Onerous New "Point of Sale" Bill Now Pending in State Assembly!
The State Assembly here in California is busy trying to do all the right things for the citizens that live here when it comes to conserving energy. In their quest to be sure that we begin conserving energy now, our legislators here in California have this new idea that we should all have an Energy Audit and to take it one step further , even to make it mandatory that we all do it just in time to sell our homes to another Buyer that doesn't yet have an understanding of what energy conservation is. AB 2678 (Núñez) which among other things, requires that ALL homes and commercial property in California have an energy audit at point-of-sale and that mandatory energy efficiency investments be made.
As well intended as this might be, such mandates will even further erode and weaken the housing market. If enacted, AB 2678 could also add potentially thousands of dollars to the cost of selling or purchasing a home, including hundreds of dollars just to have a home audited. Now , what we all need is to waste a lot more paper, time and energy with yet another disclosure and report. Not to mention whatever the energy efficiency investments would be. Perhaps a new cottage industry the legislators are encouraging. Maybe this is what is meant by encouraging new business here in California?
Now, I don't know about you but there must be a better way to encourage energy conversation than these onerous point of sale mandates. Well intended most likely but just wrong.
This is an example of the "left state" once again trying to over the top. It's one thing to offer stimulus packages and even incentives such as tax rebates, but making things mandatory (which means you're a criminal if you don't comply) is wrong-headed and destined to backfire with the public. I could never get that about the CA government; they have probably the most progressive population in the country, but they insist on dampening private market development and favoring government regulation...