Bill Text: CA AB2168 | 2019-2020 | 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 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-05 - Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. [AB2168 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB2168-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2168

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Introduced by Assembly Members McCarty, Chiu, and Reyes
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cooley and Ting)
(Coauthors: Senators Beall, Lena Gonzalez, and Wieckowski)

February 11, 2020

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An act to add Section 65850.75 to the Government Code, relating to zoning, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2168, 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, the city, county, or city and county has not approved the application through the issuance of a building permit or similar nondiscretionary permit, and the building official has not made findings that the proposed installation could have an adverse impact, as described above, and required the applicant to apply for a use permit.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Digest Key

Vote: 2/3   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 65850.75 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65850.75.

 (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 both 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 findings based upon 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.

SEC. 2.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to achieve the goals of Executive Order No. B-48-18, signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. on January 26, 2018, which provides for the target of 5,000,000 zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in California by 2030, and 250,000 ZEV charging stations, including 10,000 direct current fast charge stations by 2025, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.