Effective now, New York Law requires swimming pool retailers and/or installers to notify consumers of barrier and safety requirements in the following manner:

• Retail Stores: Notice must be given by prominently posting a sign where pools are displayed and/or sold or where pools are offered for sale through a printed display or catalogue. 
• Sign Requirements:
• No smaller than 9” x 14”
• Letters no smaller than ½” in height
• Sign must state:
• The New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code requires barriers around swimming pools that contain certain levels of water.
• The website where the code can be found must be listed: http://www.dos.state.ny.us/code/pools.htm
• Additional costs may be incurred when installing a pool in order to comply with state or local laws regarding fencing, pool alarms and other safety requirements.
• Contact your local building code enforcement office for details, and consult municipal codes and regulations for any further requirements.
• Retailers and/or installers: Upon request of a consumer, written notice must be provided:
• Which lists the website where the code can be found:  http://www.dos.state.ny.us/code/pools.htm
• No smaller than 5” x 8”
• Letters no smaller than 14 point type.
• Retailers and/or installers located in New York City, or a county in which any portion is within 50 miles of the city:
• In addition to the state code website, The Building code of New York City website must also be listed: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/home/home.shtml
• Listed on both the retail store sign and written notice.

  “This notice is provided solely as a member benefit to keep NESPA members informed of changing laws and regulations that affect their businesses.  NESPA does not dispense legal advice and assumes no liability for the contents of this notice.  Members are urged to seek competent legal advice if they have any questions on this or any other law or regulation that may affect them.”

June 2007

Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed a new law that exempts hot tubs and spas with locking covers, and pools and spas equipped with automatic covers, from a recent law that requires new and extensively rebuilt pools from having to install a pool alarm.

A summary of the provisions of the new law published by the state are as follows:

“Section 1 of this bill would amend subdivision 14 of section 378 of the Executive Law of the uniform fire prevention and building code by exempting hot-tubs and spas with locking covers and swimming pools and spas equipped with automatic power safety covers so long as they are in compliance with the ASTM F-1346 Standard.”

“This specific standard is updated for maximum child protection and currently includes tough standards for locking hot-tubs, spas and swimming pools with automatic power safety covers.”

2006 Alarm Law

About a year ago in June, 2006, New York State passed a law requiring alarms on all pools and spas in the state. At the time, no regulations for the law’s implementation were enacted. In December 2006, “emergency regulations” were approved, which went into effect on December 14, 2006. Because the state took the emergency regulation route, NESPA was unable to comment on the regulations at the time.

The biggest issue for NESPA and its members was that the state did not make an exception for hot tubs with locking covers or pools or spas with automatic covers. The trouble was—the pool alarm does not work when there is a cover on the pool or spa.

Further, by January of 2007, hot tub dealers in New York State were getting notices from certain building officials that they were not allowed to sell hot tubs that were not equipped with the pool alarms. For dealers involved exclusively in hot tubs, this was a Catch 22 that had the effect of putting them out of business rather quickly if there were no relief from the state.

NESPA’s lobbyists, at our request, went to the two sponsors of the original bill, and explained the potentially dire situation to them. They quickly grasped the problem, and agreed to sponsor reform legislation in the New York Legislature to amend the law and exempt spas and hot tubs with locking covers and pools and spas with automatic covers that that meet the ASTM standard. Those new rules went into effect this month.

May 2, 2007

A-6520 andS-3421 An Act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing certain hot tubs and spas shall not be required to be equipped with a pool alarm

Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section 378 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 450 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:

14. Provide that any:

AND

C. HOT TUB OR SPA WITH A SAFETY COVER WHICH COMPLIES WITH AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TESTING AND MATERIALS INTERNATIONAL STANDARD F1346 (2003) OR SWIMMING POOL EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC POWER SAFETY COVER IN COMPLIANCE WITH AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TESTING AND MATERIALS INTERNATIONAL STANDARD F1346 (2003) SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH B OF THIS SUBDIVISION.

A-6131 and S-3779 Relates to creating the crime of failure to secure a swimming pool; makes it a class A misdemeanor for a property owner to fail to secure a swimming pool as required by law, code or regulation where any person dies as a result of such failure.

S-1092 and A-339 requires permanent enclosures for swimming pools within 90 days of beginning of construction but permits extension for good cause.

Emergency “Pool Alarm” Regulations
December 14, 2006

SPECIAL NOTE: THERE IS NO EXCEPTION TO THIS REQUIREMENT FOR HOT TUBS, SPAS OR POOLS WITH AUTOMATIC OR LOCKING COVERS