Recently, the California state senate passed a law that requires that all garage door opener systems are now equipped with an emergency backup battery, in case of a power outage. The goal of the bill is to prevent residents from becoming trapped inside of their homes, should a power outage occur.
The law, Senate Bill 969, was proposed by Senator Bill Dodd. It states the following:
This bill, beginning July 1, 2019, would [now] require an automatic garage door opener that is manufactured for sale, sold, offered for sale, or installed in a residence to have a battery backup function that is designed to operate when activated because of an electrical outage. The bill would make a violation of those provisions subject to a civil penalty of $1,000. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2019, prohibit a replacement residential garage door from being installed in a manner that connects the door to an existing garage door opener that does not meet the requirements of these provisions”.
The law went into effect on July 1st of this year. Before the law went into effect, major garage door manufacturing corporations like Liftmaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, and Genie were working overtime to ensure that all of their new garage door systems have the proper backup batteries installed in order to be in compliance with state law.
Additionally, this new bill has impacted those of us in the garage door repair business. Since July 1st, it is now illegal in the state of California for anyone to install a garage door system that doesn’t have an adequate backup battery system in place. On the bright side, we think that the added safety and security that Bill 969 brings to homeowners is worth the little bit of extra price and slight headaches. If you’ve spent any amount of time here on our website, you know how valuable of an addition a high-quality garage door can be for your home, and that it can instantly boost your property value!
The reason for the passing of this new California garage door opener law is mainly due to the devastation brought on by the wildfires the state experienced last autumn. Lawmakers have argued that if people’s homes were better equipped with backup battery opener systems, that lives could have been saved and injuries could have been avoided. Some people, especially the elderly, are simply unable to lift the door manually, or they didn’t understand how to use the emergency release cord.
California lawmakers took a 53 to 6 vote on the bill earlier this year, and it, of course, passed as everyone expected. The Governor signed the bill into law, which is supported by The Consumer Federation of California These lawmakers expect that this new bill will help prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
If you are in the market for a new garage door opener, you owe it to yourself to contact the experts who always stay up to date with these kinds of regulations and industry innovations. Give us a call here at Garage Door in My Area today to get all of your questions answered and your concerns addressed.