Bill Text: CA AB970 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Planning and zoning: electric vehicle charging stations: permit application: approval.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 710, Statutes of 2021. [AB970 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB970-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 970

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Introduced by Assembly Members McCarty and Chiu
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Ting)

February 18, 2021

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An act to add Section 65850.71 to the Government Code, relating to zoning.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 970, as introduced, McCarty. Planning and zoning: electric vehicle charging stations: permit application: approval.

Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county to administratively approve an application to install an electric vehicle charging station through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit subject to a limited review by the building official of that city, county, or city and county. Existing law allows the building official to require the applicant to apply for a use permit if the official finds that the station could have a specific adverse impact upon the public health or safety and prohibits the city, county, or city and county from denying the application for a use permit to install an electric vehicle charging station unless it makes written findings 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.

Existing law requires every city, county, and city and county to create an expedited, streamlined permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations and to adopt a checklist pursuant to which an applicant that satisfies the information requirements shall be deemed complete and therefore eligible for expedited review.

This bill would require an application to install an electric vehicle charging station to be deemed complete if, 5 business days after the application was submitted, the city, county, or city and county has not deemed the application to be incomplete, as specified. The bill would require an application to install an electric vehicle charging station to be deemed approved if 15 business days after the application was submitted, (1) the city, county, or city and county has not approved the application, as specified, (2) the building official has not made a finding that the proposed installation could have an adverse impact upon the public health or safety or required the applicant to apply for a use permit, as specified, and (3) all required approvals from the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative have been obtained. The bill would provide that these requirements do not change or remove any obligation of the equipment manufacturer, owner, operator, or building official of a city, county, or city and county to comply with a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative’s reasonable and feasible safety, reliability, and engineering policies.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 65850.71 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65850.71.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:

(1) An electric vehicle charging station has a significant economic impact in California and is not a municipal affair, as the term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, but is instead a matter of statewide concern.

(2) Table 3 of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permitting Guidebook, published July 2019, recommends best practices for electric vehicle supply equipment permitting that would establish a 15-day timeline and satisfy the intent of Assembly Bill 1236 (Chapter 598 of the Statutes of 2015).

(b) An application to install an electric vehicle charging station submitted to the building official of a city, county, or city and county shall be deemed complete if, five business days after the application was submitted, the city, county, or city and county has not, consistent with the checklist created by the city, county, or city and county pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 65850.7, deemed the application to be incomplete.

(c) An application to install an electric vehicle charging station submitted to a city, county, or city and county shall be deemed approved if 15 business days after the application was submitted all of the following are met:

(1) The city, county, or city and county has not administratively approved the application through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65850.7.

(2) The building official of the city, county, or city and county has not made a finding based on substantial evidence that the proposed installation could have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety and required the applicant to apply for a use permit pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65850.7.

(3) If the electric vehicle charging station is being installed in an area that receives electrical service from a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative, the applicant has obtained all required approvals from the local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative.

(d) This section does not change or remove any obligation of an equipment manufacturer, owner, operator, or building official of a city, county, or city and county to comply with a local publicly owned electric utility or electrical cooperative’s reasonable and feasible safety, reliability, and engineering policies.