Bill Text: CA AB2446 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Assembly Bill 2446 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Embodied carbon emissions: construction materials.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 352, Statutes of 2022. [AB2446 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2446-Enrolled.html

Enrolled August 26, 2022

Passed IN Senate August 23, 2022

Passed IN Assembly August 24, 2022

Amended IN Senate August 11, 2022

Amended IN Senate June 30, 2022

Amended IN Senate June 21, 2022

Amended IN Assembly April 07, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2446

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden
(Coauthor: Senator Becker)

February 17, 2022

An act to add Section 38561.3 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to greenhouse gases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2446, Holden. Embodied carbon emissions: construction materials.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit no later than December 31, 2030.

This bill would require the state board, by July 1, 2025, to develop, in consultation with specified stakeholders, a framework for measuring and then reducing the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses. The bill would require the framework to include a comprehensive strategy for the state’s building sector to achieve a 40% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials, as determined from a baseline calculated using a certain 2026 report, if that report is adequate, or as specified. The bill would require the strategy to achieve this target as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035, with an interim target of 20% net reduction by December 31, 2030. The bill would authorize the state board to adjust the interim target, as provided, and would require the established targets to begin no sooner than January 1, 2027. The bill would require the state board to form and maintain a technical advisory committee, as provided, to, among other things, review information that is required to be submitted by entities that are unable to meet the targets. The bill also would require the state board to research and prioritize actions and provisions that leverage state and federal incentives, as provided, and evaluate measures to support market demand and financial incentives to encourage the production and use of materials used in construction-related projects with low greenhouse gas intensity, as specified.

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

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

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions of greenhouse gas emissions within the next decades, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius will be unattainable.

(2) In 2018, Governor Brown issued Executive Order No. B-55-18, which ordered a statewide goal to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and achieve and maintain net negative emissions thereafter.

(3) Under the updated Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), cities will face significant increases in housing production goals over the next 10 years.

(4) To meet these increased goals from the RHNA, a considerable expansion of construction will have to occur statewide.

(5) In recent years, building decarbonization has become a growing priority for the state. As a result, the State Air Resources Board and State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission may include building decarbonization in future updates to the Scoping Plan and Integrated Energy Policy Report.

(6) The Building Efficiency Standards, codified in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 10-101) of Part 1 of, and Part 6 (commencing with Section 100.0) of, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, address energy and water efficiency requirements for the operation of newly constructed buildings, additions to existing buildings, and alterations to existing buildings.

(7) Those standards do not address the construction phase of buildings or the broader lifecycle impacts beyond direct energy and water inputs during the operation or use phase of the building.

(8) California is currently facing a housing shortage, and it is imperative that the state meet its housing goals. However, meeting those goals should not come at the expense of California’s climate goals. It is the responsibility of the state to find solutions that allow housing and climate targets to reinforce one another.

(9) The rising costs of building materials are a threat to affordable housing in the state.

(10) Through conscious design to reduce materials used and the employment of low-carbon construction materials, the embodied carbon of a building can be reduced with no increased cost to the owner.

(11) There has been a growing early market for low-carbon building materials, including companies inside California. Further growth of this sector can create economic benefits for the state.

(12) There is momentum at the federal and state levels to decarbonize the building sector. California can continue to be a leader on climate by taking early steps to measure and reduce the embodied carbon of building materials.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to establish a low-carbon product standard that would achieve carbon intensity reductions in building materials.

SEC. 2.

Section 38561.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

38561.3.

(a) (1) By July 1, 2025, the state board, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the California Building Standards Commission, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall develop a framework for measuring and then reducing the average carbon intensity of the materials used in the construction of new buildings, including those for residential uses, compared to the baseline. The framework shall include a comprehensive strategy for the state’s building sector to achieve a 40-percent net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of building materials as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035. The baseline for the 40-percent net reduction shall be established based on an industry average of environmental product declarations reported during the 2026 calendar year. The state board shall determine the industry average by consulting recognized databases of environmental product declarations and data submitted to the state board by material manufacturers during the 2026 reporting year. If the state board determines that the environmental product declarations available do not adequately represent the industry as a whole, the state board may use industrywide environmental product declarations based on domestic production data for its calculation of the industry average.

(2) To ensure adequate progress is made toward achieving the goal established in paragraph (1), the state board shall utilize an interim target of 20-percent net reduction by December 31, 2030.

(3) (A) By July 1, 2029, the state board shall evaluate the feasibility and cost impact of achieving the interim target established under paragraph (2). The state board may adjust the interim target upward or downward to reflect technological advancements and progress in addressing barriers to the deployment of greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies and processes in the manufacturing of building materials.

(B) If the state board reduces the interim target of 20-percent net reduction established under paragraph (2), the state board shall document the feasibility and cost impact constraints the state board has identified and recommend measures and actions, including proposed statutory changes, necessary to overcome those constraints to enable the building sector to achieve a 40-percent net reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases of building materials as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035.

