BILL NUMBER: AB 1627 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dickinson
FEBRUARY 9, 2012
An act to amend Sections 25402 and 25402.1 of
add Section 21099 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1627, as amended, Dickinson. Environmental quality:
building standards: Energy: vehicle miles
traveled.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead
agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify
the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project
that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant
effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it
finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires
a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a
project that may have a significant effect on the environment if
revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and
there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would
have a significant effect on the environment.
CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare
guidelines to assist state and local agencies in implementing the
requirements of CEQA.
This bill would require the office, not later than January 1,
2014, to prepare and make available a manual containing specified
information designed to be used by local governments, local agencies,
and project developers to evaluate and incorporate measures and
strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in new residential
and commercial building projects. The bill would require the office,
not later than January 1, 2014, to make recommendations to the
Legislature and local policymakers of measures to improve the
reduction of VMT related to residential and commercial building
projects.
(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to prescribe, by
regulation, building design and construction standards and energy and
water conservation design standards for new residential and
nonresidential buildings. Existing law requires the Energy Commission
to certify, within 180 days of the approval of the standards by the
State Building Standards Commission, an energy conservation manual
for use by designers, builders, and contractors of residential and
nonresidential buildings.
The bill would prohibit a local building department from issuing a
building permit for a residential or nonresidential building unless
the department confirms that the building plan complies with those
standards.
The bill would enact the Healthy Neighborhoods Act of 2012 and
would require the Energy Commission to prescribe, by regulation,
standards for reducing vehicle miles traveled by occupants of a
building that would be applicable to new residential and
nonresidential buildings and modification of existing residential and
nonresidential buildings. The bill would require the commission to
publish the standards, upon adoption, in the energy conservation
manual. The bill would prohibit a local building department from
issuing a building permit for a residential or nonresidential
building unless the department confirms that the building plan
complies with the standards. Because a local building department
would be required to confirm that a building plan complies with the
vehicle miles traveled standards, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a city,
county, or city and county to prescribe, by ordinance or resolution,
a schedule of fees sufficient to cover the costs incurred in the
enforcement of these standards.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) The State Air Resources Board has determined, in its scoping
plan adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act
of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
and Safety Code), that reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is
an essential compliance strategy by which the state will meet the act'
s greenhouse gas emission requirements by 2020.
(b) Transportation is the single largest contributor to the state'
s greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 37 percent of all
emissions. Three-fourths of all transportation emissions come from
single passenger vehicle use. Statewide greenhouse gas emissions
increased 10 percent from 1990 to 2008, but emissions from the
transportation sector grew even faster, at 16 percent.
(c) In 2008, the Legislature enacted Chapter 728 of the Statutes
of 2008, which requires metropolitan planning organizations to adopt
regional transportation and development plans to reduce VMT. It is in
the interest of the state to augment these efforts and achieve
further VMT reductions by the adoption of measures that are applied
to individual residential and commercial buildings and projects.
SEC. 2. Section 21099 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
21099. (a) Not later than January 1, 2014, the Office of Planning
and Research shall prepare and make available a manual designed to
be used by local governments, local agencies, and project developers
to evaluate and incorporate measures and strategies to reduce vehicle
miles traveled in new residential and commercial building projects.
(b) In preparing the manual required pursuant to subdivision (a),
the Office of Planning and Research shall, at a minimum, do all of
the following:
(1) Identify and evaluate existing measures and strategies for
reducing vehicle miles traveled by occupants or users of new
residential and commercial building projects.
(2) Identify and evaluate existing means by which projected and
actual vehicle-miles-traveled reductions from specific measures and
the efficacy of those measures may be determined.
(3) Identify further research needed to improve the measurement
and evaluation of vehicle-miles-traveled reductions.
(4) Identify and evaluate the costs associated with implementing
vehicle-miles-traveled reduction measures and strategies.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2014, the Office of Planning and
Research shall make recommendations to the Legislature and local
policymakers, as appropriate, of measures to improve the reduction of
vehicle miles traveled related to residential and commercial
building projects.
