BILL ANALYSIS
SB 407
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Date of Hearing: July 8, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Norma Torres, Chair
SB 407 (Padilla) - As Amended: July 1, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 22-15
SUBJECT : Property transfers: plumbing fixtures replacement
SUMMARY : Seeks to require the replacement of all non-water
conserving plumbing fixtures, as defined, in commercial and
residential properties built prior to 1994 with water-conserving
fixtures by either 2017 or 2019, depending on the type of
property. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations, including that
economic analysis has identified urban water conservation as a
cost-effective approach to addressing water supply needs.
2)Defines "commercial real property" as any real property that
is intended for commercial use including hotels and motels
that is not a single-family residential property or a
multi-family property.
3)Defines "multifamily residential real property" as a building
containing one or more units that is intended for human
habitation, or any mixed residential commercial buildings,
including residential hotels but does not include hotels and
motels that are not residential hotels.
4)Defines "noncompliant plumbing fixtures" as meaning any of the
following:
a) Any toilet manufactured to use more than 1.6 gallons of
water per flush;
b) Any urinal manufactured to use more than one gallon of
water per flush;
c) Any showerhead manufactured to have a flow capacity of
more then 2.5 gallons of water per minute; and
d) Any interior faucet that emits more than 2.2 gallons of
water per minute.
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5)Defines "water-conserving plumbing fixture" as any fixture
that complies with current building standards applicable to a
newly constructed real property of the same type.
6)Proposes requirements that will apply to residential and
commercial real property built and available for use on or
before January 1, 1994, with the exception of:
g) registered historical sites;
h) real property for which a licensed plumber certifies
that, due to the age or configuration of the property or
its plumbing, installation of water-conserving plumbing
fixtures is not technically feasible; and
i) a building that has had its water service permanently
disconnected.
10)With respect to single family residential real property:
a) Requires the property owner to replace all noncompliant
plumbing fixtures in the property with water-conserving
plumbing fixtures on or before January 1, 2017.
b) Requires a building permit applicant to replace all
noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the property with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures as a condition for:
xi. issuance of a certificate of final completion and
occupancy, or
xii. approval of a final building permit by the local
building department, for all building alterations or
improvements on or after January 1, 2014.
a) Requires a seller or transferor of the property, in
providing the Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement
("TDS") required by Insurance Code Section 1102.6, to
disclose in writing to the prospective purchaser or
transferee the following information:
i. The requirement that the property owner must replace
all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the property with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before January 1,
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2017; and
ii. Whether the real property includes any noncompliant
plumbing fixtures.
13)With respect to multifamily residential or commercial real
property:
a) Requires that all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the
property be replaced with water-conserving plumbing
fixtures on or before January 1, 2019.
b) Requires a building permit applicant to replace all
noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the property with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures, as a condition for (i)
issuance of a certificate of final completion and
occupancy, or (ii) approval of a final building permit by
the local building department, for all building alterations
or improvements on or after January 1, 2014, subject to the
following provisions:
i. For building additions in which the sum of concurrent
building permits by the same building permit applicant
would increase the floor area of the space in a building
by more than 10 percent, the building permit applicant
shall replace all non-compliant plumbing fixtures in the
building.
ii. For building alteration or improvements in which the
total construction cost estimated in the building permit
is greater than one hundred fifty thousand dollars
($150,000), the building permit applicant shall replace
all noncompliant plumbing fixtures that serve the specific
area of alteration or improvement.
iii. For any alterations or improvements to that room in a
building that contains any noncompliant plumbing fixtures
and that requires a building permit, the building permit
applicant shall replace all noncompliant plumbing fixtures
in that room, notwithstanding i) and ii) above.
c) Requires a seller or transferor of the property to
disclose in writing to the prospective purchaser or
transferee the following information:
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i. The requirement that all noncompliant plumbing
fixtures in the property be replaced with water-conserving
plumbing fixtures on or before January 1, 2019.
ii. Whether the real property includes any noncompliant
plumbing fixtures.
14)Permits a city or county to enact local ordinances or
established policies that promote compliance with this
article, or to enact local ordinances that will result in a
greater amount of water savings than those provided for in
this bill.
15)Does not preempt local ordinances requiring retrofit of
noncompliant plumbing fixtures adopted prior to July 1, 2009
by a city or county.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all water closets sold or installed in the state to
use no more than an average of 1.6 gallons per flush. Further
requires that on and after January 1, 2014, all water closets,
other than institutional water closets, sold or installed in
this state must be high-efficiency water closets. (Health &
Safety Code Section 17921.3(b)(1).)
2)Requires all urinals sold or installed in the state to use no
more than an average of one gallon per flush. Further
requires that on and after January 1, 2014, all urinals sold
or installed in this state, other than blow-out urinals, must
be high-efficiency urinals. (Health & Safety Code Section
17921.3(b)(2).)
3)Declares that it is the policy of the state that the
management of urban water demands and efficient use of water
shall be actively pursued to protect both the people of the
state and their water resources (Water Code Section 10610.4).
4)Requires the seller or transferor of any residential real
property consisting of one to four dwelling units to deliver
to the prospective transferee, as soon as practicable before
transfer or execution of the sales contract, the Real Estate
Transfer Disclosure Statement ("TDS") specified by Section
1102.6 of the Civil Code (Civil Code Section 1102.3).
