Cal. Health & Safety Code § 50651 et seq.
Creates the Tribal Housing Grant Program Trust Fund to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, intended to address the "serious structural and inequitable obstacles" faced by tribes in accessing and competing in existing state affordable housing programs. Authorizes funds to be allocated for specific purposes for eligible recipients, who include federally recognized tribes and rancherias in California, tribally-designated housing entity, or development partnerships made up of an eligible applicant and a nonnative nonprofit housing sponsor. Authorizes use of the funds for purposes including, but not limited to, improvements to remediate lead-based paint, mold, and other hazards in housing.
California Education Code § 17661(d)
Requires existing school facilities with HVAC systems to ensure that their "facilities, including, but not limited to, classrooms for students, have HVAC systems that meet the minimum ventilation rate requirements set forth in [the current state building code]...unless the existing HVAC system is not capable of safely and efficiently providing the minimum ventilation rate." Provides that if a school’s existing HVAC system is not capable of meeting this standard, the school must ensure that the system meets the minimum ventilation rates in effect at system installation and must document the HVAC system’s inability to meet the current ventilation standards in the annual HVAC inspection. Also requires schools to install MERV 13 filtration or higher if feasible; if not feasible, then schools must use the highest MERV level that the school determines is feasible. Also requires state agencies to develop and propose for adoption "mandatory standards for carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms."
California Public Utilities Code §§ 1620-1627
Requires the California Energy Commission, in collaboration with large utilities, to develop and administer the School Reopening Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification and Repair Program for the purpose of awarding grants to local educational agencies "to reopen schools with functional ventilation systems that are tested, adjusted, and, if necessary or cost effective, repaired, upgraded, or replaced to increase efficiency and performance." Schools receiving a grant must comply with the law’s detailed requirements for HVAC assessment, repairs, and upgrades, including ensuring ventilation rates in accordance with the state building code and MERV 13 filtration or higher where feasible. The grant programs, to be funded through specific allocations in the energy efficiency budgets of the utilities, must prioritize underserved communities, as well as schools located within 500 feet of a busy traffic corridor or within 1,000 feet of certain polluting facilities. (Program guidelines available at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/publications/2021/california-schools-healthy-air-plumbing-and-efficiency-ventilation-program).
California Government Code § 12087.9
Requires the state, by January 2021, to develop a recommended action plan to: (1) ensure greater cross-referral between public health agencies and the state weatherization program for "comprehensive energy and healthy home improvements for low-income multifamily residents in disadvantaged communities"; (2) promote energy improvement projects that provide net financial benefits and health benefits to low income tenants, including projects that improve indoor air quality and address asthma or respiratory issues triggered by mold and moisture; and (3) create mechanisms maintaining the affordability of units receiving energy upgrades. (Plan available at: https://www.csd.ca.gov/Shared%20Documents/AB1232-Report.pdf.)
California Education Code § 17074.25
Authorizes the use of school modernization funds "to limit pupil exposure to harmful air pollutants by updating air filtration systems" and encourages school districts to add air filtration systems to applications for modernization apportionments "when air pollution occasionally or regularly exceeds levels known to be harmful to public health." In addition, a grant for new construction may be used for the costs of designs and materials that promote indoor air quality and/or "to directly shade and protect pupils from higher average temperatures, which may include incorporating nature and natural materials." In addition to indoor air quality improvements, a modernization apportionment may also be used for the control, management, or abatement of lead, including in potable water. A separate public health law (Cal. Health § Safety Code 44391.3) authorizes schools in communities with "high cumulative exposure burdens" to work with school districts to identify school sites in need of air quality improvements and establishes that such schools are eligible for certain state grants to implement air quality mitigation efforts, including air filter upgrades and installations and buffer planting, provided that funds are appropriated for the grants.
California Health & Safety Code §§ 17920, 17920.3
Establishes minimum standards for rental apartments and other residential dwellings, including a list of conditions that render a building "substandard" to the extent that the condition "endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants." Includes in the list "dampness of habitable rooms," as well as "visible mold growth, as determined by a health officer or a code enforcement officer... excluding the presence of mold that is minor and found on surfaces that can accumulate moisture as part of their properly functioning and intended use." Authorizes local agency inspections to ensure compliance and provides remedies. (See also Cal. Civil Code § 1941.7.)
California Public Resources Code §§ 25402.8, 25402.16
Requires that, when assessing energy conservation standards for residential and nonresidential buildings, the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission must include in its deliberations the impact that those standards would have on indoor air pollution problems. Requires the Commission to develop a strategy, by July 1, 2026, for achieving the state’s goals for greenhouse gas emissions of buildings, and in doing so to "prioritize efficiency and decarbonization measures that will benefit tenants, including measures that reduce tenants’ energy costs and remove indoor environmental hazards."
California Health & Safety Code § 39930
Required the Air Resources Board, in consultation with other agencies, to provide a report to the state legislature by January 2004 summarizing: the most recent empirical data on indoor air pollution; the potential adverse effects of indoor air pollution on public health; and a listing of IAQ work performed by other state or federal entities. Required that the report include a priority ranking of indoor air pollutants; an analysis of the potential health effects of indoor air pollutants; and options for mitigating health effects in schools, nonindustrial workplaces, homes, and other locations. (Report available at: https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/apr/reports/l3041.pdf.)
California Health & Safety Code § 39619.6
Required the Air Resources Board and the Department of Public Health to conduct a comprehensive study and review of the environmental health conditions in portable classrooms. Directed the study to include a review of design and construction specifications; a review of school maintenance practices; an assessment of IAQ; and an assessment of potential toxic contamination, including mold contamination. Required the study to address the need for modified design and construction standards; emission limits for building materials and classroom furnishings; and other mitigation actions to ensure the protection of children’s health. (Report available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/california-portable-classrooms-study.)
California Health & Safety Code § 105405
Required the state health agency, through its Indoor Air Quality Program, to develop non-binding guidelines for the reduction of exposure to volatile organic compounds from construction materials in newly constructed or remodeled office buildings. (Guidelines available at: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/EHLB/AQS/Pages/VOCs.aspx.)
Subscribe to California