BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1236
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1236 (Chiu) - As Amended April 20, 2015
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| |Transportation | |16 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY: This bill requires counties and cities, including
charter cities, to create an expedited permitting and inspection
process for electric vehicle charging stations. Specifically,
this bill:
AB 1236
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1)Requires local jurisdictions to adopt an ordinance on or
before September 30, 2016, that streamlines the permitting
process for EV charging stations.
2)Requires local jurisdictions to publish, on a publicly
accessible website, a checklist of all requirements and the
required permitting documentation, allow for electronic
submittal of a permit application and associated documents,
and authorize electronic signatures on all forms.
3)Requires an EV charging station to meet health and safety
standards and requirements imposed by state and local
permitting authorities, as well as safety and performance
standards established by the California Electrical Code, the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, accredited
testing laboratories, and, where applicable, rules of the
California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regarding safety
and reliability.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Negligible fiscal impact to the state.
2)Non-reimbursable costs to cities and counties to streamline
their permitting processes for EV charging stations, likely
fully offset by fees cities and counties are authorized to
charge for these activities.
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Currently, California's EV
permitting structure is a patchwork of various regulations and
requirements that vary from city to city and county to county.
This results in uncertainty and hinders the ability of
prospective EV buyers to understand the administrative burden
and the cost of installing EV charging stations before
purchasing an EV. Requirements in one jurisdiction, and the
amount of time it takes to receive a permit, can differ
drastically from a neighboring jurisdiction even though the
same EV charging station is being installed in the same type
of commercial building, multi-unit development or single
family home. AB 1236 will help lower the cost of
installation, expedite permitting, and further expand the
infrastructure needed to meet the statewide goals."
2)Background. In 2012, the Governor issued an Executive Order
directing CARB, the California Energy Commission, the PUC, and
other relevant agencies working with the Collaboration and the
Fuel Cell Partnership to develop benchmarks to help support
and facilitate the rapid commercialization of ZEVs. The order
directed these agencies to establish benchmarks to help the
state's ZEV infrastructure support 1.5 million EVs by 2025.
Furthering this goal, Governor's Office of Planning and
Research and the State Architect published guidelines to
address physical accessibility standards and design guidelines
for the installation of EV charging stations throughout
California. These guidelines are voluntary and apply to
public and private sites.
AB 1236
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In 2012, the Collaborative issued a report entitled
"Streamlining the Permitting and Inspection Process for
Plug-in Electric Vehicle Home Charger Installations." Among
its specific findings, the report noted that the process for
permitting residential EV supply equipment installation varied
by jurisdiction but, depending on the voltage of the charging
equipment (120V or 240V), some home charging installations can
be very straightforward to install. This bill addresses some
of the recommendations for EV charger installation permit
streamlining contained in the report.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 2188 (Muratsuchi), Chapter 521, Statutes of 2014,
required every city or county to adopt an ordinance that
creates an expedited permitting process for small,
residential rooftop solar energy systems.
b) AB 2565 (Muratsuchi), Chapter 529, Statutes of 2014,
required an owner of a commercial or residential property
to approve the installation of an EV charging station if it
meets specified requirements and complies with the owner's
process for approving a modification to the property, and
made a term in a lease of a commercial property executed,
renewed, or extended on or after January 1, 2015, void and
unenforceable if it prohibits or unreasonably restricts the
installation of an EV charging station in a parking space.
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c) AB 1092 (Levine), Chapter 410, Statutes of 2013,
required the CBSC to include mandatory building standards
for the installation of EV charging infrastructure in
multifamily dwellings and non-residential development.
Those standards are expected to be published in 2016.
d) SB 880 (Corbett), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2012, specified
that the governing documents of a CID may not prohibit the
installation of an electric vehicle charging station in an
owner's designated parking space.
e) SB 209 (Corbett), Chapter 121, Statutes of 2011,
provided that a prohibition or restriction on the
installation or use of an EV charging station in any of the
governing documents of a CID is void and unenforceable.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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