BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 2515 (Weber) - Water Conservation in Landscaping Act:  model  
          water-efficient landscaping ordinance
          
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          |Version: May 27, 2016           |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 8 - 0    |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 1, 2016    |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar    |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 2515 requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR), by  
          January 1, 2020, and at least every three years thereafter, to  
          update the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (Ordinance)  
          or make a finding that an update to the ordinance at that time  
          is not a useful. The bill also requires DWR, upon updating the  
          ordinance, to submit the update to the California Building  
          Standards Commission (Commission) for consideration during the  
          triennial revision process of the CalGreen Code.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  Approximately $500,000 for DWR to revise the Ordinance  
          (General Fund) and between $15,000 and $25,000 every three years  
          thereafter for coordination.  


        Background:1)  
          
          1.The California Building Standards Law:







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                 Establishes the Commission and the process for adopting,  
               and updating every three years, the California Building  
               Code.

                 Authorizes the Commission to adopt green building  
               standards. These standards are maintained in a separate  
               chapter of the California Building Code, known as the  
               CalGreen Code.

          1.The Water Conservation in Landscaping Act: 

                 Required the DWR to prepare the ordinance.  The Act  
               required all local agencies to adopt a landscape ordinance  
               by 1993 or the model ordinance would automatically take  
               effect.  A local agency could make findings that an  
               ordinance was unnecessary if certain conditions existed.

                 AB 1881 (Laird, Chapter 559, Statutes of 2006), revised  
               the act significantly.  Among other things, it required DWR  
               to revise the model ordinance by January 2009.

               DWR adopted the revised the Ordinance on September 10,  
               2010.

          1.On April 1, 2015, the Governor issued an executive order  
            regarding the ongoing drought.  Among its provisions was  
            direction to DWR to update the model ordinance through  
            expedited regulation. This update was to increase water  
            efficiency standards for new and existing landscapes through  
            more efficient irrigation systems, greywater usage, onsite  
            stormwater capture, and by limiting the portion of landscapes  
            that can be covered in turf. 

            On July 15, 2015, the California Water Commission approved  
            DWR's revision to the model ordinance.  


          Proposed Law:  
            This bill:

          1)Requires DWR, by January 1, 2020, and at least every three  
            years thereafter, to either (1) update the Ordinance or (2)  
            make a finding that an update to the Ordinance at that time is  








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            not a useful or effective means to improve either the  
            efficiency of landscape water use or the administration of the  
            ordinance.
          2)Requires DWR, upon updating the Ordinance, to submit any  
            updates to the Commission for consideration during the  
            triennial revision process of the CalGreen Code.


          3)Makes a number of findings regarding the importance of the  
            Ordinance and the advantage of synchronizing the updates with  
            the triennial cycle for revisions of the CalGreen Code.




          Related  
        Legislation:1)  AB 2525 (Holden, 2016) would have required DWR to establish  
          the California Water Efficient Landscaping Program to promote  
          the efficient use of water in landscaping. The bill was held in  
          Assembly Appropriations Committee.
          AB 1928 (Campos, 2016) requires the State Energy Resources  
          Conservation and Development Commission to adopt landscape  
          irrigation equipment performance standards and labeling  
          requirements.  The bill is being heard in Senate Appropriations.


          Staff  
          Comments:  According to the author, "With California experiencing  
          prolonged and serious drought conditions over the past 4 years,  
          everyone - including homeowners, renters, businesses, government  
          agencies, schools - has been asked to do everything they can to  
          conserve water and improve water use efficiency.  With outdoor  
          water use consisting more than half the average household water  
          use, attention to improving landscape irrigation efficiency  
          should be an ongoing focus."

          "Synchronization of the Model Water Efficient Landscape  
          Ordinance revision cycle with the CalGreen building code  
          revision cycle would allow updated Model Water Efficient  
          Landscape Ordinance standards to be adopted in the CalGreen  
          building code revisions during the same triennial cycle.  A  
          synchronized revision cycle would also eliminate the current  
          practice of updating Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance  
          in an uncoordinated, unplanned, and ad hoc manner."








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