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be
cited as the Healthy Neighborhoods Act of 2012.
SEC. 2. Section 25402 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
25402. The commission shall, after one or more public hearings,
do all of the following, in order to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic,
inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including the
energy associated with the use of water:
(a) (1) Prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation climate
control system, and other building design and construction standards
that increase the efficiency in the use of energy and water for new
residential and new nonresidential buildings. The commission shall
periodically update the standards and adopt any revision that, in its
judgment, it deems necessary. Six months after the commission
certifies an energy conservation manual pursuant to subdivision (c)
of Section 25402.1, no city, county, city and county, or state agency
shall issue a permit for any building unless the building satisfies
the standards prescribed by the commission pursuant to this
subdivision or subdivision (b) that are in effect on the date an
application for a building permit is filed. Water efficiency
standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be demonstrated
by the commission to be necessary to save energy.
(2) Prior to adopting a water efficiency standard for residential
buildings, the Department of Housing and Community Development and
the commission shall issue a joint finding whether the standard (A)
is equivalent or superior in performance, safety, and for the
protection of life, health, and general welfare to standards in Title
24 of the California Code of Regulations and (B) does not
unreasonably or unnecessarily impact the ability of Californians to
purchase or rent affordable housing, as determined by taking account
of the overall benefit derived from water efficiency standards.
Nothing in this subdivision in any way reduces the authority of the
Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt standards
and regulations pursuant to Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910)
of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) Water efficiency standards and water conservation design
standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision (b)
shall be consistent with the legislative findings of this division to
ensure and maintain a reliable supply of electrical energy and be
equivalent to or superior to the performance, safety, and protection
of life, health, and general welfare standards contained in Title 24
of the California Code of Regulations. The commission shall consult
with the members of the coordinating council as established in
Section 18926 of the Health and Safety Code in the development of
these standards.
(b) (1) Prescribe, by regulation, energy and water conservation
design standards for new residential and new nonresidential
buildings. The standards shall be performance standards and shall be
promulgated in terms of energy consumption per gross square foot of
floorspace, but may also include devices, systems, and techniques
required to conserve energy and water. The commission shall
periodically review the standards and adopt any revision that, in its
judgment, it deems necessary. A building that satisfies the
standards prescribed pursuant to this subdivision need not comply
with the standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a). Water
conservation design standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision
shall be demonstrated by the commission to be necessary to save
energy. Prior to adopting a water conservation design standard for
residential buildings, the Department of Housing and Community
Development and the commission shall issue a joint finding whether
the standard (A) is equivalent or superior in performance, safety,
and for the protection of life, health, and general welfare to
standards in the California Building Standards Code and (B) does not
unreasonably or unnecessarily impact the ability of Californians to
purchase or rent affordable housing, as determined by taking account
of the overall benefit derived from the water conservation design
standards. Nothing in this subdivision in any way reduces the
authority of the Department of Housing and Community Development to
adopt standards and regulations pursuant to Part 1.5 (commencing with
Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) In order to increase public participation and improve the
efficacy of the standards adopted pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(b), the commission shall, prior to publication of the notice of
proposed action required by Section 18935 of the Health and Safety
Code, involve parties who would be subject to the proposed
regulations in public meetings regarding the proposed regulations.
All potential affected parties shall be provided advance notice of
these meetings and given an opportunity to provide written or oral
comments. During these public meetings, the commission shall receive
and take into consideration input from all parties concerning the
parties' design recommendations, cost considerations, and other
factors that would affect consumers and California businesses of the
proposed standard. The commission shall take into consideration prior
to the start of the notice of proposed action any input provided
during these public meetings.
