(1) Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety every 3 years, and to publish, or cause to be published, supplements as necessary in the intervening period. Existing law requires all state agencies that adopt or propose to adopt a building standard to submit the building standard to the commission for approval and adoption. Among other things, existing law required the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, also known as the Energy Commission, on or before January 1, 2019, and in consultation with the Contractors State License Board, local building officials, and other stakeholders, to approve a plan that promotes compliance with specified regulations relating to building energy efficiency standards in the installation of central air conditioning and heat pumps, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Existing law, the State Housing Law, requires the department to propose the adoption, amendment, or repeal of building standards to the California Building Standards Commission and to adopt, amend, or repeal rules and regulations for the protection of the health, safety, and general welfare of the occupant and the public relating to specified residential structures, as provided, which apply throughout the state.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to research, develop, and propose for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission for the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code that occurs on or after January 1, 2026, standards that may include, among other things, the use of mechanical ventilation, to achieve a maximum safe indoor air temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit for newly constructed residential dwelling units.
The bill would require the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development, on or before an unspecified date, to each submit a report to the Legislature that includes the standards described above, subject to specified requirements.
(2) Existing law requires the Energy Commission to establish and administer a statewide incentive program for low-carbon building technologies, as provided.
This bill would require the Energy Commission and other relevant departments to develop an inventory of incentive programs that provide incentives for alternative and low-energy cooling strategies, as provided.
(3) The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission and authorizes the commission to establish rules for all public utilities, subject to control by the Legislature. Existing law requires the commission to designate a baseline quantity of gas and electricity that is necessary to supply a significant portion of the reasonable energy needs of the average residential customer. Existing law requires the commission to establish a standard limited allowance that is in addition to the baseline quantity, as provided, of gas and electricity for residential customers dependent on life-support equipment. Existing law requires every electrical and gas corporation to file a schedule of rates and charges providing baseline rates, as provided.
The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that, among other things, the commission modify how baseline rates are calculated for high-heat climate zones to support affordable maintenance of a residential maximum indoor air temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit that results in the average electric bill of households in high-heat climate zones not exceeding 5% of household income.