Building standards: photovoltaic requirements: accessory dwelling units.

Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services and requires state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the commission for approval and adoption, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code, which is required to be published once every 3 years. This bill would prohibit an accessory dwelling unit, as defined, from being considered to be a newly constructed building for purposes of a specified provision of the California Energy Code, which is part of the California Building Standards Code, regarding the photovoltaic requirements for newly constructed buildings that are low-rise residential buildings. The bill would require the California Energy Commission to study exempting accessory dwelling units from the photovoltaic requirements specified above and would require the Energy Commission to make recommendations to the California Building Standards Commission in time for consideration and adoption in the next regularly occurring California Building Standards code adoption cycle.