BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 296
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Date of Hearing: April 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 296 (Skinner) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
SUBJECT : Building standards: cool pavement
SUMMARY : This bill would establish the Cool Pavements Research
and Implementation Act (Act). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding heat island effect
(HIE) and the mitigating effects of cool pavements; states
legislative intent to establish a program to evaluate metrics,
tests, benchmarks, and best practices to mitigate HIE, as
specified.
2)Defines a variety of terms relative to the Act including cool
pavement, HIE, rural area, and state paving project.
3)Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to implement the Act, in consultation with the
Department of General Services, the State Building Standards
Commission, State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission,
State Air Resources Board, State Water Quality Control Board,
and any other relevant state department or agencies.
4)Authorizes Caltrans to enter into an agreement with the United
States Department of Transportation to implement the Act.
5)Requires Caltrans to identify, through a public process,
alternatives to hardscape surfaces that can be used to
mitigate HIE effects.
6)Requires Caltrans, on or before January 1, 2015, to adopt, by
regulation, a "Cool Pavements Handbook", as specified.
7)Requires that the handbook offer mitigation strategies that
address diurnal thermal stress, pavement albedo, surface or
air temperatures, greenhouse gases, and stormwater runoff
abatement.
8)Requires that Caltrans make the handbook available to the
public and that Caltrans reference relevant sections of
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handbook in the Caltrans' Construction Manual.
9)Requires Caltrans, by no later than January 1, 2018, to
implement one or more cool pavement pilot projects.
10)Requires Caltrans, on or before January 1, 2018, to submit a
report to the Legislature describing the results of the cool
pavement pilot project and include an analysis of the various
costs of pavement surfaces with a focus on lifecycle and
durability of various pavement options.
11)Sunsets reporting requirements on January 1, 2022.
12)Requires Caltrans, on or after January 1, 2018, to require
that all state paving projects, as specified, include a cool
pavement surface that complies with the handbook for not less
than 75% of the total project pavement surface area.
13)Specifies that the provisions set forth regarding the Act do
not apply to state paving projects in areas that are
substantially shaded by trees, manmade structures, or tall
buildings or are located in rural areas, as defined.
14)Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD), beginning on or after January 1, 2012, to adopt cool
pavement practices in the California Building Code.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires Caltrans to adopt a balanced, multimodal research and
development program that includes research and development of
new technologies.
2)Requires that building standards adopted or proposed by a
state agency be submitted to and approved or adopted by the
California Building Standards Commission prior to being
codified.
3)Under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also referred
to as the Clean Water Act), provides that discharge of
pollutants to water is prohibited unless the discharge is in
compliance with a National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit.
4)Authorizes the SWRCB to administer the NPDES program in
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California.
5)Authorizes the SWRCB to issue permits to regulate covered
storm water discharges.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown costs to Caltrans and other state and
local agencies as well as private individuals to carry out
responsibilities under the Act.
COMMENTS : According to the Federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the term "heat island" refers to warmer urban air
and surface temperatures that result when natural landscape is
replaced with hardscape surfaces such as pavement, buildings,
and other infrastructure. Studies performed by the EPA and
others have shown that the mean air temperature of urban areas
can be significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas and
that these warmer urban temperatures can result in increased
summertime peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air
pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the primary methods thought to reduce HIE is the use of
cool pavements. "Cool pavements" typically refers to paving
materials that reflect more solar energy, enhance water
evaporation, or have been otherwise modified to remain cooler
than conventional materials. At the present time, there is no
official standard or labeling program to designate cool paving
materials to designate which materials perform best under given
circumstances.
According to the author, the combination of excessive heat and
sunlight leading to HIE exacerbates health problems via the
production of ozone (smog) and that increased temperatures
indirectly produce emissions and increase energy consumption due
to increased demand for artificial cooling. The author asserts
that the intent of this legislation is to acknowledge that paved
surfaces contribute to HIE and to identify and implement
HIE-mitigating options.
The author notes that many cost-effective cool pavement
technologies and materials are already in use and that these
materials and techniques, if applied, will serve to mitigate HIE
impacts. According to the author, Caltrans is the appropriate
state agency to carry out the Act, as described in this bill,
because Caltrans has a large body of engineering expertise in
the area of paved surface research and construction as well as
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experience working closely, through public processes, with other
state agencies and the federal government. The author feels
that not only is Caltrans best suited to produce and test the
handbook, but, because of the relatively large amount of paved
surfaces under Caltrans' jurisdiction, application of HIE
mitigation measures on the State Highway System would help to
reduce HIE and set the standard for use of the measures by local
transportation agencies.
Caltrans, on the other hand, contends that it does not have the
staff, nor the expertise or resources to carry out the
requirements of the Act. In fact, Caltrans contends that the
status of the science relative to cool pavement methodologies is
still young relatively and that a significant amount of research
needs to be conducted to determine the overall benefit and
application of individual HIE mitigation measures.
Previous legislation: AB 2013 (Krekorian) of 2008 would have
required the HCD to propose building standards that would
authorize the use of water-permeable pavement for specified
purposes. The bill died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 956 (Skinner) of 2009 would have required Caltrans, no later
than January 1, 2011, to establish standards for the solar
reflectance of paved surfaces. The bill was not heard in
committee.
Double referral : This bill has also been referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Nevada Cement Association
Californians Against Waste
Union of Concerned Scientists
Opposition
Asphalt Pavement Association of California
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-
2093
AB 296
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