BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 888
Author: Lieu (D), et al
Amended: 8/31/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 4-2, 7/2/07
AYES: Simitian, Kuehl, Lowenthal, Steinberg
NOES: Runner, Aanestad
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-7, 8/30/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza,
Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, Steinberg, Yee
NOES: Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Runner,
Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 43-33, 6/5/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Green building standards
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires new commercial buildings for
which a public agency deems the application for a
development project complete on or after July 1, 2012, and
that are 50,000 feet or greater be designed constructed and
operated to meet the applicable standards described in the
United States Green Building Council' Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design gold rating or its equivalent,
unless the state adopts specified minimum green building
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standards, in which case those commercial buildings will be
required to meet the adopted standards.
ANALYSIS : Under existing Law, 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:
1. Defines "Minimum green building standards" to mean green
building standards for commercial buildings that meet
and encompass, at a minimum, the LEED gold rating or
equivalent, and include, but are not limited to, all of
the following:
A. Sustainability of the site.
B. Water efficiency.
C. Energy and atmosphere.
D. Materials and resources and sustainable wood.
E. Indoor environmental quality.
F. Innovation and design process.
G. Nonmotorized transportation.
H. A method for determining life-cycle cost,
including evaluating the relative effectiveness,
cost, and life-cycle savings, if any, by the use of
individual or multiple green building measures
specified in this bill.
2. Requires a new commercial building for which a public
agency, on or after July 1, 2012, deems the application
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complete and that is 50,000 square feet or greater,
shall be designed, constructed, and operated to meet the
applicable standards described in the LEED gold rating
or its equivalent.
3. Provides that if the state adopts minimum green building
standards, a new commercial building for which a public
agency on or after July 1, 2012, deems the application
complete, and that is 50,000 square feet or greater
shall meet those adopted standards.
4. Stipulates that for the purposes of determining
compliance with the LEED gold rating or its equivalent,
with respect to materials and resources and sustainable
wood, a project that uses wood products with a credible
third party sustainable forest certification, as
determined by the California Environmental Protection
Agency, shall be deemed to be in compliance.
5. Stipulates that these provisions shall not prohibit,
limit, or supersede more stringent green building
requirements applicable under existing local, state, or
federal law.
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).
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AB 2928 (Laird) of 2006 , addressed voluntary green building
guidelines for residential construction. (Died on Senate
Third Reading File)
AB 35 (Ruskin), 2007-2008 Session , requires state buildings
to meet sustainable building standards. (Currently on Third
Reading File)
AB 1058 (Laird) , provides for green building best practices
and standards for residential construction. (Currently on
Senate Third Reading File)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
Fund
Develop standards -unknown, in
excess of $150 GF
Adopt standards -minor and
absorbable GF
Implement standards -unknown
increase, in construction GF
in applicable state costs offset by unknown, potentially
buildings savings in out years
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/07)
American Lung Association
California Coastal Protection Network
California League of Conservation Voters
City and County of San Francisco
City of Los Angeles
County of Santa Cruz
Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Defense
Health Officers Association of California and NRDC
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Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Planning and Conservation League
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
Sierra Club California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Bass, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Coto, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes, Hancock,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Krekorian,
Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava,
Portantino, Price, Richardson, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Solorio, Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Nunez
NOES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Benoit, Berryhill,
Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garcia, Garrick, Horton, Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene,
La Malfa, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello, Parra, Plescia, Sharon
Runner, Silva, Smyth, Spitzer, Strickland, Tran,
Villines, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Davis, Ma, Soto
TSM:do 9/2/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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