(3) The standards adopted or revised pursuant to subdivisions (a)
and (b) shall be cost-effective when taken in their entirety and when
amortized over the economic life of the structure compared with
historic practice. When determining cost-effectiveness, the
commission shall consider the value of the water or energy saved,
impact on product efficacy for the consumer, and the life cycle cost
of complying with the standard. The commission shall consider other
relevant factors, as required by Sections 18930 and 18935 of the
Health and Safety Code, including, but not limited to, the impact on
housing costs, the total statewide costs and benefits of the standard
over its lifetime, economic impact on California businesses, and
alternative approaches and their associated costs.
(c) (1) Prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of
operating efficiency, based on a reasonable use pattern, and may
prescribe other cost-effective measures, including incentive
programs, fleet averaging, energy and water consumption labeling not
preempted by federal labeling law, and consumer education programs,
to promote the use of energy and water efficient appliances whose
use, as determined by the commission, requires a significant amount
of energy or water on a statewide basis. The minimum levels of
operating efficiency shall be based on feasible and attainable
efficiencies or feasible improved efficiencies that will reduce the
energy or water consumption growth rates. The standards shall become
effective no sooner than one year after the date of adoption or
revision. No new appliance manufactured on or after the effective
date of the standards may be sold or offered for sale in the state,
unless it is certified by the manufacturer thereof to be in
compliance with the standards. The standards shall be drawn so that
they do not result in any added total costs for consumers over the
designed life of the appliances concerned.
In order to increase public participation and improve the efficacy
of the standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision, the
commission shall, prior to publication of the notice of proposed
action required by Section 18935 of the Health and Safety Code,
involve parties who would be subject to the proposed regulations in
public meetings regarding the proposed regulations. All potential
affected parties shall be provided advance notice of these meetings
and given an opportunity to provide written or oral comments. During
these public meetings, the commission shall receive and take into
consideration input from all parties concerning the parties' design
recommendations, cost considerations, and other factors that would
affect consumers and California businesses of the proposed standard.
The commission shall take into consideration prior to the start of
the notice of proposed action any input provided during these public
meetings.
The standards adopted or revised pursuant to this subdivision
shall not result in any added total costs for consumers over the
designed life of the appliances concerned. When determining
cost-effectiveness, the commission shall consider the value of the
water or energy saved, impact on product efficacy for the consumer,
and the life cycle cost to the consumer of complying with the
standard. The commission shall consider other relevant factors, as
required by Sections 11346.5 and 11357 of the Government Code,
including, but not limited to, the impact on housing costs, the total
statewide costs and benefits of the standard over its lifetime,
economic impact on California businesses, and alternative approaches
and their associated costs.
(2) No new appliance, except for any plumbing fitting, regulated
under paragraph (1), that is manufactured on or after July 1, 1984,
may be sold, or offered for sale, in the state, unless the date of
the manufacture is permanently displayed in an accessible place on
that appliance.
(3) During the period of five years after the commission has
adopted a standard for a particular appliance under paragraph (1), no
increase or decrease in the minimum level of operating efficiency
required by the standard for that appliance shall become effective,
unless the commission adopts other cost-effective measures for that
appliance.
(4) Neither the commission nor any other state agency shall take
any action to decrease any standard adopted under this subdivision on
or before June 30, 1985, prescribing minimum levels of operating
efficiency or other energy conservation measures for any appliance,
unless the commission finds by a four-fifths vote that a decrease is
of benefit to ratepayers, and that there is significant evidence of
changed circumstances. Before January 1, 1986, the commission shall
not take any action to increase a standard prescribing minimum levels
of operating efficiency for any appliance or adopt a new standard
under paragraph (1). Before January 1, 1986, any appliance
manufacturer doing business in this state shall provide directly, or
through an appropriate trade or industry association, information, as
specified by the commission after consultation with manufacturers
doing business in the state and appropriate trade or industry
associations on sales of appliances so that the commission may study
the effects of regulations on those sales. These informational
requirements shall remain in effect until the information is
received. The trade or industry association may submit sales
information in an aggregated form in a manner that allows the
commission to carry out the purposes of the study. The commission
shall treat any sales information of an individual manufacturer as
confidential and that information shall not be a public record. The
commission shall not request any information that cannot be
reasonably produced in the exercise of due diligence by the
manufacturer. At least one year prior to the adoption or amendment of
a standard for an appliance, the commission shall notify the
Legislature of its intent, and the justification to adopt or amend a
standard for the appliance. Notwithstanding paragraph (3) and this
paragraph, the commission may do any of the following:
(A) Increase the minimum level of operating efficiency in an
existing standard up to the level of the National Voluntary Consensus
Standards 90, adopted by the American Society of Heating,
Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers or, for appliances not
covered by that standard, up to the level established in a similar
nationwide consensus standard.
