25942-25943
PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE
SECTION 25942-25943
25942. (a) On or before July 1, 1995, the commission shall establish criteria for adopting a statewide home energy rating program for residential dwellings. The program criteria shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following elements: (1) Consistent, accurate, and uniform ratings based on a single statewide rating scale. (2) Reasonable estimates of potential utility bill savings, and reliable recommendations on cost-effective measures to improve energy efficiency. (3) Training and certification procedures for home raters and quality assurance procedures to promote accurate ratings and to protect consumers. (4) In coordination with home energy rating service organization data bases, procedures to establish a centralized, publicly accessible, data base that includes a uniform reporting system for information on residential dwellings, excluding proprietary information, needed to facilitate the program. There shall be no public access to information in the data base concerning specific dwellings without the owner's or occupant's permission. (5) Labeling procedures that will meet the needs of home buyers, homeowners, renters, the real estate industry, and mortgage lenders with an interest in home energy ratings. (b) The commission shall adopt the program pursuant to subdivision (a) in consultation with representatives of the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Public Utilities Commission, investor-owned and municipal utilities, cities and counties, real estate licensees, home builders, mortgage lenders, home appraisers and inspectors, home energy rating organizations, contractors who provide home energy services, consumer groups, and environmental groups. (c) On and after January 1, 1996, no home energy rating services may be performed in this state unless the services have been certified, if such a certification program is available, by the commission to be in compliance with the program criteria specified in subdivision (a) and, in addition, are in conformity with any other applicable element of the program. (d) On or before July 1, 1996, the commission shall consult with the agencies and organizations described in subdivision (b), to facilitate a public information program to inform homeowners, rental property owners, renters, sellers, and others of the existence of the statewide home energy rating program adopted by the commission. (e) Beginning with the 1998 biennial energy conservation report required by Section 25401.1, the commission shall, as part of that biennial report, report on the progress made to implement a statewide home energy rating program. The report shall include an evaluation of the energy savings attributable to the program, and a recommendation concerning which means and methods will be most efficient and cost-effective to induce home energy ratings for residential dwellings. 25943. (a) (1) By March 1, 2010, the commission shall establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in California's existing residential and nonresidential building stock. This program shall comprise a complementary portfolio of techniques, applications, and practices that will achieve greater energy efficiency in existing residential and nonresidential structures that fall significantly below the current standards in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, as determined by the commission. (2) The comprehensive program may include, but need not be limited to, a broad range of energy assessments, building benchmarking, energy rating, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements, public and private sector energy efficiency financing options, public outreach and education efforts, and green workforce training. (b) To develop and implement the program specified in subdivision (a), the commission shall do both of the following: (1) Coordinate with the Public Utilities Commission and consult with representatives from the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, investor-owned and publicly owned utilities, local governments, real estate licensees, commercial and home builders, commercial property owners, small businesses, mortgage lenders, financial institutions, home appraisers, inspectors, energy rating organizations, consumer groups, environmental and environmental justice groups, and other entities the commission deems appropriate. (2) Hold at least three public hearings in geographically diverse locations throughout the state. (c) In developing the requirements for the program specified in subdivision (a), the commission shall consider all of the following: (1) The amount of annual and peak energy savings, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and projected customer utility bill savings that will accrue from the program. (2) The most cost-effective means and reasonable timeframes to achieve the goals of the program. (3) The various climatic zones within the state. (4) An appropriate method to inform and educate the public about the need for, benefits of, and environmental impacts of, the comprehensive energy efficiency program. (5) The most effective way to report the energy assessment results and the corresponding energy efficiency improvements to the owner of the residential or nonresidential building, including, among other things, the following: (A) Prioritizing the identified energy efficiency improvements. (B) The payback period or cost-effectiveness of each improvement identified. (C) The various incentives, loans, grants, and rebates offered to finance the improvements. (D) Available financing options including all of the following: (i) Mortgages or sales agreement components. (ii) On-bill financing. (iii) Contractual property tax assessments. (iv) Home warranties. (6) Existing statutory and regulatory requirements to achieve energy efficiency savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions. (7) A broad range of implementation approaches, including both utility and nonutility administration of energy efficiency programs. (8) Any other considerations deemed appropriate by the commission. (d) The program developed pursuant to this section shall do all of the following: (1) Minimize the overall costs of establishing and implementing the comprehensive energy efficiency program requirements. (2) Ensure, for residential buildings, that the energy efficiency assessments, ratings, or improvements do not unreasonably or unnecessarily affect the home purchasing process or the ability of individuals to rent housing. A transfer of property subject to the program implemented pursuant to this section shall not be invalidated solely because of the failure of a person to comply with a provision of the program. (3) Ensure, for nonresidential buildings, that the energy improvements do not have an undue economic impact on California businesses. (4) Determine, for residential buildings, the appropriateness of the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) program to support the goals of this section and whether there are a sufficient number of HERS-certified raters available to meet the program requirements. (5) Determine, for nonresidential structures, the availability of an appropriate cost-effective energy efficiency assessment system and whether there are a sufficient number of certified raters or auditors available to meet the program requirements. (6) Coordinate with the California Workforce Investment Board, the Employment Training Panel, the California Community Colleges, and other entities to ensure a qualified, well-trained workforce is available to implement the program requirements. (7) Coordinate with, and avoid duplication of, existing proceedings of the Public Utilities Commission and programs administered by utilities. (e) A home energy rating or energy assessment service does not meet the requirements of this section unless the service has been certified by the commission to be in compliance with the program criteria developed pursuant to this section and is in conformity with other applicable elements of the program. (f) The commission shall periodically update the criteria and adopt any revision that, in its judgment, is necessary to improve or refine program requirements after receiving public input. (g) Before implementing an element of the program developed pursuant to subdivision (a) that requires the expansion of statutory authority of the commission or the Public Utilities Commission, the commission and the Public Utilities Commission shall obtain legislative approval for the expansion of their authorities. (h) The commission shall report on the status of the program in the integrated energy policy report pursuant to Section 25302. (i) The commission shall fund activities undertaken pursuant to this section from the Federal Trust Fund consistent with the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) or other sources of nonstate funds available to the commission for the purposes of this section. (j) For purposes of this section, "energy assessment" means a determination of an energy user's energy consumption level, relative efficiency compared to other users, and opportunities to achieve greater efficiency or improve energy resource utilization.