By Corey G. Johnson

The chairwoman of the state Senate disaster preparedness committee is calling for new building standards and an overhaul of California's seismic safety law in the wake of a California Watch investigation and a scathing audit that found significant flaws in the state's oversight of public school construction.

Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, introduced SB 1271 last week. Under the bill, a task force would have until Jan. 1, 2014, to adopt new building standards and policies to bolster school seismic safety. The task force will include representatives from the Division of the State Architect, Bureau of State Audits, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Office of Emergency Services.

The new standards are intended to address weaknesses in the state architect's office's oversight of seismic safety standards for K-12 public school construction. According to the bill, the task force will consider:

• Penalties and other sanctions to compel compliance by school districts, contractors and other professionals
• Stronger oversight of fire safety and accessibility standards
• Improved evaluation of inspectors
• How to increase transparency in the state architect’s office regarding enforcement actions