(B) Change the measure or rating of efficiency of any standard, if
the minimum level of operating efficiency remains substantially the
same.
(C) Adjust the minimum level of operating efficiency in an
existing standard in order to reflect changes in test procedures that
the standards require manufacturers to use in certifying compliance,
if the minimum level of operating efficiency remains substantially
the same.
(D) Readopt a standard preempted, enjoined, or otherwise found
legally defective by an administrative agency or a lower court, if
final legal action determines that the standard is valid and if the
standard that is readopted is not more stringent than the standard
that was found to be defective or preempted.
(E) Adopt or amend any existing or new standard at any level of
operating efficiency, if the Governor has declared an energy
emergency as described in Section 8558 of the Government Code.
(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), the commission may adopt
standards pursuant to Commission Order No. 84-0111-1, on or before
June 30, 1985.
(d) Recommend minimum standards of efficiency for the operation of
any new facility at a particular site that are technically and
economically feasible. No site and related facility shall be
certified pursuant to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 25500),
unless the applicant certifies that standards recommended by the
commission have been considered, which certification shall include a
statement specifying the extent to which conformance with the
recommended standards will be achieved.
Whenever this section and Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section
19878) of Part 3 of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code are in
conflict, the commission shall be governed by that chapter of the
Health and Safety Code to the extent of the conflict.
(e) The commission shall do all of the following:
(1) Not later than January 1, 2004, amend any regulations in
effect on January 1, 2003, pertaining to the energy efficiency
standards for residential clothes washers to require that residential
clothes washers manufactured on or after January 1, 2007, be at
least as water efficient as commercial clothes washers.
(2) Not later than April 1, 2004, petition the federal Department
of Energy for an exemption from any relevant federal regulations
governing energy efficiency standards that are applicable to
residential clothes washers.
(3) Not later than January 1, 2005, report to the Legislature on
its progress with respect to the requirements of paragraphs (1) and
(2).
(f) (1) The commission shall, in consultation with the Office of
Planning and Research, the Department of Transportation, and the
State Air Resources Board, prescribe, by regulation, standards to
reduce the vehicle miles traveled by occupants of residential and
nonresidential buildings within the boundaries of a metropolitan
planning organization.
(2) (A) The initial standards prescribed pursuant to this
subdivision shall accomplish a significant reduction of vehicle miles
traveled by occupants of a building relative to the regional average
as established by the appropriate metropolitan transportation
organization.
(B) The standards shall be revised by the commission every three
years to accomplish a gradual decrease in statewide per capita
vehicle miles traveled.
(C) The initial standards and revisions of the standards shall be
consistent with and further the intent of the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code), Chapter 728 of the Statutes
of 2008, and Chapter 469 of the Statutes of 2011.
(D) In developing and revising the standards, the commission shall
consider all feasible and attainable means available to achieve
significant reductions in vehicle miles traveled.
(E) In determining the feasible and attainable means, the
commission shall take into consideration all economic, social, and
environmental costs, over a minimum of a 30-year life cycle for the
state as a whole, and shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(i) Changes in the cost of construction to comply with the
standards.
(ii) Changes in the capital and operational costs of
transportation and utility infrastructure for local and state
government resulting from more compact development.
(iii) Changes in the cost of automobile ownership and operation
necessary for households and businesses.
