Real estate: environmental hazards: thirdhand smoke.

Assembly Member Ortega’s measure would require sellers of single‑family homes who know of any thirdhand-smoke residue or a history of occupants smoking on the property to disclose that knowledge in writing, while also expanding the state’s Homeowners’ Guide to Environmental Hazards to include thirdhand smoke and three additional topics—wildfires, climate change, and sea level rise—supported by a new cost-offset arrangement with an academic research center. The simultaneous disclosure obligation and education updates are the bill’s central aims, anchored by a plan to keep consumer information current through ongoing collaboration with the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

In terms of mechanisms, the bill makes the seller’s disclosure the sole responsibility of a knowledgeably informed party and defines “residue from smoking” as a chemical accumulation that may be detected by odor or by surface or dust nicotine levels; it also broadens “smoking” to include electronic cigarettes and vaping. The Homeowners’ Guide would be updated as resources permit to add sections on thirdhand smoke alongside the new wildfire, climate, and sea level-rise topics. The Department of Toxic Substances Control would delegate the actual drafting of the thirdhand-smoke content to the Center for Tobacco and the Environment at San Diego State University to offset costs, with DTSC retaining review to ensure the material educates consumers about thirdhand smoke as a property-related hazard and guidance on mitigation.

The bill ties these changes to existing consumer-information and regulatory frameworks by amending the guide’s update process and integrating interagency input from the Natural Resources Agency to inform content accuracy. It adds a new health-and-safety provision that defines thirdhand smoke and requires the DTSC to revise the guide accordingly, using SDSU resources to the extent available, and then to submit the proposed update for review against specified educational objectives. There are no explicit deadlines or new licensing requirements, and no dedicated appropriation is specified; the updates rely on existing resources and ongoing administrative processes.

Viewed in context, the proposal links a targeted real estate disclosure requirement to a broadened consumer-education regime around environmental hazards. The approach creates a governance loop in which disclosures and informational materials reinforce one another, with DTSC overseeing content development and SDSU providing draft material under a state-agency review framework. While the text outlines who bears responsibility and what topics must be addressed, it leaves open questions about standards for determining “actual knowledge,” the exact disclosure form, enforcement mechanisms, and implementation timelines.