Bill Text: CA SB48 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Building Energy Savings Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 378, Statutes of 2023. [SB48 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB48-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Senate  April 18, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  March 30, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  March 01, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 48

---

Introduced by Senator Becker

December 05, 2022

---

An act to amend Section 25402.10 of, and to add Sections 25402.16 and 25402.17 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to public resources. energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 48, as amended, Becker. Water and Building Energy Savings Act.

Existing law requires each utility to maintain records of the energy usage data of all buildings to which they provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete calendar months, and to deliver or otherwise provide that aggregated energy usage data for each covered building, as defined, to the owner, as specified. Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to adopt regulations providing for the delivery to the Energy Commission and public disclosure of benchmarking of energy use for covered buildings, and specifies that this requirement does not require the owner of a building with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts to collect or deliver energy usage information to the Energy Commission.

This bill would expand those requirements, beginning January 1, 2025, to include each utility that provides water service and its water usage data. By imposing new duties on utilities that provide water service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. additionally specify that the requirement does not require the owner of a building with less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor space to collect or deliver energy usage information to the Energy Commission.

Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards, and energy and water conservation design standards, for new residential and new nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, as specified.

This bill would require the Energy Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board, Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission, and Department of Housing and Community Development, on or before July 1, 2026, to jointly develop a strategy for using the energy and water usage data described above to track and manage the energy and water usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings in order to achieve the state’s goals, targets, and standards related to energy and water usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to submit the strategy to the Legislature on or before August 1, 2026. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission and the State Water Resources Control Board, Commission, upon appropriation, to jointly implement the strategy, strategy for commercial buildings, including by establishing and enforcing building performance standards consistent with the strategy. The bill would require the Energy Commission, as part of the building performance standards, to establish a process by which building owners can propose, and the commission, or a local city or county building department to which the commission delegates this authority, may approve or reject, an alternative compliance plan for unusual circumstances where a covered building cannot reasonably meet one or more of the applicable building performance standards within the required period of time, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission and State Water Resources Control Board to triennially evaluate the progress of the strategy in achieving improvements in energy and water efficiency and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and evaluate the impacts of the strategy on disadvantaged communities, as specified.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

---

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) This shall act be known, and may be cited, as the Water and Building Energy Savings Act.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The state faces parallel challenges of climate change, climate-induced extreme weather and droughts, and affordability for housing and utility expenses.

(2) Improving the energy and water efficiency of our buildings can help address these challenges by reducing utility bills, improving the comfort and habitability of these buildings, reducing energy and water usage, and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

(3) While changes to the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) have dramatically improved the efficiency of energy and water use and lowered utility bills in our newer residential and commercial buildings, older buildings are often far less efficient and are not required to make code-compliant upgrades unless a major renovation is undertaken.

(4) Building performance standards have been enacted in 10 United States jurisdictions as of January 1, 2023, including in New York City and Washington, D.C., and statewide in Washington, Maryland, and Colorado, as a practical policy for requiring large buildings to improve efficiency, lower utility costs for tenants, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, with interim targets that become more stringent over time while giving building owners flexibility and time to plan for how to achieve those requirements.

(5) A focus on improving the performance of large buildings is desirable because large buildings represent a small share of total buildings, but a much larger share of total energy and water usage and emissions of greenhouse gases, and the owners of large buildings are usually more capable of making plans and obtaining capital for the needed improvements than the owners of smaller buildings.

(6) Building performance standards that drive investment in older buildings can create local job opportunities, strengthen climate resilience, and result in healthier, more durable spaces in which to live, learn, and work.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to explore the feasibility of establishing building performance standards for large buildings in order to achieve improvements in energy and water efficiency and reductions of the emissions of greenhouse gases, including measures to ensure that making the necessary investments to improve these buildings will also improve equity and avoid displacement or increased utility burdens, especially in disadvantaged communities.

SEC. 2.Section 25402.10 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25402.10.

(a)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)To “benchmark,” in reference to energy use, means to obtain information on the energy use in an entire building for a specific period to enable that usage to be tracked or compared against other buildings.

