BILL NUMBER: AB 1801 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Campos
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Alejo )
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to amend Section 714 of the Civil Code, and to amend
Section 66014 of the Government Code, relating to land use.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1801, as amended, Campos. Land use: fees.
Existing
(1) Existing law requires fees
charged by a local agency for specified purposes to not exceed the
estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee
is charged, unless a question regarding the amount of the fee charged
in excess of this cost is submitted to, and approved by, 2/3 of the
electors.
This bill would prohibit provide that the
total amount of fees charged by a local agency from
charging a fee for permit for to install a
renewable energy system, as defined, that exceeds
cannot exceed $3,000 for a 131-kilowatt commercial system, $600
for a 15-kilowatt residential system, or the actual cost of
issuing the permit providing the service for
which the fees are charged. The bill would also prohibit a local
agency from calculating a fee for a renewable energy system by
utilizing the valuation of the renewable energy system, any costs
associated with the installation of the system, or any other costs
not directly associated with the costs to issue the permit, and would
require the local agency to identify the individual fees assessed
on the invoice provided to the applicant .
The bill would additionally prohibit a local agency from charging
various other fees based upon the value of the property being
improved, or the improvement, materials, or labor costs associated
with the improvement.
(2) Existing law prohibits any covenant, restriction, or condition
contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other
instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any interest in,
real property, and any provision of a governing document, as that
term is defined, from effectively prohibiting or restricting the
installation or use of a solar energy system, except that reasonable
restrictions may be imposed on the installation of solar energy
systems, as specified.
This bill would prohibit an association, as defined, from charging
a fee to review, inspect, recommend, approve, or disapprove any
aspect of the installation of a renewable energy system.
(3) The bill would also express a legislative finding and
declaration that oversight of permit fees for renewable energy
systems is an issue of statewide concern and not a municipal affair
and that, therefore, all cities, including charter cities, would be
subject to the provisions of the bill.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) The importance of increasing California's renewable energy
generation was declared with the enactment of a renewable energy
portfolio standard.
(b) There is considerable variation in the range of permitting
fees that are charged among municipalities to install similar
renewable energy systems.
(c) Cost and time burdens are a disincentive to the adoption of
renewable energy, which threatens our state's environmental,
economic, social, and national security goals.
(d) To meet the state's goal for maximizing the deployment of
renewable energy, there is a need for certainty regarding the
associated fees that may be assessed for permitting renewable energy
systems.
(e) Fees levied to ensure the appropriate installation,
utilization, and maintenance of renewable energy systems should not
exceed the actual costs of rendering those services.
(f) Oversight of local agency fees is a matter of statewide
interest and concern. Therefore, the Legislature finds and declares
that oversight of permit fees for renewable energy systems is a
matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair, as that term
is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution.
Therefore, this act shall apply to all cities, including charter
cities.
SEC. 2. Section 714 of the Civil Code
is amended to read:
714. (a) Any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any
deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting
the transfer or sale of, or any interest in, real property, 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 a solar energy system is void and
unenforceable.
(b) (1) This section does
shall not apply to provisions that impose reasonable
restrictions on solar energy systems. However, it is the policy of
the state to promote and encourage the use of solar energy systems
and to remove obstacles thereto. Accordingly, reasonable restrictions
on a solar energy system are those restrictions that do not
significantly increase the cost of the system or significantly
decrease its efficiency or specified performance, or that allow for
an alternative system of comparable cost, efficiency, and energy
conservation benefits.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an association, as defined by
subdivision (a) of Section 1531, shall not charge a fee to review,
inspect, recommend, approve, or disapprove any aspect of the
installation of a renewable energy system.
(c) (1) A solar energy system shall meet applicable health and
safety standards and requirements imposed by state and local
permitting authorities.
(2) A solar energy system for heating water shall be certified by
the Solar Rating Certification Corporation (SRCC) or other nationally
recognized certification agencies. SRCC is a nonprofit third party
supported by the United States Department of Energy. The
certification shall be for the entire solar energy system and
installation.
(3) A solar energy system for producing electricity shall also
meet all applicable safety and performance standards established by
the National Electrical Code, the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, and accredited testing laboratories such as
Underwriters Laboratories and, where applicable, rules of the Public
Utilities Commission regarding safety and reliability.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) (A) For solar domestic water heating systems or solar swimming
pool heating systems that comply with state and federal law,
"significantly" means an amount exceeding 20 percent of the cost of
the system or decreasing the efficiency of the solar energy system by
an amount exceeding 20 percent, as originally specified and
proposed.
