BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE       BILL NO: AB 296
          SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN              AUTHOR:  skinner
                                                         VERSION: 6/21/11
          Analysis by:  Mark Stivers                     FISCAL:  yes
          Hearing date:  June 28, 2011



          SUBJECT:

          Cool pavements

          DESCRIPTION:

          This bill requires the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) 
          to develop a Cool Pavements Handbook and to conduct one or more 
          cool pavement pilot projects.

          ANALYSIS:

          The term "cool pavements" typically refers to paving materials 
          that enhance reflectivity, enhance water absorption, or have 
          been otherwise modified to remain cooler than conventional 
          materials.  At the present time, there is no official standard 
          to designate cool paving materials or to evaluate which 
          materials perform best under given circumstances.

          Current law requires Caltrans to adopt a balanced, multimodal 
          research and development program that includes research and 
          development of new transportation-related technologies.  

          Current law also 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.  Current law requires BSC to publish 
          the California Building Code in its entirety once every three 
          years.  In January 2010, the BSC adopted the 2010 California 
          Green Building Standards Code, known as the CALGreen Code, which 
          mandates a number of green building features.  While building 
          standards generally concern themselves with structures 
          themselves rather than outdoor elements, the CALGreen Code also 
          includes a voluntary cool pavements provision to encourage the 
          use of alternative hardscape (i.e., improved walking and driving 
          surfaces) materials, such as light-colored or open-grid 
          materials or shade, around non-residential structures.  




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           This bill  requires Caltrans to develop and adopt a Cool 
          Pavements Handbook that details cool pavement protocols, 
          standards, and best practices for paving projects, to conduct 
          one or more cool pavement pilot projects, and to report to the 
          Legislature.  Specifically, this bill:  

           Requires Caltrans, by January 1, 2014, to publish or make 
            available on its website a Cool Pavements Handbook that 
            incorporates existing specifications, testing protocols, and 
            best practices for cool pavement use in any surface designed 
            for vehicular or pedestrian use.
           Encourages Caltrans to develop the Cool Pavements Handbook in 
            consultation with the Department of General Services, the 
            Building Standards Commission, the Water Resources Control 
            Board, the Energy Commission, the Air Resources Board, the 
            State Water Quality Control Board, the Department of Forestry 
            and Fire Protection, the Strategic Growth Council, and any 
            other relevant state department or agencies.  
           Specifies that the Cool Pavement Handbook identify materials 
            or techniques that reduce the surface temperature of 
            traditional concrete, have light color, reduce diurnal thermal 
            stress, remove greenhouse gases, and reduce stormwater runoff.
           Requires Caltrans to reference the Cool Pavements Handbook in 
            relevant sections of the Caltrans Construction Manual.
           Requires Caltrans to implement one or more cool pavement pilot 
            projects with the goal of completing construction by January 
            1, 2015.
           Requires Caltrans to submit a report to the Legislature by 
            January 1, 2018, describing the results of the cool pavement 
            pilot projects.  The report must include an analysis of the 
            costs, environmental benefits, energy savings, and durability 
            of cool pavements in comparison with other pavement options. 
           Authorizes Caltrans to enter into an agreement with the United 
            States Department of Transportation, United States 
            Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department 
            of Energy, or other federal agencies to develop the handbook 
            or evaluate the pilot project.  
           Requires the BSC, for the next triennial code adopted after 
            January 1, 2015, to consider incorporating the specifications 
            in the Cool Pavements Handbook into the California Green 
            Building Standards Code.
          
          COMMENTS:

           1.Purpose of the bill  .  According to the author, impervious 




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            pavements, which generally represent the largest percentage of 
            land cover in an urbanized area, increase temperatures in 
            urbanized areas by absorbing, storing, and later radiating 
            heat energy from the sun.  These elevated temperatures 
            increase smog formation, which negatively affects human 
            health, and energy consumption, which increases power plant 
            emissions. In addition, impervious pavements increase water 
            run-off, which contributes to water pollution.  

            By reflecting the sun's rays or allowing for water absorption, 
            cool pavement alternatives minimize these impacts. In 
            addition, cool pavements can last 10 to 100 times longer than 
            traditional pavements, thus reducing replacement costs.  This 
            bill seeks to encourage the use of cool pavements, including 
            pervious pavements, by requiring Caltrans to publish a 
            handbook on the subject and to study and evaluate the use of 
            cool pavements in a pilot project.

           2.Why Caltrans  ?  No comprehensive document compiles in one place 
            existing knowledge on what constitutes cool pavements and how 
            they are best deployed.  While any number of organizations 
            around the country or around the world could theoretically 
            create such a handbook, none has.  To remedy that absence, 
            this bill assigns the task to Caltrans.  According to the 
            author, there is demand at the local level in California for 
            "cool" public infrastructure, as evidence by the variety of 
            "cool communities" initiatives in Sacramento, Chula Vista, San 
            Jose, Novato, and elsewhere.  Most cities, however, lack the 
            resources and expertise to conduct a literature review of cool 
            pavements or develop demonstration projects to quantify the 
            economic and other public benefits.  Caltrans, on the other 
            hand, has an existing transportation-related research and 
            development program.  In addition, because most local public 
            works departments default to Caltrans' construction manual, 
            putting cool pavement information into the manual will 
            encourage and facilitate local cool communities initiatives.
           
          3.Handbook first, study second  .  This bill requires Caltrans to 
            publish a handbook containing existing knowledge on cool 
            pavements by 2014 and to report to the Legislature on the 
            results of its pilot project by 2018.  One might normally 
            expect the handbook to come out after the pilot project in 
            order to reflect lessons learned. The author, however, is 
            interested in encouraging numerous parties, including local 
            governments and private developers, to use cool pavements 
            sooner rather than later to reduce environmental consequences 




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            and broaden the base of experience beyond the one Caltrans 
            pilot project for purposes of evaluation.  Presumably, future 
            editions of the Caltrans handbook will build on the 
            experiences of Caltrans and others who utilize cool pavements. 


          Assembly Votes:
               Floor:    54-21
               Appr: 12-5
               NR&W:   6-3
               Trans:      8-5

          POSITIONS:  (Communicated to the Committee before noon on 
          Wednesday,                                             June 22, 
          2011)

               SUPPORT:  American Lung Association in California
                         Breathe California
                         California Building Officials
                         California Coastkeeper Alliance
                         California Nevada Cement Association
                         East Bay Municipal Utility District 
                         Emerald Cities Cool Pavement
                         Natural Resources Defense Council
                         Sacramento Municipal Utility District 
                         Sacramento Tree Foundation
                         Sierra Club California
                         Soil Stabilization Company
                         Union of Concerned Scientists
                         US Green Building Council, California Advocacy 
          Committee
                         6 individuals

          
               OPPOSED:  None received.