BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 341
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Dickinson
VERSION: 6/10/13
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 18, 2013
SUBJECT:
Green building standards
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the Building Standards Commission to
incorporate future green building standards directly into the
relevant portions of the California Building Code and makes
other changes to the process for developing green building
standards.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for adopting
state building codes. 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 codes. The
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is
responsible for hospitals and clinics, and the Division of the
State Architect is the relevant agency for schools and emergency
service buildings. Not all buildings fall under the
jurisdiction of a relevant state agency. Most commercial,
industrial, and manufacturing structures are considered "local
buildings," over which local governments may determine
applicable building standards. Every three years, the BSC
adopts a new version of the California Building Code (CBC),
known as the triennial update.
With respect to green building standards, current law gives BSC
the authority to adopt building standards for local buildings.
Since 2008, the BSC has maintained a separate chapter of the
CBC, known as the CalGreen Code, that contains green building
standards. The 2010 CalGreen Code allows cities and counties to
adopt additional tiers of green building standards, known as
AB 341 (DICKINSON) Page 2
Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards, some of which are mandatory and
some of which are voluntary for builders to follow.
The California Building Standards Law further provides that when
code writing agencies submit proposed building standards to the
BSC, they must also submit an analysis to justify, among other
things, that the public interest requires adoption of the
standard.
Current law also requires each city and county to collect a fee
from any applicant for a building permit, assessed at the rate
of $4 per $100,000 in valuation, and remit these fees to the
state. The Legislature appropriates these funds to the BSC,
HCD, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to pay for
building code activities, with an emphasis on funding the
development and implementation of buildings standards and
educational efforts associated with green building standards.
This bill :
Requires a code writing agency that proposes green building
standards, as part of the next triennial update of the CBC, to
the extent feasible, to reference or reprint the green
building standards in other relevant portions of the CBC.
With respect to a code writing agency's justification that the
public interest requires adoption of a particular building
standard, clarifies that the public interest includes, but is
not limited to, health and safety, resource efficiency, fire
safety, seismic safety, building and building system
performance, and consistency with environmental, public
health, and accessibility statutes and regulations.
Requires the BSC and other code writing agencies to allow for
input by other state agencies that have expertise in green
building subject areas. BSC must adopt regulations that
address or require all of the following:
The timing for receipt of suggested changes.
The manner in which the suggestions will be made
available to the public.
Whether the suggested changes should be considered for
adoption as mandatory or voluntary green building
standards.
The concurrent submission of appropriate technical
analysis that the code writing agency may use to support
the proposal.
AB 341 (DICKINSON) Page 3
The concurrent submission of a fiscal analysis of the
proposed standard.
Requires a code writing agency that proposes green building
standards and offers advice to the BSC via an advisory panel,
to the extent feasible, to indicate those voluntary green
building measures that may be considered for possible adoption
as mandatory within the next two subsequent adoption cycles.
Additionally emphasizes expenditures from building permit fees
for verification protocols, including, but not limited to,
training and guidance for local building officials in
jurisdictions that have adopted the CalGreen Tier 1 or Tier 2
green building standards.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, the adoption of
CalGreen as a separate section within the CBC has caused some
confusion and challenges for architects, designers, builders,
and local building departments. Particular trades and
inspectors may only review the part of the CBC relevant to
their trade and may be unaware of the related green building
standards that are located together in a separate chapter of
the code. This bill requires BSC to integrate green building
standards into the appropriate parts of the CBC, creating a
"uniform building code that is green throughout." The author
further seeks to bring more clarity to the green building
standard update process and improve resources for
implementation and training.
2.Moving to the mainstream . Since the BSC adopted its first
green building standards in 2008, it has placed them into a
separate "CalGreen" chapter of the CBC to highlight their
innovativeness and environmental benefits. By incorporating
these standards into the relevant portions of the CBC, this
bill recognizes the reality that green building standards are
now mainstream building standards.
3.Verification protocols . The bill encourages the BSC to expend
building permit fee revenues on "verification protocols"
associated with green building standards. While Assembly
amendments seek to clarify this provision by referencing as an
example training and guidance for local building officials in
jurisdictions that have adopted Tier 1 or Tier 2 green
building standards, it is still not exactly clear what this
term refers to. "Protocols" are not generally synonymous with
AB 341 (DICKINSON) Page 4
training. The author may wish to clarify this term further or
delete the reference and use the example to modify the current
reference to "educational efforts."
4.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill to both this committee and the Committee on Energy,
Utilities and Communications.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 76-1
Appr: 16-0
Nat. Res.: 7-1
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 12,
2013.)
SUPPORT: US Green Building Council, California Chapter
California Building Industry Association
OPPOSED: None received.