Residential structures: natural gas shutoff devices.

Existing law, the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, among other things, authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to require the installation of automatic shutoff or remote controlled sectionalized block valves on specified gas pipelines if the commission determines that those valves are necessary for the protection of the public. Existing law also authorizes the governing body of any city or county to enact an ordinance that conforms to specified standards adopted by the State Architect requiring the installation of earthquake sensitive gas shutoff devices in buildings open to the public. Existing law requires the State Architect to certify as meeting specified standards any new seismic gas shutoff device for installation on customer-owned gas piping, as defined, that is sold in this state. The law requires the State Architect to establish the certification procedure and fee. Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, requires state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission (commission) for approval and adoption. Existing law requires the commission to adopt specific building standards, including standards for graywater and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the California Building Standards Code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law, the State Housing Law, among other things, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) to propose the adoption, amendment, or repeal of specified building standards related to residential structures in accordance with the California Building Standards Law. This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development, in consultation with the Office of the State Architect and the State Fire Marshal, to consider whether to propose for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission, in the code adoption cycle that begins after January 1, 2022, the requirement that seismic gas shutoff devices be installed in all or a portion of newly constructed residential dwelling units, motels, hotels, and lodging houses. The bill would prohibit the department from proposing a standard that would require the installation of specified gas safety devices on an existing building as a condition of a real estate conveyance.