California AB-306

[Joe.B]

I have mixed feeling on this, but one thing I know for sure, it will be interesting.

Bill Text - AB-306 Building regulations: state building standards.

Today's Law As Amended - AB-306 Building regulations: state building standards.

Bill tracking in California - AB 306 (2025-2026 legislative session) - FastDemocracy

Building regulations: state building standards.

fastdemocracy.com

This bill would, from June 1, 2025, until June 1, 2031, inclusive, require the commission to reject a modification or change to any building standard, as described above, affecting a residential unit and filed by the governing body of a city or county unless a certain condition is met, including that the commission deems those changes or modifications necessary as emergency standards to protect health and safety. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law requires the commission to receive proposed building standards from state agencies for consideration in an 18-month code adoption cycle and to develop regulations, as specified, setting forth the procedures for the 18-month adoption cycle.
This bill, from June 1, 2025, until June 1, 2031, inclusive, would provide that the above-described requirement does not apply to any building standards affecting residential units and would prohibit the commission from considering, approving, or adopting any proposed building standards affecting residential units, unless a certain condition is met, including that the commission deems those changes necessary as emergency standards to protect health and safety.
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 commission for approval and adoption.
This bill would prohibit the commission or any other adopting agency from considering, approving, or adopting any proposed building standards affecting residential units, unless a certain condition is met, including that the commission deems those changes necessary as emergency standards to protect health and safety.
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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

 

[Joe.B]

The timing is poignant, the 2025 codes will be published in July, to go into effect Jan 1, 2026.

Interesting times.

 

[Yikes]

In other words, they don't want cities to make local code more strict on residential units than state code is already doing.
For example, City of LA typically modifies CBC 1015.8 residential upper floor window sills to be set at min. 42" AFF guard height instead of 36".
LA County Fire has yard and roof access requirements that exceed those of other communities.
Pasadena Fire Department requires ladder placement space underneath escape windows, even though that's not in the code.
Other cities have more strict energy codes.

I also suspect this is to prevent NIMBY cities from working around recent "Objective Design Standards" requirements to find another way to say "no".

 

[Joe.B]

Yes, that's part of it. But they're also saying that the building standards commission cannot approve of any changes that affect residential units for the next two cycles. For example, increasing the requirements for EVCS, increasing energy efficiency, or electric ready provisions. Mixed feelings for sure. On the one hand, codes are strict enough for a few cycles, 2031 is not that far away. On the other, it's inhibiting the progress of codes. Not sure where I land in there.

 

[arwat23]

Looking (briefly) through the text of the bill, it seems like their justification for this is the lack of housing and the high costs of construction. Which, yeah, its rough out there. It doesn't stop the SFM from adopting more strict amendment that will affect residential units, and there seems to be allowances for alterations based on HSC Sections 17921.9, 17921.11, or 18940.7, and 13558 of the Water Code.

Energy seems to be one of those things that can still be changed if this bill passes (HSC 17921.9).

Edit: This bill also seems to be hostile to, and specifically targets, local jurisdictions. "Addressing the housing crisis and the severe shortage of housing is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution." A lot of the language in the bill seem to specifically target cities and counties, not necessarily the entire modification process.