BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2270
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 2270 (Ting) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : California Building Standards Commission: advisory
panels.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Building Standards
Commission (CBSC) to appoint individuals from the energy and
resource efficiency professions to appropriate advisory panels
that advise the CBSC and its staff with respect to building
standards. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC)
to appoint individuals from the energy and resource efficiency
professions to appropriate advisory panels that advise the
CBSC and its staff with respect to building standards.
2)States that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to promote the creation of energy and resource
efficient homes in California.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the CBSC within the Department of General
Services, under the California Building Standards Law, and
requires any building standard adopted or proposed by state
agencies to be submitted to, and approved by, the CBSC prior
to codification. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 18920,
18930)
2)Requires building standards to be filed with the Secretary of
State and codified into the California Building Standards Code
only after they have been approved by CBSC, and prohibits the
standards from being published in any other title of the
California Code of Regulations. (HSC 18938, 18940)
3)Requires members of CBSC to be selected from and represent the
public, design professions, the building and construction
industry, local government building officials, fire and safety
officials, and labor, including at least one member who is
experienced and knowledgeable in building energy efficiency
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standards and one member who is experienced and knowledgeable
in sustainable building, design, construction, and operation,
as specified. (HSC 18921)
4)Authorizes CBSC to appoint from the design professions, the
building and construction industry, the affected general
public, and interested governmental agencies, appropriate
advisory panels to advise CBSC and its staff with respect to
building standards. (HSC 18927)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would codify existing
practices and expressly authorize CBSC to appoint individuals
from the energy and resource efficiency professions to its
advisory panels to strengthen and promote California's
commitment to sustainable building practices. This bill is
author sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "In 2010, (CBSC)
approved the California Green Building Standards Code
(CALGREEN) with which all new buildings in California must
comply. CALGREEN is the first mandatory statewide green
building code adopted in the nation and requires all
residential and commercial developers to implement building
standards such as a 20% reduction in indoor water use,
compliance with energy efficiency standards promulgated by the
California Energy Commission, and use of low-pollutant
emitting construction and finishing materials?
"As is the case with the other portions of the building
standards code, CALGREEN is revisited and updated every three
years by the CBSC. Current law authorizes six code advisory
committees that advise the CBSC and its staff on proposed
building standards. Advisory committee members are appointed
by the CBSC from the design professions, the building and
construction industry, the affected general public, and
interested governmental agencies. As the building standards
code evolves to account for more energy and resource
efficiency measures, it is important to ensure that the CBSC
is able to draw upon the knowledge and qualifications of
experts in the field.
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"AB 2270 would expressly authorize the CBSC to appoint
individuals from the energy and resource efficiency
professions to its advisory panels. Utilizing the expertise
of energy and resource efficiency professionals will help
strengthen California's building codes and further demonstrate
California's commitment to sustainable construction
practices."
3)Buildings standards and advisory committees . The California
Building Standards Law establishes CBSC and the process for
adopting state building standards. Under this process, state
agencies propose building standards for building types under
their jurisdiction, which the CBSC must then adopt, modify, or
reject. The CBSC publishes the California Building Standards
Code every three years, and its supplements, such as the
California Green Building Standards Code, in intervening
years.
Under current law, the CBSC is comprised of 11 members who
represent the public, building design professions, the
building and construction industry, local government building
officials, fire and safety officials, and labor, and must
include at least one member who is experienced and
knowledgeable in building energy efficiency standards and one
member who is experienced and knowledgeable in sustainable
building, design, construction, and operation.
Within the office of the Executive Director of the CBSC is a
coordinating council, which is chaired by the Executive
Director and has representatives appointed by various state
agencies, that, among other things, works with agencies to
develop proposals for building standards. In addition, CBSC
is authorized to appoint to these advisory panels persons from
the design professions, the building and construction
industry, the affected general public, and interested
governmental agencies to advise CBSC and its staff with
respect to building standards. Panel appointees are required
to be knowledgeable and qualified in the type of work embraced
by the building standards in question.
Administrative regulations require CBSC to establish the
following standing code advisory committees: accessibility;
plumbing, electrical, mechanical and energy (PEME); building,
fire, and other regulations; structural design/lateral forces;
health facilities; and green building. CBSC already solicits
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nominations from energy and resource efficiency professions
for some advisory committees. Currently, CBSC is required to
solicit nominations for a voting member of the PEME committee
from an environmental/energy organization, and nominations for
voting members of the green building committee who are
mechanical or electrical engineers or energy/building
performance specialists.
This bill would expressly authorize CBSC to appoint energy and
resource efficiency professionals to these advisory
committees, which would codify existing practices to promote
the use of energy and resource efficiency professionals on
these committees and reinforce the state's commitment to
sustainable building standards.
4)Prior legislation . AB 930 (Gordon), Chapter 399, Statutes of
2011, required that at least one member of CBSC be a person
who is experienced and knowledgeable in sustainable building,
design, construction, and operation.
AB 1058 (Laird) of 2007 would have required the Department of
Housing and Community Development and ultimately the Building
Standards Commission to adopt best practices and building
standards related to green building, and would have required
the advisory panels to also advise the CBSC with respect to
green building standards. That bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Eunie Linden / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301