(iv) Reductions in the costs resulting from harm to life, limb,
and property caused by automobile accidents.
(v) Health impacts of automobile emissions.
(vi) Other environmental, economic, and social costs that result
from the use of an automobile as compared to mass transit, bicycle,
or pedestrian modes of transportation.
(F) The standards developed shall facilitate a local government's
demonstration of progress towards compliance with the requirements of
the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
(3) (A) The standards prescribed by this subdivision shall apply
to new residential and nonresidential buildings, and to modification
of existing residential and nonresidential buildings that increases
the transportation needs of occupants of those buildings.
(B) The standards shall apply only to residential and
nonresidential buildings located within the boundaries of a
metropolitan planning organization.
(C) The standards do not apply to modification of a residential or
nonresidential building that does not increase the gross square
footage of that building.
(D) The standards do not apply to modification of an existing
residential building that does not increase the number of residential
units of the building.
(4) To increase public participation and improve the efficiency of
the standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision, the commission
shall, prior to publication of the notice of proposed action required
by Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, involve parties that would be
subject to the proposed regulations in public meetings regarding the
proposed regulations. All potentially affected parties shall be
provided advance notice of these meetings and given an opportunity to
provide written or oral comments. During these public meetings, the
commission shall receive and take into consideration input from all
parties concerning the parties' cost considerations and other factors
that would affect consumers and California businesses subject to the
proposed standard. The commission shall take into consideration
prior to the notice of proposed action any input provided during
these public meetings.
(5) Upon the adoption of the standards, the commission shall
publish the standards in the energy conservation manual certified
pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 25402.1. The
standards shall be effective six months after the adoption and
publication of the standards in the energy conservation manual.
(6) The commission shall determine means of demonstrating
compliance with standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision that
include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Project location relative to existing destinations and the
walkability, bikeability, and transit access existing in the
immediate area of the building.
(B) Physical design factors of the proposed building or proposed
modification of the building that impact walkability, bikeability,
and transit access for the occupants of the building both onsite and
offsite.
(C) Programs that accommodate reduction in the building occupants'
vehicle miles traveled, such as carpooling or transit pass
subsidies.
(D) (i) Offsite offset measures that reduce the vehicle miles
traveled within the jurisdiction of the local government in which the
building is located when location and onsite design measures would
not accomplish the vehicle mile traveled reduction required by the
standards.
(ii) Each local jurisdiction shall maintain a list of projects or
programs that would reduce the vehicle miles traveled and the
estimated vehicle miles traveled reduction for the listed projects
and programs.
(iii) Offsite offset measures may include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(I) Endowing a new bus line or an upgrade in service for an
existing bus line in the immediate neighborhood of the building or in
an area in the jurisdiction where efficacy for reducing vehicle
miles traveled is high.
(II) Funding or undertaking improvements to walkability,
bikeability, or transit access in another area within the
jurisdiction.
(III) Endowing trip reduction programs in other areas in
the jurisdiction.
(IV) Priority shall be given to offsite offset measures that have
the most cost-effective vehicle miles traveled reduction achievable,
such as measures in existing denser and mixed-use areas.
(7) Means of demonstrating compliance with the standards adopted
pursuant to this subdivision shall not include means that do not
reduce automobile vehicle miles traveled, such as energy efficiency
of structures, use of alternative fuel, or fuel-efficient vehicles,
and site design features, such as reduced pavement.
SEC. 3. Section 25402.1 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
25402.1. (a) In order to implement the requirements of
subdivisions (a), (b), and (f) of Section 25402, the commission shall
do all of the following:
(1) Develop a public domain computer program which will enable
contractors, builders, architects, engineers, and government
officials to estimate the energy consumed by residential and
nonresidential buildings and the vehicle miles traveled by the
occupants of those buildings. The commission may charge a fee for the
use of the program, which fee shall be based upon the actual cost of
the program, including any computer costs.
