Bill Text: CA AB1013 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Energy: public domain computer program: home energy rating.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB1013 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB1013-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1013 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Quirk
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Sections 25402.1 and 25942 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1013, as amended, Quirk. Energy: public domain computer
program: home energy rating.
(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission to 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. Existing law also requires the commission to prescribe, by
regulation, energy and water conservation design standards for new
residential and new nonresidential buildings. In order to implement
these requirements, existing law requires the commission to develop a
public domain computer program that enables contractors, builders,
architects, engineers, and government officials to estimate energy
consumed by residential and nonresidential buildings.
This bill would require the commission to approve and make
publicly available, not less than 6 months prior to the effective
date of adopted or updated efficiency standards, a version of the
public domain computer program that will function properly with these
adopted or updated standards. The bill would require the commission,
before approving the public domain computer program for use with
adopted or updated standards, to perform preliminary tests of the
public domain computer program using common examples of residential
and nonresidential buildings and building systems to ensure the
usability of the program. The bill would require the commission to
make the results of those preliminary tests publicly available.
(2) Existing law requires the commission to establish criteria for
adopting a statewide home energy rating program for residential
dwellings.
For existing single-family residential dwellings and multifamily
residential dwellings with up to 4 units, this bill would require the
commission, in administering the statewide home energy rating
program, to ensure that energy assessment tools used
approved by the commission are routinely
adjusted to improve modeling accuracy and to ensure that consumers
receive a notice with the output of the energy assessment tools
explaining the assumptions used in the energy assessment tools and
how they may differ from actual usage patterns.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25402.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
25402.1. In order to implement the requirements of subdivisions
(a) and (b) of Section 25402, all of the following shall apply:
(a) The commission shall develop a public domain computer program
that will enable contractors, builders, architects, engineers, and
government officials to estimate the energy consumed by residential
and nonresidential buildings. The commission may charge a fee for the
use of the program, which shall be based upon the actual cost of the
program, including any computer costs.
(b) The commission shall establish a formal process for
certification of compliance options for new products, materials, and
calculation methods that 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.
(c) The commission shall include a prescriptive method of
complying with the standards, including design aids such as a manual,
sample calculations, and model structural designs.
(d) The commission shall 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, 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, as that section read on December 31, 2003,
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. 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 and energy
conservation standards if the pilot project determines that revisions
are appropriate.
(e) The commission shall certify, not later than 180 days after
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 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:
(1) The standards for energy conservation established by the
commission.
(2) Forms, charts, tables, and other data to assist designers and
builders in meeting the standards.
(3) Design suggestions for meeting or exceeding the standards.
(4) Any other information which the commission finds will assist
persons in conforming to the standards.
(5) Instructions for use of the computer program for calculating
energy consumption in residential and nonresidential buildings.
(6) The prescriptive method for use as an alternative to the
computer program.
(f) The commission shall approve and make publicly available, not
less than six months prior to the effective date of adopted or
updated standards, a version of the public domain computer program
developed pursuant to subdivision (a) that will function properly
with those adopted on updated standards. Before approving the public
domain computer program for use with adopted or updated standards,
the commission shall do both of the following:
(1) Perform preliminary tests of the public domain computer
program using common examples of residential and nonresidential
buildings and building systems to ensure the usability of the public
domain computer program by users of the program, including, but not
limited to, architects, builders, contractors, and local code
enforcement personnel.
(2) Make the results of the preliminary tests publicly available.
(g) The commission shall establish a continuing program of
technical assistance to local building departments in the enforcement
of subdivisions (a) and (b) 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.
(h) Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25402 and this section,
and the rules and regulations of the commission adopted pursuant to
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
specifications and confirms that the building satisfies the minimum
standards established pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
25402 and this section applicable to the building.
(2) Where there is no local building department, the commission
shall enforce subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25402 and this
section.
(3) If a local building department fails to enforce subdivisions
(a) and (b) 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) and (b) 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) of Section 25402, and this
section that are applicable to the building.
(i) 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 provisions 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.
(j) 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.
(k) If a dispute arises between an applicant for a building
permit, or the state pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (h),
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.
( l ) Nothing in Section 25130, 25131, or 25402, or in
this section prevents 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. 2. Section 25942 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25942. (a) The commission shall establish criteria for adopting a
statewide home energy rating program for residential dwellings. The
program criteria shall include, but are not limited to, all of the
following elements:
(1) Consistent, accurate, and uniform ratings based on a single
statewide rating scale.
(2) Reasonable estimates of potential utility bill savings, and
reliable recommendations on cost-effective measures to improve energy
efficiency.
(3) Training and certification procedures for home raters and
quality assurance procedures to promote accurate ratings and to
protect consumers.
(4) In coordination with home energy rating service organization
databases, procedures to establish a centralized, publicly
accessible, database that includes a uniform reporting system for
information on residential dwellings, excluding proprietary
information, needed to facilitate the program. There shall be no
public access to information in the database concerning specific
dwellings without the owner's or occupant's permission.
(5) Labeling procedures that will meet the needs of home buyers,
homeowners, renters, the real estate industry, and mortgage lenders
with an interest in home energy ratings.
(b) The commission shall adopt the program pursuant to subdivision
(a) in consultation with representatives of the Bureau of Real
Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the
Public Utilities Commission, investor-owned and municipal utilities,
cities and counties, real estate licensees, home builders, mortgage
lenders, home appraisers and inspectors, home energy rating
organizations, contractors who provide home energy services, consumer
groups, and environmental groups.
(c) Home energy rating services shall not be performed in this
state unless the services have been certified, if such a
certification program is available, by the commission to be in
compliance with the program criteria specified in subdivision (a)
and, in addition, are in conformity with any other applicable element
of the program.
(d) The commission shall consult with the agencies and
organizations described in subdivision (b), to facilitate a public
information program to inform homeowners, rental property owners,
renters, sellers, and others of the existence of the statewide home
energy rating program adopted by the commission.
(e) The commission shall, as part of the biennial report prepared
pursuant to Section 25302, report on the progress made to implement a
statewide home energy rating program. The report shall include an
evaluation of the energy savings attributable to the program, and a
recommendation concerning which means and methods will be most
efficient and cost-effective to induce home energy ratings for
residential dwellings.
(f) For existing single-family residential dwellings and
multifamily residential dwellings with up to four units, the
commission shall do both of the following in administering the
statewide home energy rating program:
(1) Ensure energy assessment tools used
approved by the commission are routinely adjusted to improve
modeling accuracy.
(2) Ensure that consumers receive a notice with the output of the
energy assessment tools explaining the assumptions used in the energy
assessment tools and how they may differ from actual usage patterns.
