AB 1926: Residential construction costs: regulation.

Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety every 3 years, and to publish, or cause to be published, supplements as necessary in the intervening period. Existing law requires any building standard adopted or proposed by state agencies to be submitted to, and approved or adopted by, the commission before codification, in compliance with certain procedures, including, among others, (1) if the proposed building standard promotes fire and panic safety, as determined by the State Fire Marshal, to have the written approval of the State Fire Marshal, and (2) the proposed building standards be accompanied by an analysis written by the adopting agency or state agency that proposes the building standards that justifies the approval of the standards in terms of specified criteria.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law, the State Housing Law, requires the department to propose the adoption, amendment, or repeal of building standards to the commission and to adopt, amend, or repeal other rules and regulations for the protection of the health, safety, and general welfare of the occupant and the public relating to specified residential structures, as provided, which apply throughout the state.

This bill would require the department to review construction cost pressures for single-family and multifamily residential construction as a result of building standards and, on or before January 1, 2031, propose the revision of building standards to the commission to lower the costs determined to be attributable to building standards. The bill would further require the department to review construction cost pressures for single-family and multifamily residential construction as a result of other regulation by the department and other state agencies and, on or before January 1, 2031, develop recommendations to lower the costs the department determines to be attributable to regulation. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2031, to provide a report to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Senate Committee on Housing regarding the recommendations developed pursuant to the bill.

This bill, for each triennial update of the California Building Standards Code that occurs on or after January 1, 2032, would require, the department and other applicable state agencies as determined by the department to propose the revision of building standards to the commission to lower the up-front construction costs for single-family and multifamily residential construction while continuing to maintain health and safety standards. The bill would require a proposed building standard adopted or proposed by a state agency and submitted to the commission for approval or adoption that could increase the cost of residential construction, as determined by the department, to have the written approval of the department. The bill would include in the above-described criteria for a proposed building standard that the standard does not cost more than the reasonable alternatives to the standard, determined by comparing all direct and indirect costs of implementing the standard to implementing the reasonable alternatives.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), sets forth requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The APA requires the Office of Administrative Law to review all regulations adopted, amended, or repealed and submitted to it for publication in the California Code of Regulations and for transmittal to the Secretary of State and to make determinations using specified standards, as defined.

This bill would prohibit a new regulation, or the amendment or repeal of a regulation, that could increase construction costs for single-family and multifamily residential construction from being valid or effective unless it is submitted by, or approved in writing by, the Department of Housing and Community Development before transmittal to the Secretary of State or the Office of Administrative Law.