Bill Text: CA AB2382 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Light pollution control.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2022-09-23 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2382 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2382-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 30, 2022

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 20, 2022

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 31, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2382

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Introduced by Assembly Member Lee

February 17, 2022

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An act to add Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 11900) to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2382, as amended, Lee. Light pollution control.

Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code.

Existing law, the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act, requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt, among other regulations, lighting and other building design and construction standards that increase efficiency in the use of energy for new residential and nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including energy associated with the use of water, and to manage energy loads to help maintain electrical grid reliability. Existing law also requires the commission to adopt standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency and other cost-effective measures to promote the use of certain energy- and water-efficient appliances.

This bill would require, with certain exceptions, a state agency, as defined, to ensure that between the hours of 11 p.m. and sunrise, an outdoor lighting fixture that is installed or replaced on a building or structure on or after January 1, 2023, that is owned, leased, or managed by a state agency to meet prescribed standards, such as requiring that fixture to be motion activated with a duration of fewer than 15 minutes and equipped with an automatic shutoff device.

This bill would require the Department of General Services to develop and make available to the public educational materials relating to compliance with the act and encouraging the reduction of light pollution, as specified.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 11900) is added to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

CHAPTER  12. Light Pollution Control

Article  1. General Provisions and Definitions

11900.

 The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this chapter is to regulate outdoor night lighting to preserve and enhance the state’s dark sky while promoting safety for people, birds, and other wildlife, conserving energy, reducing our carbon footprint, and preserving the aesthetic qualities of the night sky.

11901.

 For purposes of this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:

(a)“Department” means the Department of General Services.

(b)

(a) “Outdoor lighting fixture” means an outdoor artificial illuminating device, whether permanent or portable, including, but not limited to, artificial illuminating devices installed on a building or structure and used for illumination or advertisement, including, but not limited to, searchlights, spotlights, and floodlights, used for architectural lighting, parking lot lighting, landscape lighting, billboards, or street lighting.

(c)

(b) “Shield” means to cover in a manner that light rays emitted by the fixture, either directly from the lamp or indirectly from the fixture, are projected below a horizontal plane running through the lowest point on the fixture where the light is emitted.

(d)

(c) “State agency” means a state agency as defined in Section 11000.

Article  2. Lighting Fixtures

11902.

 Except as specified in Section 11903, a state agency shall ensure that between the hours of 11 p.m. and sunrise, an outdoor lighting fixture that is installed or replaced on a building or structure on or after January 1, 2023, that is owned, leased, or managed by the state agency is any of the following:

(a) Shielded.

(b) Extinguished by an automatic or manual shutoff device.

(c) Motion activated with a duration of fewer than 15 minutes and equipped with an automatic shutoff device.

11903.

 All of the following are exempt from this chapter:

(a) Outdoor lighting fixtures on advertisement signs on interstate highways and federal primary highways.

(b) Navigational lighting systems at airports and other lighting necessary for aircraft safety pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration, including, but not limited to, lighting placed on communication towers or wind turbines.

(c) Outdoor lighting fixtures that are necessary for worker safety, including, but not limited to, lights at agricultural facilities, and industrial, manufacturing, or commercial sites.

(d) Emergency lighting that is used by police, firefighters, correctional personnel, or medical personnel and that is in operation as long as the emergency exists.

(e) Outdoor lighting regulated pursuant to federal law, rule, or regulation that preempts state law.

(f) Lighting intended for tunnels and roadway underpasses.

(g) Outdoor lighting used for programs, projects, or improvements of a state agency relating to construction, reconstruction, improvement, or maintenance of a street or highway.

(h) Outdoor lighting used for construction or major renovation of state agency buildings, structures, and facilities.

(i) Street light fixtures if the shielding is unavailable from the manufacturer.

(j) Incandescent fixtures of 150 watts or fewer and other sources of fewer than 70 watts, including, but not limited to, seasonal and decorative lighting.

3.Education

11904.

The department shall do all of the following:

(a)Develop educational materials to encourage the reduction of light pollution.

(b)Develop educational materials regarding compliance with the requirements of this chapter, including examples of conforming lighting fixtures that conform to the requirements specified in Section 11902 and the exemptions provided pursuant to Section 11903.

(c)Make educational materials developed pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) available to the public.