BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1058
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2007-2008 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1058
AUTHOR: Laird
AMENDED: July 2, 2007
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 10, 2007
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1)Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, contains requirements for recycling certain types of
materials (e.g., metallic discards, papers, plastic trash
bags, rigid plastic packaging containers, cell phones,
paving materials, and waste tires), provides programs for
recycling at certain types of facilities (e.g., schoolsites,
large venues), and requires model ordinances for certain
matters (e.g., adequate areas for collection and loading of
recyclable materials in development projects; diversion of
construction and demolition materials; solid waste
reduction, reuse, and recycling at large venues). The Act
creates the California Integrated Waste Management Board
(CIWMB) under the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA).
2)Under the California Building Standards Law, sets procedures
for adopting state building codes that require a building
standard adopted or proposed by state agencies to be
submitted to the California Building Standards Commission
(BSC) for approval or adoption prior to codification. Where
no state agency has authority to adopt building standards
applicable to state buildings, the BSC must adopt, approve,
codify, and publish building standards for the design and
construction of state buildings.
This bill creates the Green Building Standards Law that:
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1) Requires CalEPA to develop, adopt, and make available
voluntary best practices by July 1, 2009, for residential
home construction that address certain matters (e.g.,
energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials and
resources, indoor environmental quality).
2) Requires CalEPA to coordinate a working group consisting of
certain state entities (e.g., BSC, CIWMB, State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission, Air
Resources Board) that must consult representatives from
certain organizations in developing voluntary best
practices. Entities involved in this effort must consider
current guidelines (e.g., US Green Building Council's
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for
homes rating system, 2005 Build It Green "New Home
Construction Green Building Guidelines).
3) Each state entity must provide the BSC and CalEPA with an
analysis of the proposed best practices that include
potential overlap with other agencies' jurisdiction,
assurance that all aspects exceed the California Building
Standards Code, and justification of the best practices.
4) Requires the BSC to review the voluntary best practices
prior to adoption to ensure that nothing falls below or
conflicts with standards in the California Building
Standards Code (Title 24). If the BSC identifies conflict
with the Code, CalEPA must revise its best practices to be
in conformance with the code.
5) Requires CalEPA to develop an education program informing
local entities of green building benefits and encourage use
of the best practices.
6) Requires CalEPA, beginning July 1, 2011, to conduct a
public review of the best practices with state entities and
certain representatives to determine the level of use and
effectiveness in a representative sampling of residential
construction.
7) Requires CalEPA to reconvene the working group to develop
proposed building standards based on the best practices and
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their review. Each state entity must develop proposed
building standards related to its area of expertise.
CalEPA must be responsible for coordinating proposed
building standards and submitting a comprehensive set of
proposed building standards to the BSC by July 1, 2012, for
BSC adoption pursuant to the California Building Standards
Code.
8) Authorizes the BSC to modify the proposed building
standards as long as the modifications do not reduce the
environmental benefits or efficiencies that would have been
achieved by the proposed standards.
9) Requires all residential occupancies for which a project
application is deemed complete on or after July 1, 2013, to
comply with the building standards proposed by CalEPA if
the BSC rejects the proposed standard, until the date that
the proposed CalEPA building standards are adopted by the
BSC take effect.
10)Contains related legislative intent.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "In 2005,
California had approximately 12.9 million existing housing
units and over 211,000 new units were constructed. In
2003, construction investment in California for new
residential housing totaled $34 billion. While residential
housing is [a] significant economic force, the construction
of a 2,000 square foot home generates 3 to 5 tons of waste,
California residences use 5.6 million acre-feet of applied
water annually, and the residential sector accounts for
roughly 31% of the electricity consumed in the state."
The author also notes that "Green building practices utilize
energy, water, and materials efficiently throughout the
building life cycle; enhance indoor air quality; and
incorporate environmentally preferable products. While
green building practices have been encouraged by the past
three Governors through Executive Orders, none of these
have included residential. As shown above, California
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residences have a large impact on the environment, and by
providing guidelines on how to most efficiently
build/operate a home to minimize the environmental impact
we can make a significant difference in that impact."
2) Opposition and support concerns . Opponents of AB 1058 are
generally concerned about CalEPA responsibility in
developing the green building standards and want the BSC to
have that responsibility. According to opponents, "We also
feel that a set of voluntary green building guidelines
should be developed, adopted, and field tested prior to the
adoption of mandatory statewide standards." The BSC
believes that responsibility for coordinating development
of green building standards is "inappropriately placed with
[CalEPA] and "green building measures should be submitted
to [BSC] for technical review, approval and publication"
According to supporters, "The residential sector accounts for
31 percent of the electricity used in the state, and
electricity generation is a major source of greenhouse gas
emissions. Housing construction and operation also results
in other significant environmental impacts: the
construction of an average 2,000 square foot house
generates 3-5 tons of waste, and common building products
emit formaldehyde and other dangerous chemicals."
Supporters also note that "More than a decade of experience
has demonstrated that there is no appreciable difference in
the construction costs of LEED-compliant buildings, and any
additional up-front costs are paid back many times over in
reduced costs of energy and other resources.
3) Related legislation . AB 1337 (Ruskin) of 2006 required the
CIWMB to develop green building standards for state
buildings and was vetoed because Governor Schwarzenegger
did not believe the CIWMB had the expertise to address
these building standard matters. AB 2160 (Lieu) Chapter
742, Statutes of 2006, requires the Department of General
Services to define a life cycle cost analysis model to be
used for certain state building design and construction
decisions, and requires the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission to report on
certain related matters. AB 2880 (Lieu) of 2006 requires
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the CIWMB to provide certain greenbuilding information on
an Internet website and to create an advisory committee to
assist the board in developing and updating the website
(held in the Senate Appropriations Committee). AB 2928
(Laird) of 2006 addressed voluntary green building
guidelines for residential construction and was referred to
the Senate Rules Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10
due to amendments on the Senate Floor giving responsibility
for the guidelines to the BSC.
AB 35 (Ruskin) requires state buildings to meet sustainable
building standards and AB 888 (Lieu) requires green
building standards for nonresidential buildings. AB 35 was
approved by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee July
2, 2007 (5-2), and AB 888 was also approved on that date
(4-2). AB 1058 was approved by the Senate Transportation
and Housing Committee June 26, 2007 (7-4).
4) Outstanding issues . AB 35 and AB 888 require standards to
meet, at a minimum, standards described in the LEED gold
rating. It may be appropriate for AB 1058 to be consistent
with that approach when the LEED standards are effective in
the fall (although there may be concerns about referencing
a standard that is not yet adopted).
AB 1058 requires CalEPA to conduct a review of best practices
with representatives from state entities and the
residential construction industry to determine the level of
use and effectiveness in a representative sampling of
residential construction (page 6, lines 17 to 25).
Representatives from local governments should also be
involved in this effort.
SOURCE : Assemblymember Laird
SUPPORT : American Lung Association, California Coastal
Protection Network, California Independence
Solar Workforce Homes, California League of
Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife,
Environment California, Environment California,
Environmental Defense, Natural Resources
Defense Council, Planning and Conservation
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League, Santa Cruz, Sierra Club California,
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
OPPOSITION : Building Standards Commission, California
Building Industry Association, California
Apartment Association, California Business
Properties Association, California Chamber of
Commerce, California Major Builders Council,
California Manufacturers & Technology
Association, Consulting Engineers and Land
Surveyors of California, Department of Housing
and Community Development, Shapell Industries,
Western Electrical Contractors Association