BILL ANALYSIS AB 715 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 715 (Laird) As Amended September 7, 2007 Majority vote ASSEMBLY: 46-25 (May 03, 2007) SENATE: (September 11, 2007) (vote not available) Original Committee Reference: H. & C.D. SUMMARY : Phases in requirements that water closets and water-using urinals have lower flush volumes, requiring manufacturers to produce an increasing percentage of high-efficiency models until 2014 when all new water closets and urinals would have to meet the high-efficiency definition. The Senate amendments make the following changes to the Assembly version of the bill: 1)Move the compliance deadline for lower flush volumes back from 2010 to 2014. 2)Requires all water closets installed or sold in the state to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush and all urinals other than blow-out urinals to average no more than one gallon per flush by 2014. 3)Requires each manufacturer selling water closets or urinals in California to offer no less than the following percentages of high-efficiency models: a) 50% by 2010; b) 67% by 2011; c) 75% by 2012; d) 85% by 2013; and e) 100% by 2014. 4)Requires each manufacturer, from 2010 to 2013, to inform the California Energy Commission, in writing, of the percentage of models that meet the high-efficiency standards. 5)Makes the standards provided in the bill operative until 2014 or until the California Building Standards Commission adopts standards that conform to the bill which ever date is later. AB 715 Page 2 6)Allows the California Building Standards Commission to require any additional conditions on the installation and use of nonwater-supplied urinals. 7)Makes technical changes. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , phases in requirements that water closets and urinals have lower flush volumes, generally reducing toilets from 1.6 to 1.3 gallons per flush and urinals from 1.0 to 0.5 gallons per flush. Specifically, this bill : 1)Defines "floor-mounted/floor-outlet water closets" as models that are mounted with the fixture base on the floor and discharge to the drainage system through the floor. 2)Defines "nonlow-consumption flushometer valve," "nonlow-consumption urinal," and "nonlow consumption water closet" as devices that use more than 1.6 gallons per flush for toilets and more than 1.0 gallons per flush for urinals. 3)Defines "wall-mounted/wall-outlet water closets" as models that are mounted on the wall and discharge to the drainage system through the wall. 4)Defines "washdown urinals" as models that operate primarily on a dilution only, nonsiphonic principle. 5)Updates California's standards for toilets and urinals to the current standards set by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Standards. 6)Requires, on or after January 1, 2010, tank type water closets, including pressure tank water closets installed in new buildings, must use no more than an average of 1.3 gallons per flush for single-flush water closets, and dual-flush toilets must use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush for solids and 1.1 gallons per flush for liquids. 7)Requires, on or after January 1, 2010, all floor-mounted/floor outlet and wall-mounted/wall-outlet flushometer water closets installed in new buildings must use no more than an average of 1.3 gallons per flush for single flush, and dual-flush water closets use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush for solids and 1.1 gallons per flush for liquids. AB 715 Page 3 8)Requires, on or after January 1, 2010, all wash-down urinals installed in new buildings must use no more than 0.5 gallon per flush. 9)Provides, on or after January 1, 2011, tank type water closets including pressure tank water closets sold or installed must use no more than an average of 1.3 gallon per flush for single-flush water closets, and for dual-flush toilets no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush for solids and 1.1 gallons per flush for liquids. 10) Provides on or after January 1, 2012, all flushometer-type water closets sold or installed in this state shall use not more than an average of 1.3 gallons per flush for single flush, and for dual flush use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush for solids and 1.1 gallons per flush for liquids. 11) Provides, on or after January 1, 2010, all washdown urinals sold or installed in the state must use no more than 0.5 gallons per flush. 12) Allows the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC), upon the recommendation of the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to delay the implementation of the new requirements for water closets and urinals through regulation by up to two years if CBSC determines that manufacturers are not capable of producing enough units to meet demand or if there are significant technical problems. 13) Allows CBSC to reduce the quantity of water per flush required by this bill based on the future versions of the California Plumbing Code. 14) Requires all nonwater-supplied urinals sold or installed until January 1, 2010, to satisfy the following performance standards: a) Be certified to meet standards established by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; b) Provide a barrier liquid sealant to maintain a trap seal; c) Permit the uninhibited flow of waste; AB 715 Page 4 d) Be cleaned and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions after installation; and, e) Be installed with a water supply rough-in to the urinal location that allows replacement with a water-supplied urinal. 15) Requires, by January 1, 2009, those state agencies responsible for proposing building standards for plumbing systems to determine whether or not to propose building standards to CBSC for nonwater-supplied urinals. 16) Provides if new building standards are adopted for nonwater-supplied urinals that they at least meet list of requirements of those sold until January 1, 2009. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, any costs to state agencies would be absorbable. This bill amends requirements of State Housing Law, the violation of which is punishable as a misdemeanor, thus cities and counties could incur non-reimbursable costs for prosecution and incarceration, offset to some extent by fine revenues. COMMENTS : The statewide standards for toilet water flush volume were last updated in 1992. In 1992, the law was expanded to require not just toilets and urinals installed in new buildings but all toilets sold or installed in California to use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush and urinals which use an average of one gallon per flush and which meet the performance standards established by ASME by January 1, 1994. According to the author, it was difficult for toilet manufacturers to meet the requirements established until several years later. By 1995, toilets had been redesigned to operate more efficiently. After 1992, the federal government established the California standard as the national standard preempting the standards of other states. The federal preemption was conditioned on enactment of subsequent improvements in toilet efficiency within five years. These improvements did not happen and the federal preemption expired. This bill requires a reduction in the amount of water required for each flush as follows: 1) single flush from 1.6 gallons to 1.3 gallons; 2) dual flush from 1.6 gallons to 1.6 for solid and AB 715 Page 5 1.3 gallons for liquid; and, 3) urinals from 1.0 gallons to 0.5 gallons per flush. The new standards would apply to residential and commercial toilets and urinals, but would largely exclude those that are used in very specialized buildings and require special fittings and molds like those used in prisons. This bill would not require all toilets and urinals to immediately comply with new standards but rather would incorporate a phased-in approach requiring compliance by 2014. According to the author, at the present time there are 24 manufacturers producing 111 models of toilets and nine manufacturers producing 34 models of urinals that meet the standards proposed in this bill. Last year the author carried a similar bill, AB 2496, which would have revised the requirements for toilet water flush volume standards with the ultimate goal of creating greater water conservation by saving as much as eight billion gallons of water per year after all of the new standards have been in operation for 10 years. According to the author, one of the concerns raised in the veto message, that the reduced quantity of water would not be sufficient to carry wastes in under-floor pipes, has been addressed by a recent study of the United States Environmental Protection Agency which found that flushes of 1.28 gallons is sufficient to carry waste. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0003399