BILL ANALYSIS
SB 407
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 407 (Padilla)
As Amended September 4, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-15
JUDICIARY 7-3 HOUSING 4-2
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, |Ayes:|Torres, Eng, Ma, Saldana |
| |Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, | | |
| |Monning | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tran, Knight, Silva |Nays:|Harkey, Knight |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Coto, Davis, | | |
| |Fuentes, Hall, John A. | | |
| |Perez, Skinner, Solorio, | | |
| |Torlakson, Hill | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, | | |
| |Nielsen, Audra Strickland | | |
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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
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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.
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:
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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:
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.
c) Beginning January 1, 2017, requires a seller or
transferor of a single-family property to disclose in
writing to the prospective purchaser or transferee the
following information:
i) The requirement that all noncompliant plumbing
fixtures in the property be replaced with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before January
1, 2017; and,
ii) Whether the real property includes any noncompliant
plumbing fixtures.
11)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:
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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%, 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; and,
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) Beginning January 1, 2019, requires a seller or
transferor of the property to disclose in writing to the
prospective purchaser or transferee the following
information:
i) The requirement that all noncompliant plumbing
fixtures in the property be replaced with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before January
1, 2019; and,
ii) Whether the real property includes any noncompliant
plumbing fixtures.
12)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.
13)Gives local governments authority to charge fees to cover the
cost of the bill.
5)Permit an owner or his/her agent to enter a property to
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install, repair, test or maintain water- conserving plumbing
fixtures required by the bill.
6)Make it a tenant's responsibility to notify an owner or the
owner's agent if a water-conserving plumbing fixture within
the tenant's unit is not operating at the manufactures rated
water consumption.
7)Require an owner or owner's agent to correct any inoperable
water-conserving plumbing fixture when notified by the tenant
or when the owner or the owner's agent determines that it is
inoperable.
8)Makes any ordinance adopted by a city or county requiring
retrofit of noncompliant plumbing fixtures prior to July1,
2009, exempt from the requirements of the bill a long as the
ordinance remains in effect.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the requirement that applicants for building permits
replace non-compliant fixtures as a condition for receiving
permits creates a new duty to inspect for local officials. Local
mandated costs are not reimbursable, however, because local
agencies have authority to assess fees to cover their added
costs.
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
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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.
According to the author of this bill, 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, 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.
The Legislature passed SB 1224, Chapter 1347, Statutes of 1992,
requiring 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. AB 715 (Laird), Chapter
499, Statutes of 2007, 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 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. 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.
At least 11 cities or local water district authorities,
including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San
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Diego, have already enacted retrofit ordinances that implement
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.
Prior legislation: SB 1224 (Killea), Chapter 1347, Statutes of
1992, 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 requires all urinals sold or installed on
or after January 1, 1994 to use no more than an average of one
gallon per flush.
AB 715 (Laird), Chapter 499, Statutes of 2007, 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
FN: 0002916