AB 1738: State Housing Law: remote inspections.

Existing law, the State Housing Law, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires the building department of every city or county to enforce the provisions of the State Housing Law, the State Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the State Housing Law pertaining to standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law authorizes an officer, employee, or agent of an enforcement agency to enter and inspect any building or premises whenever necessary to secure compliance with, or prevent a violation of, any provision of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the State Building Standards Code, and other rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the State Housing Law. Existing law provides certain immunities to a public entity or employee immunity relative to an inspection or license, as provided.

This bill would require a city, including a charter city, county, or city and county to offer a homeowner or contractor the option of requesting remote inspections for all or a subset of an inspection required by a building permit for specified works in one- or 2-family dwelling units, by July 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would apply the above-described immunities to remote inspections. The bill would authorize these local agencies, at their discretion, to set up a process to perform onsite audits to confirm that a homeowner or contractor accurately represented the work subject to the remote inspection and to temporarily ban the homeowner or contractor from using the remote inspection if the homeowner is found to have willfully misrepresented the work, as provided. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities and counties to prepare and adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and of any land outside its boundaries which bears relation to its planning, as provided. After the city or county has adopted all or part of a general plan, existing law requires the city or county to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to specified entities that includes certain information, including the status of the plan and progress of its implementation.

This bill would require the city or county to include in the report a report that confirms that the city or county has implemented remote inspection in compliance with the above-described provisions, beginning with the report due April 1, 2028, as specified. By requiring cities and counties to include additional information in these annual reports, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

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.