BILL NUMBER: AB 2515	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 22, 2016
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Weber

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Section 65596.5 to the Government Code, relating to
water-efficient landscaping.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2515, Weber. Water Conservation in Landscaping Act: model
water-efficient landscaping ordinance.
   Existing law, the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, requires
the Department of Water Resources to update its model water-efficient
landscape ordinance by regulation and prescribes various
requirements for the updated model ordinance.
   This bill would require the department, on or before January 1,
2020, and every three years thereafter, to either update the model
water-efficient landscaping ordinance or make a finding that an
update to the model water-efficient landscaping ordinance at that
time is not a useful or effective means to improve either the
efficiency of landscape water use or the administration of the
ordinance. The bill would additionally require the department to
submit the update to the Building Standards Commission during the
triennial update process of the California Green Building Standards
Code.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California is experiencing a prolonged and significant drought
that is unprecedented in California's recorded history.
   (b) Communities throughout the state have been directed to curtail
water use. Residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional
users have all worked to reduce water consumption.
   (c) Prior to the extraordinary water use reductions implemented
during the drought emergency, approximately one-half of the urban
water provided for all purposes in California was used outdoors,
primarily for landscape irrigation. This significant amount of
potable water, approximately four million acre-feet per year,
illuminates the critical importance of landscape water use
efficiency.
   (d) Functional and attractive landscapes are essential to
Californians' quality of life, providing places to recreate and
relax, cooling the environment around buildings, offering wildlife
habitat, and creating places of beauty.
   (e) Updates to the model water-efficient landscape ordinance can
help to advance landscaping and irrigation practices and policies
that will make landscape water use far more sustainable than it is
today.
   (f) Synchronizing updates to the model water-efficient landscape
ordinance with the triennial cycle for revisions to the California
Green Building Standards Code would also ensure that landscape
professionals, plumbing professionals, and local governments are able
to integrate advancements and improvements in landscape and
irrigation technologies, systems, and practices into the body of
rules that govern installation, rehabilitation, overhaul, and updates
of outdoor landscapes to significantly advance California's strong
water use efficiency ethic.
  SEC. 2.  Section 65596.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   65596.5.  (a) On or before January 1, 2020, and at least every
three years thereafter, the department, after holding one or more
public hearings, shall do one of the following:
   (1) Update the model water-efficient landscape ordinance adopted
pursuant to Chapter 1145 of the Statutes of 1990.
   (2) Make a finding that an update to the model water-efficient
landscape ordinance at that time is not a useful or effective means
to improve either the efficiency of landscape water use or the
administration of the ordinance.
   (b) When the model water-efficient landscape ordinance has been
updated, the department shall submit the update to the Building
Standards Commission for consideration during the triennial revision
process of the California Green Building Standards Code.