(a) (1) During the next regularly scheduled triennial code cycle that commences on or after January 1, 2018, or during a subsequent code adoption cycle, the department shall develop and propose for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission, pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5, building standards requiring the installation of water meters or submeters in newly constructed multiunit residential structures or mixed-use residential and commercial structures, as those terms are defined in Section 517 of the Water Code. These standards shall conform to Article 5 (commencing with Section 537) of Chapter 8 of Division 1 of the Water Code.

(b) The proposed standards shall require the installation of water meters or submeters in newly constructed multiunit residential structures and mixed-use residential and commercial structures only for residential dwelling units within those structures, but shall not require installation in units within those structures that are used only for commercial purposes.

(c) (1) The department shall determine whether and under what circumstances the installation of water meters or submeters is infeasible and include in the building standards proposed in subdivision (a) the appropriate provision for exemption from this requirement. The department may consider whether there are any issues specific to high-rise structures that would require an exemption from the requirement for the installation of water meters or submeters.

(2) The following categories of structures shall be exempt from the building standards established pursuant to subdivision (a):

(A) Long-term health care facilities, as defined in Section 1418.

(B) Low-income housing. For the purposes of this subparagraph, “low-income housing” means a residential building that is financed with low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, or federal, state, or local loans or grants, for which rents charged to lower income households do not exceed rents prescribed by deed restrictions or regulatory agreements pursuant to the terms of the financing or financial assistance, and for which not less than 90 percent of the dwelling units within the building are designated for occupancy by lower income households. As used in this subparagraph, “lower income households” has the same meaning as defined in Section 50079.5.

(C) Residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined in subdivision (k) of Section 1569.2.

(D) Housing at a place of education, as defined in Section 202 of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).

(E) Time-share property, as defined in subdivision (aa) of Section 11212 of the Business and Professions Code.

(d) Moneys in the Building Standards Administration Special Revolving Fund established pursuant to Section 18931.7 shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the department’s administrative costs associated with the development of building standards in accordance with this section.

(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 623, Sec. 3. (SB 7) Effective January 1, 2017.)