BILL NUMBER: SB 209	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Corbett

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2011

   An act to add Section 1353.9 to the Civil Code, relating to common
interest developments.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 209, as introduced, Corbett. Common interest developments:
electric vehicle charging stations.
   The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act defines and
regulates common interest developments, which include community
apartment projects, condominium projects, planned developments, and
stock cooperatives.
   This bill would provide that any covenant, restriction, or
condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or
other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a
common interest development, or any provision of the governing
documents of a common interest development, that effectively
prohibits or restricts the installation or use of an electrical
vehicle charging station is void and unenforceable. The bill would
authorize an association, as defined, to impose reasonable
restrictions on those stations, as specified, and would impose
requirements with respect to an association's approval process for
those stations. An association that violates the bill's provisions
would be liable for damages and a civil penalty, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1353.9 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
   1353.9.  (a) Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in
any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument
affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a common interest
development, and any provision of a governing document, as defined in
subdivision (j) of Section 1351, that effectively prohibits or
restricts the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging
station is void and unenforceable.
   (b) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose
reasonable restrictions on electric vehicle charging stations.
However, it is the policy of the state to promote, encourage, and
remove obstacles to the use of electric vehicle charging stations.
   (2) For purposes of this section, "reasonable restrictions" are
restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of the
station or significantly decrease its efficiency or specified
performance.
   (c) An electric vehicle charging station shall meet applicable
health and safety standards and requirements imposed by state and
local permitting authorities.
   (d) For purposes of this section, "electric vehicle charging
station" means a station that is designed in compliance with Article
625 of the National Electrical Code and delivers electricity from a
source outside an electric vehicle into one or more electric
vehicles. An electric vehicle charging station may include several
charge points simultaneously connecting several electric vehicles to
the station.
   (e) If approval is required for the installation or use of an
electric vehicle charging station, the application for approval shall
be processed and approved by the association in the same manner as
an application for approval of an architectural modification to the
property, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. The approval
or denial of an application shall be in writing. If an application
is not denied in writing within 60 days from the date of receipt of
the application, the application shall be deemed approved, unless
that delay is the result of a reasonable request for additional
information.
   (f) An association that willfully violates this section shall be
liable to the applicant or other party for actual damages, and shall
pay a civil penalty to the applicant or other party in an amount not
to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
   (g) In any action to enforce compliance with this section, the
prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees.