BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: Sb 518
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lowenthal
VERSION: 6/7/10
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: August 10, 2010
SUBJECT:
Graywater building standards for non-residential construction
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the Building Standards Commission as part of
the next triennial edition of the California Building Standards
Code to adopt standards for the construction, installation, or
alteration of graywater systems for indoor and outdoor uses in
non-residential occupancies.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for adopting
state building standards. Under this process, relevant state
agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which the
BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. For example, the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the
relevant state agency for residential building standards. The
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is
responsible for hospitals and clinics, and the Division of the
State Architect is the relevant agencies for schools and
emergency service buildings. Current law requires BSC to
publish the California Building Standards Code in its entirety
once every three years. The next triennial set of codes is
scheduled for adoption in July 2013.
Existing law defines "graywater" as "untreated wastewater which
has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge ? and does not
present a threat from contamination by unhealthful processing,
manufacturing, or operating wastes. Graywater includes
wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes
washing machines, and laundry tubs but does not include
wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers."
SB 518 (LOWENTHAL) Page 2
SB 1258 (Lowenthal), Chapter 172, Statutes of 2008, required HCD
to adopt and submit to the BSC for approval building standards
for the construction, installation, and alteration of graywater
systems for indoor and outdoor use in residential occupancies.
HCD conducted an extensive outreach and public participation
process to develop the proposed standards, and the BSC adopted
these standards on July 30, 2009.
This bill requires the BSC as part of the next triennial edition
of the California Building Standards Code to adopt standards for
the construction, installation, or alteration of graywater
systems for indoor and outdoor uses in non-residential
occupancies.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, as water
shortages grow more frequent and severe, it is imperative that
the state promote the re-use of graywater wherever possible.
Now that the state has established graywater standards for
residential uses, it is time to take the next step to promote
graywater re-use in non-residential occupancies.
2.BSC as code developer . As a general rule, the BSC adopts
building standards developed by other state agencies for
occupancies within their respective jurisdictions.
Historically, the BSC has not had areas of jurisdiction on its
own. With the increased interest in applying green building
standards to industrial and commercial structures over which
no state agency has explicit jurisdiction, the Legislature has
previously authorized the BSC to develop green building
standards for such non-residential occupancies. This bill
likewise assigns the BSC the role of developing graywater
standards for non-residential occupancies.
3.Concurrence hearing . When the Senate previously approved this
bill, it dealt with a different subject matter. Now that the
bill is back in the Senate for concurrence, the Senate Rules
Committee has referred the bill to the committee under Senate
Rule 29.10 in order for the committee to review the amendments
taken in the Assembly. On a concurrence hearing such as this,
the committee may only take one of two actions: 1) hold the
bill; or 2) return the bill to the Senate Floor for
concurrence in Assembly amendments.
SB 518 (LOWENTHAL) Page 3
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 71-0
Appr: 17-0
ES&TM: 9-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Monday,
August 9, 2010)
SUPPORT: California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Natural Resources Defense Council
Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors of
California
Plumbing Manufacturing Institute
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
OPPOSED: None received.