BILL ANALYSIS
AB 35
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 16, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 35 (Ruskin) - As Amended: March 28, 2007
Policy Committee: Natural Resources
Vote: 5-2
Business & Professions 7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill subjects, starting July 1, 2010, the design,
construction or renovation, and operation of state buildings to
regulations adopted by the State Public Works Board (PWB) and
developed by the California Energy Commission (CEC), the
Department of General Services (DGS) and the California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), for sustainable
building standards that reduce the state buildings' overall
environmental impacts.
FISCAL EFFECT
Moderate one-time GF costs, in the range of $500,000 primarily
in 2008-09 and 2009-10, to the CEC, DGS, and CIWMB to develop
sustainable building standards for new or renovated state
buildings. To the extent each of these agencies is already
developing components that could contribute to the development
of these standards, these costs could be lower.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author believes state buildings should be
built or renovated using standards that provide the broadest
spectrum of environmental benefits during construction and
during the life of the building. This bill establishes a
process by which CEC, DGS, and CIWMB, all with expertise on
the building process and on methods to minimize negative
environmental impacts and energy use, work together to develop
sustainable building standards for state buildings designed,
constructed or renovated, and operated built starting July 1,
AB 35
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2010.
2)Background . Green building practices use energy, water and
other resources efficiently throughout the building's life
cycle, including maximum use of recycled content building
materials, the reduction and recycling of construction waste,
more energy efficient homes, onsite electricity generation,
significantly improved water conservation, and increased use
of infill land to discourage sprawl.
3)PWB . The Public Works Board is comprised of the Directors of
Finance, General Services and Caltrans, the state controller,
and the state treasurer. The PWB has several legislative
advisors and is staffed by the Department of Finance. The PWB
authorizes bond financing arrangements, construction
agreements between agencies, land acquisitions, and the sale
of lease-revenue bonds. The PWB does not adopt regulations
for building standards nor does the board adopt regulations at
all. Building standards are generally adopted by the
California Building Standards Commission.
4)Prior Legislation . AB 1337 (Ruskin) of 2006, would have
established a similar process for new or renovated state
building, except that the regulations were to be adopted by
the CIWMB. In his veto message for AB 1337, the governor
expressed his concerns that the CIWMB did not have the
in-house expertise in building standards, public safety,
building design and construction, fire codes and public access
to ensure the standards are developed in an appropriate
manner.
Analysis Prepared by : Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)
319-2081