Energy: building standards: photovoltaic requirements.

Assembly Members Tangipa and Patterson position AB 738 as a targeted, time-limited adjustment to California’s energy standards, aligning disaster-related residential repairs with photovoltaic requirements that were in effect when the original building was constructed.

The bill adds a temporary provision to the Public Resources Code that, for residential construction intended to repair, restore, or replace a damaged or destroyed building in a governor-declared disaster area, requires compliance with photovoltaic requirements “pursuant to regulations prescribed pursuant to” those provisions as they existed at the time of original construction. It prohibits adherence to any newer or conflicting PV requirements in effect at the time of repair, restoration, or replacement. The provision applies only if the owner’s income is at or below county median income, post-construction square footage does not exceed pre-damage square footage, the new construction remains on the same site, and the owner did not have code upgrade insurance at the time of damage. The section is set to expire automatically on January 1, 2028.

Implementation rests largely with local agencies, which would determine whether the older applicable PV requirements are met for eligible projects. The bill anchors PV standards to regulations adopted under existing Section 25402, tying eligibility to the time-frame of the original construction rather than current regulations. This creates a state-mandated local program, with local agencies bearing the enforcement and verification responsibilities and no requirement for state reimbursement.

In terms of broader context, the measure targets disaster-recovery repairs for low- to moderate-income homeowners, limiting eligibility to projects on the same site and within a defined income threshold, and it does not create new statewide PV standards beyond directing adherence to older regulations for the eligible repairs. The sunset, local-administration requirements, and explicit note of no state reimbursement frame the policy as a temporary, localized adjustment within the existing regulatory structure, after which the prevailing PV standards in effect at that time would apply.