BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1234
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1234 (Skinner) - As Amended: May 14, 2009
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of General Services (DGS) to
develop a plan to modernize the Capitol to realize energy
efficiencies. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires DGS to submit to the Legislature, by January 1, 2011,
a State Capitol: Smart Building Modernization Plan to achieve
energy savings through modernization.
2)Species that the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District
(SMUD) may assist DGS in identifying funding sources to
implement the plan.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs in the range of $100,000 to $300,000 to DGS to
develop the plan.
2)Cost pressures to the General Fund and various special funds
for energy efficiency and similar upgrades. These costs would
be wholly dependent upon the number of projects that result
from the work of the task force, the scale of those projects,
and resolution of the complexities inherent to renovation and
modification of historic structures. At the extreme, these
projects may entail costs in the hundreds of millions of
dollars and potentially include replacement of heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning systems; reinstallation of
window glazing, casings and insulation; reconfiguration or
replacement of irrigation and plumbing systems; and
installation of solar or other on-site renewable energy
generation systems.
AB 1234
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale. According to the author, this bill increases the
opportunities for implementing more sustainable practices in
the State Capitol building. The author believes that the
State Capitol presents an opportunity to demonstrate
sustainable practices and environmental leadership to the
hundreds of thousands of people who visit the building.
2)Background. The California State Capitol Building was
completed in 1874 and the East Annex in 1952. In January
1982, after six years of work, major restoration of the
Capitol was completed.
In 2001, the State and Consumer Services Agency, DGS, and SMUD
held the Greening of the State Capitol Project in Sacramento.
The Project identified numerous ways to "green" the Capitol,
including increasing energy efficiency, instituting
environmentally preferable purchasing requirements, building
commissioning, use of electric vehicles, establishing on-site
power generation, installing water efficiency measures, and
improving recycling. The Project also completed a landscape
assessment, which identified irrigation problems and methods
to compost green waste and use the composted material in
Capitol Park. While some of these activities have been
undertaken, many improvements could still be made to improve
the overall environmental effect of the Capitol.
3)Related Legislation. AB 1327 (Bass) establishes the State
Capitol Sustainability Task Force to coordinate, develop, and
complete a state capitol sustainability initiative. AB 1327
is currently on suspense before this committee.
4)The Governor's May Revision. Released on May 14, the
governor's May Revision of the 2009-10 budget proposes to
delay all DGS repairs of the State Capitol for one year.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081