BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1236 Hearing Date: 7/7/2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Chiu |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |4/20/2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant|Erin Riches |
|: | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT: Local ordinances: electric vehicle charging stations
DIGEST: This bill requires each city and county to adopt an
ordinance establishing a streamlined permitting process for
electric vehicle charging stations.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the legislative body of any city or county to adopt
ordinances to regulate a variety of purposes, such as the
location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of
buildings and structures.
2)Requires every city and county to adopt an ordinance, by
September 30, 2015, to streamline and expedite the permitting
process for small, residential, rooftop solar energy systems.
This bill:
1) Requires a city or county to administratively approve an
application to install electric vehicle charging stations
through the issuance of a building or similar permit.
2) Limits review of the application to the building
official's review of whether it meets all health and safety
requirements of local, state, and federal law. Limits local
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 2 of ?
requirements to those standards and regulations necessary to
ensure that the electric vehicle charging station will not
have a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety.
3) Authorizes a city or county to require the applicant to
apply for a use permit if the building official makes a
finding, based on substantial evidence, that the proposed
installation would have a specific, adverse, impact.
Prohibits a city or county from denying an application for a
use permit unless it finds that the installation would have
a specific, adverse impact which cannot feasibly be
mitigated. Allows the applicant to appeal this decision to
the local planning commission.
4) Requires any conditions imposed on an application to
install an electric vehicle charging station to be designed
to mitigate the impact at the lowest possible cost.
5) Requires an electric vehicle charging station to meet
applicable health and safety standards and requirements
imposed by state and local permitting authorities, as well
as all applicable safety and performance standards
established by the California Electrical Code, the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, accredited testing
laboratories, and the Public Utilities Commission.
6) Requires every city or county, in consultation with the
local fire department or fire district and the utility
director if applicable, to adopt an ordinance by September
30, 2016, to create a streamlined permitting process for
electric vehicle charging stations.
7) Requires the city or county to adopt a checklist of
requirements the electric vehicle charging station must meet
in order to be eligible for expedited review.
8) Requires a city or county to approve an application that
is complete, defined as meeting all requirements of the
checklist. Requires a city or county to issue the permit or
authorization for any complete application. Requires a city
or county, upon receiving an incomplete application, to
issue a written notice detailing the application's
deficiencies and any additional information required in
order to be eligible for expedited permit issuance.
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 3 of ?
9) Requires the city or county to publish the checklist and
required permitting documentation on its website, if it has
one, and to allow for electronic submittal of applications
and documentation. Requires the city or county to authorize
electronic signatures on all forms, applications, and other
documentation. Exempts a city or county from this
requirement if it is unable to accept electronic signatures.
10) Requires the city or county ordinance to substantially
conform to the recommendations for expedited permitting,
including the checklists and standard plans included in the
most current version of the "Plug-In Electric Vehicle
Infrastructure Permitting Checklist" of the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research. Authorizes a city or
county to modify these checklists and standards pursuant to
unique climactic, geological, seismological, or
topographical conditions.
11) Prohibits a city or county from conditioning approval for
any electric vehicle charging station permit on the approval
of a common-interest development association.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. In 2012, Governor Brown issued an executive order
setting a goal of 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on
California roads by 2025. The author states that lack of
certainty and uniformity in the local permitting of electric
vehicle charging stations, however, poses an impediment to
deploying electric vehicle charging stations. The current
patchwork of regulations and requirements, which vary from city
to city and from county to county, hinders the ability of
prospective electric vehicle buyers to understand the
administrative burden and cost of installing electric vehicle
charging stations before purchasing an electric vehicle. The
author states that this bill will help lower the cost of
installation, expedite permitting, and further expand the
infrastructure needed to meet statewide goals.
A new precedent? AB 2188 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 521, Statutes of
2014) requires every city and county, in consultation with fire
and utility officials, to adopt an ordinance by September 30,
2015, to streamline and expedite the permitting process for
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 4 of ?
small, residential, rooftop solar energy systems. AB 2188 was
intended to respond to a Governor's Office of Planning and
Research (OPR) recommendation to streamline the permitting
process for solar energy systems to help bring down "soft costs"
such as the local agency permitting and inspection process. The
author states that this bill is modeled after AB 2188. The
California State Association of Counties (CSAC), writing in
opposition to this bill, states that both AB 2188 and this bill
"establish special treatment for some industries over others."
