BILL ANALYSIS
AB 888
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2007-2008 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 888
AUTHOR: Lieu
AMENDED: June 25, 2007
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 2, 2007
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1)Under the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989, contains requirements for recycling certain types of
materials (e.g., metallic discards, papers, plastic trash
bags, rigid plastic packaging containers, cell phones,
paving materials, and waste tires), provides programs for
recycling at certain types of facilities (e.g., schoolsites,
large venues), and requires model ordinances for certain
matters (e.g., adequate areas for collection and loading of
recyclable materials in development projects; diversion of
construction and demolition materials; solid waste
reduction, reuse, and recycling at large venues). The Act
creates the California Integrated Waste Management Board
(CIWMB) under the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA).
2)Under the California Building Standards Law, sets procedures
for adopting state building codes that require a building
standard adopted or proposed by state agencies to be
submitted to the California Building Standards Commission
(BSC) for approval or adoption prior to codification. Where
no state agency has authority to adopt building standards
applicable to state buildings, the BSC must adopt, approve,
codify, and publish building standards for the design and
construction of state buildings.
This bill creates the Green Building Standards for
Nonresidential Buildings Law that:
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1) Requires CalEPA to develop, adopt, and make available
minimum green building standards by July 1, 2009, for
commercial buildings that must address certain matters
(e.g., sustainability of the site, water efficiency,
energy, materials and resources, indoor environmental
quality). "Commercial building" means a building or
structure that is in Group B, as provided in state
regulation, but does not include an eating establishment or
a building owned or leased by the Regents of the University
of California.
2) Requires certain state entities (e.g., CIWMB, State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission, Air
Resources Board) to develop standards relating to its
particular area of expertise that must ensure are equal to
US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) gold rating, as set forth
in "Version 2.2" of LEED (published November 2005).
3) Provides that standards must require credits for products
using wood products with a credible third-party sustainable
forest certification, as determined by CalEPA.
4) Requires CalEPA to hold at least two public workshops to
discuss the regulations and receive input from interested
parties.
5) Requires CalEPA to submit the minimum green building
standards to the BSC to ensure that standards adopted
pursuant to the above requirements exceed and do not
conflict with the California Building Standards Code. The
BSC must preliminarily approve or return the standards for
amendment, and if returned for amendment the BSC must
inform CalEPA of specific reasons for the recommended
change.
6) Requires CalEPA to submit the minimum green building
standards to the BSC by July 1, 2010, for adoption by the
BSC pursuant to the State Building Standards Law. The BSC
may revise but cannot reduce the minimum standards
submitted by CalEPA.
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7) Requires a new commercial building that is 50,000 square
feet or greater constructed on and after July 1, 2012, to
meet the minimum green building standards.
8) Contains related legislative intent.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "California
currently does not have any statewide building standards
for commercial construction. AB 888 would fill this gap by
establishing a through comprehensive process to develop
commercial green building standards, using the nationally
accepted LEED guidelines as a baseline. These standards
would eventually become mandatory for commercial projects
50,000 square feet or above."
The author notes that "Buildings have a staggering impact on
the natural environment and on global warming. Nationally,
buildings account for nearly 40% of total greenhouse gas
emissions, account for release of 600 tons of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere annually, and each year result
in almost 30 million tons of waste. We can not expect to
be successful in mitigating climate change and meeting the
AB 32 goals unless we address the built environment by
making truly green buildings commonplace."
2) Opposition and support concerns . Opponents indicate that
AB 888 "recreates a process already being undertaken by the
[BSC] and would unnecessarily force one of the largest
rewrites of the building codes ever undertaken costing the
state millions of dollars." Opponents believe that CalEPA
"does not have technical experts dedicated to building
regulations" and note that the "state should lead by
example in this area" - noting that this bill "could be
double-joined to AB 35 (Ruskin) which is seeking green
building standards for state buildings." The BSC believes
that responsibility for coordinating development of green
building standards is "inappropriately placed with [CalEPA]
and "green building measures should be submitted to [BSC]
for technical review, approval and publication"
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According to supporters, "Buildings account for almost 40
percent of all carbon dioxide emitted in the U.S., more
than any other sector. In fact, according to a United
Nations study, implementation of green building standards
could do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than all
the actions agreed to under the Kyoto Protocol. The
enactment of AB 32 requires the state to take early action
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the largest mission
sectors." Supporters also note that "there is no
appreciable difference in the construction costs of
LEED-compliant buildings, and any additional up-front costs
are paid back many times over in reduced costs of energy
and other resources.
3) Related legislation . AB 1337 (Ruskin) of 2006 required the
CIWMB to develop green building standards for state
buildings and was vetoed because Governor Schwarzenegger
did not believe the CIWMB had the expertise to address
these building standard matters. AB 2160 (Lieu) Chapter
742, Statutes of 2006, requires the Department of General
Services to define a life cycle cost analysis model to be
used for certain state building design and construction
decisions, and requires the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission to report on
certain related matters. AB 2880 (Lieu) of 2006 requires
the CIWMB to provide certain greenbuilding information on
an Internet website and to create an advisory committee to
assist the board in developing and updating the website
(held in the Senate Appropriations Committee). AB 2928
(Laird) of 2006 addressed voluntary green building
guidelines for residential construction and was referred to
the Senate Rules Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10
due to amendments on the Senate Floor giving responsibility
for the guidelines to the BSC.
AB 35 (Ruskin) requires state buildings to meet sustainable
building standards and will be heard by the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee July 2, 2007. AB 1058
(Laird) provides for green building best practices and
standards for residential construction, and was approved by
the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee June 26,
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2007 (7-4). AB 1058 will be heard by the Senate
Environmental Quality Committee July 10, 2007.
4) Outstanding issues . To ensure that new building standards
do not affect projects that are in the planning process, it
would be helpful that any new standards apply to projects
where the project application has been deemed complete on
and after July 1, 2012.
AB 888 authorizes the BSC to revise but not reduce the minimum
standards submitted by CalEPA. It may be helpful to
clarify the term "reduce."
SOURCE : Assemblymember Lieu
SUPPORT : American Lung Association, California Coastal
Protection Network, California League of
Conservation Voters, Defenders of Wildlife,
Environmental Defense, Planning and
Conservation League, Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : American Chemistry Council, American Forest &
Paper Association, Building Standards
Commission, California Broadcasters
Association, California Building Industry
Association, Building Owners and Managers
Association of California, California Apartment
Association, California Building Officials,
California Business Properties Association,
California Chamber of Commerce, California
Forestry Association, California Manufacturers
& Technology Association, California State
University, Consulting Engineers and Land
Surveyors of California, Lumber Association of
California and Nevada, National Association of
Industrial & Office Properties (CA State
Council), Western Electrical Contractors
Association