Today's Law As Amended


Bill PDF |Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-1918 Solar-ready and photovoltaic and battery storage system requirements: exemption.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 25402.19 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25402.19.
 A building that is constructed in the service territory of a public utility district and that receives all of its electricity pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United States Congress pursuant to Section 4 of the Trinity River Division Act of August 12, 1955, (Public Law 84-386), if that electricity is carbon free, is exempt from the building standards adopted by the commission, and approved pursuant to Section 25402.2, that require new residential and commercial buildings to be solar ready or to have photovoltaic and battery storage systems installed. This section only applies to a public utility district that files annual disclosures pursuant to Section 398.4 of the Public Utilities Code.
SEC. 2.
 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because the Trinity Public Utilities District (TPUD) is unique in that it is the only publicly owned utility that relies solely on hydropower, a completely carbon-free electricity source. Building standards adopted by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission require that new homes and some commercial spaces be built “solar ready.” Because TPUD’s ratepayers receive entirely carbon-free electricity at extremely low rates pursuant to the Trinity River Division Act of 1955, the installation of rooftop solar results in a net increase in housing costs and carbon emissions in the TPUD’s service territory. In order to further California’s climate goals and avoid increasing the cost of housing unnecessarily, it is necessary to exempt buildings in the Trinity Public Utilities District’s service territory from these state building standards.
SEC. 3.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.