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SB-1164 Energy: building energy efficiency: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment: sale registry and compliance tracking system: compliance document data registry.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 06/30/2022 04:00 AM
SB1164:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 29, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 14, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  April 04, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1164

Introduced by Senator Stern

February 17, 2022

An act to add Sections 25402.20 and 25402.21 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1164, as amended, Stern. Energy: building energy efficiency: heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment: sale registry and compliance tracking system: compliance document data registry.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, building design and construction standards and energy and water conservation design standards for new residential and nonresidential buildings. Existing law requires the commission to prescribe, by regulation, standards for minimum levels of operating efficiency to promote the use of energy-efficient and water-efficient appliances whose use requires a significant amount of energy or water on a statewide basis. Existing law requires the commission to approve a plan that will promote compliance with specified regulations in the installation of central air conditioning and heat pumps and authorizes the commission to adopt regulations to increase compliance with permitting and inspection requirements for central air conditioning and heat pumps, and associated sales and installations, consistent with that plan.
This bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2026, to adopt rules to develop and implement an electronic statewide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system that is designed to identify HVAC equipment that is installed in California without permits and without completion of the required documentation, as provided. The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2025, to adopt rules to develop and implement an electronic statewide compliance document data registry to register and store compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation data required by the regulations specified above, as provided. The bill would specify that the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system and the electronic statewide compliance document data registry are not to be directly accessible to the general public. The bill would require the commission to identify and designate certain information as presumptively confidential. The bill would require the commission, by March 1, 2024, and by every March 1 thereafter until March 1, 2028, to submit a report to certain committees of the Legislature on the implementation status of the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system and a report to those committees of the Legislature on the implementation status of the electronic statewide compliance document data registry.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The efficiency of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment (HVAC) is highly dependent on the quality of its installation. A report by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission found that 85 percent of replacement HVAC systems are installed incorrectly, resulting in a 20 to 30 percent increase in energy use.
(b) California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards codified in Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (California Energy Code) establish requirements for installation and acceptance test documentation to verify that HVAC and other building construction that impact building energy efficiency are installed and are performing correctly.
(c) Compliance rates for the requirements on installation and acceptance test documentation in the California Energy Code are low. Local building departments or officials are often unable to effectively enforce or verify compliance with those requirements due to the complexity of the California Energy Code and a lack of adequate resources.
(d) A single, accessible electronic state compliance document data registry would significantly improve enforcement and compliance by providing a building official the ability to go to one registry to confirm that all compliance documentation requirements have been met.
(e) A central data registry is also a critical first step in creating an equipment tracking system to address the pervasive problem of underground construction work performed without permits and without complying with acceptance test requirements in the California Energy Code.
(f) If California is going to meet its energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction goals, it needs to take concrete steps to improve permit compliance.
(g) Reports by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and by the Public Utilities Commission have found that permits are obtained for HVAC replacements as little as 10 percent of the time, and that contractors comply with the California Energy Code’s quality installation requirements as little as 15 percent of the time. It is estimated that by correcting these problems, peak energy demand could be decreased by 400 megawatts.
(h) The 2015 Existing Building Energy Efficiency Action Plan Update states that “[a]ddressing the application, compliance and enforcement of building standards in existing buildings is a high priority” and calls for improving retrofit compliance with permitting and code requirements to 90 percent by 2020.
(i) To meet this compliance goal, the 2016 Existing Building Energy Efficiency Action Plan recommends development of an HVAC equipment sale registry that can be used to track HVAC sales to ensure that permit requirements are being followed for all HVAC installations.
(j) An HVAC equipment sale registry would address numerous California Energy Code compliance issues, including permit noncompliance, noncompliance with the California Energy Code compliance documentation requirements, noncompliance with the Home Energy Rating System testing and acceptance testing requirements, unlicensed contractors, enforcement limitations on the Contractors State License Board and local building departments, and unfair competition from contractors who do not follow the law.
(k) The lack of compliance and enforcement hurts contractors that comply with the California Energy Code who must bid against contractors that can cut costs by ignoring these requirements altogether.
(l) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission has adopted compliance data registry requirements in the 2008 California Energy Code and, in 2013, the commission added authorization for a compliance document repository. It has reiterated these requirements in every code update since. However, no compliance document repository or central data registry has been developed or implemented.
(m) Recent proposals for a State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission’s compliance document repository would not be accessible by local building officials, would require the use of duplicative and potentially expensive private data registries, and would not provide an easily accessible, single source for determining if a construction project has complied with the compliance documentation requirements set forth in the California Energy Code. It would also not be compatible with efforts to increase permit compliance through tracking HVAC equipment serial numbers from sale to the completion of the compliance documentation required by the California Energy Code.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25402.20 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25402.20.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2026, the commission shall adopt rules, through an open process, shall, through its normal rulemaking process and subject to public comment, and adopted by a vote of the commission, to develop and implement an electronic statewide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system.
(b) The HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system shall be designed to identify HVAC equipment that is installed in California without permits and without the completion of the compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation requirements set forth in Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. The system shall have all of the following capabilities:
(1) Allow local building departments and other responsible enforcement agencies to identify noncompliant installations in their jurisdictions and allow the Contractors State License Board to identify and investigate contractors that are routinely violating licensure requirements by not obtaining permits and failing to comply with the requirements of Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Building Code and other laws.
(2) Require stores and dealers that sell HVAC equipment to register the sale of HVAC equipment, the contractor license number of the purchaser, and any other to contractors, installers, retail customers, or other end users located in California, including the minimum information necessary to effectuate the HVAC sales registry and compliance tracking system.
(3) Be capable of being linked to the compliance document data registry developed and implemented pursuant to Section 25402.21, and be able to identify HVAC equipment that has not submitted required compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation to that compliance document data registry within a specified period of time.
(c) The HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system shall only include the personal information necessary to certify permitting and completion of compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation requirements set forth in Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) The commission may share information contained in the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system with local building officials and other agencies, including the Contractors State License Board. Any information collected or shared by the commission pursuant to this section shall be collected or shared in compliance with 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).
(e) The HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system shall not be directly accessible to the general public. In developing and implementing the registry and tracking system, the commission shall identify and designate information in the registry and tracking system that provides personal information, manufacturer-specific sales data, or trade secrets as presumptively confidential under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code). Notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section 7922.570) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code, registry data that is not designated confidential is not required to be disclosed under the California Public Records Act in its original electronic form.

