BILL NUMBER: AB 888 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Lieu and Laird
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Torrico)
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to add Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350) to Division
34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to building standards.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 888, Lieu. Green building standards.
Existing law sets forth various requirements for energy and design
efficiency in the construction of nonresidential buildings. Existing
law authorizes state agencies to submit, and requires the Building
Standards Commission to receive and review, proposed building
standards for adoption, approval, publication, and codification.
This bill would require new commercial buildings for which a
public agency deems the application for a development project
complete on or after January 1, 2013, and that are 50,000 square feet
or greater, be designed, constructed, and operated, to meet the
applicable standards described in the United States Green Building
Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating
or its equivalent, unless the state adopts specified minimum green
building standards, in which case, those commercial buildings would
be required to meet the adopted standards.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350) is added to
Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
PART 4.5. GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS FOR NONRESIDENTIAL
BUILDINGS
71350. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of the carbon dioxide
emissions in the United States, more than any other sector.
(b) Transforming the building environment to be more energy
efficient and climate friendly is a vital tool in the fight against
global warming and toward reducing dependence on foreign oil.
(c) A United Nations' study showed that better architecture and
energy savings in buildings could do more to fight global warming
than all the curbs on greenhouse gases agreed to under the United
Nations' Kyoto Protocol.
(d) The state is committed to providing leadership on energy,
environmental, and public health issues by implementing innovative
and resource-efficient building design practices and other programs
that improve the lives of the state's 34.5 million residents.
(e) The widespread adoption of green building principles would
result in significant long-term benefits to the state's environment,
including reduction in the demand for energy, water, and wastestream
services, and the fiscal and environmental impacts resulting from the
expansion of these infrastructures.
(f) Green buildings enhance indoor air quality, incorporate
environmentally preferable products, and protect the building
occupants' health.
71351. For the purposes of this part, the following terms mean
the following:
(a) "Commercial building" means a building or structure that is in
occupancy Group B as specified in Section 304 of Part 2 of Title 24
of the California Code of Regulations. Commercial building does not
include an eating establishment.
(b) "LEED gold rating" means the United States Green Building
Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) gold rating for new construction and major renovation.
(c) "Minimum green building standards" means green building
standards for commercial buildings that meet, at a minimum, the LEED
gold rating or equivalent, and include, but are not limited to, all
of the following:
(1) Sustainability of the site.
(2) Water efficiency.
(3) Energy and atmosphere.
(4) Materials and resources and sustainable wood.
(5) Indoor environmental quality.
(6) Innovation and design process.
(7) Nonmotorized transportation.
(8) A method for determining life-cycle cost, including evaluating
the relative effectiveness, cost, and life-cycle savings, if any, by
the use of individual or multiple green building measures specified
in this part.
71352. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a new
commercial building for which a public agency, on or after January 1,
2013, deems the application complete pursuant to Section 65943 of
the Government Code, and that is 50,000 square feet or greater, shall
be designed, constructed, and operated to meet the applicable
standards described in the LEED gold rating or its equivalent.
(2) (A) If the state adopts minimum green building standards, a
new commercial building for which a public agency on or after January
1, 2013, deems the application complete pursuant to Section 65943 of
the Government Code, and that is 50,000 square feet or greater shall
meet those adopted standards.
(B) In considering the minimum green building standards, the state
may consider existing relevant guidelines including, but not limited
to, the Green Building Initiative's "Green Globes" rating system.
(b) For the purposes of determining compliance with the LEED gold
rating or its equivalent, with respect to materials and resources and
sustainable wood, a project that uses wood products with a credible
third party sustainable forest certification, as determined by the
California Environmental Protection Agency, shall be deemed to be in
compliance.
(c) This section shall not prohibit, limit, or supersede other
green building standards developed pursuant to existing authority.