(B) For photovoltaic systems that comply with state and federal
law, "significantly" means an amount not to exceed two thousand
dollars ($2,000) over the system cost as originally specified and
proposed, or a decrease in system efficiency of an amount exceeding
20 percent as originally specified and proposed.
(2) "Solar energy system" has the same meaning as defined in
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 801.5.
(e) (1) Whenever approval is required for the installation or use
of a solar energy system, the application for approval shall be
processed and approved by the appropriate approving entity in the
same manner as an application for approval of an architectural
modification to the property, and shall not be willfully avoided or
delayed.
(2) For an approving entity that is a homeowners' association, as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1351, and that is not a public
entity, both of the following shall apply:
(A) The approval or denial of an application shall be in writing.
(B) 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) Any entity, other than a public entity, that willfully
violates this section shall be liable to the applicant or other party
for actual damages occasioned thereby, 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.
(h) (1) A public entity that fails to comply with this section may
not receive funds from a state-sponsored grant or loan program for
solar energy. A public entity shall certify its compliance with the
requirements of this section when applying for funds from a
state-sponsored grant or loan program.
(2) A local public entity may shall
not exempt residents in its jurisdiction from the requirements of
this section.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section 66014 of
the Government Code is amended to read:
66014. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, when a local agency
charges fees for zoning variances; zoning changes; use permits;
building inspections; building permits; filing and processing
applications and petitions filed with the local agency formation
commission or conducting preliminary proceedings or proceedings under
the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of
2000, Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5; the
processing of maps under the Subdivision Map Act, Division 2
(commencing with Section 66410) of Title 7; or planning services
under the authority of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 65100) of
Division 1 of Title 7 or under any other authority; those fees shall
not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for
which the fee is charged, unless a question regarding the amount of
the fee charged in excess of the estimated reasonable cost of
providing the services or materials is submitted to, and approved by,
a popular vote of two-thirds of those electors voting on the issue.
(2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the total amount of
fees charged by a local agency to install a renewable
energy system shall not charge a fee for a renewable
energy system permit that exceeds exceed three
thousand dollars ($3,000) for a commercial system that does not
exceed 131 kilowatts, six hundred dollars ($600) for a residential
system that does not exceed 15 kilowatts, or the actual cost
of providing the service for which the fees are charged
of issuing the permit . The total amount of
fees charged by a local agency to install a commercial renewable
energy system that exceeds 131 kilowatts or a residential renewable
energy system that exceeds 15 kilowatts shall not exceed the actual
cost of providing the service for which the fees are charged .
(B) "Renewable energy" means either of the following:
(i) A device or technology that conserves or produces heat,
processes heat, space heating, water heating, steam, space cooling,
refrigeration, mechanical energy, electricity, or energy in any form
convertible to these uses, that does not expend or use conventional
energy fuels (oil, gasoline, or natural gas), and that uses biomass,
solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, or geothermal electrical
generation technologies.
(ii) Ultralow-emission equipment for energy generation based on
thermal energy systems such as natural gas turbines and fuel cells.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(i) "Renewable energy system" means any device or combination of
devices that uses biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind,
geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, digester gas, municipal
solid waste conversion, or landfill gas.
(ii) "Residential system" means any renewable energy system that
is installed on a single-family home.
(iii) "Commercial system" means any renewable energy system that
is installed on commercial property.
(C) Any fee charged pursuant to this paragraph shall be in
addition to a fee charged pursuant to Section 18931.6 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(D) A local agency shall not base the calculation of a fee charged
pursuant to this paragraph on the valuation of the renewable energy
system, any costs associated with the installation of the renewable
energy system, or any other factor not directly associated with the
cost to issue the permit.
(E) A local agency shall separately identify each fee assessed for
the installation of a renewable energy system on the invoice
provided to the applicant.
(b) A local agency shall not base the calculation of a fee charged
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) on the valuation of the
property on which the improvement is planned, or the improvement,
materials, or labor costs associated with the improvement.
(b)
(c) The fees charged pursuant to subdivision (a) may
include the costs reasonably necessary to prepare and revise the
plans and policies that a local agency is required to adopt before it
can make any necessary findings and determinations.
(c)
(d) Any judicial action or proceeding to attack,
review, set aside, void, or annul the ordinance, resolution, or
motion authorizing the charge of a fee subject to this section shall
be brought pursuant to Section 66022.