(2)“Covered building” means either or both of the following:

(A)Any building with no residential utility accounts.

(B)Any building with five or more active utility accounts, residential or nonresidential.

(3)“Energy” means electricity, natural gas, steam, or fuel oil sold by a utility to a customer for end uses addressed by the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

(4)“ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager” means the tool developed and maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to track and assess the energy performance of buildings.

(b)On and after January 1, 2016, for each utility that provides energy service, and on and after January 1, 2025, for each utility that provides water service, the utility shall maintain records of the energy or water usage data of all buildings to which they provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete calendar months.

(c)(1)Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2), on and after January 1, 2017, for each utility that provides energy service, and on and after January 1, 2025, for each utility that provides water service, the utility shall, upon the request and written authorization or secure electronic authorization of the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building, deliver or otherwise provide aggregated energy or water usage data for a covered building to the owner, owner’s agent, building operator, or to the owner’s account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The commission may specify additional information to be delivered by utilities to enable building owners to complete benchmarking of the energy and water use in their buildings and in other systems or formats for information delivery and automation.

(2)The delivery of information by utilities pursuant to this section shall be subject to the following requirements:

(A)For covered buildings with three or more active utility accounts, each utility shall deliver information showing the aggregated energy or water usage data of all utility customers in the same building for each of the 12 prior months. Notwithstanding any other law, energy and water usage data aggregated in this manner shall not be deemed customer utility usage information or confidential information by the utility for purposes of delivery to the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a building. The building owner and utility shall not have any liability for any use or disclosure of aggregated energy or water usage data delivered as required by this section.

(B)For covered buildings not subject to subparagraph (A), each utility shall deliver the information showing the aggregated energy or water usage data of all utility customers in each covered building for each of the prior 12 months if the accountholder provides written or electronic consent for the delivery of the accountholder’s energy or water usage data, as applicable, to the owner, owner’s agent, operator, or utility.

(C)Each utility shall deliver, upload, or otherwise provide aggregated energy or water usage data within four weeks of receiving a request from an owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building.

(D)Each utility shall make available the covered building energy or water usage data aggregated at a monthly level unless otherwise specified by the commission.

(E)The building owner and utility shall not have any liability for any use or disclosure by others of usage information delivered as required by this section.

(d)The commission, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, shall adopt regulations providing for the delivery to the commission and public disclosure of benchmarking of energy and water use for covered buildings, as follows:

(1)This subdivision does not require the owner of a building with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts to collect or deliver energy or water usage information to the commission.

(2)The commission may do, but is not limited to doing, all of the following in regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision:

(A)Identify and provide for the collection of the energy and water usage data for calculations for purpose of benchmarking of energy and water use.

(B)Identify and provide for the collection of the covered building characteristic information deemed necessary by the commission for the calculations for the purpose of the benchmarking of energy and water use.

(C)Specify the manner in which certain benchmarking of energy and water use shall be publicly disclosed.

(D)Determine which covered buildings, in addition to those described in paragraph (1), are not subject to the public disclosure requirement.

(E)Set a schedule to implement the requirements for public disclosure adopted by the commission.

(F)Determine if compliance with a local or county benchmarking program fulfills the commission’s requirements adopted pursuant to this subdivision.

(G)Identify categories of information it receives pursuant to this section that are protected from release under either the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) or the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).

(3)The commission shall determine who will deliver the energy and water usage data and related information for any covered building to the commission.

(e)The commission may ensure timely and accurate compliance with the data submission requirements of this section by using the enforcement measures identified in Section 25321. An owner of a covered building, or its agents or operators, shall not be liable for any noncompliance due to the failure of a utility to provide the information required for compliance.

(f)For buildings that are not covered buildings, and for customer information that is not aggregated pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the commission, in consultation with the State Water Resources Control Board, may adopt regulations prescribing how utilities shall either obtain the customer’s permission or determine that a building owner has obtained the customer’s permission, for the owner to receive aggregated energy and water usage data or, where applicable, individual customer usage information, including by use of electronic authorization and in a lease agreement between the owner and the customer.

