BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1058
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Date of Hearing: April 25, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Lori Saldana, Chair
AB 1058 (Laird) - As Amended: March 29, 2007
SUBJECT : Green building construction: best practices.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Environmental Protection
Agency (CalEPA) to convene a working group to develop voluntary
best practices for green building in new residential
construction by July 1, 2009; following public review and
possible revisions, best practices would become mandatory
beginning January 1, 2013. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "best practices" as green building best practices for
residential home construction, which include:
a) Energy efficiency, conservation, or renewable generation
measures;
b) Water efficiency, conservation, and reuse measures;
c) Materials and resource efficiency, conservation, and
reuse measures;
d) Indoor environmental quality measures, including indoor
air quality;
e) Innovation and design processes.
f) Non-motorized transportation; and,
g) A method for determining life-cycle cost, including
evaluating the relative effectiveness, cost, and life-cycle
savings of individual or multiple green building measures.
2)Requires CalEPA, with the working group and in consultation
with representatives from the building industry, environmental
advocacy groups, local governments, and other interested
parties, to develop, adopt, and make available voluntary best
practices on or before July 1, 2009.
3)Establishes a working group to assist CalEPA in the
development of best practices and requires members of the
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working group to consult with the building industry,
environmental groups, local governments as well as the public.
Requires members of the working group include, but not be
limited to:
a) California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB);
b) State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission;
c) State Air Resources Board;
d) Department of Water Resources;
e) Department of Housing and Community Development;
f) Department of General Services; and,
g) California Building Standards Commission (BSC).
4)Requires that each state agency in the working group shall
take the lead in developing best practices in its particular
area of expertise and requires CalEPA to coordinate the
integration of the best practices.
5)Requires each state agency in the working group to determine
the appropriate minimum best practices that must be met to
consider a residence sustainable and environmentally sound
(minimum standards) and requires CalEPA to coordinate the
integration of minimum standards.
6)Requires BSC to review all aspects of the best practices and
minimum standards to ensure that the standards do not "fall
below" the requirements of the California Building Standards
Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
7)Requires all entities involved in the development of the best
practices and the minimum standards to consider relevant
existing green building guidelines.
8)Requires CalEPA to develop an education program to inform
local entities of the benefits of green building and to
encourage the use of the best practices.
9)Requires CalEPA and the working group, beginning January 1,
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2011, to conduct a public review of the best practices and
minimum standards and may make revisions based on the review.
10)On or before January 1, 2012, CalEPA shall submit the revised
minimum standards for adoption by BSC. BSC may revise, but
not reduce, the minimum standards submitted by CalEPA.
11)Requires that on and after January 1, 2013, all new homes
shall meet the minimum standards adopted by BSC. If BSC does
not adopt the standards by that date, all new homes shall meet
the minimum standards developed by CalEPA and the working
group until BSC adopts minimum standards.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, pursuant to the Governor's Executive Order S-3-05, a
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2010;
to 1990 levels by 2020; and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by
2050. The Governor established the Climate Action Team,
headed by the Secretary for Environmental Protection, to
implement global warming emission reduction programs and to
report on the progress made toward meeting the statewide
greenhouse gas targets that were established in the order.
2)Requires, pursuant to the Governor's Executive Order S-20-04,
The Green Building Initiative, the state to take specified
actions, including:
a) Committing to aggressive action to reduce state
building electricity usage by 20 percent in 2015;
b) Designing, constructing, and operating all new and
renovated state-owned facilities as Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver or higher certified
buildings; and
c) Developing a life cycle cost assessment methodology
to evaluate the cost effectiveness of building design and
construction decisions.
3)Identifies specific goals and responsibilities for the state,
including energy efficiency goals for state buildings, under
the Green Building Action Plan (Plan). The Plan also directs
the California Energy Commission (CEC) and State Licensing
Boards to develop building code amendments for non-residential
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buildings that increase energy efficiency.
4)Requires the CEC to adopt energy efficiency standards for
residential construction, which establish requirements for
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, water
heating systems, and lighting. The standards apply to all new
residential construction.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Background
According to the author's office, there were approximately 12.9
million housing units in the state last year and over 211,000
new housing units were constructed. In 2003, investment in new
residential construction totaled $34 million. This construction
results in significant environmental impacts: the construction
of a conventional 2,000 square foot home generates between 3 to
5 tons of waste; California residences use 5.6 million acre-feet
of applied water annually; and the residential sector accounts
for approximately 31 percent of the electricity used in the
state. While recent Executive Orders encourage green building
practices in state facilities, commercial construction, and
schools, they do not address residential construction.
