Bill Text: CA AB1997 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Building codes: earthquake safety: functional recovery standard.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-03 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1997 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB1997-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 16, 2020 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1997
| Introduced by Assembly Member Nazarian |
January 27, 2020 |
An act to add Section 18941.11 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to building standards.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1997, as amended, Nazarian.
Building codes: earthquake safety: functional recovery standard.
The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission (commission) for approval and adoption.
This bill would require the commission, by June 30, 2021, to assemble a functional recovery working group comprised of certain state entities and members of the construction and insurance industries, as specified. The bill would require the working group, by June 30, 2023, to consider whether a “functional recovery” standard is warranted for all or some building occupancy classifications, using specified criteria, and to investigate the practical means of implementing that standard, as specified. The bill would
require the working group to advise the appropriate state agencies to propose the building standards, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to adopt regulations based upon the recommendations from the working group for nonresidential occupancies. The bill would define “functional recovery” for purposes of these provisions, as specified. The bill would provide legislative findings in support of these provisions.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has experienced dozens of disastrous earthquakes, which have caused loss of life, injury, and economic loss. One of the most significant earthquakes in California’s history is the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which, at a magnitude of 6.7, claimed the lives of 60 people and caused estimated property damage of between $13 and $32 billion.
(b) The third Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3), released in 2015, predicted a 60 percent likelihood of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in the Los Angeles
area in the next 30 years and a 72 percent likelihood for the San Francisco Bay area.
(c) According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, each year hazard events lead to failures in buildings and infrastructure, as well as deaths and injuries, short- and long-term displacement of the affected population, adverse health effects, and disruption to the social order related to the impaired functioning of schools, government, and businesses.
(d) Communities would benefit if owners and residents could expect and rely on buildings to maintain their structural integrity and continue to function after a seismic event. Buildings that are able to do so would make it possible to avoid lengthy and costly repairs or rebuilding and related disruptions. However, the primary, longstanding
goal of building codes is to protect lives by reducing the likelihood of immediate substantial damage or structural collapse for a large seismic event, and to provide some level of
property protection.
(e) The United States Congress enacted a reauthorization and amendment to the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program on December 11, 2018.
(f) The act mandates that not later than December 1, 2019, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall jointly convene a committee of experts from federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private sector entities, disaster management professional associations, engineering professional associations, and professional construction and homebuilding industry associations to assess and recommend options for improving the built environment and critical infrastructure to reflect performance goals stated in
terms of postearthquake reoccupancy and functional recovery time.
(g) The act also mandates that not later than June 30, 2020, the committees so convened shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report on recommended options for improving the built environment and critical infrastructure to reflect performance goals stated in terms of postearthquake reoccupancy and functional recovery time.
SEC. 2.
Section 18941.11 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:18941.11.
(a) The Building Standards Commission, by June 30, 2021, shall assemble a functional recovery working group comprised of appropriate public and private sector entities, including, but not limited to:(1) The Department of Housing and Community Development.
(2) The Division of the State Architect.
(3) The Office of the State Fire Marshal.
(4) The Structural Engineers Association of California.
(5) California building
officials.
(6) The insurance industry.
(7) The Building Owners and Managers Association.
(8) Members of the construction industry.
(9) The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.
(10) The California Council of the American Institute of Architects.
(11) The Association of Bay Area Governments.
(12) The Southern California Association of Governments.
(13) The American Society of Civil Engineers.
(14) An economic development organization representing a metropolitan region in the state.
(15) The Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission.
(16) The California Geological Survey.
(17) The International Code Council.
(18) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
(19) The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.
(20) The National Fire Protection Association.
(b) Not later than June 30, 2023, the functional recovery working group shall do all of the following:
(1) (A) Consider whether a “functional recovery” standard is warranted for all or some building occupancy classifications and investigate the practical means of implementing that standard either as a mandate or as a voluntary measure and, to the extent possible, take into account the findings from the upcoming National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program committee report.
(B) If the working
group suggests the development of a voluntary or mandatory standard is warranted, the working group shall assist in the preparation of an estimated cost of compliance for use by the appropriate state agencies in meeting the requirements of clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.2 of the Government Code.
(2) Provide advice to the appropriate state agencies regarding whether the work product of paragraph (1) should apply only to certain specified seismic design categories or to the entire state.
(3) Subsequent to considerations and recommendations made pursuant to paragraph (1), the working group shall advise the appropriate state agencies to propose building standards for consideration by the commission during the next regularly occurring
Triennial or Intervening Code Adoption Cycle taking place after the working group recommendations are issued.
(c) The commission is authorized to adopt regulations based upon the recommendations resulting from the working group for nonresidential occupancies. The Department of Housing and Community Development may adopt regulations based upon the recommendations resulting from the working group for residential occupancies. These regulations shall comply with the requirements of the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(d) For purposes of this section, “functional recovery standard” means a set of enforceable building code provisions and regulations that
provide specific design and construction requirements intended to result in a building for which postearthquake structural and nonstructural capacity are maintained or can be restored to support the basic intended functions of the building’s preearthquake use and occupancy within a maximum acceptable time, where the maximum acceptable time might differ for various uses or occupancies.