CSAC also raises concerns that other factors must be considered
in the installation of electric vehicle charging stations; for
example, questions have arisen regarding accessibility
requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Local control. The League of California Cities (League),
writing in opposition to this bill, raises three concerns: this
bill imposes costly requirements without providing funding; this
bill establishes an expensive electronic submittal process for
permitting; and this bill builds upon a bad precedent for tiered
levels of public service. The League asks for amendments to
provide funding, remove the requirement for a city to adopt an
ordinance to implement the new permitting process, and to make
implementation contingent upon local demand. The California
Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), also writing in
opposition, states that this bill "seeks to impose a
'one-size-fits-all' approach ? without any consideration of the
staffing needs for each city, or whether such permits are better
suited for residential customers versus non-residential
customers."
Picking a winner? This bill addresses permitting for electric
vehicle charging stations, but does not address infrastructure
for other types of clean vehicle technology.
Checklist requirement. This bill requires the city or county
ordinance to substantially conform to the recommendations for
expedited permitting, including the checklists and standard
plans included in the most current version of OPR's "Plug-In
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Permitting Checklist."
Opponents of this bill have raised concerns that the checklist
is not only quite detailed, but was not vetted through a public
process. To address these concerns, the author will accept
amendments to change "substantially" to "reasonably."
What's top priority? CMUA points out that this bill makes it
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 5 of ?
unclear whether electric vehicle charging station permits should
take priority over permits issued pursuant to AB 2188. To
address this concern, the author will accept amendments
authorizing a city or county to set the priorities of competing
expedited permits.
Implementation schedule. This bill requires every city or
county to adopt a streamlined electric vehicle charging station
permitting ordinance by September 30, 2016. Opponents of this
bill have raised concerns that it will be very difficult for
small cities and counties in particular to comply so quickly.
To address this concern, the author will accept amendments to
instead require cities and counties with a population of 200,000
or more to comply by September 30, 2016, and cities and counties
of less than 200,000 population to comply by September 30, 2017.
Double referred. This bill was approved by the Governance and
Finance Committee on June 17, 2015, on a 6-1 vote.
Related Legislation:
AB 2188 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 521, Statutes of 2014) - requires
every city and county to adopt an ordinance by September 30,
2015, to streamline and expedite the permitting process for
small, residential, rooftop solar energy systems.
AB 2565 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 529, Statutes of 2014) - requires
an owner of a commercial or residential property to approve the
installation of an electric vehicle charging station if it meets
specified requirements and complies with the owner's process for
approving a modification to the property.
SB 1275 (De León, Chapter 530, Statutes of 2014) - establishes
the Charge Ahead California Initiative at the state Air
Resources Board to provide incentives that increase the
availability of zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles,
particularly in disadvantaged and low- and moderate-income
communities.
AB 1092 (Levine, Chapter 410, Statutes of 2013) - requires the
state Building Standards Commission to adopt mandatory standards
for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure
for parking spaces in newly constructed multifamily dwellings
and non-residential development in the next triennial edition of
the California Building Standards Code.
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 6 of ?
SB 209 (Corbett, Chapter 121, Statutes of 2011) - provides that
a prohibition or restriction on the installation or use of an
electrical vehicle charging station in any of the governing
documents of a common-interest development is void and
unenforceable.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 76-0
Appr: 15-0
Trans: 16-0
LGov: 8-0
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
July 1, 2015.)
SUPPORT:
California Apartment Association
Coalition for Clean Air
ChargePoint
League of Conservation Voters
Natural Resources Defense Council
NRG Energy, Inc.
Sierra Club California
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
TechNet
OPPOSITION:
California Municipal Utilities Association
California State Association of Counties
City of Burbank
City of San Marcos
League of California Cities
Marin County Council of Mayors and Councilmembers
Northern California Power Agency
Urban Counties Caucus
AB 1236 (Chiu) Page 7 of ?
-- END --