BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1073
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 1073 (Fuentes) - As Amended: March 31, 2011
SUBJECT : Energy Efficiency Programs: application requirements
SUMMARY : Requires that a written building or construction
permit be submitted when customers apply to electric utilities
for ratepayer funded energy efficiency incentives.
Specifically, this bill :
Requires a written building or construction permit to be
submitted at the time of application for any ratepayer-funded
energy efficiency incentive for a project that involves a
physical alteration or addition to a residential, commercial, or
industrial structure.
Provides an exemption for energy efficiency incentives for
appliances or changes, alterations, or repairs to structures
that are of a minor nature not affecting structural features,
egress, sanitation, safety, or accessibility, as determined by
the entity of local government responsible for the issuance of
building or construction permits.
EXISTING LAW
Requires the California Public Utilities Commission to review
and adopt a procurement plan for each electrical corporation in
accordance with specified elements, incentive mechanisms, and
objectives.
Requires investor owned utilities' procurement plan include that
the electrical corporation will first meet its unmet needs
through all available energy efficiency and demand reduction
resources that are cost effective, reliable, and feasible.
Requires the PUC, in consultation with the California Energy
Commission, to identify all potentially achievable
cost-effective electricity efficiency savings and to establish
efficiency targets for electrical corporations to achieve
pursuant to their procurement plan.
Requires the Energy Commission to develop and implement a
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comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in
California's existing residential and nonresidential building
stock.
Requires building and construction permits for all construction,
reconstruction, installation, moving or alteration of any
building or structure, except for changes, alterations or
repairs of a minor nature not affecting structural features,
egress, sanitation, safety or accessibility as determined by the
enforcing agency.
Requires training for contractors conducting renovation or
demolition activities in buildings constructed in or before 1978
from a U.S. EPA-accredited training provider.
Authorizes building officials to enforce and interpret state and
local health and safety codes related to construction (building,
structural, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fire, energy
efficiency).
Exempts contractors' licensing for do-it-yourselfers and
contracts for which labor and materials sum to less than $500
(so long as those small contracts are not for the purpose of
evading licensing requirements).
Requires a person who is employed by a licensed contractor to
solicit, sell, negotiate, or execute contracts for home
improvements, to register with the Contractors State License
Board. (Salespersons who only sell goods at the initiative of
the prospective buyer or with a general merchandise retail
establishment are not considered home improvement salespersons,
provided that the establishment operates from a fixed location
where the goods or services are offered for sale.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
According to the author, this bill is designed to increase
compliance with appropriate state and local building codes that
govern energy efficiency construction projects. Contractors and
consumers have repeatedly lodged complaints to the California
Energy Commission about violations of the state's building and
appliance energy efficiency standard. A recent analysis
indicates that proper permits are obtained in less than 10
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percent of heating, ventilation and air conditioning
replacements in existing buildings, even though they are
required by state health and safety laws for building
construction.
The author also states that contractors who comply with
permitting requirements are placed at a competitive disadvantage
compared to those who do not obtain a permit. Even though state
contractors' licensing is not required for do-it-yourselfers or
projects that are less than $500, construction permits from the
local jurisdiction are required for all projects.
As California moves toward more stringent energy efficiency
requirements for existing buildings, new challenges may arise
with regard to modifying existing buildings due to the possibly
of outdated construction materials (such as knob and tube
wiring, asbestos insulation, sub-optimal electrical service for
current technology needs, possible presence of asbestos and/or
lead paint, etc.) that may need to be updated or replaced in
conjunction with an energy efficiency retrofit measure.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency,
"Weatherization generally does not cause indoor air problems by
adding new pollutants to the air. However, measures such as
installing storm windows, weather stripping, Caulking, and
blown-in wall insulation can reduce the amount of outdoor air
infiltrating into a home. Consequently, after weatherization,
concentrations of indoor air pollutants from sources inside the
home can increase." US EPA goes on to state that building
occupants "should be alert to the emergence of signs of
inadequate ventilation, such as stuffy air, moisture
condensation on cold surfaces, or mold and mildew growth.
Additional weatherization measures should not be undertaken
until these problems have been corrected."
Permitting is not only the law but important for building
occupants . Lacking appropriate verification of code compliance,
building occupants (including but not limited to residential
housing, commercial housing, office buildings, etc.) could be
subjected to unsafe living conditions because there is no
assurance that alterations or improvements comply with current
state construction codes.
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Permits are obtained from the local jurisdiction having
authority, which may mean a city building department, a county
building department and, in some locales, a separate permit from
the local fire marshal. It may be less of an administrative
burden if the rebate applicant could instead self-certify that
they have obtained all appropriate permits.
The author may wish to consider the following amendments:
1.Expanding the requirement to include gas utilities and
publicly owned utilities.
2.Require that the rebate applicant self-certify that they have
obtained appropriate building permits from the local
jurisdiction having authority and received final permit
approval.
3.Clarify that nothing in this bill is intended to prohibit an
owner who builds or improves a structure on his or her
property and personally does all his or her own work
installing energy efficiency measures from receiving energy
efficiency rebates.
4.Clarify that nothing in this bill is intended to prohibit
entities, which are lawfully exempt from state contractors'
license requirements, from installing measures that will
receive energy efficiency rebates.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Western State Council of Sheet Metal Workers (Sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Susan Kateley / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083