GREEN BUILDINGS COMMITTEE

Calif. Green Buildings Legislation Round-Up

May, 2022

Update as of June 20, 2022: all of these bills pass through their house of origin, although SB-1393 only squeaked through. They are all currently in the committee process.

We're at the point in the California legislative calendar where bills proposed this year face a floor vote in their house of origin, assuming they can get through the obscure Appropriations committee. Here are four green buildings bills to keep your eye on:

AB-2446 (Holden) and SB-1297 (Cortese) both aim to reduce embodied carbon in buildings. Embodied carbon is the greenhouse gas emissions generated from constructing a building, including emissions generated during production of building materials, such a concrete. Both bills would require the state to evaluate the embodied emissions in new buildings, with Holden's bill setting a goal of reducing the overall GHG intensity of construction of new buildings in the state 80% from 2020 levels by 2045.

The Cortese bill identifies "mass timber" as a possible low embodied carbon alternative to concrete and steel. According to the bill analysis, mass timber is a material made from small-diameter trees, bark beetle-killed trees, and other forest biomass that can be removed from forests as part of forest management that reduces the severity of wildfires. The Sierra Club has cautioned, however, that mass timber cannot be climate-smart unless it comes from climate-smart forestry.

SB-1164 (Stern) seeks to improve enforcement of California's appliance energy standards by creating a registry to track all purchases of HVAC equipment by the contractor license. The main concern is that permits are not being pulled when equipment is installed, allowing poor quality installation to go uncorrected. According to the legislative analysis, studies have found only 8% of HVAC installations in the state in 2014 pulled permits, and that poor quality installation can lead to the loss of 30-40% of the energy savings benefits of energy efficiency improvements.

Finally, SB-1393 (Archuleta) tasks the state Energy Commission (CEC) with publishing guidance for local governments that want to require replacement of fossil fuel-fired appliances with electric appliances. Once the guidance is published, local jurisdictions would need to submit any such rule to the CEC for approval. This bill has been amended to remove many of the most concerning elements, but the prospect of the state slowing or blocking local action when the state has moved very slowly toward electrification is concerning.

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