AB 2188 supporters said each CA city and county has its own permit process, creating costly delays and hurdles for homeowners. AB 2188 would require City Halls and counties to issue permits for small solar systems in a way similar to conventional building permits with just one required inspection. It would let homeowner associations enact design standards that don't raise the cost of a solar installation by more than 10%, or reduce the amount of power it produces by more than 10%.

The bill was supported by solar industry veteran Patrick Redgate, President & CEO of Ameco Solar, who founded the Paramount-based firm in 1974 and is an elected member of the Board of Directors of CALSEIA (statewide solar industry association.)

Mr. Redgate told LBREPORT.com: "Long Beach is among the better City Halls in this regard. Their staff understand the issues and they do a good job. However some other cities are less enlightened and this bill will be a step in the right direction."

A posting on Ameco Solar's website states:

...Permitting adds time and cost to solar systems...Many times a contractor, needs to wait at the building department or make an appointment to speak with an inspector or plan checker to know what each permit application requires. If no appointment system is available, it’s hit or miss and if you are lucky the relevant official will be there when you show up.. There are at least 423 building departments in California, and each one is different in procedure.

Mr. Redgate said in his firm's webposting: "Getting information on how to file a permit in California shouldn't be more complicated than applying to college...Imagine having to travel to each school to learn what information you need to provide to apply or finding out you needed to meet with an admissions officer who left for the day or is simply too busy to see you. Certainly most would never apply to a school out of state -- or drive very far to apply -- it would cost too much. This is how solar installers feel. It takes a lot of time to get anywhere, especially in LA and Orange Counties, and having to make multiple trips can add significant cost to a system."

Governor Jerry Brown's "Million Solar Homes Program" set a goal of installing 3,000 megawatts of solar generation capacity, establishing a self-sufficient solar industry, and placing photovoltaic systems on 50% of new homes. Ameco Solar's Redgate says he's been working for some time with Governor Brown's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to make the permit processes more efficient and less costly...with the first goal is to standardize the required information on a permit.

AB 2188 was opposed by the "League of CA Cities." a privately run political advocacy group that supports/opposes what it says are the common interests of California cities, or more accurately, their City Halls. The League of CA cities has sent the following "Senate Floor Alert" to state Senate members, urging a "no" vote on AB 2188.

[League of CA Cities text] -- The League of California Cities opposes AB 2188 because it:

• Imposes costly requirements on struggling cities. -- Under the bill, every city -- no matter what their economic circumstances -- must create a new, costly ordinance to establish an expedited, streamlined permitting and inspection process for residential solar installations regardless of the demand for solar products in the community. Many cities continue to experience double digit unemployment and deep cuts to important community services. AB 2188 would only exacerbate this problem by forcing cities to sideline other more pressing issues in order to develop an ordinance and special permit checklist for solar systems.

• Establishes costly electronic submittal process. -- The vast majority of local governments currently lack the ability to accept permit applications over the internet or via email. Still, AB 2188 ignores technological and funding shortcomings at the local level and forces cities to invest limited resources to comply with an unwanted mandate when their residents lack other more essential services.

• Establishes a bad precedent for tiered levels of public service -- AB 2188 requires cities to provide a level of service to solar permit applicants currently unavailable to nearly all other individuals seeking a building permit. While unintentional, in effect AB 2188 would compel local agencies with scarce resources to favor affluent solar system purchasers over all other permit seekers. This is a bad precedent and departs from longstanding efforts by local governments to treat all applicants equally regardless of permit type or income.

The League of California Cities will remove its opposition if the following amendments are taken:

Exempt cities that receive fewer than 100 solar permit requests a year

Exempt cities that lack the funding needed to comply

Exempt cities that have an existing solar permit review processes consistent with AB 2188

Please Vote NO on AB 2188.

The City of Long Beach (per Diana Tang, Manager of Gov't Affairs) previously had concerns about aspects of the bill, that were addressed by amendments, and thus the City had a neutral position on the bill (neither oppose nor support,)

AB 2188 cleared the Assembly with the "yes" vote of Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (D., LB). LB area State Senator Rod Wright (D., LB-Inglewood) won't be voting; he's on leave awaiting sentencing after conviction on voter fraud felonies. SE LB (and part of OC) hasn't had a state Senator for the past two years due to redistricting and won't get a state Senator until a November 2014 election (in which Repub Janet Nguyen and Dem Jose Solario are currently slugging it out.)

