BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2679
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2679 (Eng) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
SUBJECT : Public buildings: energy and water: consumption
reductions.
SUMMARY : Requires reductions in energy and water consumption in
public buildings, as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the State Public Works Board to develop energy and
water conservation and design efficiency standards for state
buildings.
2)Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (CEC) to prescribe energy efficiency,
including water as it affects energy efficiency, building
design and construction standards that increase energy
efficiency for new residential and non-residential buildings.
3)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to adopt a statewide
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels
by 2020 and adopt regulations to achieve maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission
reductions.
4) Pursuant to the Governor's Executive Order S-20-04, the Green
Building Initiative, ordered the state to take specified
actions, including: a) committing to aggressive action to
reduce state building electricity usage by 20 percent in 2015,
through cost-effective efficiency measures and distributed
generation technologies; and, b) siting, constructing, and
operating all new and renovated state-owned facilities as
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver or
higher certified buildings.
THIS BILL :
1)Defines terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Established baseline measurement" (EBM) as the baseline
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measurements of electricity and water consumption from
January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008, including,
established by public agencies operating public buildings.
b) "Public buildings" as state, county, city, and city and
county buildings funded with money from the General Fund.
c) "Retro-commissioning" or "existing building
commissioning" as the systematic, documented process that
identifies low-cost operational and maintenance
improvements in existing buildings and conforms the
buildings to the design intentions of its current usage.
2)Requires all public buildings, including existing buildings,
to conform to the following compliance schedule:
a) By January 1, 2015, reduce energy consumption from EBM
by 15%, and water consumption by 10%;
b) By January 1, 2020, reduce energy consumption from EBM
by 30%, and water consumption by 20%;
c) By January 1, 2025, reduce energy consumption from EBM
by 60%, and water consumption by 30%; and,
d) By January 1, 2030 and thereafter, all existing and new
public building facilities shall have net zero energy
consumption or be grid neutral.
3)Requires all public buildings to maintain 70% of EBM water
consumption after January 1, 2025 and requires all public
buildings to maintain zero net energy consumption or grid
neutrality after January 1, 2030.
4)Requires each public entity operating a public building to
determine the EBM.
5)Requires each public entity operating a public building to
provide the Department of General Services (DGS) with a
certified onsite assessment of the facility's energy and water
consumption levels by January 1, 2013, which shall include,
but not be limited to, a customized written report, which:
a) Includes a list of recommended retrofits to improve
energy efficiency and reduce water consumption and indicate
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federal and state grant amounts made available for each
eligible upgrade to the facility to carry out these energy
and water saving improvements, if applicable; and,
b) Is conducted by a private or public entity using
methodology and building commissioning guidelines approved
by CEC and the Department of Water Resources.
6)Requires all applicable public entities to:
a) Adopt and implement processes outlined in the Green
Building Action Plan, as specified, and to include
additional processes for the achievement of reduced water
reduction and energy consumption; and,
b) Adopt processes that are consistent with energy
efficiency measures outlined in statutes, regulations, and
agency guidelines.
7)Requires each public entity operating a public building to
employ retro-commissioning, existing building commissioning,
or continual follow-up and analysis of completed improvements
according to the schedule, as specified, or whenever major
energy or water consuming systems or controls are replaced.
8)Requires that project financing maximize the use of outside
financing, including, but not limited to, existing loan,
lease, energy efficiency, and retirement investment programs.
9)Requires DGS to annually report to the Legislature and the
Governor on the progress of reducing energy consumption and
water use in public buildings, and recommend any changes to
meet these goals.
10)States legislative findings and declarations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill : According to the author's office, "It
is essential that California avoid the unmanageable and manage
the unavoidable in resource management, energy, and water
consumption. This provides fiscal responsibility, which
during the transition to zero net energy creates economic
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stimulus through the sales of goods and job creation. This
legislation also preserves our most vital public resources,
the workforce that serves Californians in a wide variety of
capacity; teachers, public safety, nursing, prison personnel,
Department of Motor Vehicles and all public service positions
that assist in the operations of our state infrastructure."
2)California's actions on building energy efficiency : The
state's Energy Action Plan (prepared by CEC and the Public
Utilities Commission) and the Integrated Energy Policy Report
(prepared by CEC) encourage the state to meet energy
efficiency goals. These reports also call for the combination
of on-site energy generation (such as solar photovoltaics) and
energy efficient buildings to reduce overall energy usage so
that newly constructed buildings are zero net energy by 2020
for the residential sector and by 2030 for the commercial
sector.
The Climate Action Team's report, Climate Action Team Report to
the Governor and the Legislature, identifies strategies to
reduce GHG emissions that include continued implementation of
the Green Building Initiative and energy efficiency standards
for state buildings. The report indicates that every dollar
spent on energy efficiency provides about two dollars in
benefits. The AB 32 Scoping Plan, approved in December 2008,
includes zero net energy goals for new and existing homes and
commercial buildings. However, the Plan states that these
goals should be "percent of zero net energy" targets. The
Plan also notes that retrofitting existing residential and
commercial buildings would achieve substantial GHG emission
reductions.
The Green Building Initiative, adopted in July of 2004,
committed the state to reducing energy usage by constructing,
retrofitting, and operating state buildings in an
energy-efficient manner. The Sustainable Building Task Force
is a partnership of more than 40 governmental agencies, led by
the State and Consumer Services Agency, which is charged with
implementing the Green Building Initiative.
3)This bill : AB 2679 will require stepped progress in energy
and water efficiency for public buildings, culminating in net
zero energy consumption or grid neutrality and a 30% reduction
in water use for all existing and new public building
facilities by January 1, 2030.
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The Energy Action Plan and the Integrated Policy Report call for
zero net energy goals for new buildings. This bill goes
beyond these recommendations to include existing buildings.
The feasibility and cost-effectiveness of establishing zero
net energy requirements for existing buildings should be
examined if this bill moves forward.
This bill significantly expands the role of DGS, which is
currently only responsible for state buildings, to all
publicly owned buildings that receive any funding from the
General Fund. Further, DGS is funded from fees collected from
state entities for which it provides services. This bill
requires DGS to annually report on the progress of energy
reduction and water use in all public buildings. The author
may wish to consider providing DGS with fee authority to
recover its cost from local governments for the reporting
requirement if this bill moves forward.
4)Suggested amendments : The committee may wish to amend the
bill to eliminate the redundancy in the definition of
"retro-commissioning" by striking references to "existing
building commissioning." In order to ensure that
retro-commissioning occur at least every five-years, the
committee may wish to amend the bill to replace "or" with
"and" on page 5, line 20.
5)Double-referred : This bill was heard in the Assembly Business
and Professions Committee on April 13, 2010 and passed with a
vote of 7 to 4.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Environment California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092