Date: November 7, 2005

Attention: ASCIP Members

Subject: EMERGENCY EXIT LOCATIONS

Download a printer-friendly version.

California Assembly Bill 1194 was Chaptered into law on October 5^th, 2005, and will become effective on January 1, 2006. ASCIP believes that the mandate of this legislation affects California schools and colleges.

AB 1194 adds section13113.6 to the California Health and Safety Code and, in general, requires that any entity or private party conducting a live event in a facility with a legitimate stage capable of holding from 50 to 1000 occupants and for which tickets are sold must hereafter make an announcement regarding the locations of the emergency exits before the live program may commence. Failure to do so would be considered a crime.

This new law has obvious implications for ASCIP members with auditoriums and theaters or performing arts centers that meet the description of the facilities covered by this legislation. Such an announcement may already be a standard part of campus events and productions held in such facilities and, if not, such a requirement may be incorporated into a mandatory procedure to ensure that the information is presented at each and every ticketed activity.

However, a mechanism to ensure that facilities users under the Civic Center Act also meet this requirement should be given serious consideration. One possibility would be to make such compliance a contractual condition of all campus facilities use agreements for ticketed events. It may be appropriate to provide facilities users with a simplified map of the exit locations for the facility in question which might be utilized by the Master of Ceremonies as a tool by which the exits may properly identified to the attendees.

Should any questions or concerns arise regarding this or similar issues, please feel free to give ASCIP a call at any time!

Reviewed July, 2006