Building standards: solar distributed generation technology on residential and commercial property.

The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. In the absence of a designated state agency, the commission is required to adopt specific building standards, as prescribed. Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety once every 3 years. The commission is authorized to act through a procedure for emergency standards, as defined, upon a finding of an emergency. This bill would require the commission, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the State Fire Marshal to cooperate in developing a guidebook to assist local agencies in implementing building standards and permitting processes for solar distributed generation technology on residential and commercial property and post the guidebook on their respective Internet Web sites. The bill would provide that a city, county, city and county, or charter city that adopts the policies from the guidebook may receive a preference or priority related to grant funds from the California Energy Commission or the State Air Resources Board, as specified.