BILL NUMBER: ABX2 48 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 17
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 11, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wright
MAY 22, 2001
An act to amend Section 25619 of, and to add Chapter 5.1
(commencing with Section 25406) to Division 15 of, the Public
Resources Code, and to add Section 9618 to the Unemployment Insurance
Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 48, Wright. Energy conservation.
(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, an
insulation climate control system, and other building design and
construction standards that increase the efficiency in the use of
energy for new residential and new nonresidential buildings and to
provide an energy conservation manual that includes a prescriptive
method of complying with the standards.
This bill would enact the Solar Training, Education, and
Certification Act of 2001. The bill would authorize cities,
counties, and cities and counties to implement a program that
implements applicable building standards requiring the use of solar
water heating or photovoltaic systems in construction projects.
(2) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources and
Conservation Commission to develop a grant program to offset a
portion of the cost of an eligible solar energy system, as defined.
Existing law requires that eligible solar energy systems for
electricity generation be listed by a certified testing agency.
This bill would require that, in the absence of certification,
major components of eligible solar energy systems for electricity
generation comply with specifications adopted by the commission.
(3) Existing law establishes in state government the Employment
Development Department, and specifies its powers and duties.
This bill would require the department to administer a solar
training program, as specified, and to coordinate with the Division
of Apprenticeship Standards and the State Contractors' License Board
to ensure that solar energy product and service providers in
California possess and maintain the necessary skills, training, and
certification.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Solar Training, Education, and Certification Act of 2001.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) California's increasing energy needs require the development
of alternative energy resources, including solar energy for the
production of heat and electricity.
(2) California leads the nation and ranks as a world leader in the
development of technologies and programs to accelerate the use of
solar energy.
(3) A training and certification program authorized by the
Legislature and administered by the Employment Development
Department, in consultation and cooperation with the Contractors'
State License Board and solar industry stakeholders, can help
mitigate the state's energy shortage by ensuring that appropriate
training and education is available for those practicing in and
entering into the solar energy design, construction, and installation
businesses.
SEC. 2. Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 25406) is added to
Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.1. SOLAR AND PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
25406. A local government may develop and administer a program to
encourage the construction of buildings that use solar thermal and
photovoltaic systems that meet applicable standards and requirements
imposed by the state or the local government for an eligible solar
energy system pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section
25619. The program shall recognize owners and builders who
participate in the program by awarding these owners and builders a
"Sunny Homes Seal."
SEC. 3. Section 25619 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25619. (a) The commission shall develop a grant program to offset
a portion of the cost of eligible solar energy systems. The goals
of the program are all of the following:
(1) To make solar energy systems cost competitive with alternate
forms of energy.
(2) To provide support for electricity storage capabilities in
solar electric applications to facilitate enhanced reliability in the
event of a power outage.
(3) To encourage the purchase by California residents of
California-made solar systems.
(b) (1) The grant for an eligible solar energy system shall be
based on either the performance of, or the type of, the solar energy
system, as the commission determines, and the amount of the grant
shall not exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750). Except as
provided in paragraph (2), if a grant is awarded pursuant to this
section for an eligible solar energy system that produces
electricity, no grant shall be made for that system from any other
grant program administered by the commission.
(2) An applicant who receives a grant for a photovoltaic solar
energy system from another program administered by the commission,
may also receive a grant for that system pursuant to this section, if
all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The system will accomplish the purpose specified in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (a).
(B) The system is an eligible solar energy system.
(C) The system includes adequate battery storage, as determined by
the commission.
(c) Purchasers, sellers, owner-builders, or owner-developers of
the solar energy system may apply for a grant under this section. An
owner-builder or owner-developer of a new single-family dwelling on
which a system is installed may elect not to apply for a grant on a
solar energy system installed on a new single-family dwelling. If an
owner-builder or owner-developer of a new single-family dwelling on
which a system is installed elects not to apply for the grant for a
solar energy system, the purchaser of the dwelling may apply for the
grant. The seller, owner-builder, or owner-developer shall reflect
the amount of the grant received on the purchaser's bill of sale.
(d) The commission shall develop and adopt guidelines to provide
appropriate consumer protection under the grant program and to govern
other aspects of the grant program. The guidelines shall be adopted
at a publicly noticed meeting and all interested parties shall be
provided an opportunity to comment either orally or in writing. Not
less than 30 days notice shall be provided for the public meeting.
Subsequent substantive changes to adopted guidelines shall be adopted
by the commission at a public meeting upon written notice to the
public of not less than 10 days. The guidelines adopted pursuant to
this subdivision are not subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
(e) The commission shall require installers of solar energy
systems funded through grants under this section to be properly
licensed to do so by the Contractors' State License Board. This
requirement does not apply to the owner of a single-family dwelling
who installs a solar energy system on his or her single-family
dwelling.
(f) The award of a grant pursuant to this section is subject to
appeal to the commission upon a showing that factors other than those
described in the guidelines adopted by the commission were applied
in making the award. Any action taken by an applicant to apply for,
or become or remain eligible to receive an award, including
satisfying conditions specified by the commission, does not
constitute the rendering of goods, services, or a direct benefit to
the commission. Awards made pursuant to this section are not subject
to any repayment requirements of Chapter 7.4 (commencing with
Section 25645).
(g) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Cost" includes equipment, installation charges, and all
components necessary to carry out the intended use of the system if
those components are an integral part of the system. In the case of
a system that is leased, "cost" means the principal recovery portion
of all lease payments scheduled to be made during the full term of
the lease, which is the cost incurred by the taxpayer in acquiring
the solar energy system, excluding interest charges and maintenance
expenses.
(2) (A) "Eligible solar energy system" means any new, previously
unused solar energy device whose primary purpose is to provide for
the collection, conversion, transfer, distribution, storage, or
control of solar energy for water heating or electricity generation,
and that meets applicable standards and requirements imposed by state
and local permitting authorities, including, but not limited to, the
National Electric Code. Eligible solar energy systems for water
heating purposes shall be certified by the Solar Rating and
Certification Corporation (SRCC) or any other nationally recognized
certification agency that certifies complete systems. Major
components of eligible solar energy systems for electricity
generation shall be listed by a certified testing agency, such as the
Underwriters Laboratory. In the absence of certification, major
components of eligible solar energy systems for electricity
generation shall comply with specifications adopted by the
commission.
(B) "Eligible solar energy system" does not include any of the
following:
(i) Wind energy devices that produce electricity or provide
mechanical work.
(ii) Additions to or augmentation of existing solar energy
systems.
(iii) A device that produces electricity for a structure unless
the device is interconnected and operates in parallel with the
electric grid.
(C) Eligible solar energy systems shall have a warranty of not
less than three years.
(3) "Installed" means placed in a functionally operative state.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2006, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 4. Section 9618 is added to the Unemployment Insurance Code,
to read:
9618. (a) The department shall administer a solar training
program. The department shall coordinate with the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards and the State Contractors' License Board to
ensure solar energy product and service providers in California
possess and maintain the necessary skills, training, and
certification.
(b) Elements of the training program shall include, but need not
be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The science of photovoltaics and small scale solar thermal
technologies.
(2) The design of solar systems.
(3) The installation of solar systems.
(4) Permitting of solar systems.
(5) Safety.
(6) System and component certification.
(7) State and federal incentive programs.
SEC. 5. The Solar Training, Education, and Certification Act of
2001 shall be funded by available job training funds in existence on
the effective date of the act adding this section during the 2001-02
Second Extraordinary Session.