Existing law, the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, among other things, authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to require the installation of automatic shutoff or remote controlled sectionalized block valves on specified gas pipelines if the commission determines that those valves are necessary for the protection of the public. Existing law also authorizes the governing body of any city or county to enact an ordinance that conforms to specified standards adopted by the State Architect requiring the installation of earthquake sensitive gas shutoff devices in buildings open to the public.
Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, requires 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. Existing law requires the commission to adopt specific building standards, including standards for graywater and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years.
Existing law, the State Housing Law, among other things, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) to propose the adoption, amendment, or repeal of specified building standards related to residential structures in accordance with the California Building Standards Law.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with the Office of the State Architect and the State Fire Marshal, to consider whether to propose for adoption and approval by the California Building Standards Commission, in the code adoption cycle that begins after January 1, 2022, the requirement that seismic gas shutoff devices or excess flow gas shutoff devices, installed on customer-owned gas piping, be installed in all or a portion of dwelling units, motels, hotels, and lodging houses.