CALBO’s Position: Oppose
CALBO’s Opposition Letter: Click Here

Location: Assembly Appropriations (May 14)  

Bill Summary: The California Building Standards Law establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code (code). Current law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety once every 3 years. Current law requires the building standards and rules and regulations to impose substantially the same requirements as are contained in the most recent editions of specified international or uniform industry codes, including the International Residential Code of the International Code Council. Current law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and requires the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department. This bill would require the department to convene a working group no later than December 31, 2026, to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards allowing residential developments to be built, as specified. The bill would require the department, no later than December 31, 2027, to provide a one-time report of its findings to the Legislature in the annual report described above. (Based on 12/02/2024 text)

CALBO’s Opposition:

• More than just a one-time report.  Although the current version of AB 6 simply convenes a working group to submit a report to the legislature, this is an effort to change the definition of “multi-family residential construction.”  
• Public safety concerns.  Provisions for multi-family residential construction are complex due to the occupancies involved with these projects.  There are many lives under one roof, which makes the provisions deliberately different than small projects.  Lessening these standards to accelerate housing jeopardizes public safety.  
• Unintended consequences.  California is in a full-fledged housing crisis, but changing the definition of multi-family construction to a lesser standard to accelerate housing supply simply leads to a greater propensity for disaster.  
• Leave it to the code officials.  The national code development process is an open, transparent, public consensus process that takes place every 18-36 months.  Leave it to the trained experts to assess if this is a safe, sustainable, and prudent practice.