(g)The reasonable costs of an electrical, gas, or water corporation in delivering electrical, gas, or water usage data pursuant to this section or other information as required under state or federal law or by an order of the commission shall be recoverable in rates evaluated and approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

(h)The reasonable costs of local publicly owned electric utilities in disclosing electrical usage data pursuant to this section may be considered “cost-effective demand-side management services to promote energy efficiency and energy conservation” and thereby reimbursable by their general funds.

(i)The reasonable costs of water districts in disclosing water usage data pursuant to this section may be reimbursable by their general funds.

(j)(1)For purposes of adopting or revising regulations pursuant to subdivision (d), the commission may include two or more buildings located on a single parcel or adjacent parcels with the same owner of record and with five or more active utility accounts, in aggregate, residential or nonresidential, as a single covered building, as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(2)A utility shall provide to the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a property containing two or more buildings on a single parcel or adjacent parcels with five or more active utility accounts, in aggregate, residential or nonresidential, upon request of the owner, agent, or operator, aggregate energy or water usage data on all such buildings in a manner provided pursuant to subdivision (c) as if those buildings are a single covered building as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(k)This section does not prevent a city or county from establishing its own benchmarking program requiring collection, delivery, and disclosure of building information.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25402.10 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25402.10.

 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: definitions apply:

(1) To “benchmark,” in reference to energy use, means to obtain information on the energy use in an entire building for a specific period to enable that usage to be tracked or compared against other buildings.

(2) “Covered building” means either or both of the following:

(A) Any building with no residential utility accounts.

(B) Any building with five or more active utility accounts, residential or nonresidential.

(3) “Energy” means electricity, natural gas, steam, or fuel oil sold by a utility to a customer for end uses addressed by the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager system. Manager.

(4) “ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager” means the tool developed and maintained by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to track and assess the energy performance of buildings.

(b) On and after January 1, 2016, each utility shall maintain records of the energy usage data of all buildings to which they provide service for at least the most recent 12 complete calendar months.

(c) (1) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (2), beginning no later than on and after January 1, 2017, each utility shall, upon the request and written authorization or secure electronic authorization of the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building, deliver or otherwise provide aggregated energy usage data for a covered building to the owner, owner’s agent, building operator, or to the owner’s account in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The commission may specify additional information to be delivered by utilities to enable building owners to complete benchmarking of the energy use in their buildings and in other systems or formats for information delivery and automation.

(2) The delivery of information by utilities pursuant to this section shall be subject to the following requirements:

(A) For covered buildings with three or more active utility accounts, each utility shall deliver information showing the aggregated energy usage data of all utility customers in the same building for each of the 12 prior months. Notwithstanding any other law, energy usage data aggregated in this manner shall not be deemed customer utility usage information or confidential information by the utility for purposes of delivery to the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a building. The building owner and utility shall not have any liability for any use or disclosure of aggregated energy usage data delivered as required by this section.

(B) For covered buildings not subject to subparagraph (A), each utility shall deliver the information showing the aggregated energy usage data of all utility customers in each covered building for each of the prior 12 months if the accountholder provides written or electronic consent for the delivery of the accountholder’s energy usage data to the owner, owner’s agent, operator, or utility.

(C) Each utility shall deliver, upload, or otherwise provide aggregated energy usage data within four weeks of receiving a request from an owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a covered building.

(D) Each utility shall make available the covered building energy usage data aggregated at a monthly level unless otherwise specified by the commission.

(E) The building owner and utility shall not have any liability for any use or disclosure by others of usage information delivered as required by this section.

(d) The commission shall adopt regulations providing for the delivery to the commission and public disclosure of benchmarking of energy use for covered buildings, as follows:

(1) This subdivision does not require the owner of a building with less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor space or with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts to collect or deliver energy usage information to the commission.

(2) The commission may do, but is not limited to doing, all of the following in regulations adopted pursuant to this subdivision:

(A) Identify and provide for the collection of the energy usage data for calculations for purpose of benchmarking of energy use.

(B) Identify and provide for the collection of the covered building characteristic information deemed necessary by the commission for the calculations for the purposes purpose of the benchmarking of energy use.

