AB 1284: California Financing Law: Property Assessed Clean Energy program: program administrators.

Existing law, the California Finance Lenders Law, generally provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Business Oversight. Existing law requires a person seeking to become licensed as a finance lender or broker to submit an application to the commissioner, and to comply with specified licensure requirements such as paying a fee and an annual assessment to the commissioner. Existing law requires a finance lender or broker licensee to comply with requirements related to the conduct of his or her business. Existing law exempts specified types of entities or financial instruments from regulation under the California Finance Lenders Law. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to take specified disciplinary actions against a licensee, including ordering the licensee to cease specified activity or suspending or revoking the license of the licensee.

Existing law, known commonly as a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE program), authorizes a public agency, by making specified findings, to authorize public agency officials and property owners to enter into voluntary contractual assessments to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to real property. Existing law requires a public agency to comply with specified requirements before permitting a property owner to participate in any program established pursuant to those provisions, including that the property owners participation would not result in the total amount of any annual property taxes and assessments exceeding 5% of the propertys market value, and that the property owner is provided with specified financial documents and other forms. Existing law authorizes a private entity to administer a PACE program on behalf of, and with the written consent of, a public agency.

Existing state law, the California Financial Information Privacy Act, prohibits a financial institution from selling, sharing, transferring, or otherwise disclosing nonpublic personal information to, or with, nonaffiliated 3rd parties without the explicit prior consent from the consumer to whom the information relates.

This bill would rename the California Finance Lenders Law the California Financing Law, and would require specified criteria related to the assessment contract to be satisfied before a program administrator approves an assessment contract for recordation by a public agency, including that all property taxes on the applicable property be current, the applicable property to not have specified debt recorded, that the property owner be current on specified debt and to have not been a party to a bankruptcy proceeding within a specified time, that the financing of the assessment, as well as the total value of all debt on the property, not exceed a specified amount, and that the terms of the assessment contract not exceed certain limitations.

This bill would, commencing on April 1, 2018, prohibit a program administrator from approving an assessment contract for funding and recording by a public agency unless the program administrator makes a reasonable good faith determination that the property owner has a reasonable ability to pay the PACE assessments, subject to specified requirements and procedures. The bill would require a program administrator to comply with the requirements of the California Financial Information Privacy Act.

The bill would, commencing on January 1, 2019, require a program administrator that administers a PACE program on or behalf of a public agency to be licensed by the commissioner under the California Financing Law. The bill would require a program administrator to comply with licensure requirements that are similar to those of a finance lender or broker as described above. The bill would require a program administrator licensee to comply with similar requirements to those of finance lenders and brokers as to the conduct of his or her business, including display of his or her license, location of his or her business, maintenance and preservation of his or her records, reporting, including filing a specified annual report under oath, prohibiting making false or misleading statements, and advertising. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the exemptions described above do not apply to a program administrator.

The bill would require a program administrator to establish and maintain a process for the enrollment of a PACE solicitor and a PACE solicitor agent, including requiring a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent to meet specified minimum background checks, and would prohibit a program administrator from enrolling a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent if the program administrator makes specified findings. The bill would require a program administrator to establish and maintain a process to promote and evaluate the compliance of a PACE solicitor and a PACE solicitor agent with applicable law, and to establish and maintain a process to cancel the enrollment of a PACE solicitor or PACE solicitor agents who fail to meet minimum qualifications. The bill would require a program administrator to establish and maintain a training program for PACE solicitor agents, in accordance with certain requirements.

The bill would authorize the commissioner to take disciplinary actions against a program administrator that are similar to the disciplinary provisions described above for a finance lender or broker, including authorizing the commissioner to conduct an examination under oath, and would subject a program administrator to the enforcement authority of the commissioner for specified violations. The bill would authorize the commissioner, if during the course of an inspection, examination, or investigation of a program administrator the commissioner has cause to believe that the program administrator, PACE solicitor, or PACE solicitor agent may have committed a violation of the California Financing Law or that certain conditions are met, to take specified actions to investigate a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent, including authorizing the commissioner to conduct an examination under oath. The bill would authorize the commissioner to take disciplinary actions against a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent that violates any provision of the California Financing Law, subject to certain requirements and procedures. The bill would provide that if the person subject to an investigation under these provisions complies with the commissioners demands, or otherwise reaches a mutually agreeable resolution of any issues, then any examinations and correspondence related to that investigation is confidential.

This bill would require a program administrator to submit to the commissioner information beneficial to evaluating various aspects of the PACE program to be included in a specified annual report, as provided. The bill would authorize the commissioner, by rule, to require a program administrator to use a real-time registry or database system for tracking PACE assessments and the bill would require costs associated with the real-time registry or database system to be apportioned among licensed program administrators, as specified.

The bill would include findings that the changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair, and shall therefore apply equally to all cities, including charter cities.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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