BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 888
Author: Lieu (D), et al
Amended: 9/7/07 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, 2013, 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
CONTINUED
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standards, in which case those commercial buildings will be
required to meet the adopted standards.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/7/07 (1) strike legislative
intent relating to studies and results of green building
standards, (2) strike an exemption for University of
California owned or leased buildings, (3) extends
compliance due dates from July 1, 2012, to July 1, 2013,
(4) authorizes the state to consider existing relevant
green building guidelines if the state adopts minimum green
building standards, and (5) makes technical clarifying
amendments.
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,
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.
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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, 2013, deems the application
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. Also provides that
in considering the minimum green building standards, the
state may consider existing relevant guidelines,
including but not limited to, the Green Building
Initiative's "Green Globes" rating system.
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 other green building standards
pursuant to existing authority.
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.
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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 green building 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. (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
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buildings savings in out years
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/07)
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
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Planning and Conservation League
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/10/07)
American Chemistry Council
American Forest & Paper Association
Association of General Contractor
Building Owners & Manages Association of California
California Apartment Association
California Broadcasters Association
California Building industry Association
California Building Officials
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California State University
California Forestry Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Retailers Association
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
International Council of Shopping Centers
Lumber Association of California and Nevada
National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
Retail Industry Leaders Association
Western Electrical Contractors Association
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.
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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.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : CalChambers state in
opposition, "Our collective members support green building
standards and are actively engaged in proliferation of the
technology. We have already put this state on the
forefront of making the intent of this bill a reality. Our
members want to see green buildings flourish, but do not
believe this mandate is the right process to make that
happen and have the following issues with the proposes
policy: (1) AB 888 mandates the state to adopt building
standards written by a private entity whose process is not
open to public input or scrutiny. The state should not
relinquish its authority to set and maintain such building
codes, (2) AB 999 is unnecessary and duplicative of process
already underway at the Building Standards Commission,
which could produce a statewide standard as early as the
next adoption cycle, (3) AB 888 mandates a private green
building standard that discourages the use of wood, one of
the most renewable resources, grown her in California, (4)
AB 888 mandates an arbitrary building size for which there
is no evidence that it is economically feasible to
construct buildings that that can meet the standards set by
the bill. This standard could unintentionally provide an
advantage to the largest national companies and hurt medium
and small companies that do not have the ability to absorb
construction and bureaucratic cost increases mandated the
bill, and (5) AB 888 does not conform to the other green
building mandates contained in AB 1058 and AB 35 which
could cause conflicts in the building codes. Building
standards should be consistent and based on function - not
who owns the building."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
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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 9/10/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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