(C) Specify the manner in which certain benchmarking of energy use shall be publicly disclosed.

(D) Determine which covered buildings, in addition to those described in paragraph (1), are not subject to the public disclosure requirement.

(E) Set a schedule to implement the requirements for public disclosure adopted by the commission.

(F) Determine if compliance with a local or county benchmarking program fulfills the commission’s requirements adopted pursuant to this subdivision.

(G) Identify categories of information it receives pursuant to this section that are protected from release under either the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) or the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).

(3) The commission shall determine who will deliver the energy usage data and related information for any covered building to the commission.

(e) The commission may ensure timely and accurate compliance with the data submission requirements of this section by using the enforcement measures identified in Section 25321. An owner of a covered building, or its agents or operators, shall not be liable for any noncompliance due to the failure of a utility to provide the information required for compliance.

(f) For buildings that are not covered buildings, and for customer information that is not aggregated pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the commission may adopt regulations prescribing how utilities shall either obtain the customer’s permission or determine that a building owner has obtained the customer’s permission, for the owner to receive aggregated energy usage data or, where applicable, individual customer usage information, including by use of electronic authorization and in a lease agreement between the owner and the customer.

(g) The reasonable costs of an electrical or gas corporation in delivering electrical or gas usage data pursuant to this section or other information as required under state or federal law or by an order of the commission shall be recoverable in rates evaluated and approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

(h) The reasonable costs of local publicly owned electric utilities in disclosing electrical usage data pursuant to this section may be considered “cost-effective demand-side management services to promote energy efficiency and energy conservation” and thereby reimbursable by their general fund. funds.

(i) (1) For purposes of adopting or revising regulations pursuant to subdivision (d), the commission may include two or more buildings located on a single parcel or adjacent parcels with the same owner of record and with five or more active utility accounts, in aggregate, residential or nonresidential, as a single covered building, as defined described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(2) An electrical or gas utility shall provide to the owner, owner’s agent, or operator of a property containing two or more buildings on a single parcel or adjacent parcels with five or more active utility accounts, in aggregate, residential or nonresidential, upon request of the owner, agent, or operator, aggregate energy usage data on all such buildings in a manner provided pursuant to subdivision (c) as if those buildings are a single covered building building, as defined described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(j) This section does not prevent a city or county from establishing its own benchmarking program requiring collection, delivery, and disclosure of building information.

SEC. 3.

 Section 25402.16 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25402.16.

 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Benchmarking data” means data delivered to the commission pursuant to Section 25402.10.

(2) “Covered building” means any building subject to the benchmarking regulations adopted pursuant to Section 25402.10.

(3) “Disadvantaged communities advisory group” means the advisory group established pursuant to Section 400 of the Public Utilities Code.

(4) “Fuel-related emissions of greenhouse gases” means emissions of greenhouse gases from the onsite usage of fuels or emissions of greenhouse gases from the offsite production of steam or other forms of thermal energy, or from locally generated electricity, as part of a district energy system, but excludes emissions of greenhouse gases associated with electricity from the electrical grid that is used by a covered building.

(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2026, the commission and State Water Resources Control Board, commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission, and Department of Housing and Community Development, shall jointly develop a strategy for using benchmarking data to track and manage the energy and water usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings in order to achieve the state’s goals, targets, and standards related to energy and water usage and emissions of greenhouse gases of covered buildings, including all both of the following goals, targets, or standards: targets:

(A) The annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25310.

(B) The greenhouse gas emission reductions targets for the building sector established by the State Air Resources Board as part of achieving the economywide greenhouse gas emissions reductions required pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code).

(C)Any water usage reduction goals established in the California Water Plan updated pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 10004) of Part 1.5 of Division 6 of the Water Code.

(D)The indoor residential water use standard established in Section 10609.4 of the Water Code.

(E)The urban water use targets developed by each urban retail water supplier pursuant to Section 10608.20 of the Water Code.

(F)The long-term standards for the efficient use of water adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board pursuant to Section 10609.2 of the Water Code.