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (CBSC) and the process for
adopting universal state building standards. Among CBSC duties
are the following: receiving proposed building standards from
state agencies for consideration in an annual building code
adoption cycle; reviewing and approving building standards
submitted by state agencies; adopting building standards for
state buildings where no other state agency is authorized by
law; and publishing the approved building standards in the
California Building Standards Code (California Code of
Regulations, Title 24). There are approximately twenty state
agencies that develop building standards; Department of Housing
& Community Development (HCD) is responsible for standards for
residential buildings.
Building standards are generally prospective in that they only
apply to new construction or to existing buildings that undergo
alteration or rehabilitation. There are a few exceptions to
this rule however. Current law requires that all water heaters
in existing residential structures be braced, anchored, or
strapped to resist falling or horizontal displacement due to
earthquake motion.
Purpose of the bill :
According to the author, reforms through legislation or plumbing
code have encouraged the installation of new water-saving
devices and have advanced the vast majority of water savings
statewide. The existing reforms, most notably plumbing changes
that have led to the sale of highly efficient toilets throughout
California, are the primary reason why conservation activities
have lowered water use in Southern California by an estimated
one million acre foot per year. This is more water, as an
important comparison, than Southern California receives this
year from the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta. While California
retailers are now required to sell low-flush toilets, literally
millions of inefficient toilets still exist in homes and
businesses throughout the state. Replacing an old inefficient
toilet with a new one can save 31 gallons per year, every day
for years. Low-flow shower heads and faucets will save
additional water.
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Existing requirements for water closets and urinals :
In 1992, the Legislature passed SB 1224, Chapter 1347, that
required all water closets (toilets) sold or installed on or
after January 1, 1994 to use no more than an average of 1.6
gallons per flush, and likewise for urinals, to use no more than
an average of one gallon per flush. In 2007, AB 715 (Laird)
Chapter 499 prohibited the sale, after January 1, 2014, of
toilets that exceed 1.28 gallons per flush and urinals that
exceed 0.5 gallon per flush. The CBSC adopted this standard for
new construction built after 2011.
This bill requires that all non-compliant plumbing fixtures in
single family homes built after 1994 are replaced by
water-conserving plumbing fixtures by January 1, 2017. Water
conserving plumbing fixtures is defined as those fixtures that
comply with current building standards.
This bill seeks to capture those homes built prior to 1994 that
may have older, less water efficient toilets and water faucets.
Although owners in pre-1994 homes may replace older water
inefficient fixtures with new efficient ones as a result of
upgrades or the need to replace inoperable fixtures, this bill
will ensure that conversion takes place.
Disclosure at the time of sale :
When residential real property is to be sold or transferred,
existing law requires the seller or transferor to make certain
written disclosures, including the broad Transfer Disclosure
Statement (TDS) (specified in Civil Code Section 1102.6). This
bill would augment those existing disclosures for single-family
residential real property sales by including written disclosure
of: (1) the date by which the property owner must ensure that
all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the property have been
replaced with water-conserving plumbing fixtures; and (2)
whether the property includes any noncompliant plumbing
fixtures.
Existing Retrofit Ordinances in 11 Local Jurisdictions Will Be
Grandfathered.
At least 11 cities or local water district authorities,
including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San
Diego, have already enacted retrofit ordinances that implement
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similar requirements and water conservation standards as this
bill. This bill would not preempt any local ordinance requiring
retrofit of noncompliant plumbing fixtures adopted prior to July
1, 2009, but instead grandfather them into law. Furthermore,
this bill permits a city or county to enact local ordinances
that promote compliance with this legislation or that will
result in an equivalent or greater amount of water savings.
Remaining Concerns :
Although the author has eliminated almost all of the opposition
to this bill, the Apartment Associations of Orange County (AAOA)
and, California Southern Cities remain opposed unless amended
due to several remaining concerns.
First, the apartment associations would like assurance that once
landlords of multifamily buildings comply with the upgrades to
water efficient fixtures, they would not be required to update
devices each time a new device becomes available. They have
requested a safe harbor of 20-years during which time landlords
cannot be required by state law or local ordinance to update
fixtures to result in greater water efficiency.
Second, the bill allows local governments to adopt ordinances
that will result in greater water savings than the standard
required by this bill. The opponents' request that only local
governments that currently have ordinances that are more
stringent than the standards of this bill be grandfathered in to
state law and all other local governments be prohibited from
adopting a standard that requires greater water efficiency (than
the standards of this bill) going forward.
Finally, the opponents request that the bill make clear that
landlords can enter a unit in order to install the water
efficient devices required by the bill. Additionally, they
request the bill specify that tenants be required to inform a
landlord if the water device becomes inoperable and a landlord
is not liable if a tenant modifies or removes a water device.
Prior Legislation : SB 1224 (Killea), Chapter 1347, Statutes of
1992, requires all water closets (toilets) sold or installed on
or after January 1, 1994 to use no more than an average of 1.6
gallons per flush, and requires all urinals sold or installed on
or after January 1, 1994 to use no more than an average of one
gallon per flush.
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AB 715 (Laird), Chapter 499 of the 2007 Statutes, prohibits the
sale, after January 1, 2014, of toilets that exceed 1.28 gallons
per flush and urinals that exceed 0.5 gallon per flush.
Double referred : The Assembly Committee on Rules referred SB
407 to the Committee on Housing and Community Development and
Judiciary. The bill passed the Assembly Committee on Judiciary
with amendments on June 30, 2009 by a vote of 7 to 3.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California Water Agencies, co-sponsor
Metropolitan District of Southern California, co-sponsor
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, co-sponsor
Burbank Water and Power
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Opposition
Apartment Association, California Southern Cities (unless
amended)
Apartment Association of Orange County (unless amended)
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085