Global Warming Threat Drives New Green Building Standards for California Homes

Assembly Committee Approves Bill to Create First-ever Statewide Residential Green Building Plan

SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) today announced the Assembly Natural Resources Committee has approved a bill that requires development of green building guidelines for new residential construction in California.  The guidelines will emphasize best practices that utilize energy, water and materials efficiently throughout a home’s life cycle, as well as enhance indoor air quality and incorporate environmentally preferable products. 

AB 1058, jointly authored by Assemblymember Lieu (D-Torrance), would require the California Environmental Protection Agency to work with a variety of relevant state agencies to develop “best practice” guidelines.  The bill would allow builders to voluntarily use the guidelines for two years, followed by two years for feedback and revisions.  Then, beginning January 1, 2013, all new homes must be built to the minimum standards created.

“This bill addresses both the moral imperative and the legislative requirement to do more to combat global warming,” said Assemblymember Laird.  “Focusing on residential construction not only meets growing consumer demand for green building standards, doing so is also central to California’s effort to implement last year’s landmark bill on stopping the effects of global warming.”

AB 1058 is a key bill among several moving through the legislature, including two Mr. Laird is strongly supporting:

• AB 888 (Assemblymember Lieu)—green building standards for commercial buildings (Laird as joint-author)
• AB 35 (Assemblymember Ruskin)—sustainable building standards for state-owned buildings (Laird as principal co-author)

 AB 1058 is expected to be heard later this month in the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee.

 Residential Construction Facts

• In 2005 California built approximately 211,000 new units, adding to an existing housing stock of approximately 12.9 million housing units.
• Construction of a typical 2,000 sq. ft. home generates 3-5 tons of waste.
• Cumulatively, California homes use 5.6 million acre-feet of applied water per year and account for roughly 31% of the electricity consumed in the state. 
• It is estimated California will need to build more than 220,000 new homes annually over the next 15 years to accommodate population growth.

Key Benefits of Residential Green Building

• Making homes more energy efficient results in monthly utility savings for residents.
• Using onsite electricity generation (via solar or other methods) reduces the state's dependence on out-of-state power generation, provides electricity back to the grid during the day, saves consumers money, and reduces air-pollution.
• Low-flow water fixtures and water efficient landscaping reduces water demand and lowers monthly bills.
• Creates markets for the material collected through municipal recycling programs.
• Recycling construction waste is often less expensive than disposal.