BILL NUMBER: AB 715 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 499
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 5, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Laird
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Hancock, Huffman, Mullin, and Wolk)
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend and renumber Section 17921.5 of, to add Sections
17921.4 and 18944.11 to, and to repeal and add Section 17921.3 of,
the Health and Safety Code, relating to water conservation
appliances.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 715, Laird. Water conservation: low-flush water closets and
urinals.
(1) The State Housing Law requires all water closets sold or
installed in this state to be water closets and associated
flushometer valves, if any, that use no more than an average of 1.6
gallons per flush and urinals and associated flushometer valves, if
any, that use no more than an average of one gallon per flush and
requires these water closets, urinals, and associated flushometer
valves to meet performance standards established by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers standards. Violation of the State
Housing Law is punishable as a misdemeanor.
This bill would require that all water closets sold or installed
in this state shall use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per
flush and that all urinals sold or installed in this state use no
more than an average of one gallon per flush. It would require that,
on and after January 1, 2014, all water closets and all urinals,
other than blow-out urinals, sold or installed in this state shall be
high-efficiency water closets and urinals. These provisions would
remain operative only until January 1, 2014, or until the date on
which the California Building Standards Commission includes standards
in the California Building Standards Code that conform to these
requirements, whichever date is later.
The bill also would require manufacturers selling water closets or
urinals in this state to offer high-efficiency models for sale in a
specified percentage of all models offered, including 50% by January
1, 2010, 67% by January 1, 2011, 75% by January 1, 2012, 85% by
January 1, 2013, and 100% by January 1, 2014. It would require these
manufacturers, by January 30 of 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, to
inform, in writing, the California Energy Commission of the
percentage of high-efficiency models it is offering for sale that
year. These provisions would remain operative only until January 1,
2014, or until the date on which the California Building Standards
Commission includes standards in the California Building Standards
Code that conform to these requirements, whichever date is later.
The bill would require a nonwater-supplied urinal approved for
installation or sold in this state to satisfy specified requirements.
The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2009, any state
agency that adopts or proposes building standards for plumbing
systems to consider developing building standards that would govern
the use of nonwater-supplied urinals for submission to the California
Building Standards Commission, as specified.
By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17921.3 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 17921.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
17921.3. (a) All water closets and urinals installed or sold in
this state shall meet performance, testing, and labeling requirements
established by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers standard
A112.19.2-2003, or A112.19.14-2001, as applicable. No other marking
and labeling requirements shall be required by the state. All water
closets and urinals installed or sold in this state shall be listed
by an American National Standards Institute accredited third-party
certification agency to the appropriate American Society of
Mechanical Engineers standards set forth in this subdivision. No
other listing or certification requirements shall be required by the
state.
(b) (1) All water closets sold or installed in this state shall
use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush. On and after
January 1, 2014, all water closets, other than institutional water
closets, sold or installed in this state shall be high-efficiency
water closets.
(2) All urinals sold or installed in this state shall use no more
than an average of one gallon per flush. On and after January 1,
2014, all urinals, other than blow-out urinals, sold or installed in
this state shall be high-efficiency urinals.
(3) Each manufacturer selling water closets or urinals in this
state shall have not less than the following percentage of models
offered for sale in this state of high-efficiency water closets plus
high-efficiency urinals as compared to the total number of models of
water closets plus urinals offered for sale in this state by that
manufacturer:
(A) Fifty percent in 2010.
(B) Sixty-seven percent in 2011.
(C) Seventy-five percent in 2012.
(D) Eighty-five percent in 2013.
(E) One hundred percent in 2014 and thereafter.
(4) Each manufacturer that sells water closets or urinals in this
state shall inform the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, the department, and the California Building
Standards Commission, in writing, of the percentage of models of
high-efficiency water closets plus high-efficiency urinals offered
for sale in this state as compared to the total number of models of
water closets plus urinals offered for sale in this state by that
manufacturer for each year 2010 to 2013, inclusive, by January 30 of
that year.
(c) Any city, county, or city and county may enact an ordinance to
allow the sale and installation of nonlow-consumption water closets
or urinals upon its determination that the unique configuration of
building drainage systems or portions of a public sewer system within
the jurisdiction, or both, requires a greater quantity of water to
flush the system in a manner consistent with public health. At the
request of a public agency providing sewer services within the
jurisdiction, the city, county, or city and county shall hold a
public hearing on the need for an ordinance as provided in this
subdivision. Prior to this hearing or to the enactment of the
ordinance, those agencies responsible for the provision of water and
sewer services within the jurisdiction, if other than the agency
considering adoption of the ordinance, shall be given at least 30
days' notice of the meeting at which the ordinance may be considered
or adopted.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), on and after January 1, 1994,
water closets and urinals that do not meet the standards referenced
in subdivision (b) may be sold or installed for use only under either
of the following circumstances:
(1) Installation of the water closet or urinal to comply with the
standards referenced in subdivision (b) would require modifications
to plumbing system components located beneath a finished wall or
surface.
