BILL ANALYSIS Ó 1
SENATE ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
ALEX PADILLA, CHAIR
AB 341 - Dickinson Hearing Date:
July 2, 2013 A
As Amended: June 19, 2013 FISCAL B
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DESCRIPTION
Current law requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
adopt and update every three years the energy efficiency
building regulations that specify requirements related to
lighting, insulation, windows, HVAC systems, and other new
construction details designed to reduce energy consumption and
lower energy bills for consumers.
Current law establishes the California Building Standards
Commission (CBSC) and the process for adopting, and updating
every three years, the California Building Code (Title 24 of the
California Code of Regulations), which includes energy
efficiency standards established by CEC.
Current law authorizes the CBSC to adopt green building
standards where no other state agency has the authority or
expertise to do so. These standards are maintained in a separate
chapter of the California Building Code, known as the CalGreen
Code.
This bill requires the CBSC to integrate the existing CalGreen
Code into the appropriate sections of the Title 24 California
Building Code.
This bill requires the CBSC and other code writing agencies to
allow for input by other state agencies that have expertise in
green building subject areas and specifies other aspects of the
process.
This bill requires a code writing agency that proposes green
building standards, as part of the next triennial update of the
California Building Code, to the extent feasible, to reference
or reprint the green building standards in other relevant
portions of that code.
BACKGROUND
The California Building Standards Law establishes the CBSC 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
CBSC adopts a new version of the California Building Code, known
as the triennial update. The next scheduled update is in 2014.
Green building refers to the design and construction of
buildings in a manner that is environmentally responsible and
resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from
siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance,
renovation, and demolition. With respect to green building
standards, current law gives CBSC the authority to adopt
building standards for local buildings.
Since 2008, the CBSC has maintained a separate chapter of the
California Building Code, 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 Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards, some
of which are mandatory and some of which are voluntary for
builders to follow.
In 2008, SB 1473 (Calderon), established a funding source for
BSC to fund the development of building standards, with a
priority for standards associated with green buildings. In
2010, CBSC, with the assistance of other state agencies with the
authority to develop building standards, adopted CalGreen.
CalGreen was adopted as a new part within Title 24 (Part 11) and
established new requirements relating to planning and design;
energy efficiency; water efficiency and conservation; material
conservation and resource efficiency; and environmental quality.
The standards are separated into "tiers" that include minimal
mandatory standards and voluntary standards separated into Tier
1 and Tier 2 (Tier 2 indicating the highest level of green
measures). Local authorities may opt to make the tiered
standards mandatory within that jurisdiction.
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 CBSC,
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.
COMMENTS
1. Author's Purpose . 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. Building Code Transformation . Since the CBSC 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. Impact on CEC . According to CEC, this bill would likely
not have a significant effect on CEC. This bill applies to
state agencies that "propose" green building standards.
While CEC is responsible for adopting all energy efficiency
related provisions of the Title 24 building standards as
part of its triennial update process, it is not among the
agencies that proposes these green building standards to
CBSC. This bill thus relates to the CalGreen proposal
process that occurs before adoption by CEC and would not
affect the CEC's adoption process. CEC already includes
other state agencies in its rulemakings for adopting the
energy efficiency provisions of CalGreen.
4. Ratepayer Impact . To the extent green building practices
are incorporated into new construction as a result of the
CalGreen standards become mainstream, rate payers should
experience a reduction in utility costs.
5. Double Referral . This bill was approved by the Senate
Committee on Transportation and Housing on June 18, 2013,
by a vote of 10-0.
PRIOR VOTES
Senate Transportation and Housing Committee
(10-0)
Assembly Floor (76-1)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (16-0)
Assembly Natural Resources Committee
(7-1)
POSITIONS
Sponsor:
United States Green Building Council, California
Support:
California Building Industry Association
Oppose:
None on file
Jacqueline Kinney
AB 341 Analysis
Hearing Date: July 2, 2013