BILL NUMBER: AB 1693 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 2, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
JANUARY 28, 2010
An act to amend Sections 18929.1, 18934.8, and 18942 of the Health
and Safety Code, relating to building standards.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1693, Ma. Building standards: code adoption cycle.
(1) The California Building Standards Law provides for the
promulgation of building standards by state agencies by requiring all
state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building
standard to submit the building standard to the California Building
Standards Commission for approval or adoption. Existing law requires
that the commission receive proposed building standards from state
agencies for consideration in an annual code adoption cycle.
This bill would modify the code adoption cycle and extend it to 18
months.
(2) Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to
be published, editions of the code in its entirety every 3 years,
and, in each intervening year, to publish supplements as necessary.
The bill would require the commission to publish the supplements
in the intervening period instead of each intervening year.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 18929.1 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:
18929.1. (a) The commission shall receive proposed building
standards from state agencies for consideration in an 18-month code
adoption cycle. The commission shall develop regulations setting
forth the procedures for the 18-month adoption cycle. The regulations
shall ensure all of the following:
(1) Adequate public participation in the development of building
standards prior to submittal to the commission for adoption and
approval.
(2) Adequate notice, in written form, to the public of the
compiled building standards and their justification.
(3) Adequate technical review of proposed building standards and
accompanying justification by advisory bodies appointed by the
commission.
(4) Adequate time for review of recommendations by advisory bodies
prior to action by the commission.
(5) The procedures shall meet the intent of the Administrative
Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and Section 18930.
(b) Where this section is in conflict with other provisions of
this part, the intent of this section shall prevail.
SEC. 2. Section 18934.8 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
18934.8. (a) Pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission may
adopt amendments to the California Building Standards Code provided
that they are substantially the same as model code amendments which
were adopted on an emergency basis by the code publishers, if the
sections being amended are not under the authority of a state agency.
(b) The commission may consider adoption of emergency amendments
made to the model codes in an expedited rulemaking process outside
the 18-month code adoption cycle set forth in Section 18929.1. If a
model code organization adopts emergency amendments, the commission
may adopt those amendments 120 days after the organization's adoption
of those amendments. This rulemaking process shall be completed
within 180 days from the date the amendments were adopted by the
model code organization. The commission shall ensure that the
rulemaking process includes all of the following:
(1) Adequate public participation in the development of building
standards prior to submittal to the commission for adoption and
approval.
(2) Adequate written notice to the public of the compiled building
standards and the written justification therefor.
(3) Adequate technical review of proposed building standards and
accompanying justification by advisory bodies appointed by the
commission.
(4) Adequate time for review of recommendations by advisory bodies
prior to action by the commission.
(c) Amendments to the California Building Standards Code adopted
pursuant to this section shall take effect 60 days from the date on
which they are adopted by the commission.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit
amendments to the California Building Standards Code that decrease
the level of disabled access provided.
SEC. 3. Section 18942 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
18942. (a) The commission shall publish, or cause to be
published, editions of the code in its entirety once in every three
years. In the intervening period the commission shall publish, or
cause to be published, supplements as necessary. For emergency
building standards defined in subdivision (a) of Section 18913, an
emergency building standards supplement shall be published whenever
the commission determines it is necessary.
(b) The commission shall publish the text of Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 115920) of Chapter 5 of Part 10 of Division
104, within the requirements for single-family residential
occupancies contained in Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations, with the following note:
"NOTE: These regulations are subject to local government
modification. You should verify the applicable local government
requirements at the time of application for a building permit."
(c) The commission shall publish the text of Section 116064.2
within Part 2 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) The commission may publish, stockpile, and sell at a
reasonable price the code and materials incorporated therein by
reference if it deems the latter is insufficiently available to the
public, or unavailable at a reasonable price. Each state department
concerned and each city, county, or city and county shall have an
up-to-date copy of the code available for public inspection.
(e) (1) Each city, county, and city and county, including charter
cities, shall obtain and maintain with all revisions on a current
basis, at least one copy of the building standards and other state
regulations relating to buildings published in Titles 8, 19, 20, 24,
and 25 of the California Code of Regulations. These codes shall be
maintained in the office of the building official responsible for the
administration and enforcement of this part.
(2) This subdivision shall not apply to a city or county that
contracts for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of
this part with another local government agency that complies with
this section.