BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 576 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 576 (Ting) - As Introduced February 24, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|14 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: Authorizes the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) to appoint individuals from the energy and resource professions AB 576 Page 2 to join its building standards advisory panels. FISCAL EFFECT: Negligible fiscal impact. Advisory panel members are eligible for travel expense reimbursement. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill would codify existing practices to promote the use of energy and resource efficiency professionals on the CBSC's advisory panels to "reinforce the state's commitment to sustainable building standards?[a]s the building code evolves to account for more energy and resource efficiency measures, it is important to ensure that the CBSC is able to draw upon the knowledge and qualifications of experts in the field." 2)Background. The CBSC administers California's building codes. The commission is comprised of 11 members who represent the public, building design professions, the building and construction industry, local government building officials, fire and safety officials, and labor, and must include at least one member who is experienced and knowledgeable in building energy efficiency standards and one member who is experienced and knowledgeable in sustainable building, design, construction, and operation. Six code advisory committees advise the CBSC on proposed building standards. Advisory committee members are appointed by the CBSC from the design professions, the building and construction industry, the affected general public, and interested governmental agencies. AB 576 Page 3 In 2010, CBSC approved the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN) with which all new buildings in California must comply. CALGREEN is the nation's first mandatory statewide green building code adopted and requires all residential and commercial developers to implement building standards such as a 20% reduction in indoor water use, compliance with energy efficiency and use of low-pollutant emitting construction and finishing materials. CALGREEN is revisited and updated every three years by the CBSC. 3)Prior Legislation. In 2014, an identical bill (AB 2270, Ting) was vetoed by the Governor, who argued that the commission was already required to appoint energy and resource efficiency professionals. Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081