(2) Establish a formal process for certification of compliance
options for new products, materials, and calculation methods which
provides for adequate technical and public review to ensure accurate,
equitable, and timely evaluation of certification applications.
Proponents filing applications for new products, materials, and
calculation methods shall provide all information needed to evaluate
the application that is required by the commission. The commission
shall publish annually the results of its certification decisions and
instructions to users and local building officials concerning
requirements for showing compliance with the building standards for
new products, materials, or calculation methods. The commission may
charge and collect a reasonable fee from applicants to cover the
costs under this subdivision. Any funds received by the commission
for purposes of this subdivision shall be deposited in the Energy
Resources Programs Account and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, are continuously appropriated to the commission for
the purposes of this subdivision. Any unencumbered portion of funds
collected as a fee for an application remaining in the Energy
Resources Programs Account after completion of the certification
process for that application shall be returned to the applicant
within a reasonable period of time.
(3) Include a prescriptive method of complying with the standards,
including design aids such as a manual, sample calculations, and
model structural designs.
(4) Conduct a pilot project of field testing of actual residential
buildings to calibrate and identify potential needed changes in the
modeling assumptions to increase the accuracy of the public domain
computer program specified in subdivision (a) and to evaluate the
impacts of the standards, including, but not limited to, the energy
savings, cost effectiveness, reduction in vehicle miles traveled, and
the effects on indoor air quality. The pilot project shall be
conducted pursuant to a contract entered into by the commission. The
commission shall consult with the participants designated pursuant to
Section 9202 of the Public Utilities Code to seek funding and
support for field monitoring in each public utility service
territory, with the University of California to take advantage of its
extensive building monitoring expertise, and with the California
Building Industry Association to coordinate the involvement of
builders and developers throughout the state, when appropriate. The
pilot project shall include periodic public workshops to develop
plans and review progress. The commission shall prepare and submit a
report to the Legislature on progress and initial findings not later
than December 31, 1988, and a final report on the results of the
pilot project on residential buildings not later than June 30, 1990.
The report shall include recommendations regarding the need and
feasibility of conducting further monitoring of actual residential
and nonresidential buildings. The report shall also identify any
revisions to the public domain computer program, energy conservation
standards, and the standards prescribed by subdivision (f) of Section
25402 if the pilot project determines that revisions are
appropriate.
(5) Certify, not later than 180 days after approval of the
standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
25402 by the State Building Standards Commission, or after the
adoption of the standards prescribed pursuant to subdivision (f) of
Section 25402, an energy conservation manual for use by designers,
builders, and contractors of residential and nonresidential
buildings. The manual shall be furnished upon request at a price
sufficient to cover the costs of production and shall be distributed
at no cost to all affected local agencies. The manual shall contain,
but not be limited to, the following:
(A) The standards for energy conservation established by the
commission.
(B) Forms, charts, tables, and other data to assist designers and
builders in meeting the standards.
(C) Design suggestions for meeting or exceeding the standards.
(D) Any other information which the commission finds will assist
persons in conforming to the standards.
(E) Instructions for use of the computer program for calculating
energy consumption in residential and nonresidential buildings.
(F) The prescriptive method for use as an alternative to the
computer program.
(G) The standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
25402.
(H) Coefficients and algorithms used to determined the vehicle
miles traveled reduction and the economic, social, and environmental
costs using the best analysis available.
(6) Conduct research to increase the accuracy of the tools needed
for the measurement of vehicle miles traveled.
(7) Establish a continuing program of technical assistance to
local building departments in the enforcement of subdivisions (a),
(b), and (f) of Section 25402 and this section. The program shall
include the training of local officials in building technology and
enforcement procedures related to energy conservation, and the
development of complementary training programs conducted by local
governments, educational institutions, and other public or private
entities. The technical assistance program shall include the
preparation and publication of forms and procedures for local
building departments in performing the review of building plans and
specifications. The commission shall provide, on a contract basis, a
review of building plans and specifications submitted by a local
building department, and shall adopt a schedule of fees sufficient to
repay the cost of those services.