(2) The strategy may include building performance standards.

(c) In developing the strategy pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall consider and attempt to incorporate into the strategy all of the following:

(1) Avoiding increasing utility and rental cost burdens for, or causing evictions or displacement of, tenants of covered buildings as a result of building upgrades that may be required.

(2) Assessing the feasibility and cost effectiveness cost-effectiveness of building upgrades available to covered building owners for achieving increased energy and water efficiency and reductions of the emissions of greenhouse gases.

(3) Providing flexibility, to the extent feasible, for covered building owners to select among technology options and to align the timing of building upgrades with equipment replacement cycles.

(4) Encouraging equitable access to jobs and other economic opportunities that may result from increased investment in building upgrades.

(5) Authorizing local jurisdictions to implement their own strategies for increasing energy and water efficiency and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases as an alternative to the strategy developed pursuant to subdivision (b) if those strategies are expected to achieve substantially equivalent or better increases in energy and water efficiency and reductions of the emissions of greenhouse gases.

(6) Prioritizing reductions in fuel-related emissions of greenhouse gases because the state has already established targets, pursuant to Section 454.53 of the Public Utilities Code, for reducing, and ultimately eliminating, indirect emissions of greenhouse gases associated with electricity used by buildings.

(d) In developing the strategy pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall consider input from affected stakeholders, including all of the following:

(1) Community-based organizations representing housing, equity, and environmental justice concerns of disadvantaged communities.

(2) Owners or operators of affordable housing.

(3) Groups representing low-income tenants.

(4) Providers of energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewable energy, and building decarbonization equipment and services.

(5) Labor unions that represent workers who implement building upgrades related to, or who manage or service, the energy or water infrastructure of covered buildings.

(6) Technical building design professionals.

(7) Facility operations professionals.

(8) Multiunit residential building owners.

(9) Nonresidential building owners.

(10) Energy and water utilities.

(e) In order to ensure equitable participation and input from stakeholders representing low-income and disadvantaged communities in the development of the strategy pursuant to subdivision (b), the commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall do all of the following:

(1) In coordination with the disadvantaged communities advisory group, hold at least three community advisory meetings in different regions of the state to gather input regarding the proposed strategy.

(2) Consider the feedback and recommendations from the disadvantaged communities advisory group on the proposed strategy in advance of adopting any final strategy and, to the extent that any recommendations are not adopted in the final strategy, provide a written explanation of why the recommendations were not adopted and how the final strategy attempts to address the issues raised in those recommendations in an alternative way.

(3) In consultation with the disadvantaged communities advisory group and other stakeholders, develop metrics to identify how the implementation of the strategy impacts disadvantaged communities and assess whether the strategy is achieving just and equitable outcomes.

(f) (1) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the commission and State Water Resources Control Board may jointly implement the strategy developed pursuant to subdivision (b), (b) for commercial buildings, including by establishing and enforcing building performance standards consistent with the strategy.

(2) A building performance standard established pursuant to this subdivision shall provide covered building owners with at least 15 years to meet the final building performance standard from the date on which the building performance standard is adopted or from the date on which buildings of the same size and usage type are required to start providing, related to the building performance standard, the applicable energy or water usage benchmarking data, whichever is later. The commission and State Water Resources Control Board may establish interim building performance standards designed to ensure that adequate progress is being made from a building’s baseline performance toward meeting the final building performance standard.

(3) As part of a building performance standard established pursuant to this subdivision, the commission shall establish a process by which building owners can propose, and the commission, or a local city or county building department to which the commission delegates this authority, may approve or reject, an alternative compliance plan for unusual circumstances where a covered building cannot reasonably meet one or more of the applicable building performance standards within the required period of time. If an alternative compliance plan is approved and its terms are fulfilled on a timely basis, the covered building shall be deemed in compliance with the requirements of this section for the period of time covered by the alternative compliance plan.

(g) (1) At least once every three years, starting three years after the strategy developed pursuant to subdivision (b) is adopted, implemented for commercial buildings, the commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall evaluate the progress of the strategy in achieving improvements in energy and water efficiency and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and shall evaluate the impacts of the strategy on disadvantaged communities according to the metrics developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e).

