BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 828
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Lieu
VERSION: 5/21/09
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: Yes
Hearing date: June 30, 2009
SUBJECT:
Green building standards
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the Buildings Standards Commission to seek
and respond to input from specified state agencies when
developing green building standards and explicitly authorizes
the California Energy Commission to adopt voluntary green
building standards.
ANALYSIS:
The California Building Standards Law establishes the California
Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for adopting
state building standards. Under this process, relevant state
agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which the
BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. For example, the
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the
relevant state agency for residential building standards. The
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development is
responsible for hospitals and clinics, and the Division of the
State Architect is the relevant agencies for schools and
emergency service buildings. The California Energy Commission
(CEC) adopts building standards related to energy efficiency.
Not all buildings fall under the jurisdiction of a relevant
state agency. Most commercial, industrial, and manufacturing
structures are considered "local buildings," over which local
governments may determine applicable building standards. With
respect to green building standards, SB 1473 (Calderon), Chapter
AB 828 (LIEU) Page 2
719, Statutes of 2008, gave BSC the authority to adopt standards
for occupancies for which no state agency has authority or
expertise (i.e., local buildings).
This bill :
Requires BSC or any other state agency proposing green
building standards to seek the input of other state agencies,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:
? The Department of General Services
? The Integrated Waste Management Board
? The State Air Resources Board
? The Department of Water Resources
? The Department of Toxic Substances Control
? The State Department of Public Health
? The Department of Transportation
? The Office of the State Fire Marshal
Requires that any such input include whether the standard
commented on should be voluntary or mandatory.
Requires BSC or any other state agency proposing green
building standards to consider and respond in writing to the
input provided by another state agency, if this input is
within the mandate of the other state agency.
Requires BSC or any other state agency proposing green
building standards to consult with environmental advocacy
groups, interested local government and code enforcement
entities, the building construction and design industry, and
other interested public parties.
Requires that green building standards be inserted into the
relevant part of the California Building Standards Code.
Provides that green building standards shall include, but not
be limited to, standards relating to site planning, water
efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resource
AB 828 (LIEU) Page 3
efficiency, reduction of toxic chemicals, indoor air quality,
and environmental quality.
Provides that green building standards shall be intended to
protect the public's health and safety, minimize the
building's impact on the environment through efficient use of
natural resources, promote occupant health, and reduce strain
on the local infrastructure while utilizing best available
technology and building practices.
Authorizes the CEC to adopt voluntary energy efficiency
standards, provided that the voluntary standards exceed the
CEC's current mandatory standards. These voluntary standards
are to be considered green building standards.
Requires the CEC, in developing these voluntary standards, to
leverage available incentive mechanisms and ensure that the
cost to the public is reasonable based on the overall benefit
to be derived.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author and sponsors,
this bill is intended to strengthen the green building regime
in California by establishing a robust development process
that incorporates best practices and technical expertise from
various state agencies. As BSC works to include more
mandatory standards in the 2010 update of the current green
building standards, the participation of other expert state
agencies, such as the Department of Toxic Substances Control,
Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Health
Services, will be vital to establishing strong standards. In
addition, this bill will increase transparency by allowing the
public to better track the adoption process.
2.Current status of state green building standards . In July
2008, the BSC adopted the first set of green building
standards for California as Part 11 of the California Building
Standards Code. HCD, the CEC, the Division of the State
Architect, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development, and the BSC itself developed these standards,
which take effect August 1, 2009. Many of the green building
standards adopted in 2008, especially with respect to
AB 828 (LIEU) Page 4
non-residential construction, are voluntary. Those standards
that are mandatory in some cases reflect existing mandates.
In other words, this first round of proposed standards is not
especially strong. Now that this first set of standards is in
place, however, these agencies are working on a more stringent
set of standards to be adopted in 2010. Staff for the BSC
states that this second round will include a greater number of
mandated standards.
3.Making sure no one is left out . In an effort to ensure that
the wide variety of expertise that exists in state government
is fully utilized, this bill requires the BSC to seek input
from and respond to specified state agencies when developing
green building standards. According to the BSC, it already
works with the California Environmental Protection Agency, the
Integrated Waste Management Board, the State Air Resources
Board, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of
Public Health in the development of green building standards.
In addition, the BSC's current adoption process for green
building standards complies with the Administrative Procedures
Act and includes several opportunities for the public or other
state agencies to participate. First, the BSC sends all
parties who have expressed an interest in the subject a
notification of proposed standards and the input process.
This is followed by Technical Code Advisory Committee
meetings, during which proposed building standards are
initially discussed. The advisory committee meetings trigger
a 45-day public comment period, whereby individuals and
agencies can write to the BSC and request a meeting with staff
there to discuss the proposed standards. After the 45-day
period elapses, the public has an additional opportunity to
address the BSC directly when it takes action on the proposed
standard. In addition to this formal public input process,
there is a "pre-formal" period whenever there are a large
number of proposed standards or whenever a particular proposal
is complex. Expert witnesses, stakeholders, and other
interested parties are invited to discuss the standards as
they are developed.
4.Clarifying existing authority . This bill clearly authorizes
the CEC to adopt voluntary energy efficiency standards. This
is not a change in law but merely a clarification of existing
law, because the CEC already has the authority to adopt
voluntary standards. Moreover, the 2008 green building
standards already include voluntary energy efficiency
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standards that encourage a 15% reduction in energy usage when
compared the CEC's mandatory standards.
5.Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has referred this
bill both to this committee and the Environmental Quality
Committee.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 50-30
Appr: 10-5
Nat. Res: 6-3
B&P: 7-3
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 24, 2009)
SUPPORT: Environmental Defense Fund (sponsor)
Natural Resources Defense Council (sponsor)
American Lung Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
Environment California
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
StopWaste.org
OPPOSED: None received.