(a)
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing has been pioneered by municipalities and counties in California as a way for homeowners and small business owners to finance voluntary energy and water efficiency and clean energy improvements.
(2)
PACE financing was pioneered in the City of Berkeley, while the City and County of San Francisco, City of San Diego, City of Palm Desert, Sonoma County, and the California Statewide Communities
Development Authority (CSCDA) have already initiated or are working to launch additional programs.
(3)
Seventeen other states, including Colorado and New York, have also enacted enabling PACE legislation.
(4)
The public subsidy provided by the PACE financing is justified by the benefits received in job creation, lower energy demand, and spurring new clean industries that will grow the economy.
(b)
It is the intent of the Legislature to assist local jurisdictions in financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources,
electric vehicle charging infrastructure, or energy or water efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to real property through the use of voluntary contractual assessments.
(c)
It is not the intent of the Legislature to create any debt, liability, or obligation on the part of the state in assisting local jurisdictions pursuant to this division.