Mia Marvelli

Executive Director's Message
We are pleased to announce the new 2019 edition of the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (Title 24) is published and available for purchase! I want to sincerely thank the staff of CBSC and all of the various state agency representatives who worked diligently and meticulously throughout all phases of the code development process. I also want to acknowledge our partners at the publishers – the International Code Council (ICC), International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) – for their hard work in bringing the code books to print. Your typesetters are amazing! Credit is due to the many Code Advisory Committee members who reviewed all of the proposed code amendments for their technical merit. And finally, I thank the Commission members who took final action to adopt and approve the 2019 code proposals. This group effort and transparent process ensures that the final product is appropriate and complete in order to fulfill CBSC’s mission of producing sensible and usable state building standards. To learn more about this arduous process, watch CBSC’s video, About The CBSC Rulemaking Process.

Next up, local jurisdictions are beginning (or should be beginning) their local code adoption process if they choose to enact more restrictive requirements for local conditions. Read more about this procedure in our Guide for Local Amendments of Building Standards and CBSC Information Bulletin 19-05. You can also watch a new video produced by ICC on this subject and shared on the Education and Outreach featured link of our website at www.dgs.ca.gov/BSC/Education-and-Outreach.
  
 
On July 17, a commission meeting was held for the commission's review and approval of changes without regulatory effect to the 2016 and 2019 editions of Title 24 in relation to the invalidation of recycled water supply systems for outdoor landscape irrigation. Details regarding the background of this action can be found in CBSC Information Bulletin 19-02, posted on our website. CBSC also permanently approved emergency administrative building standards for hospital seismic safety upgrade extensions. See the approved Final Express Terms on the Approved Standards page for the July 17, 2019 commission meeting.

The CBSC staff and other state agency staff are already conducting workshops for the upcoming 2019 Intervening Code Adoption Cycle. If you subscribed to our mailing list, you’ll receive meeting notices for workshops that CBSC conducts. However, to receive information about other state agencies' workshops, you’ll need to be subscribed to their mailing lists to receive their notifications. Visit our Links to Proposing and Adopting Agencies webpage to see a list of agencies and access to their contact information.

During this intervening cycle, CBSC and the other agencies involved in creating the building standards in Title 24 may be updating the 2019 edition with regulations mandated by statute or created in response to special circumstances in California. If you have registered your purchase of the 2019 edition of Title 24 with the publisher, the resulting code page supplements (blue pages) will be sent to you automatically by the publishers. Workshops are already being held regarding these developments. If you’d like to receive notices about the activities of CBSC, please be sure to subscribe to our mailing list using the form on the Contact tab of our website. Once the rulemaking cycle begins, you can follow the code proposals through the review and approval process on the Rulemaking tab of CBSC’s website.

We have had a couple of staff changes with the addition of Beth Maynard to our technical staff (see Staff Spotlight below), and the retirement of Jim McGowan. Jim is a former executive director of CBSC, and he graciously came back to CBSC in 2017 as a retired annuitant to assist with numerous publications, Title 24 administrative regulations, and to pass on his historical and institutional knowledge to staff. He is also the author of our CALCode Quarterly quizzes, so be sure to check out his final quiz below. Jim will be greatly missed.

Be sure to reach out to us if you have any questions about the upcoming code adoption cycle, workshops or other activities of CBSC. We can be reached at cbsc@dgs.ca.gov or (916) 263-0916.

CBSC Staff Goes Bowling!
DGS Connect, a sports and wellness volunteer group within the Department of General Services (DGS), arranged a bowling night for DGS employees on May 23rd at Capitol Bowl.  CBSC was represented by Staff Services Manager I (Specialist) Kevin Day, Architectural Associate Timothy O'Malley, Staff Services Analyst Pam Maeda, and Team Captain Associate Architect Gary Fabian (pictured left to right).

Staff Spotlight
Architectural Associate Beth Maynard joined the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) in May of 2019. She moved to CBSC from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), where she was a district representative in the Division of Codes and Standards. Prior to HCD, Beth worked at the City of Sacramento in the Building Department as a building inspector. Her role at CBSC will include administering the code adoption process for Title 24.
 
 
Beth's interest in building standards began with her first job as a clerk typist at the Building Department of the City of Sacramento. She was so intrigued by what she saw there, she went to school to earn an Associate of Science Degree in Building Inspection Technology, allowing her to promote to building inspector. She later transferred her experience and knowledge to HCD, where she worked on developing building standards for residential occupancies instead of enforcing them. This unique blend of familiarity makes Beth a great asset to CBSC. She was so excited about joining CBSC, that after she was offered the position, she accidentally answered the phone with our agency name instead of HCD’s…good thing it was her future boss on the phone!

Beth is a Sacramento native with two adult children and two grandkids. She loves animals, especially horses, and volunteers with Project RIDE on weekends. She enjoys beach time with her two dogs, and also has a bunch of cats at home.

