BILL NUMBER: AB 2713 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chiu
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Mullin )
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 14770 of add
Section 65850.8 to the Government Code, relating to
state government forms. local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2713, as amended, Chiu. Statewide forms management
program. Land use: local ordinances: energy systems.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would
create a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
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.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65850.8 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
65850.8. (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.
SEC. 2. 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.
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.