A State Senate Legislative Analysis states in pertinent part:

California's solar industry has grown dramatically. That growth has been supported by the efforts of many local agencies to streamline the permitting process for small, rooftop solar electricity systems. But the industry continues to face steep obstacles that must be addressed if solar electricity generation is going to help the state address its growing energy needs.

Research indicates that while the hard costs of solar, namely materials and components, have come down in price in recent years, soft costs, including the cost of local agency permitting and inspection process, are preventing solar energy systems from being more affordable to many Californians. The Governor's Office of Planning and Research has called for streamlining the permit process, including the development a checklist with expedited review as a best practice to continue to promote these systems. This bill directs each city and county to adopt an ordinance tailored to the unique needs of their communities, to adopt best practices in the permit application, review and inspection process, to reduce costs, and promote solar electricity generation.

SUPPORT : (Verified 8/5/14)

1st Light Energy
Arise Solar
ASI Hastings, Inc.
Aztec Solar, Inc.
BMC Solar
Booth Construction
Brigtline Defense Project
California Center for Sustainable Energy
California League of Conservation Voters
California Solar Energy Industry Association
Chico Electric
Clean Power Finance
Clean Solar
Cobalt Power Systems
Cosmic Solar
Delta Solar Electric, Inc.
Enphase Energy
Environment California
Environmental Defense Fund
FAFCO, Inc.
Freedom Solar
Gayle McLaughlin - Mayor of Richmond
HelioPower
Home Energy Systems, Inc.
Horizon Solar Power
Hot Purple Energy
Insoltech Solar
Luminati
Marin Clean Energy
Mayor Jean Quan - City of Oakland
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
One Block off the Grid
Presente.Org
Real Good Solar
Real Goods Solar
Renova Energy Corp.
Rising Sun Energy
San Francisco Environment Commission
Sierra Club California
Sierra Pacific Home & Comfort, Inc.
Skyline Innovations
Solar Census
Solar Energy Industries Association
Solar Roof Dynamics
Solar Universe, Inc.
SolarCity
SolarCraft
Sonoma Clean Power
Spectrum Energy Development, Inc.
Stellar Solar
Sullivan Solar Power
Sun Light & Power
Sun Pacific Solar Electric, Inc.
Suncrest Solar
Sungevity, Inc.
SunRun
TerraVerde Renewable Partners
Tom Bates- Mayor of Berkeley
Unique Solar
Verengo Solar
Westcoast Solar Energy
Zep Solar

OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/5/14)

American Institute of Architects
California Building Industry Association
California Building Officials
California Fire Chiefs
California Municipal Utilities Association
Cities of Antioch, Benicia, Beaumont, Brentwood, Brisbane, Camarillo, Ceres, Cerritos, Chowchilla, Chula Vista, Concord, Corning, Corona, Del Mar, Downey, Dublin, El Cerrito, Elk Grove, El Segundo, Eureka, Fremont, Goleta, Healdsburg, Indian Wells, Lawndale, Moorpark, Norwalk, Palmdale, Paso Robles, Plymouth, Rancho Cordova, Redding, Riverbank, Riverside, Rocklin, Roseville, Sacramento, San Carlos, Santa Rosa, Scotts Valley, Shasta Lake, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Truckee, Tulare
County of Orange
Fire Chiefs Association of Santa Barbara County

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Advocates, primarily the solar industry, argue that while the solar industry is largely standardized, the rules and procedures for permitting and installation can vary greatly from one city to another resulting in unnecessary costs for providers. By making the local permitting process more efficient, this bill will help lower the cost of solar power by making it more affordable to moderate and low income families, while growing our economy, creating local jobs, saving government time and money, and getting solar "out of the way" of other permitted industries.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents argue that speeding up the local permitting process for this one technology sets up a poor precedent and could present public safety concerns. The permitting process involves decisions which, in part, avoid safety hazards and allow proper compliance with applicable building codes by ensuring that solar panels are properly designed and installed to different types of structures. This bill establishes a "one size fits all" approach to solar roof permits irrespective of workload, level of staff, or unique aspects of the building or structure where the panel is to be placed. Ensuring public safety and proper review and oversight should not be rushed because one commercial product has gained in popularity.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 58-8, 5/27/14

AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, John A. Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Skinner, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Medina, Salas, Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Daly, Gordon, Linder, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk-Silva, Ridley-Thomas, Yamada, Vacancy

Developing. Further to follow on LBREPORT.com

Disclosure: Ameco Solar is an LBREPORT.com advertiser. The text above is by LBREPORT.com which is solely responsible for our content.