BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman 1058 (Laird) Hearing Date: 8/20/07 Amended: 7/17/07 Consultant: Miriam Barcellona IngenitoPolicy Vote: EQ 5-2; T&H 7-4 -1- AB 1058 (Laird) Page 2 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 1058 would create the Green Building Standards Law that would apply to residential units, as specified. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund Develop standards $150 $300 $300 GF Adopt standards -minor and absorbable GF Implement standards in -unknown increase in construction costsGF applicable state buildings offset by unknown, potentially savings in out years _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense file. Staff notes that a green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet certain objectives, such as the following: protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity; using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact to the environment. A common green building standard often referenced is the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which includes different ratings including certified, silver, gold, and platinum. AB 1058 would require the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to coordinate a working group of state agencies, consulting with specified representatives form the public and interest groups, to develop by July 1, 2009 a set of voluntary best practices. CalEPA would be required to submit the voluntary best practices to the California Building Standards Commission (BSC) for review to ensure that the proposed practices do not fall below or conflict with existing building standards, as specified. AB 1058 (Laird) Page 3 AB 1058 would require CalEPA to develop an education program to inform local entities of the benefits of green buildings, and encourage the use of the best practices for residential occupancies. Beginning July 1, 2011, CalEPA would be required to conduct a public review of the best practices developed pursuant to this bill. CalEPA would include representatives from state entities, as specified, the residential construction industry, and local government entities to determine the level of use and effectiveness of the best practices in a representative sampling of residential construction. AB 1058 would require CalEPA to reconvene the working group that helped establish the voluntary best practices in order to develop proposed building standards for green buildings. CalEPA would be responsible for coordinating the proposed building standards and submitting a comprehensive set of proposed building standards to BSC by July 1, 2012. BSC would be authorized to revise the standards so long as those revisions do not reduce the environmental benefits of efficiencies to be achieved by the proposed standards submitted by the agency. If BSC rejects the proposed building standards, all residential occupancies for which a project applicant is deemed complete on or after July 1, 2013 to comply with the building standards proposed by CalEPA until the date that the proposed CalEPA building standards are adopted by the BSC take effect. CalEPA estimates it would require about one position and $10,000 for contract costs. Other state agencies required to participate in the working group would experience minor and absorbable costs (generally less than a quarter of an existing position). Staff notes that the workload involved in AB 1058 would be greater than what is required of CalEPA in AB 888 (Lieu) but CalEPA provided the same estimate. Staff estimates costs to CalEPA would be at least twice as high. BSC indicates its costs to comply with AB 1058 would be minor and absorbable. However, BSC has indicated to staff that it would like the development of the standards to be charged to BSC. Staff notes that this issue was considered in the policy committee. Under existing law, (Health and Safety Code Section 18930) "any building standard adopted or proposed by state agencies shall be submitted to, and approved or adopted by, the California Building Standards Commission prior to codification." BSC does not have the authority to develop those standards. However, BSC has the authority under AB 1058 (Laird) Page 4 existing law (Health and Safety Code Section 18934.5) to adopt building standards applicable to state buildings. Staff notes that AB 35 (Ruskin) would create the Sustainable Buildings Act of 2007 that would require all state buildings to be built to specified green standards, and AB 888 (Lieu) would create Green Building Standards for Nonresidential Buildings Law; both of these bills are also before the committee today.