(b) Subdivisions (a), (b), and (f) of Section 25402 and this
section, and the rules and regulations of the commission adopted
pursuant those provisions, shall be enforced by the building
department of every city, county, or city and county.
(1) A building permit for a residential or nonresidential building
shall not be issued by a local building department, unless a review
by the building department of the plans for the proposed residential
or nonresidential building contains detailed energy system and
vehicle miles traveled specifications and confirms that the building
satisfies the minimum standards established pursuant to subdivision
(a) or (b) and subdivision (f) of Section 25402, and this section
that are applicable to the building.
(2) Where there is no local building department, the commission
shall enforce subdivisions (a), (b), and (f) of Section 25402 and
this section.
(3) If a local building department fails to enforce subdivisions
(a), (b), and (f) of Section 25402 and this section or any other
provision of this chapter or standard adopted pursuant thereto, the
commission may provide enforcement after furnishing 10 days' written
notice to the local building department.
(4) A city, county, or city and county may, by ordinance or
resolution, prescribe a schedule of fees sufficient to pay the costs
incurred in the enforcement of subdivisions (a), (b), and (f) of
Section 25402 and this section. The commission may establish a
schedule of fees sufficient to pay the costs incurred by that
enforcement.
(5) The construction of a state building shall not commence until
the Department of General Services or the state agency that otherwise
has jurisdiction over the property reviews the plans for the
proposed building and certifies that the plans satisfy the minimum
standards established pursuant to Chapter 2.8 (commencing with
Section 15814.30) of Part 10b of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, subdivision (a) or (b) and subdivision (f) of
Section 25402, and this section that are applicable to the building.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25402 and this section
shall apply only to new residential and nonresidential buildings on
which actual site preparation and construction have not commenced
prior to the effective date of rules and regulations adopted pursuant
to those sections that are applicable to those buildings. Those
sections shall not prohibit either of the following:
(1) The enforcement of state or local energy conservation or
energy insulation standards, adopted prior to the effective date of
rules and regulations adopted pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of
Section 25402 and this section with regard to residential and
nonresidential buildings on which actual site preparation and
construction have commenced prior to that date.
(2) The enforcement of city or county energy conservation or
energy insulation standards, whenever adopted, with regard to
residential and nonresidential buildings on which actual site
preparation and construction have not commenced prior to the
effective date of rules and regulations adopted pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25402 and this section, if the
city or county files the basis of its determination that the
standards are cost effective with the commission and the commission
finds that the standards will require the diminution of energy
consumption levels permitted by the rules and regulations adopted
pursuant to those sections. If, after two or more years after the
filing with the commission of the determination that those standards
are cost effective, there has been a substantial change in the
factual circumstances affecting the determination, upon application
by any interested party, the city or county shall update and file a
new basis of its determination that the standards are cost effective.
The determination that the standards are cost effective shall be
adopted by the governing body of the city or county at a public
meeting. If, at the meeting on the matter, the governing body
determines that the standards are no longer cost effective, the
standards shall, as of that date, be unenforceable and no building
permit or other entitlement shall be denied based on the
noncompliance with the standards.
(d) The commission may exempt from the requirements of this
section and of any regulations adopted pursuant to this section any
proposed building for which compliance would be impossible without
substantial delays and increases in cost of construction, if the
commission finds that substantial funds have been expended in good
faith on planning, designing, architecture or engineering prior to
the date of adoption of the regulations.
(e) If a dispute arises between an applicant for a building
permit, or the state pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (g),
and the building department regarding interpretation of Section 25402
or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, either party may submit
the dispute to the commission for resolution. The commission's
determination of the matter shall be binding on the parties.
(f) Section 25130, 25131, 25402, or this section does not prevent
the enforcement of any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter,
or Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 19878) of Part 3 of Division
13 of the Health and Safety Code as they existed prior to September
16, 1977.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this
act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.