REPRESENTATIVE PRIV ATE
PERSON OR BUSINESS
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(9).)
Describe all cost impacts that a representative private
person or business would necessarily incur in reason-able compliance with the proposed action. If no cost im-
pact; provide the following statement
The OSFM is not aware of any cost impacts that a rep-
resentative private person or business would necessari-
ly incur in reasonable compliance with the proposed ac-
tion.
ASSESSMENT OF EFFECT OF REGULATIONS
UPON JOBS AND BUSINESS EXPANSION,
ELIMINATION OR CREATION
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(10),
Government Code Section 11346.3(b)(1).)
The Office of the State Fire Marshal has assessed that
the proposal will not affect the following:
/C0086 The creation or elimination of jobs within the State
of California.
/C0086 The creation of new businesses or the elimination
of existing businesses within the State ofCalifornia.
/C0086 The expansion of businesses currently doing
business with the State of California.
/C0086 The benefits of the regulation to the health and
welfare of California residents, worker safety, and
the state’ s environment.
ESTIMATED COST OF COMPLIANCE OF
STANDARDS THAT WOULD IMPACT HOUSING
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(12).)
Requires that an action that would impact housing
shall include the estimated cost of compliance and po-
tential benefits of a building standard, if any, that were
included in the initial statement of reasons. In additionthe agency officers shall make available to the public,
upon request. The agency’s evaluation, if any, of the ef-
fect of the proposed regulatory action on housing costs.
Proposals contained in this rulemaking relating to
housing are editorial or are being proposed to clarify the
original intent of the regulations or statute. No addition-
al cost of compliance should be incurred. Potential ben-efits of this rulemaking should bring uniformity for the
design, installation/construction and enforcement.CALIFORNIA REGULATORY NOTICE REGISTER 2017, VOLUME NO. 17-Z
 687CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(13).)
The OSFM has determined that no reasonable alter-
native considered by it or that has otherwise been identi-
fied and brought to the attention of the OSFM would be
more ef fective in carrying out the purpose for which the
action is proposed or would be as effective and less bur-densome to affected private persons than the proposed
action.
A V AILABILITY OF
RULEMAKING DOCUMENTS
(Government Code Section 11346.6(a)(20),
Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(19).)
All of the information upon which the proposed regu-
lations are based is contained in the rulemaking file,
which is available for public review, by contacting theperson named below. This notice, the express terms and
initial statement of reasons can be accessed from the
California Building Standards Commission website:
http://www.bsc.ca.gov/
Interested parties may obtain a copy of the final state-
ment of reasons, once it has been prepared, by making a
written request to the contact person named below or at
the California Building Standards Commission website
Government Code Section 1 1346.5(a)(21) states that
OSFM shall provide, upon request, a description of pro-
posed changes included in the proposed action, in themanner provided by Section 11346.6, to accommodate
a person with a visual or other disability for which ef-
fective communication is required under state or federal
law and that providing the description of proposedchances may require extending the period of public
comment for the proposed action.
CBSC CONTACT PERSON FOR PROCEDURAL
AND ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS
(Government Code Section 11346.5(a)(14).)
General questions regarding procedural and adminis-
trative issues should be addressed to:
California Building Standards Commission
Michael Nearman, Deputy Executive Director
2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130
Sacramento, CA 95833Telephone No.: (916) 263−0916Facsimile No.: (916) 263−0959Back−up contact:
California Building Standards Commission
Gary Fabian, Associate Architect
2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130
Sacramento, CA 95833Telephone No.: (916) 263−0916Facsimile No.: (916) 263−0959
PROPOSING STATE AGENCY CONTACT
PERSON FOR SUBSTANTIVE AND/OR
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS ON THE PROPOSED
CHANGES TO BUILDING STANDARDS
Specific questions regarding the substantive and/or
technical aspects of the proposed changes to the build-
ing standards should be addressed to:
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Greg Andersen, Division ChiefCode Development and Analysis DivisionTelephone No.: (916) 327−4998
greg.andersen@fire.ca.gov
Facsimile No.: (916) 445−8459
Back−up contact:
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Crystal Sujeski, Deputy State Fire Marshal III
Code Development and Analysis DivisionTelephone No.: (916) 322−2928
Crystal.sujeski@fire.ca.gov 
Facsimile No.: (916) 445−8459
GENERAL PUBLIC INTEREST
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH STANDARDS BOARD
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING AND
BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH STANDARDS BOARD
Pursuant to Government Code Section 11346.4 and
the provisions of Labor Code Sections 142.1, 142.2,
142.3, 142.4, and 144.6, the Occupational Safety and
Health Standards Board of the State of California hasset the time and place for a Public Meeting and BusinessMeeting: