BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 407|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 407
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 9/4/09
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 7-3, 4/21/09
AYES: Lowenthal, DeSaulnier, Harman, Kehoe, Pavley,
Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Huff, Ashburn, Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 5/12/09
AYES: Corbett, Florez, Leno
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE FLOOR : 22-15, 6/3/09
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Hancock, Harman, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete
McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Simitian,
Steinberg, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Correa, Cox,
Denham, Dutton, Florez, Hollingsworth, Huff, Maldonado,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Runner, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 45-29, 9/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Property transfers: plumbing fixtures
replacement
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SOURCE : Association of California Water Agencies
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
DIGEST : This bill requires 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.
Assembly Amendments recast and revise the bill with similar
intent as it left the Senate.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that all water closets
or urinals sold or installed in the state use no more than
an average of 1.6 gallons or one gallon per flush,
respectively.
Existing law generally regulates the transfer of real
property, escrow agents, and real estate brokers. Existing
law requires certain disclosures to be made upon the
transfer of real estate.
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.
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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.
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:
A. Registered historical sites.
B. 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.
C. A building that has had its water service
permanently disconnected.
7. 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.
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B. Requires a building permit applicant to replace
all noncompliant plumbing fixtures in the property
with water-conserving plumbing fixtures as a
condition for:
(1) Issuance of a certificate of final
completion and occupancy.
(2) 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:
(1) The requirement that all noncompliant
plumbing fixtures in the property be replaced with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before
January 1, 2017.
(2) Whether the real property includes any
noncompliant plumbing fixtures.
8. 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:
(1) For building additions in which the sum of
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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.
(2) For building alteration or improvements in
which the total construction cost estimated in the
building permit is greater than $150,000, the
building permit applicant shall replace all
noncompliant plumbing fixtures that serve the
specific area of alteration or improvement.
(3) 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:
(1) The requirement that all noncompliant
plumbing fixtures in the property be replaced with
water-conserving plumbing fixtures on or before
January 1, 2019.
(2) Whether the real property includes any
noncompliant plumbing fixtures.
9. 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.
10.Gives local governments authority to charge fees to
cover the cost of the bill.
11.Permits an owner or his/her agent to enter a property to
install, repair, test or maintain water-conserving
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plumbing fixtures required by the bill.
12.Makes 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.
13.Requires 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.
14.Makes any ordinance adopted by a city or county
requiring retrofit of noncompliant plumbing fixtures
prior to July 1, 2009, exempt from the requirements of
the bill a long as the ordinance remains in effect.
Background
California is currently in its third year of drought, with
rain and snowfall (the primary sources of water) well below
normal levels. The resulting water shortage, as well as
California's growing population, pressure on the state's
water storage and delivery system, and climate change, have
contributed to California's current water crisis.
On February 27, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed a
statewide emergency due to drought and asked Californians
to reduce their water use by 20 percent. Although there
are many ways to reduce water usage, one of the most
effective is to replace older high-water use plumbing
fixtures with newer, more efficient models. That
replacement, combined with regularly checking for leaks,
can reduce per capita water use by 35 percent (according to
the American Water Works Association).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/09)
Association of California Water Agencies (co-source)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
(co-source)
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (co-source)
California Coast Keeper Alliance
California Municipal Utilities Association
City of Glendale Water & Power
Contra Costa Water District
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Eastern Municipal Water District
Green Plumbers
Hi-Desert Water District
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Los Angeles Business Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of California
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
Regional Chamber of Commerce San Gabriel Valley
San Diego County Water Authority
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
Tree People
U.S. Green Building Council Northern California Chapter
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/10/09)
Apartment Association, California Southern Cities
Apartment Association of Orange County
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: "There
is a significant cross-section of California's population
that resides and/or owns older properties that are not
equipped with water-efficient plumbing fixtures as are
found in more recently-built structures. Water
conservation is a statewide goal, meaning that every
resident has the burden of ensuring that he or she observes
water efficiency practices to the best of their ability.
It is fair to say that upgrading plumbing fixtures in older
structures is rarely done."
The Association of California Water Agencies, a sponsor of
the bill, states: "Currently many water agencies have been
implementing voluntary incentive based programs which
provide consumers with rebates, vouchers, or in some cases
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the fixtures themselves to promote water conservation and
water use efficiency. SB 407 would be the next step in the
process to take such local efforts to a larger scale and
implement the program statewide."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Coto,
Davis, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huffman,
Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,
Nava, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torrico, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, De La Torre, Galgiani,
Jones, Torres, Vacancy
JJA:mw 9/16/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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