(2) The results of each evaluation shall be made public and may be posted on the commission’s internet website or included within another publicly available report.

(3) The commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall share draft versions of each evaluation, and the underlying data, with the disadvantaged communities advisory group so that the disadvantaged communities advisory group may independently assess whether the strategy is achieving just and equitable outcomes pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) and provide comments on, and recommendations for, the evaluation before it is finalized.

(4) The commission and State Water Resources Control Board shall include in each evaluation a statement about the evaluation from the disadvantaged communities advisory group if the disadvantaged communities advisory group chooses to provide a statement.

(h) On or before August 1, 2026, the commission shall submit to the Legislature the strategy developed pursuant to subdivision (b).

SEC. 4.

 Section 25402.17 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25402.17.

 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Alternative compliance plan” means an alternative compliance plan described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 25402.16.

(2) “Building performance standards” means the building performance standards established pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 25402.16.

(3) “Certified energy efficiency professional” means a person holding a widely recognized energy efficiency professional credential, as determined by the commission, such as a Certified Energy Analyst certification from the California Association of Building Energy Consultants.

(4)“Certified water efficiency professional” means a person holding a widely recognized water use efficiency credential, as determined by the commission, such as a Water Use Efficiency Practitioner credential from the American Water Works Association.

(5)

(4) “Covered building” means any building subject to the benchmarking regulations adopted pursuant to Section 25402.10.

(b) For projects intended to meet the building performance standards, the owner of a residential covered building shall not terminate a tenancy in reliance on the substantial renovation no-fault just cause, as described in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 1946.2 of the Civil Code, unless all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The building owner has submitted written evidence to the local city or county building department, as applicable, that the planned modifications required to meet the building performance standards cannot be reasonably accomplished in a safe manner with the tenant in place or without requiring the tenant to vacate the residential real property for more than 30 days.

(2) The local city or county building department has provided a written response to the building owner agreeing that the planned modifications are necessary to meet the building performance standards and cannot be accomplished in a less disruptive way.

(3) The building owner has submitted a proposed alternative compliance plan to the commission or the local city or county building department, as applicable, that includes a plan, developed by a certified energy efficiency professional or certified water efficiency professional, as applicable, for the building to make as much progress toward achieving the building performance standards as is feasible without causing any evictions related to the planned modifications.

(4) The building owner and the commission or the local city or county building department, as applicable, after good faith negotiations, are unable to reach an agreement on an alternative compliance plan for the building.

(5) When issuing eviction notices, the building owner provides a copy of the evidence provided to the building department, the proposed alternative compliance plan, and the building department’s written responses so that impacted tenants can verify that the building owner has complied with the law.

(c) (1) For projects intended to meet the building performance standards, for residential covered buildings that are subject to limitations on rent increases under state law or any local ordinance, the building owner shall not recover through rent increases any costs in excess of average monthly utility bill savings to each tenant, as estimated by a certified energy efficiency professional or certified water efficiency professional, as applicable. professional.

(2) A covered building owner subject to paragraph (1) may propose an alternative compliance plan, developed by a certified energy efficiency professional or certified water efficiency professional, as applicable, that would implement all improvements available for achieving the building performance standards, the costs of which, after consideration and pursuit of all available grants, rebates, tax credits, or other forms of financial support, would not result in rent increases in excess of average monthly utility bill savings to each tenant.

(3) As a condition of approving an alternative compliance plan, a covered building owner shall agree to limit any rent increases to recover the costs of the project to the estimated average monthly utility bill savings to each tenant described in the proposed alternative compliance plan.

(d) If a covered building owner cannot comply with the building performance standards without evicting or increasing the total cost burden for tenants in the residential covered building, the commission or the local city or county building department, as applicable, shall not unreasonably refuse to approve an alternative compliance plan if the alternative compliance plan will result in substantial progress toward achieving the building performance standards for the covered building while avoiding evictions and avoiding increasing the total cost burden for tenants in the covered building.

SEC. 5.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.