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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
MEMBER NEWSLETTER
INDUSTRY NEWS | Legislative Update NEWSOM SIGNS SCHOOL FACILITIES HVAC BILL
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Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 2232, a bill supported by SMART and CAL SMACNA to require California schools to ensure facilities and classrooms have heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that meet minimum ventilation rate requirements. It also requires the installation of filtration that achieves minimum efficiency reporting values (MERV) levels of 13 or higher.
AB 2232 will require comprehensive HVAC inspections and ongoing CO2 monitors in classrooms to ensure California students and teachers are being provided fresh air. The bill also requires the California Building Standards Commission and the Division of the State Architect to research, develop and propose a mandatory standard for carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms.
“All learning institutions throughout the state can benefit from this bill,” said David O’Connor, Senior Account Manager at United Mechanical. “Not only is it good work for SMACNA contractors, but it’s good for the schools and good for the kids because it’s providing a healthier environment, which then provides them the opportunity for a better education.”
In a 2020 national survey, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that an estimated 54 percent of public schools across the country must replace, repair or update their heating, ventilation