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California’s Building Standards Commission has not approved 17 proposed local building efficiency ordinances from 15 jurisdictions, and some have been pending for nearly a year. The commission says the proposals involve complex amendments and remain under review; a second state agency must also approve them before they take effect.
Seventeen proposed building efficiency ordinances from 15 California jurisdictions are still awaiting review by the state Building Standards Commission, with some local governments waiting nearly a year to put climate related rules into effect. The delays are holding up measures that cities say support existing emissions goals, under an exception to a statewide building code pause established by Assembly Bill 130.
Since the pause took effect on Oct. 1, 2025, 21 cities and counties have passed local building ordinances known as reach codes. They set standards beyond state energy efficiency requirements and can encourage building owners to replace fossil fuel equipment with electric alternatives. Fourteen localities have adopted provisions encouraging households to replace failed, one way air conditioners with heat pumps that provide both heating and cooling.
Local governments need approval from the Building Standards Commission and then the state Energy Commission before implementing these rules. The building standards agency said it has approved seven reach codes over the past year. It said the 17 pending proposals contain more complex amendments and remain under review, and that it hopes to begin issuing response letters soon. The agency processed 440 of about 500 ordinances it received over the same period.
Among the jurisdictions with proposals awaiting a decision are Alameda, Glendale, Marin County, Palo Alto and San Luis Obispo. Alameda told the commission it had responded in February to questions about how its ordinance qualifies for an exemption, but had not received a decision or further questions, according to the city’s sustainability and resilience manager, Danielle Mieler.
Delays Hold Up Local Climate Rules
The review backlog affects how quickly local governments can apply building rules intended to reduce emissions from gas appliances. Buildings account for about a quarter of California’s planet warming emissions, according to the report, and the state has a target of cutting emissions 40% below 1990 levels by the end of the decade. The pending ordinances are one local policy tool that officials say supports those efforts.
The immediate effect is uncertainty for cities deciding whether to advance similar measures. Colleen Corrigan, a policy manager at the San Francisco Bay Area Urban Planning Research Association, said some jurisdictions have paused local adoption processes because of the delays. The report does not quantify the emissions reductions the pending ordinances would deliver or the effect of the delay on state climate targets.
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AB 130 Leaves a Narrow Exemption
AB 130 was enacted to address California’s affordable housing crisis and established a six year pause on updates to state and local building codes intended to improve safety and efficiency. The law includes exceptions for local governments seeking to advance certain preexisting climate goals. Under the exemption, local rules may encourage all electric appliances but must allow mixed fuel construction; they cannot categorically bar fossil fuel use.
The dispute takes place against the legal backdrop of a 2023 Ninth Circuit ruling on Berkeley’s 2019 gas hookup ban. Three judges found that the ban conflicted with a federal appliance energy efficiency law. The reach codes at issue here are described as allowing mixed fuel construction, and local officials and advocates argue that their ordinances meet AB 130’s separate exemption criteria. Those arguments have not yet resulted in commission approval for the 17 pending proposals.
Before the current delays, review of local ordinances at the commission generally took days, Anthony Eulo of public energy agency Silicon Valley Clean Energy told Canary Media. The source report does not give the submission dates for each pending proposal, though it says some jurisdictions have waited nearly a year.
““The 17 pending ordinances contain more complex amendments and are still under review.””
— California Building Standards Commission
Approval Dates Remain Unknown
The commission has not announced when it will decide the 17 pending ordinances or when it expects to issue response letters. It has said the proposals are more complex but has not publicly detailed, in the source report, the specific questions or legal concerns affecting each jurisdiction. The Energy Commission’s review also remains ahead for any ordinance that receives building standards approval.
Local officials and advocates say the ordinances satisfy the exemption, while the state commission has not yet ruled on the pending proposals. The available reporting does not establish whether all 17 will be approved, revised, or rejected, or how many additional local governments have delayed their own adoption plans.
Commission Responses Are Pending
The next step is for the Building Standards Commission to issue responses on the proposed reach codes. The agency said it hopes to begin sending response letters soon, but gave no schedule. Jurisdictions may need to answer further questions or revise proposals before the commission decides whether they qualify for AB 130’s exemption.
Any proposal that clears that review must then receive approval from the state Energy Commission before the local rules can be implemented. Until those decisions are made, cities with pending codes and those considering similar measures face uncertainty about when their policies can take effect.
Key Questions
What is delayed in California?
Seventeen proposed local reach codes from 15 jurisdictions are awaiting review by the California Building Standards Commission. They would need a further approval from the state Energy Commission before implementation.
What do the proposed reach codes do?
Reach codes set local building requirements beyond the state’s energy efficiency standards. Some of the measures encourage homes to replace failed air conditioners with heat pumps, which provide both heating and cooling.
Why can local governments still propose building rules during the pause?
AB 130 established a six year pause on building code updates but included an exemption for some local rules tied to existing climate goals. The rules must allow mixed fuel construction and meet the law’s exemption requirements.
When will the pending ordinances be decided?
The commission has not set a decision date. It said the proposals are complex and under review, and that it hopes to begin issuing response letters soon.
Are the pending ordinances approved?
No. The 17 proposals remain under review by the Building Standards Commission. Their outcomes are not yet known, and approval by the state Energy Commission would also be required before local implementation.
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