(2) The nonlow-consumption water closets, urinals, and flushometer
valves, if any, would be installed in a home or building that has
been identified by a local, state, or federal governmental entity as
a historical site and historically accurate water closets and urinals
that comply with the flush volumes specified in subdivision (b) are
not available.
(e) (1) This section does not preempt any actions of cities,
counties, cities and counties, or districts that prescribe additional
or more restrictive conservation requirements affecting either of
the following:
(A) The sale, installation, or use of low-consumption water
closets, urinals, and flushometer valves that meet the standards
referenced in subdivision (a), (b), or (c).
(B) The continued use of nonlow-consumption water closets,
urinals, and flushometer valves.
(2) This section does not grant any new or additional powers to
cities, counties, cities and counties, or districts to promulgate or
establish laws, ordinances, regulations, or rules governing the sale,
installation, or use of low-consumption water closets, urinals, and
flushometer valves.
(f) The California Building Standards Commission or the department
may, by regulation, reduce the quantity of water per flush required
pursuant to this section if deemed appropriate or not inconsistent in
light of other standards referenced in the most recent version of
the California Plumbing Code, and may refer to successor standards to
the standards referenced in this section if determined appropriate
in light of standards referenced in the most recent version of the
California Plumbing Code.
(g) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Blow-out urinal" means a urinal designed for heavy-duty
commercial applications that work on a powerful nonsiphonic
principle.
(2) "High-efficiency water closet" means a water closet that is
either of the following:
(A) A dual flush water closet with an effective flush volume that
does not exceed 1.28 gallons, where effective flush volume is defined
as the composite, average flush volume of two reduced flushes and
one full flush. Flush volumes shall be tested in accordance with ASME
A112.19.2 and ASME A112.19.14.
(B) A single flush water closet where the effective flush volume
shall not exceed 1.28 gallons. The effective flush volume is the
average flush volume when tested in accordance with ASME A112.19.2.
(3) "High-efficiency urinal" means a urinal that uses no more than
0.5 gallons per flush.
(4) "Institutional water closet" means any water closet fixture
with a design not typically found in residential or commercial
applications or that is designed for a specialized application,
including, but not limited to, wall-mounted floor-outlet water
closets, water closets used in jails or prisons, water closets used
in bariatrics applications, and child water closets used in day care
facilities.
(5) "Nonlow-consumption flushometer valve," "nonlow-consumption
urinal," and "nonlow-consumption water closet" mean devices that use
more than 1.6 gallons per flush for toilets and more than 1.0 gallons
per flush for urinals.
(6) "Urinal" means a water-using urinal.
(7) "Wall-mounted/wall-outlet water closets" means models that are
mounted on the wall and discharge to the drainage system through the
wall.
(h) For purposes of this section, all consumption values shall be
determined by the test procedures contained in the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers standard A112.19.2-2003 or A112.19.14-2001.
(i) This section shall remain operative only until January 1,
2014, or until the date on which the California Building Standards
Commission includes standards in the California Building Standards
Code that conform to this section, whichever date is later.
SEC. 3. Section 17921.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
17921.4. (a) A nonwater-supplied urinal approved for installation
or sold in this state shall satisfy all of the following
requirements:
(1) Meet performance, testing, and labeling requirements
established by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers standard
A112.19.19-2006.
(2) Be listed by an American National Standards Institute
accredited third-party certification agency to the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers standard A112.19.19-2006.
(3) Provide a trap seal that complies with the California Plumbing
Code.
(4) Permit the uninhibited flow of waste through the urinal to the
sanitary drainage system.
(5) Be cleaned and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer'
s instructions after installation.
(6) Be installed with a water supply rough-in to the urinal
location that would allow a subsequent replacement of the
nonwater-supplied urinal with a water-supplied urinal if desired by
the owner or if required by the enforcement agency.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Building" means any structure subject to this part, and any
structure subject to the California Building Standards Law as set
forth in Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901).
(2) "Water supply rough-in" means the installation of water
distribution and fixture supply piping sized to accommodate a
water-supplied urinal to an in-wall point immediately adjacent to the
urinal location.
(c) Nothing in this section shall restrict the authority of the
California Building Standards Commission to require any additional
conditions on the installation and use of nonwater-supplied urinals.
SEC. 4. Section 17921.5 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
and renumbered to read:
17921.6. Except as provided in Sections 18930 and 18949.5, the
department shall prepare and adopt minimum standards regulating the
use and application of cellular concrete as it determines are
reasonably necessary for the protection of life and property.
SEC. 5. Section 18944.11 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:
18944.11. On or before July 1, 2009, any state agency that adopts
or proposes building standards for plumbing systems shall consider
developing building standards that would govern the use of
nonwater-supplied urinals for submission to the California Building
Standards Commission in accordance with Sections 17921.4 and 18930.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.