HCD estimates that over 220,000 new housing units will be needed
annually over the next 15 years to accommodate population
growth. CIWMB notes that many common building products used in
household construction emit formaldehyde and other chemicals
known to have adverse health impacts. According to CIWMB's
website, "houses in California must comply with the most
stringent energy code in the country, but this will not be
enough to reduce the impacts housing has on the state's
environment. In order to be truly effective, an integrated
approach to building must be pursued."
Benefits of Residential Green Building
According to the author's office, "green building practices
utilize energy, water, and materials efficiently throughout the
building's life cycle; enhance indoor air quality; and
incorporate environmentally preferable products."
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CIWMB's website outlines the benefits of residential green
buildings, including:
a) Increasing demand for recycled content building products
creates markets for the material collected in municipal
recycling programs;
b) Reducing and recycling construction wastes directly
benefits local jurisdictions working to meet the state's
solid waste diversion requirements;
c) Recycling construction waste is often less expensive than
disposal;
d) Making homes more energy efficient results in monthly
utility savings for residents;
e) Using onsite electricity generation, via solar or other
methods, reduces the state's dependence on out-of-state
power generation, provides electricity back to the grid
during the day, saves consumers money, and reduces
air-pollution;
f) Using low-flow water fixtures and water efficient
landscaping can reduce water demand and lower monthly bills;
g) Cities that embrace green building can reduce the impacts
on their infrastructure including roads, water treatment,
and storm water run-off; and
h) Increasing the use of infill land and/or encouraging
redevelopment in underutilized sites reduces the consumption
of farmland and eases transportation burdens since these
sites are generally located in developed areas near jobs and
services.
Existing Sustainable Building Efforts
a) State Efforts
Although the state has not directly addressed residential
green building specifically, the state has taken action to
encourage sustainable development, including:
i) Executive Order S-3-05: The Governor acknowledged
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climate change as a threat to the environment and
committed the state to taking action to address this issue
in signing Executive Order S-3-05. The order calls for a
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by
2010; to 1990 levels by 2020; and to 80 percent below 1990
levels by 2050. The Governor established the Climate
Action Team, headed by the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, to implement global warming emission reduction
programs and to report on the progress made toward meeting
the statewide greenhouse gas targets that were established
in the order.
ii) Executive Order S-20-04, The Green Building
Initiative: In Executive Order S-20-04, adopted in July
of 2004, the Governor committed the state to actively
reducing the state's energy usage by constructing,
retrofitting, and operating state buildings in an
energy-efficient manner, including implementing the
measures identified in the Green Building Action Plan.
b) Other Efforts
Some local governments and organizations have taken steps to
encourage residential green building, including:
i) LEED for Homes : The LEED for Homes program is being
developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) with
input from local and national stakeholder groups. It is a
voluntary initiative promoting sustainable practices
within the residential construction industry. According to
the USGBC website, the program is intended to provide a
tool for homebuilders, homeowners, and local governments
for building environmentally sound, healthy, and
resource-efficient places to live. Currently, the USGBC
has a pilot rating system available for residential
construction and is testing the efficacy of the pilot
system. The pilot program will be completed by December
2006; the final LEED for Homes rating system is expected
to be completed in 2007.
ii) Alameda County's New Home Construction Green Building
Guidelines : StopWaste.org, a public entity comprised of
the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the
Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board,
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developed the guidelines in 2000 to offer suggestions to
builders to minimize construction-related waste, create
healthier and more durable homes, reduce operating costs
for homeowners, support local manufacturers and suppliers
of resource-efficient building materials, and to identify
methods to reduce the impacts of building in Alameda
County communities; including solid waste management,
water conservation, energy efficiency and resource
conservation.
Related Legislation
Several bills related to sustainable building have been
introduced in the current legislative session:
AB 35 (Ruskin) enacts the Sustainable Building Act of 2007,
which requires the State Public Works Board (SPWB) to adopt
regulations establishing green building standards for the
construction and renovation of state buildings.
AB 792 (Garcia) establishes the Environmentally Sustainable
Affordable Housing Program to provide funding for sustainable
housing projects.
AB 888 (Lieu) requires sustainable building elements to be
incorporated into building standards.
AB 1460 (Salda?a) gives priority scoring to applicants for state
affordable housing funds who include sustainable building
methods in construction of housing units.
AB 1560 (Huffman) requires the California Energy Commission to
establish water efficiency standards for new construction.
Double referred : The Assembly Committee on Rules referred AB
1058 to Natural Resources and Housing and Community Development
Committee. The bill passed the Assembly Committee on Natural
Resources on April 16, 2007 by a vote of 6-3.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Lung Association of California
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Opposition
California Building Industry Association
Analysis Prepared by : Andrew Zingale and Hubert Bower / H. &
C.D. / (916) 319-2085