What's in a Name?
The California Building Standards Code, Title 24, California Code of Regulations is named in such a manner to indicate its place in the stratosphere of all of the regulations for the state of California. This title is broken into three segments:

1. California Building Standards Code = All 13 parts of Title 24, detailed below.
2. Title 24 = Also refers to all 13 parts, but indicates that this is the 24^th title out of 28 titles within the California Code of Regulations. Title 24 is reserved for building standards.
3. California Code of Regulations = Indicates the entire body of state regulations which is broken into 28 separate titles. Some titles focus on a subject, and some titles are regulations created by a specific agency. Regulations are developed by state agencies to implement, interpret, clarify and carry out the intent of state laws. The California Code of Regulations can be accessed at the Office of Administrative Law’s website at oal.ca.gov.

Additionally, each part of Title 24 has a number and a name. Some parts are based on international model codes published by private code development organizations, and some parts contain regulations developed by California agencies in response to laws passed or executive orders designed to address California’s unique circumstances.

• Part 1 – the California Administrative Code (California code)
• Part 2 (Vols. 1 & 2) – the California Building Code (based on the International Building Code)
• Part 2.5 – the California Residential Code (based on the International Residential Code)
• Part 3 – the California Electrical Code (based on the National Electrical Code)
• Part 4 – the California Mechanical Code (based on the Uniform Mechanical Code)
• Part 5 – the California Plumbing Code (based on the Uniform Plumbing Code)
• Part 6 – the California Energy Code (California code)
• Part 7 – Currently vacant
• Part 8 – the State Historical Building Code (California code)
• Part 9 – the California Fire Code (based on the International Fire Code)
• Part 10 – the California Existing Building Code (based on the International Existing Building Code)
• Part 11 – the California Green Building Standards Code (California code aka CALGreen)
• Part 12 – the California Referenced Standards Code (California code)

As you can see, each part’s name indicates the construction discipline covered by that part of the code. Watch our video, About Title 24, for more about each part mentioned above and the agencies that contribute to the development of the regulations.

With the publication of the new 2019 edition of Title 24, we also recommend that you read our Guide to Title 24 available at no charge from CBSC’s website at www.dgs.ca.gov/bsc. You may also call us if you have questions about the contents or development of Title 24. We may need to direct you to another agency and we’re happy to help you find the answer you need.
 

Other Education and Outreach Events
July 15 – Associate Architect Gary Fabian spent a Lunch & Learn hour on-line with a group of engineers and designers from a Bay Area firm. They learned about the process used to develop codes, and then how to use the resulting code publications, including how to read Matrix Adoption Tables.

July 25 – The International Code Council (ICC) and the California Building Officials brought together 90-plus subject matter experts and interested parties from all over the United States to participate in a seismic roundtable event to discuss functional recovery for new construction. This full-day event included presentations by representatives of ICC, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Structural Engineers Association of California, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and others. The presentations set the stage for dialog amongst the many attendees to strategize a road map for the development of a nationally applicable approach to seismic functional recovery for new construction.

August 8 – Before each code adoption cycle, CBSC offers training to state agency personnel who will be creating the required rulemaking documents submitted to CBSC for review, approval and publication in Title 24. The course covers Building Standards Law and the Administrative Procedure Act requirements for the development of building standards in Title 24. The goal is to ensure that the process runs smoothly and that submitted files are accurate and complete so they can be vetted by the Code Advisory Committee members, made available to the public for comment, and ultimately presented to the commission for adoption and approval. Members of the public who are interested in the rulemaking process can read CBSC’s Public Guide to the Building Standards Adoption Process available on the Resources tab of our website, www.dgs.ca.gov/bsc. Agency staff looking for more information should read the Guide for Creating Proposed Building Standards, which will be included in the training materials and is also posted on our website.

August 16 – Green Technology is offering 2019 Updates to CALGreen and the Energy Code throughout the state. On August 16, this class will be presented in Sacramento, and CBSC will be there with a tabletop display. Stop by and say “hello” if you’re attending the training at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento.

Answers to some of these questions can be located in the California Health and Safety Code, Division 12, Part 2.7 and Division 13, Parts 1.5 and 2.5, CBSC’s Guide to Title 24 (request at cbsc@dgs.ca.gov) and Guide for Local Amendments of Building Standards. Check your answers below.

1.  The “Publication” date of a new edition of Title 24 is defined in state law as:

2.  The effective date of the building standards in a new edition of Title 24 is generally:

3.  When a new edition of Title 24 becomes effective it will apply to:

4.  Local amendments to the 2019 edition of Title 24 for local climatic, geological or topographical
     conditions:

(Reference HSC Sections 17958.5, 17958.7 and 18941.5)
 

5.  Amendments to Title 24 provisions by a local fire protection district must be:

(Reference HSC Section 13869.7)