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AB-384 School facilities: recommended interior temperatures: inventory of heating and cooling systems.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 09/14/2023 09:00 PM
AB384:v96#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 14, 2023
Passed  IN  Senate  September 12, 2023
Passed  IN  Assembly  May 31, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 17, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 384

Introduced by Assembly Member Calderon
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Luz Rivas)
(Coauthor: Senator Gonzalez)

February 02, 2023

An act to add and repeal Sections 17662 and 17663 of the Education Code, relating to school facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 384, Calderon. School facilities: recommended interior temperatures: inventory of heating and cooling systems.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976, effectuates the declaration of the Legislature that it is in the interest of the state and its people to reconstruct, remodel, or replace existing school buildings that are educationally inadequate or that do not meet present-day structural safety requirements, and to acquire new schoolsites and buildings for the purpose of making them available to local school districts for the pupils of the public school system. “Good repair” is defined, for purposes of the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976, to mean, among other things, with respect to mechanical systems, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, maintaining interior temperatures within normally acceptable ranges.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to conduct a research study on recommended indoor air temperature ranges and temperature control standards for public schools serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and an inventory of heating and cooling systems, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit a report on the findings and recommendations of the study to the Legislature by January 1, 2026, as provided.
This bill would require the department to develop policy recommendations for safe indoor air temperature standards for elementary and secondary public school facilities based on the research study findings, and additional policy recommendations that will address how to ensure that public school facilities can maintain the recommended safe indoor air temperature range, as provided. The bill would require the department to submit those policies recommendations to the Legislature by January 1, 2027.
This bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2028.
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) In April 2022, California released “Protecting Californians from Extreme Heat: A State Action Plan to Build Community Resilience” which warned of the threats extreme heat poses to public health and safety, economic prosperity, and the natural environment and cautioned that extreme heat can be dangerous or even deadly to vulnerable populations, including children, without access to cooling or shade.
(b) According to research by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), virtually all 2 billion children on earth will be exposed to more frequent, longer lasting, and more severe heat waves by 2050.
(c) The latest California Climate Change Assessment projects hotter, longer, and more frequent heat events. Extreme heat is responsible for more deaths than all other extreme weather events, and disproportionately impacts communities of color, persons with disabilities, seniors, and low-income communities.
(d) Children in disadvantaged communities, including rural and urbanized regions built with heat-retaining materials that are ill-equipped to shelter pupils from extreme heat, are at heightened risk of suffering heat-related illnesses, poor health outcomes, and a reduction in their ability to learn, as excessive heat interrupts outdoor activity and exercise.
(e) The Legislature has recognized extreme heat as a serious and urgent threat and has called on state agencies and departments to invest resources in increasing resilience to extreme heat.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17662 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 17661, to read:

17662.
 (a) The department shall conduct a research study on both of the following:
(1) Recommended indoor air temperature ranges and temperature control standards for public schools serving kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(2) (A) An inventory of heating and cooling systems, based on a representative sample of local educational agencies statewide.
(B) The department may add additional data elements to the inventory.
(b) In conducting the study, the department shall review data, including, but not limited to, safe and healthy minimum and maximum air temperature in public school facilities, disaggregated by both of the following:
(1) Pupil age.
(2) Location of the schoolsite.
(c) In conducting the study the department may collaborate or contract with other public agencies, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Public Health, private sector firms, or individuals qualified to perform the necessary services.
(d) The department may work with the United States Department of Energy’s Grants for Energy Improvements at Public School Facilities program to implement this section.
(e) By January 1, 2026, the department shall submit a report on the findings and recommendations of the study to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Inventory of heating and cooling systems” means a list of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment and systems, including, but not limited to, air conditioning and heat pumps.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 17663 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 17662, to read:

17663.
 (a) The department shall develop policy recommendations for safe indoor air temperature standards for elementary and secondary public school facilities based on study findings developed pursuant to Section 17662. The department shall also develop policy recommendations that will address how to ensure that public school facilities can maintain a recommended safe indoor air temperature range. The policy recommendations shall be flexible and allow schools to phase in to the recommended safe indoor air temperature range. In developing these policy recommendations, the department shall consider each of the following:
(1) State climate goals.
(2) The Extreme Heat Plan.
(3) Regional temperature differences.
(4) Various methods for maintaining indoor air temperatures that take into account factors, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Technical feasibility.
(B) Building and site electrical system limitations.
(C) Cost barriers.
(D) Electric utility capacity limitations.
(E) Federal and state law.
(F) Weather-related federal and state emergencies.
(b) In developing the policy recommendations pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall consult with a diverse group of stakeholders with knowledge of education, public health, labor, and other relevant subject matter.
(c) In developing the policy recommendations pursuant to subdivision (a), the department may collaborate or contract with other public agencies, private sector firms, or individuals qualified to perform the necessary services.
(d) By January 1, 2027, the department shall submit the policy recommendations to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.