CA SB48

Exempts buildings with less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor space from energy benchmarking reporting requirements to the California Energy Commission, in addition to existing exemption for buildings with 16 or fewer residential utility accounts.

Requires the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission, and Department of Housing and Community Development, to develop a strategy by July 1, 2026 for using energy usage data to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in covered buildings.

Strategy must include tenant protections prohibiting evictions, harassment, or displacement from required renovations, and must either prohibit rent increases or limit increases to long-term energy savings resulting from upgrades.

Requires the Energy Commission to consider input from stakeholders including under-resourced communities, tenant advocacy groups, building owners, labor unions, and energy utilities in developing the strategy.

Mandates the Energy Commission contract with community organizations representing under-resourced and low-income tenants to advise on strategy development and submit final recommendations to the Legislature by August 1, 2026.