I happen to know that many people are very (negatively) sensitive to fluorescent (and similar) lights for various reasons. One common cause with certain visual disorders is sensitivity to the uneven spectrum. Even though the colors are balanced out to give a good character of white, and accurate rendering of color, the spectral peak lines still cause eye stress when trying to focus for some people. Another common cause is the flicker rate at 120 Hz (100 Hz in Europe) can affect certain people with certain neural differences (Autism, Asperger's, and Kanner's). The flicker has not only a time component, but a spectral component because the different color phosphors used to produce different colors decay at different rates during the off cycle. The buzz from the ballast can also affect these same people.
I happen to know about these problems personally because I fit both categories at the same time. I have to use extra incandescent lighting at work, and usually disable or shut off the fluorescent lights around my work area. Lucky for me I don't live in California.
More information:
http://asumag.com/mag/university_eliminating_distractions/ http://www.autism.org/irlen.html http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Teaching_Tips.htm http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/autismunit/AutismAwarenessforKids.htm http://www.azcentral.com/families/education/articles/1221autism-ON.html http://www.autismcoalition.org/whatisautism.asp http://www.jems.com/jems/exclus04/e0604b.html http://www.asmonline.org/dosanddonts.htm
