News for California Building Departments
Issue 5, January - March 2005

Important Dates

What's Up With The State?

• The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) conducted a public hearing on January 19, 2005, in Sacramento. Chairperson Fred Aguiar, swore in Stephen Jensen and Richard Sawhill as new commissioners appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to fill recently vacated seats. Stephen Jensen of Santa Rosa, has been the Building Official of the counties of Lake and Marin, and recently became the Building Official of the City of Napa. Richard Sawhill III, of Fontana, is currently executive vice president of the Air Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Mechanical Contractors Association of Southern California. Previously, he served as director of human resources for the Hussmann Corporation. Both new commissioners are subject to Senate confirmation.

• At this same hearing, the state agency members of CBSC's Coordinating Council were called to report the status of their work to adopt the 2003 NFPA 5000 Building Code. The oral reports by the departments revealed little to no progress because of the unresolved copyright concerns. The state adopting agencies have asked the NFPA to provide evidence that all supplemental code language presented after the NFPA 5000 was selected in July 2003, now totally more than 300 pages, is the product of a consensus process and that the NFPA has copyright to the language. An NFPA attorney testified that there is no copyright violation because no one has copyright to a code requirement, but only to the “way it is said”. Two codes may have the same dimensional requirement for a particular subject and not be in violation of each other's copyrights, the NFPA attorney explained. The CBSC directed the Coordinating Council to meet and come to the March 16, 2005 hearing with a resolution or recommendation on how to proceed with the work of adopting a new building code. The Coordinating Council is now scheduled to meet at 10:00 a.m., on February 8, 2005, at 1500 11th Street, First Floor Auditorium, Sacramento, CA 95814.

• The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) has changed the effective date of the 2004 Edition of the California Electrical Code based on the 2002 National Electrical Code. Publication planned for January 3, 2005 for an effective date for local enforcement of July 1, 2005, has been delayed due to printing difficulties. The new date of publication is to be February 2, 2005 with an effective date of August 1, 2005. That means the 2004 California Electrical Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 3) will apply to any project in California where the application for a permit is received by the building department having jurisdiction on or after August 1, 2005. The Commission advises that the new code may be purchased from various book stores that carry technical books or from its publisher: BNi Publications, Inc, 1-888-264-7483, or through their website (www.bnibooks.com). Periodically, the Commission publishes errata and supplements to Title 24, which are included in the purchase cost.

• The (CBSC) has made available for public review, a monograph of proposed adoptions and amendments by several state agencies to the California Building Standards Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24). Numerous changes are proposed, including:

  1. A complete rewrite of California Building Code Chapter 11A on multifamily dwelling accessibility.

  2. Amendments to California Building Code Chapter 11B for compatibility with federal access requirements and corrections of technical errors.

  3. Numerous amendments to the 2001 California Building Code

  4. Adoption of the 2003 Uniform Plumbing Code and 2003 Uniform Mechanical Code.

  5. Amendments to the 2001 California Fire Code.

• The CBSC's Code Advisory Committees will hold meetings during January and February 2005, which are open to the public, to consider the proposed adoptions and amendments, and to provide the CBSC a recommendation for action. The text of the proposals and the dates and locations of the committee meetings are available on the CBSC's website. You may request to receive future code change proposals from the CBSC in CD ROM format by U.S. Mail.

• During December 2004, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) conducted public hearings in order to obtain public comment on proposed regulations to establish a model universal design and visitability ordinance for voluntary adoption by local government (AB 2787, Stats. of 2002, Health & Safety Code section 17959) and a draft universal design options checklist for use by housing builders and buyers (AB 1400, Stats. of 2003, Health & Safety Code section 17959.6). HCD is currently considering suggested changes and comments regarding the proposals received during those hearings. Find more information at HCD's website for the State Housing Law program.

• The California Energy Commission has the 2005 Standards that become effective on October 1, 2005, and a two-page and 12 page summary of the changes on their website. The CEC is working to update their website training videos to include the 2005 Standards.

• Cross-linked Polyethylene (PEX) The most recent court ruling means the state will need to perform an environmental impact study as part of the documentation to adopt PEX piping. While the battle over the inclusion of PEX in the California Building Standard Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24) continues, local government has two ways of approving the use of PEX. First, as an alternate material as permitted by Health and Safety Code section 17951(e) in housing construction, secondly by Health and Safety Code sections 17958.5 and 18941.5, which allow local modifications to Title 24 requirements for local climatic, geological or topographic conditions.

2005 Legislation of Interest to Building Departments

The 2005/2006 Legislative Session is underway. At this time of year many bills have not taken shape. There are several bills that appear to be of interest to building departments but do not include the proposed language. They have been introduced as placeholders, commonly known as “spot bills”. After several weeks language will be added, and the bills will make their way through the Legislative Council’s Office and the schedules for legislative committee hearings will be established. At this time, only the following bills are in such form that we can see the intent and impact on building departments.

1. Senate Bill 1, similar to last year’s Senate Bill 1652 that did not pass, if enacted as introduced, will require the use of solar photovoltaic energy in production housing construction.

2. Senate Bill 40, if enacted as introduced, will add improved means and alternate penalties when an owner of a mobile home park fails to correct violations when ordered to do so. The appointment of a receiver, liens against the property, and use of penalties to fund the corrections of violations and nuisances are among the proposed enforcement improvements.

Did You Know?

Ever wonder when to apply a new standard or code? In regard to building standards, California state law answers this question in Health and Safety Code section 18938.5(a), which reads: Only those building standards approved by the commission, and that are effective at the local level at the time an application for a building permit is submitted, shall apply to the plans and specifications for, and to the construction performed under, that building permit. Paragraph “b” of this section provides the rule for applying local building standard ordnances to construction projects. Read it for yourself at the website for California state laws. In the case of state law, the effective date is often the following January 1. Sometimes the enacting legislation will establish an effective date like in the case of Senate Bill 1025 of 2003 discussed herein about townhomes, which established an effective date of July 1, 2005.

Useful Websites

Free training videos

www.consumerenergycenter.org

Current and prior year legislation

www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html

State regulations other than Title 24

ccr.oal.ca.gov/

State laws

www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

International Code Council

www.iccsafe.org

National Fire Protection Association

www.nfpa.org

Int'l Assoc of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials

www.iapmo.org