(a) The department shall propose adoption, amendment, or repeal by the California Building Standards Commission pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5, of those regulations as are necessary for the provision of minimum fire safety and fire-resistant standards relating to the manufacture, composition, and use of foam building systems manufactured for use, or used, in construction of buildings subject to this part, mobilehomes subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000), or factory-built housing subject to Part 6 (commencing with Section 19960), for the protection of the health and safety of persons occupying those buildings, mobilehomes, or factory-built housing. The department shall enforce building standards published in the California Building Standards Code relating to foam building systems, and other rules and regulations adopted by the department or by federal law. Each manufacturer of foam building systems shall have any foam building system manufactured for use in any building, factory-built housing, or mobilehome listed and labeled by an approved testing agency certifying that the system meets fire safety and fire-resistant building standards published in the California Building Standards Code. The department shall consult with all available public and private sources to assist in the development of the building standards and other rules and regulations.
(b) The department shall make inspections of the manufacture of such foam building systems which it determines are necessary to insure compliance with the requirements of subdivision (a).
(c) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or use in construction of buildings subject to this part, mobilehomes subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000), or factory-built housing subject to Part 6 (commencing with Section 19960), in this state, any foam building system, and no person shall sell or offer for sale in this state any such building, mobilehome, or factory-built housing of which a foam building system is a component, which foam building system does not comply with, or has not been listed and labeled by an approved testing agency certifying that the foam building system is in compliance with, the requirements of subdivision (a) on and after the 180th day after the building standards or other rules or regulations become effective.
This subdivision shall not apply to any buildings, mobilehomes, or factory-built housing constructed prior to the 180th day after those standards become effective.
(d) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or use in construction of any building subject to this part, a mobilehome subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000), or factory-built housing subject to Part 6 (commencing with Section 19960), in this state, any foam building system, and no person shall sell or offer for sale in this state any such building, mobilehome, or factory-built housing of which a foam building system is a component, if the manufacturer thereof refuses to permit the department to conduct the inspections required by subdivision (b) on and after the 180th day after the building standards or other rules or regulations become effective.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) “Foam” means a material made by mixing organic polymers with air or other gases in a manner that forms a solid substance with holes filled with air or gas when the mixture is allowed to set.
(2) “Foam building system” means a system of building materials composed of, in whole or in part, of foam. It includes, but is not limited to, all combinations of systems such as those composed of foam inserted between and bonded to two boundary surface materials or those composed exclusively of foam.
(3) “Building standard” means building standard as defined in Section 18909.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 645, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1998.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018