(e)

(f) (1) By March 1, 2024, and by every March 1 thereafter until March 1, 2028, the commission shall submit a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee describing the implementation status of the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system. Where applicable, the report shall identify any legal barriers to implementing the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system and identify any changes to state law that would be necessary to overcome those barriers.
(2) The report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(3) This subdivision shall become inoperative on March 1, 2033.

SEC. 3.

 Section 25402.21 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25402.21.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2025, the commission shall adopt rules, through an open process, shall, through its normal rulemaking process and subject to public comment, and adopted by a vote of the commission, to develop and implement an electronic statewide compliance document data registry for Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(b) The compliance document data registry shall be capable of registering and storing compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation data required under Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations that would be uploaded directly to the registry by local building departments or other applicable agencies, the parties responsible for completing the documentation or, where applicable, by Home Energy Rating System (HERS) or Acceptance Test Technician Certification providers. The compliance document data registry shall do all of the following:
(1) Track compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation data electronically and make them available to local building departments and other applicable agencies for their building permit review processes and to the Contractors State License Board or other applicable agencies for compliance and enforcement activities.
(2) Provide building owners access to uploaded compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation data linked to buildings they own.

(3)Provide the public the ability to check if projects in their area have obtained the required permits and have complied with the compliance, installation, and acceptance testing documentation requirements.

(4)Include registration of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment serial numbers and

(3) Include the capability to support and be integrated with the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system developed and implemented pursuant to Section 25402.20.

(5)

(4) Provide the commission the ability to analyze the data to evaluate compliance, to inform development of building, appliance, and demand flexibility standards, and to inform program implementation and policy development.
(c) The electronic statewide compliance document data registry shall only include the personal information necessary to certify permitting and completion of compliance, installation, and acceptance test documentation requirements set forth in Part 6 (commencing with Section 100) of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(d) The commission may share information contained in the HVAC equipment sales registry and compliance tracking system electronic statewide compliance document data registry with local building officials and other agencies, including the Contractors State License Board. Any information collected or shared by the commission pursuant to this section shall be collected or shared in compliance with 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).
(e) The electronic statewide compliance document data registry shall not be directly accessible to the general public. In developing and implementing the registry, the commission shall identify and designate information in the registry that provides personal information, manufacturer-specific sales data, or trade secrets as presumptively confidential under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code). Notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section 7922.570) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code, registry data that is not designated confidential is not required to be disclosed under the California Public Records Act in its original electronic form.
(f) In implementing the electronic statewide compliance document data registry, the commission shall provide guidance to local building permit enforcement agencies on how to use the registry to streamline permit approval.

(e)

(g) The electronic statewide compliance document data registry shall not impair the ability of contractors or homeowners to make emergency repairs or equipment replacements.
(h) (1) By March 1, 2024, and by every March 1 thereafter until March 1, 2028, the commission shall submit a report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee describing the implementation status of the electronic statewide compliance document data registry. Where applicable, the report shall identify any legal barriers to implementing the electronic statewide compliance document data registry and identify any changes to state law that would be necessary to overcome those barriers.
(2) The report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(3) This subdivision shall become inoperative on March 1, 2033.

SEC. 4.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 2 and 3 of this act, which add Sections 25402.20 and 25402.21, respectively, to the Public Resources Code, impose a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
To maintain the confidentiality of personal information for the protection of the privacy of individuals and to protect trade secrets and proprietary information, it is necessary to enact legislation that limits the public’s right of access to access the information provided pursuant to Sections 25402.20 and 25402.21 of the Public Resources Code.