Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2713

Introduced by Assembly Member Chiu

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mullin)

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February 19, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 14770 of end delete begin insert add Section 65850.8 to end insert the Government Code, relating to begin delete state government forms. end delete begin insert local government. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2713, as amended, Chiu. begin delete Statewide forms management program. end delete begin insert Land use: local ordinances: energy systems. end insert

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Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, among other things, requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a general plan for the physical development of the county or city and authorizes the adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations by counties and cities.

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Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county to approve an application for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, as defined, through the issuance of specified permits unless the city or county makes specified written findings. Existing law provides that the implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of electric vehicle charging stations is a matter of statewide concern.

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This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to approve an application for the installation of advanced energy storage, as defined, through the issuance of specified permits unless the city or county makes specified written findings based upon substantial evidence in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact. The bill would provide that the implementation of consistent statewide standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of advanced energy storage systems is a matter of statewide concern.

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This bill would require advanced energy storage system to meet specified standards. The bill would, on or before January 31, 2018, for a city, county, or city and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents, or June 30, 2018, for a city, county, or city and county with a population of less than 200,000 resident, require every city, county, or city and county to create an expedited and streamlined permitting process for advanced energy storage installations. The bill would require the city, county, or city and county, in developing the ordinance, to refer to documented best practices, and would require the ordinance to substantially comply with the California Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook. The bill would also require, in developing an expedited review and checklist, the city, county, or city and county to develop a simplified standard plan so that an engineering plan check is unnecessary for standard advanced energy storage system configurations.

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The bill would require the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, on or before September 30, 2017, to create a California Energy Storage Permitting Guidebook, as specified.

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By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Existing law requires the Director of General Services to establish and staff the forms management center for the orderly design, implementation, and maintenance of a statewide forms management program.

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This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 65850.8 is added to the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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begin insert 65850.8. end insert   

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The implementation of consistent statewide standards to
achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of advanced
energy storage is not a municipal affair, as that term is used in
Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead
a matter of statewide concern.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies not
adopt ordinances or impose permitting, plan review, or inspection
requirements that create unreasonable barriers to the installation
of advanced energy storage and not unreasonably restrict the
ability of homeowners and agricultural and business concerns to
install advanced energy storage.

(3) It is the policy of the state to promote and encourage the
installation of advanced energy storage and to limit obstacles to
its use in order to increase the reliability, safety, and resilience of
the state’s electrical system.

(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that local agencies comply
not only with the language of this section, but also the legislative
intent to encourage the installation of advanced energy storage
by removing obstacles to, and minimizing costs of, permitting and
inspection of those installations while ensuring they are installed
safely and reliably.

(5) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the applicable
state agencies, including the Governor’s Office of Planning and
Research, extend and expand the existing initiative being conducted
by the Public Utilities Commission to further note best practices
in the safe permitting of advanced energy storage. That effort
should ultimately produce an Advanced Energy Storage Permitting
Guidebook, taking advantage of the efforts and lessons learned in
creating the streamlined permitting processes and modeling in
part after the California Solar Permitting Guidebook.

(b) A city, county, or city and county shall administratively
approve an application to install advanced energy storage through
the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary
permit, as applicable. Review of the application to install advanced
energy storage shall be limited to the building official’s review of
whether it meets all health and safety requirements of local, state,
and federal law. The requirements of local law shall be limited to
those standards and regulations necessary to ensure that the
advanced energy storage system will not have a specific, adverse
impact upon the public health or safety. However, if the building
official of the city, county, or city and county makes a finding,
based on substantial evidence, that the advanced energy storage
project or selected technology could have a specific, adverse
impact upon the public health and safety, the city, county, or city
and county may require the applicant to apply for a use permit.

(c) A city, county, or city and county shall not deny an
application for a use permit to install advanced energy storage
unless it makes written findings based upon substantial evidence
in the record that the proposed installation would have a specific,
adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no
feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific,
adverse impact. The findings shall include the basis for the
rejection of potential feasible alternatives of preventing the adverse
impact.

(d) The decision of the building official pursuant to subdivisions
(b) and (c) may be appealed to the planning commission of the
city, county, or city and county.

(e) Any conditions imposed on an application to install advanced
energy storage shall be designed to mitigate the specific, adverse
impact upon the public health and safety at the lowest cost possible.

(f) (1) Advanced energy storage system installations shall meet
applicable health and safety standards and requirements imposed
by state and local permitting authorities.

(2) Advanced energy storage installations shall meet all
applicable safety and performance standards established by the
California Building Standards Code, the California Electrical
Code, and accredited testing laboratories, such as Underwriters
Laboratories, and, where applicable, regulations of the Public
Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.

