Hospitals in earthquake-prone California were looking at some big bills, with the state demanding that they build out and retrofit facilities to meet tough seismic safety standards. Now, however, the state of California may give some of the hospitals a break. Under proposed changes to state rules, only the older hospitals in earthquake-prone areas will have to rebuild, saving the others a collective $4.6 billion. The California Building Standards Commission will shortly consider the rule changes, which would alter the way it evaluates a hospital's fitness to withstand a major quake. Hospitals that pass the softer tests would be able to keep operating until 2030 if they make minor fix-ups.
To learn more about the rules:
- read this Sacramento Business Journal item
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