BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2135
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 2135 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: April 18, 2012
SUBJECT : Building standards: solar distributed generation
technology on residential and commercial property.
SUMMARY : Requires the Building Standards Commission (BSC), and
specified state agencies, to develop a model ordinance and
guidelines that assist local agencies in developing building
standards and permit processes for solar distributed generation
technology (SDGT) on residential and commercial property.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires BSC and the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD), in cooperation with the State Fire Marshal
(SFM), to develop a model ordinance and guidelines that assist
local agencies in developing building standards and permit
processes for SDGT on residential and commercial property, and
to post the ordinance and guidelines on their respective
Internet Web sites.
2)Makes legislative findings and declarations related to
streamlining the local permit system for the installation of
solar panels.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a city of county to make changes or modifications
in the requirements contained in the provisions published by
the BSC in the California Building Standards Code (Code) for
approval and adoption.
2)Requires that amendments, additions, and deletions to the Code
adopted by a city, county, or city and county pursuant to
existing law, become effective 180 days after publication, or
at a later date, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
AB 2135
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Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "The
local process of obtaining a municipal permit to install rooftop
solar panels is often inefficient, expensive, and varies across
jurisdictions around the state. In 2007, local permits and
inspections added 13% to the cost of a solar system - today,
they add 33%. In 2009, the Sierra Club surveyed 250
municipalities in Southern California to determine their fees
and processing times �to acquire] permits to install solar
panels on residential rooftops. The survey found that fees for
a typical solar panel varied from $0 to over $1,500 for
residential single-family homeowners.
"In addition to rising permit costs, the lack of a coordinated
and streamlined local permit system makes the local permit and
inspection process inefficient and confusing to the consumers
and companies that install solar panels. These costs are an
impediment to thousands of Californians who may otherwise
install solar �panels for] their homes, and reduce potential
jobs in the clean energy sector."
Background . The BSC was established in 1953 and is responsible
for administering California's building codes, including
adopting, approving, publishing, and implementing codes and
standards. The BSC publishes the Code every three years, and
its supplements, such as the California Green Building Standards
Code, in intervening years.
The building regulations or standards take effect 180 days after
their publication unless otherwise stipulated and applies to all
occupancies in California.
According to a January 2011 national report by the home service
solar provider, Sunrun, "The bulk of the problem is local
process and variation? Inefficient local processes waste time
and money, and local variation forces installers to spend time
and money customizing plans for each jurisdiction.
Standardizing this process makes sense because most
installations are relatively similar and 'share many
similarities of design?
"Since each jurisdiction has different requirements, installers
may have to research code, customize drawings, and apply for
zoning approval every time they do an install. Many
jurisdictions require review by an expensive professional
engineer even if similar plans have been approved before?
AB 2135
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Jurisdictions charge fees that vary widely, some higher than
$1,000. Many jurisdictions use solar permit fees to plug other
holes in the budget? Jurisdictions often have requirements
beyond what state or national code requires, such as larger fire
barriers, extra disconnects to turn off the system, expensive
labeling, and excessive roof penetrations. These add
significant cost to a system."
According to the 2009 Sierra Club report, "Solar Electric Permit
Fees in Southern California," fees for a typical photovoltaic
(PV) system varied between $0 to over 1,500 across 250
municipalities. The average PV permit fee in the survey area
was $493, and the average processing time across jurisdictions
was one to two weeks. The report found that certain practices
contributed to exorbitant permit fees and long processing times,
including: valuation-based fees (based on the cost of a solar
system), fire department reviews, public works department
reviews, planning department reviews, and municipal utility
approvals.
Support . According to the Sierra Club, "While solar equipment
prices are falling, the high cost and excessive amount of time
in permitting and installing residential and commercial solar
systems remains an impediment. The bulk of the problem is the
lack of a standard permitting process throughout the state, as
the current permitting and inspection processes vary from
jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The need to track requirements,
create custom designs and unnecessary delays and rework
associated with permitting variability all result in higher
costs for consumers without improving safety or quality of the
installations. In addition, many local jurisdictions are
understaffed and have not been provided adequate training on the
electric code and system design."
Opposition . According to the California State Association of
Electrical Workers, California State Pipe Trades Council, and
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers, "While the
intentions behind AB 2135 are most certainly well-intentioned,
the practical effect of AB 2135 would be to undermine the
California's building standards process, the State's system for
training electricians and other clean energy trades people, and
potentially endanger the health and safety of workers installing
SDGT. Moreover, we strongly believe that AB 2135 is unnecessary
in that building standards for SDGT are already in place.
Finally, we are concerned that AB 2135 places new
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responsibilities on BSC, which are outside BSC's area of
expertise and will diminish BSC's ability to complete the 2012
Triennial Code Adoption Cycle in a timely manner.
"It is of critical important to uphold the integrity of the
statutory and regulatory requirements for adopting local
building standards ordinances. The requirement that BSC develop
guidelines to assist local agencies to develop streamlined
permitting processes for SDGT on residential and commercial
property is beyond the scope of BSC's authority. The process
for the issuance of building permits is generally under the
jurisdiction of the applicable city or county, and �existing
law] provides permit streamlining guidelines for city and county
approval of solar energy systems."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Division of Ratepayer Advocates
Environmental Defense Fund
Sierra Club
Sungevity
Sunrun
Suntech
Verengo Solar
Vote Solar Initiative
Opposition
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Pipe Trades Council
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
Coalition of California Utility Employees
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301