BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          AB 341 (Dickinson) - Green building standards.
          
          Amended: June 19, 2013          Policy Vote: T&H 10-0, EU&C 9-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: August 12, 2013                           
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 341 would require the Building Standards  
          Commission to incorporate future green building standards  
          directly into the relevant portions of the California Green  
          Building Code and would make other, procedural changes to the  
          process for adopting such standards.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              One-time costs of about $130,000 per year for one to two  
              years to develop regulations and expand training information  
              by the Building Standards Commission (Building Standard  
              Administration Special Revolving Fund).

          Background: Under current law, the Building Standards Commission  
          adopts building standards proposed by state agencies that have  
          specific regulatory oversight responsibilities. Certain state  
          agencies with specific subject matter expertise are authorized  
          to propose building standards, which are then reviewed and  
          potentially adopted by the Building Standards Commission. For  
          example, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development  
          may proposed building standards for hospitals and clinics and  
          the Department of Housing and Community Development may proposed  
          residential building standards. Every three years the Building  
          Standards Commission updates the California Building Code to  
          include any newly adopted standards.

          Current law authorized the Building Standards Commission to  
          adopt Green Building Standards, to improve energy efficiency of  
          buildings. The Green Building Standards are maintained in a  
          separate chapter of the California Building Code.

          Proposed Law: AB 341 would require the Building Standards  








          AB 341 (Dickenson)
          Page 1


          Commission to incorporate future green building standards  
          directly into the relevant portions of the California Green  
          Building Code.

          Specific provisions of the bill would:
              Specify that the public interest, as it relates to building  
              standards, includes health and safety, seismic safety,  
              consistency with environmental regulations, and other  
              considerations;
              Require the Building Standards Commission to develop  
              regulations to govern the process for other state agencies  
              to submit suggestions for changes to the Green Building  
              Standards;
              As part of updates to the California Building Standards  
              Code after January 1, 2014, the bill would require state  
              agencies that propose green building standards to also  
              reference or reprint those standards in the relevant  
              sections of the Code.