(Stern D)   Low-emissions buildings and sources of heat energy.

Summary: Would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop a statewide market development initiative to advance the state’s market for low-emission space and water heating equipment for new and existing residential and nonresidential buildings. The bill would require the commission, as a part of the initiative, to identify and target key low-emission space and water heating technologies that would assist the state in meeting its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

(McGuire D)   Local government: nuisance abatement.

Summary: Current law authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to establish a procedure to use a nuisance abatement lien or a special assessment to collect abatement costs and related administrative costs. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2024, the legislative body of a city or county to also collect fines related to the nuisance abatement using a nuisance abatement lien or a special assessment.

(Wiener D)   Renewable energy: shared renewable energy tariffs.

Summary: Would require the Public Utilities Commission to require each large electrical corporation to establish a tariff or tariffs that provide for bill credits for electricity generated by eligible renewable generating facilities and exported to the electrical grid to be credited to electrical accounts of nonresidential customers of the corporations. The bill would require the commission to ensure that the credit reflects the full value of the electricity from the eligible renewable generating facilities and the credit is established using the same methodology that as used to determined credits under the standard contract or tariff for eligible customer-generators.

(Glazer D)   California Environmental Quality Act: housing projects.

Summary: Would require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2019, to adopt a rule of court establishing procedures applicable to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review pursuant to CEQA of a lead agency’s action, as specified, for a housing project. The bill would prohibit the court, in an action or proceeding brought alleging a violation of CEQA, from staying or enjoining the siting, construction, or operation of a housing project, except as provided.

(Beall D)   State permitting: environment: processing procedures.

Summary: Would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the California Coastal Commission, the State Water Resources Control Board, and a California regional water quality control board, for certain permits that each agency issues for a dam safety project or flood risk reduction project, beginning July 1, 2020, to keep an accurate record of permit processing times. The bill would require these agencies to issue a report that discloses any legally mandated permit processing times and the average permit processing times for all dam safety projects and flood risk reduction projects, as specified.

(Roth D)   PACE program: program administrators.

Summary: Current law, the California Financing Law (CFL), requires a program administrator who administers a PACE program on behalf of, and with the written consent of, a public agency to comply with specified requirements relating to the PACE program, including requiring, commencing on January 1, 2019, a program administrator to be licensed by the Commissioner of Business Oversight. Current law requires a program administrator, as of that date, to establish and maintain a process for the enrollment of, and the cancellation of that enrollment, a PACE solicitor and a PACE solicitor agent. This bill would require the program administrator to maintain the processes described above in writing, and in a manner that is acceptable to the commissioner.

(Jackson D)   General plans.

Summary: Current law requires, after the initial revision of a safety element in a general plan of a city or county, to identify flood hazards and address the risk of fire in certain lands upon each revision of the housing element, the planning agency to review and, if necessary, revise the safety element to identify new information relating to flood and fire hazards that was not previously available during the previous revision of the safety element. This bill would require the safety element to be reviewed and revised as necessary to address climate adaption and resiliency strategies and would require, after these revisions, the planning agency to review and, if necessary, revise the safety element upon each revision of the housing element or local hazard mitigation plan, but not less than once every 8 years, to identify new information relating to flood and fire hazards and climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to the city or county that was not available during the previous revision of the safety element.

(Allen D)   Common interest developments: EV-dedicated TOU meters.

Summary: The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act provides that any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any deed, contract, security instrument, or other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a common interest development, or any provision of the governing documents of a common interest development, that effectively prohibits or restricts the installation or use of an electrical vehicle charging station in an owner’s designated parking space is void and unenforceable. The act authorizes an association, as defined, to impose reasonable restrictions on those stations, as specified, and imposes requirements with respect to an association’s approval process for those stations. If the station is to be placed in a common area or an exclusive use common area, the act requires the homeowner to pay for the electricity usage associated with the charging station and to be responsible for various costs associated with maintaining and repairing the station, as well as costs for damage to common areas and adjacent units resulting from installation and maintenance of the station. Existing law requires the award of reasonable attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff in an action to enforce these provisions. This bill would instead require the award of those fees to a prevailing plaintiff in an action by a homeowner requesting to have an electric vehicle charging station installed and seeking to enforce compliance with the above-described provisions.

(Allen D)   California Climate Resiliency Program.

Summary: Would establish the California Climate Resiliency Program to increase resiliency to climate change impacts in urban and rural communities throughout the state and to fund the planning and implementation of projects that improve and enhance the climate change resiliency of natural systems, natural and working lands, and developed areas. The bill would require that the program be developed and implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Board, in coordination with any participating state conservancies, as defined.

(Hertzberg D)   Sales tax: services.

Summary: Would, on and after January 1, 2019, expand the Sales and Use Tax Law to impose a tax on the purchase of services by businesses in California at a specified percentage of the sales price of the service. The bill would require the tax to be collected and remitted by the seller of the purchased services. The bill would exempt certain types of services, including health care services, from the tax and would exempt from the tax a business with gross receipts of less than $100,000 in the previous 4 quarters.