BILL NUMBER: AB 1975 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 16, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fong
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
An act to add Section 17922.14 to the Health and Safety Code,
and to add Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 537) to
Division 1 of the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1975, as amended, Fong. Water charges and meters: multiunit
structures.
The
(1) The Water Measurement Law
requires every water purveyor to require, as a condition of new water
service on and after January 1, 1992, the installation of a water
meter to measure water service. That law also requires urban water
suppliers to install water meters on specified service connections,
and to charge water users based on the actual volume of deliveries as
measured by those water meters in accordance with a certain
timetable.
This bill , with certain exceptions, would require every
water purveyor that provides water service to a multiunit residential
structure or a mixed-use residential and commercial structure, for
which the first occupancy permit for a newly constructed building is
issued on or after July 1, 2013, to require the installation of
meters or submeters on each individual dwelling unit as a condition
of new water service to that property would require
that architectural plans for individual dwelling units in certain
multiunit structures, for which a building permit application is
submitted on or after January 1, 2013, include, as a
condition for the issuance of the building permit, the installation
of either a water meter or a submeter, at the discretion of the water
purveyor, to measure water supplied to each individual dwelling unit
. The bill would require the owner of the structure, or his or
her agent, to charge occupants for water and sewer
service based on the actual volume of water delivered as
measured by the water meter or submeter, subject to requirements
relating to approval, installation, and operation of the water meter
or submeter. The bill would authorize the owner of the
property, or his or her agent, to charge occupants a specified fee
for the actual costs of reading the meter or submeter and providing
billing services. The bill would require the owner of the
structure to ensure that a water submeter installed for these
purposes complies with laws and regulations governing installation,
certification, maintenance, billing, and testing of water submeters.
The bill would prohibit a water purveyor from imposing specified fees
related to the installation of water meters and submeters.
(2) The California Building Standards Law provides for the
adoption 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 and adoption.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community
Development to develop and submit building standards for the
installation of water meters and submeters in residential units
within a multiunit residential structure or a mixed-use residential
and commercial structure, as specified. This bill would also require
that proposed building standards include exemptions for certain types
of residential structures and where installation is deemed
infeasible. The bill would require the commission, prior to adopting
these proposed building standards, to determine that a sufficient
number of water meters and submeters are available in the market.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17922.14 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
17922.14. (a) During the next regularly scheduled building
standards annual code adoption cycle commencing on or after January
1, 2011, the department shall develop and submit, pursuant to Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5, building standards
for the installation of water meters and submeters in residential
units within a multiunit residential structure or mixed-use
residential and commercial structures for purposes of Section 537 of
the Water Code.
(b) (1) The department shall determine circumstances under which
the installation of water meters or submeters shall be deemed
infeasible, and provide an exemption for these circumstances in the
proposed building standards.
(2) The building standards proposed by the department pursuant to
this section shall provide an exemption, at a minimum, for each of
the following:
(A) Low-income housing.
(B) Student dormitories.
(C) Senior living facilities.
(c) The commission, prior to adopting the building standards
proposed pursuant to this section, shall collaborate with other state
entities, including, but not limited to, the Division of Measurement
Standards, to determine whether a sufficient supply of water meters
and submeters are available in the market for purposes of compliance
with the proposed building standards.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Chapter 8.5
(commencing with Section 537) is added to Division 1 of the Water
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8.5. MULTIUNIT STRUCTURES
537. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each water
purveyor that sells, leases, rents, furnishes, or delivers water
service to a multiunit residential structure or a mixed-use
residential and commercial structure for which the first occupancy
permit for a newly constructed building is issued on or after July 1,
2013, shall require the installation of a water meter or submeter to
measure water supplied to each individual dwelling unit as a
condition of new water service to that property.
(2) A water purveyor shall not require the installation of a water
meter or submeter pursuant to paragraph (1), unless a sufficient
number of qualifying types of water meters or submeters have been
approved pursuant to Section 12500.5 of the Business and Professions
Code.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the owner of a
structure described in subdivision
537. (a) Architectural plans for individual
dwelling units in a newly constructed multiunit residential structure
or a mixed-use residential and commercial structure for which the
application for a building permit is submitted on or after January 1,
2013, shall include, as a condition for the issuance of the building
permit, the installation of either a water meter or a submeter, at
the discretion of the water purveyor, to measure water supplied to
each individual dwelling unit.
(b) (1) The owner
of a structure described in subdivision (a), or his or her
agent, shall charge occupants for water and sewer
service. This charge shall be based only on the actual
volume of water delivered to the dwelling unit as measured by the
meter or submeter installed pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2) The owner, or his or her agent, may charge a monthly
administrative fee to recover the actual cost of reading meters or
submeters and providing billing services for the purposes of this
section. The administrative fee shall not exceed two dollars ($2) per
meter or submeter per month.
(3) The owner, or his or her agent, shall not charge an occupant
(2) The owner of a structure described
in subdivision (a), or his or her agent, shall not charge an occupant
for water or sewer service pursuant to this
subdivision, unless the meter or submeter used to measure the water
delivered to the dwelling unit is of a type approved pursuant to
Section 12500.5 of the Business and Professions Code and is installed
and operated in compliance with regulations established pursuant to
Section 12107 of the Business and Professions Code.
(c) (1) An owner of a structure described in subdivision (a) shall
ensure that each submeter installed pursuant to subdivision (a)
complies with all laws and regulations governing installation,
certification, maintenance, billing, and testing of water submeters.
(2) This section shall not be construed to require a water
purveyor to assume responsibility for ensuring compliance with any
law or regulation governing installation, certification, maintenance,
and testing of water submeters and associated onsite plumbing.
(d) A water purveyor shall not charge an owner of a structure
described in subdivision (a), or his or her agent, a fee for the
installation of a water meter or submeter that is installed by the
owner or his or her agent.
(e) This section does not apply to a structure described in
subdivision (a) that is greater than four stories in height above
grade and for which the owner, or his or her agent, demonstrates to
the satisfaction of the water purveyor that the structure's plumbing
configuration incorporates multiple points of entry in each dwelling
unit and renders the installation of submeters infeasible.
538. It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter should
not be construed to impose costs on any local government agency,
except to the extent that the local government agency is a water
purveyor subject to subdivision (a) of Section 537.
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