Security bill named after child Marina approves Assembly

Eric and Dayna Quanbeck of San Francisco visit Niven Park in Larkspur on Thursday, November 10, 2022. Their son Alex died after a gate collapsed on him at Mark Day School in San Rafael in 2019. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

The state assembly passed a bill related to the death of a child in San Rafael.

Assembly Bill 2149, introduced by Damon Connolly in February, calls for stricter safety regulations for large roller doors in California. The bill was named the “Alex Quanbeck Gate Safety Act” in honor of a 7-year-old boy who died in 2019 after a 300-pound roller gate came loose and fell on him at Mark Day School.

On Tuesday, 51 parliamentarians voted for the bill and 10 were against. The bill will be considered by Senate committees in the summer and could receive a vote in August.

Quanbeck’s parents, Eric and Dayna Quanbeck, have been outspoken advocates of gate security for several years. Eric Quanbeck expressed gratitude for the passage of the bill in the Assembly.

“Dayna and I feel the love and support from what really started in San Rafael and Marin,” he said Tuesday. “We really hope we can get this into state law.”

After the Assembly’s vote, Connolly praised his colleagues for passing the bill.

“The tragedy of Alex Quanbeck’s death was both heartbreaking and avoidable, and his story touched our community,” said Connolly, a Democrat who lives in San Rafael. “Alex’s Law will save lives by implementing commonsense gate security laws to avoid another preventable tragedy.”

The bill’s wording has been changed to focus on gates “open to the public, the entire community or neighborhood or any substantial number of persons”, rather than just gates in residential, commercial or industrial areas.

Gates at places of production, storage or sale of agricultural products are excluded from the regulation, unless these gates are located in the vicinity or in a publicly accessible place.

Gates that weigh more than 50 pounds and are more than 84 inches high or 48 inches wide will be regulated under the bill. Adjustable gates cannot fall off the vertical plane by more than 45 degrees after being disconnected and must have a part that prevents them from moving.

If Gov. Gavin Newsom signs AB 2149, adjustable gate owners would be required to have their gates inspected by a safety professional by July 2026 and have them re-inspected every five years.

Violators of safety regulations will be required to stop using the gates until they are repaired by a licensed contractor. Under the bill, an offending gate will be considered a public nuisance if the owner fails to comply with the law within 30 days of receiving notice of the violation.

Alex was killed by a gate in the school playground that was considered poorly designed and maintained. He tried to close the gate to prevent his ball from rolling, but the gate wheels broke off the rails and the gate fell on him.

Since then, his parents have advocated for security measures at gates throughout Marin County. San Rafael, Tiburon and Larkspur adopted them.

Eric Quanbeck noted that many schools, including Mark Day School, installed gates in response to school shootings across the country.

“We are not against building fences and gates, we understand their need,” he said. “But we just want to make sure that people are aware of the necessary safety devices that need to be placed on these gates.”

He emphasized that gate owners should install devices to prevent gates from falling.

“The simple installation of a $50 part called a fall arrest pole would have prevented Alex’s death,” he said. “Our goal is to ensure all existing and new gates are equipped with this safety feature to prevent future tragedies.”

Quanbecks’ Hummingbird Alliance, a nonprofit organization formed to promote school safety, sponsored AB 2149. The bill was opposed by a coalition of 20 organizations representing the agriculture industry, including the Wine Institute, the California Farm Council and the California Farm Bureau Federation.

The organizations argue that the bill is an expensive new mandate and that the proposed regulations could impact many of the gateways used by agricultural entrepreneurs, according to their opposition included in the bill’s legislative analysis.

“While we understand that a tragic accident led to this bill, requiring gate inspections on thousands of California properties is not the right solution,” the opposition said.

In a May 20 letter to the Assembly, the coalition noted that the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is considering implementing more safety requirements for roller doors. They urged lawmakers to allow the board-led regulatory process to continue rather than adding more required business inspections.

Eric Quanbeck said he is working with opponents of the bill to understand their concerns.

“Our real goal with this bill is advocacy,” he said. “We want to make sure that all people, whether they attend a school, an apartment complex, or work on a farm or winery, realize the risk you are taking by not having a fall protection device on your gate.”