(b) The framework developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include both of the following:

(1) A requirement for the submission by an entity undertaking the construction of a project with a minimum size of five new residential units or 10,000 square feet of nonresidential building space of a life-cycle assessment, as defined in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040 series of standards with a focus on the Product Stage phases (A1-A3), to determine the carbon intensity of the materials used in new residential and nonresidential buildings.

(2) A requirement for the submission by the manufacturer of a building material of an Environmental Product Declaration, Type III, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 14025, or similarly robust life-cycle assessment methods that have uniform standards in data collection consistent with ISO Standard 14025, industry acceptance, and integrity for construction materials used for the building. The state board shall determine how to proceed in the event that insufficient life-cycle assessments or Environmental Product Declarations exist, or in the event of significant supply chain issues.

(c) The framework developed pursuant to subdivision (a) may include a tracking and reporting mechanism that would facilitate the achievement of the goals set forth in this section. Except for a fee to reimburse the state board for any administrative costs incurred in administering the reporting mechanism, the state board shall not impose any other charges on the participants in the reporting mechanism authorized under this subdivision.

(d) Based on the information submitted by an entity undertaking the construction of a covered project pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (h), the state board shall evaluate the cost impact and feasibility of implementation, and establish a system for addressing known cost impact and feasibility issues in strategy implementation.

(e) As used in this section the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Feasibility,” in regard to the use of a material, means all of the following:

(A) The material is capable of being installed in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors.

(B) The material does not harm the health or safety of those who install the materials or occupy the building.

(C) The building using the material can be designed to provide an equivalent function and at a minimum, the same useful life, performance, and durability as the building made with baseline materials.

(D) The material is commercially available to the region of the project.

(E) The material has not been involved in a claim for a construction or design defect, breach of express or implied warranty, fraud, or misrepresentation.

(F) The material provides an equivalent function and at least the same useful life, performance, and durability as the baseline material.

(2) (A) “Cost impact” means a significant overall material or operational cost increase or schedule delay resulting from incorporating the lower carbon material.

(B) As used in subparagraph (A), “significant” means an increase of 5 percent or more in the operational or overall material cost at the location of the project or time schedule delay that is attributable to incorporating a lower carbon material compared to the baseline material for which it is a substitute in the project. For purposes of this paragraph, the baseline material shall be the material that would have been used by the entity undertaking the construction of the project if this section did not apply to the project at the time the application for the building permit is submitted for a model home or project pursuant to subdivision (h).

(f) The state board shall allow the entity undertaking the construction of a project to use the same persons as those responsible for the Certificate of Installation pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 10-103 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations in submitting, reporting, notifying, tracking, or otherwise conveying information to the state board.

(g) The targets established by this section shall begin to apply no sooner than January 1, 2027. The applicable target for each residential unit built within a project shall be the target that applied at the time the application was submitted for a building permit of the first model home in the project. For projects that do not use model homes, the applicable target shall be the target in effect at the time of submission of the application for the building permit.

(h) (1) The incorporation of lower carbon materials shall be limited or excluded to the extent that it has a cost impact or is unfeasible. If the entity undertaking the construction of a project finds that it is unable to achieve the applicable target due to unfeasibility or cost impact and there are no alternative materials or methods that are feasible and without cost impact that would allow the project to achieve the target, then the project shall be deemed to comply with the applicable target. In such a case, the entity undertaking the construction of a project shall provide the state board with information that explains the steps they took to meet the target and why they were unable to meet the target.

(2) (A) The state board shall form and maintain a technical advisory committee composed of representatives of building product manufacturers, builders, and design professionals. The technical advisory committee shall review information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1).

(B) After the entity completes the project, the technical advisory committee shall make recommendations to the entity on what steps it could take for future similar projects that would increase the entity’s ability to meet the target.

(C) The state board and the technical advisory committee shall not have the authority to approve, deny, or delay the planning, use, development, design, or construction of a project.

(i) The provisions of this section do not apply to appliances.

(j) For purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code), no adverse environmental impact associated with the manufacture of building materials may be attributed, directly or indirectly, to the project incorporating the building material. This subdivision does not relieve the entity undertaking the construction of a covered project from complying with any other provision within this section.

(k) The state board shall do both of the following:

(1) Research and prioritize actions and provisions that leverage state and federal incentives, where applicable, to reduce costs of implementing greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies, processes, and materials used in construction-related projects for the construction industry, homeowners, and developers, and to increase economic value for the state.

(2) Evaluate measures to support market demand and financial incentives to encourage the production and use of materials used in construction-related projects with low greenhouse gas intensity, including, but not limited to, consideration of both of the following measures:

(A) Measures to expedite the adoption for use in projects undertaken by state agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of General Services.

(B) Measures to provide financial support and incentives for research, development, and demonstration of technologies to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases from the manufacture of materials used in construction-related projects, with the objective of accelerating commercial availability of those technologies.