AB 526

Under current law, a city, village, or town may impose a special charge against

real property for services rendered by allocating the cost of the service to the

properties that are served. Generally, a special charge is not payable in installments.

Also under current law, a city, village, town, or county (political subdivision) may

make a loan to, or enter into a loan repayment agreement with, an owner or lessee

of a premises for making or installing certain energy or water efficiency

improvements (property assessed clean energy or PACE program). The political

subdivision may collect a loan repayment under the PACE program as a special

charge. A special charge imposed under the PACE program may be collected in

installments.

Under this bill, a political subdivision that imposes a special charge under the

PACE program and allows the charge to be paid in installments may allow a third

party that has provided financing for the PACE program project to collect the

installments. Also under this bill, a delinquent PACE program special charge

installment becomes a lien on the property that benefits from the PACE program

project. Also under this bill, if the political subdivision funds a PACE program

project that costs $250,000 or more, the political subdivision must require the owner

of the premises to obtain a written guarantee from the contractor or project engineer

that the PACE program project will achieve a savings-to-investment ratio greater

than 1.0 or that the contractor or engineer will pay the owner any shortfall in

savings. For a PACE program project that costs less than $250,000, a political

subdivision may require a third party technical review of the projected savings before

making a PACE program loan or agreement.