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's 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) extend compliance
due dates from July 1, 2012, to July 1, 2013, (4) authorize
the state to consider existing relevant green building
guidelines if the state adopts minimum green building
standards, and (5) make 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 Green Building Council's Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (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.
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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, 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 35 (Ruskin) - 2007-08 Session . Requires state buildings
to meet sustainable building standards. (Currently on
Senate Third Reading File)
AB 1058 (Laird) - 2007-08 Session . Provides for green
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building best practices and standards for residential
construction. (Currently on Senate Third Reading File)
AB 1337 (Ruskin) - 2005-06 Session . Would have required
the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to
develop green building standards for state buildings. The
bill 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) - 2005-06 Session . Would have required 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.
The bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2928 (Laird) - 2005-06 Session . Would have addressed
voluntary green building guidelines for residential
construction. Died 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
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increase, in construction GF
in applicable state costs offset by unknown,
potentially
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
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Natural Resources Defense Council
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 and Managers 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 and 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
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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.
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 : The California Chamber of
Commerce, in opposition, states "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 here in California.
"4.AB 888 mandates an arbitrary building size for which
there is no evidence that it is economically feasible to
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construct buildings 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 in the bill.
"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 :
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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