The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. Existing law requires the California Building Standards Commission to adopt, approve, codify, and publish mandatory building standards for the installation of future electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and nonresidential development, as specified. Existing law requires the California Building Standards Commission
and the Department of Housing and Community Development, in proposing and adopting those mandatory building standards, to consult interested parties.
This bill would specify the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) is an interested party that the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development are required to consult with in proposing and adopting those standards. The bill would require the California Building Standards Commission, as part of each triennial California Building Standards Code rulemaking cycle that commences on or after January 1, 2023, to convene a workshop or other collaborative process on electric vehicle charging infrastructure standards, and would require the Energy Commission, as part of its participation in the workshop or
collaborative process, to incorporate the most recent update to a specified statewide assessment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, any relevant electric load forecasts, and the statewide transportation electrification goals, as specified.
Existing law requires the Energy Commission to
gather or develop, and publish on the Energy Commission’s internet website, guidance and best practices to help certain entities overcome barriers to electrification of buildings and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment that include certain topics, including the development of whole building electrification plans to help building owners prepare for future additions of electrical equipment. Existing law authorizes the building electrification plans to include wiring changes and energy planning to reduce the need for rework and help correctly size distributed energy and energy storage systems to anticipated future needs.
This bill would specify that the anticipated future needs include future voluntary and mandatory vehicle charging standards in the California Building Standards Code.