California Public Resources Code

§ 25402

PRC § 25402 Effective Jan 1, 2025Div. 15 · Ch. 5

Statute text

The commission shall, after one or more public hearings, do all of the following to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including the energy associated with the use of water, and to manage energy loads to help maintain electrical grid reliability:

(a)(1) Prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards that increase efficiency in the use of energy and water for new residential and new nonresidential buildings. The commission shall periodically update the standards and adopt any revision that, in its judgment, it deems necessary. Six months after the commission certifies an energy conservation manual pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25402.1, a city, county, city and county, or state agency shall not issue a permit for a building unless the building satisfies the standards prescribed by the commission pursuant to this subdivision or subdivision (b) that are in effect on the date an application for a building permit is filed. Water efficiency standards adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall be demonstrated by the commission to be necessary to save energy.

(2)Before adopting a water efficiency standard for residential buildings, the Department of Housing and Community Development and the commission shall issue a joint finding whether the standard (A) is equivalent or superior in performance, in safety, and for the protection of life, health, and general welfare to standards in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and (B) does not unreasonably or unnecessarily impact the ability of Californians to purchase or rent affordable housing, as determined by taking account of the overall benefit derived from water efficiency standards. This subdivision does not in any way reduce the authority of the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt standards and regulations pursuant to the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code).

…

Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 353, Sec. 15. (AB 1533) Effective January 1, 2025.