(g) (1) On or before January 31, 2018, every city, county, or
city and county with a population of 200,000 or more residents,
and on or before June 30, 2018, every city, county, or city and
county with a population of less than 200,000 residents, shall, in
consultation with the local fire department or district and the utility
director, if the city, county, or city and county operates a utility,
adopt an ordinance, consistent with the goals and intent of this
section, that creates a streamlined permitting and inspection
process for advanced energy storage installations. The ordinance
shall substantially comply with the California Energy Storage
Permitting Guidebook created pursuant to subdivision (k). In
developing a streamlined permitting process, the city, county, or
city and county shall adopt a checklist of all requirements with
which advanced energy storage installations shall comply to be
eligible for expedited review. An application that satisfies the
information requirements in the checklist, as determined by the
city, county, or city and county, shall be deemed complete. Upon
confirmation by the city, county, or city and county of the
application and supporting documents being complete and meeting
the requirements of the checklist, and consistent with the ordinance,
a city, county, or city and county shall, consistent with subdivision
(b), approve the application and issue all required permits or
authorizations. Upon receipt of an incomplete application, a city,
county, or city and county shall issue a written correction notice
detailing all deficiencies in the application and any additional
information required to be eligible for expedited permit issuance.
An application submitted to a city, county, or city and county that
owns and operates an electric utility shall demonstrate compliance
with the utility’s interconnection polices prior to approval.

(2) In developing the ordinance, the city, county, or city and
county shall refer to documented best practices in California,
including relevant practices or procedures from its own expedited
permitting process for rooftop solar pursuant to Section 65850.5
and for electric vehicle charging stations pursuant to Section
65850.7, and applicable safety-related findings published or
promoted by the Public Utilities Commission.

(3) In developing the streamlined permitting review and
checklist, the city, county, or city and county shall develop a
simplified standard plan so that an engineering plan check is
unnecessary for standard system configurations, known as an
“over-the-counter review.” If the expedited review process requires
an engineering plan check, this check shall be completed no later
than five business days after the application is deemed complete.

(4) The checklist and required permitting documentation shall
be published on a publicly accessible Internet Web site, if the city,
county, or city and county has an Internet Web site, and the city,
county, or city and county shall allow for electronic submittal of
a permit application and associated documentation, and shall
authorize the electronic signature on all forms, applications, and
other documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. If
a city, county, or city and county determines that it is unable to
authorize the acceptance of an electronic signature on all forms,
applications, and other documents in lieu of a wet signature by
an applicant, the city, county, or city and county shall state, in the
ordinance required under this subdivision, the reasons for its
inability to accept electronic signatures and acceptance of an
electronic signature shall not be required.

(h) A city, county, or city and county shall not condition
approval for any advanced energy storage installation permit on
the approval of the installation by an association, as that term is
defined in Section 4080 of the Civil Code.

(i) A city, county, or city and county shall calculate the
reasonable cost of executing the process as specified in this section.
The details and results of this calculation shall be reported to the
Energy Commission upon implementation of the expedited process
and the fee charged to each application will be reported to the
Energy Commission on an annual basis.

(j) Any fee charged for the permitting or inspection of an
advanced energy storage installation shall not be calculated based
on the value of the installation or any other factor not directly
associated with the cost to issue the permit.

(k) On or before September 30, 2017, the Governor’s Office of
Planning and Research shall, in consultation with local building
officials, the State Fire Marshall, the storage industry, the Public
Utilities Commission, and other stakeholders, and through review
of any existing streamlined permitting practices used by cities,
counties, or city and counties, create a California Energy Storage
Permitting Guidebook modeled substantially on the California
Solar Permitting Guidebook.

(l) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “A feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the
specific, adverse impact” includes, but is not limited to, any
cost-effective method, condition, or mitigation imposed by a city,
county, or city and county on another similarly situated application
in a prior successful application for a permit.

(2) “Advanced energy storage” means an energy storage system,
as defined in Section 2835 of the Public Utilities Code, as well as
an energy storage system that is designed to provide backup energy
services in the event of a grid outage, that is limited to either of
the following:

(A) Electrochemical energy storage in nonventing packages.

(B) Customer sited installations.

(3) “Customer sited” means the system is interconnected to the
electrical grid through an existing retail customer interconnection.

(4) “Electronic submittal” means the utilization of one or more
of the following:

(A) Email.

(B) The Internet.

(C) Facsimile.

(5) “Specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable,
direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified, and
written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions
as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete.

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No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 14770 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

14770.  

The director shall establish and staff within the
department the “forms management center” for the orderly design,
implementation, and maintenance of a statewide forms management
program.

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