‘Anti-solar’ bill fails in California state assembly vote, putting it to rest… for this year

California Assembly Bill 1139 failed after falling short of enough votes to leave its house of origin, the state Assembly, by the deadline. The bill was introduced by San Diego Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez in February.

The bill went to the full Assembly for a vote on June 2, but was 16 votes shy of the 41 needed to pass. It was brought up for reconsideration later that afternoon, but again failed to receive enough votes. On June 3, the bill was moved into the state legislature’s Inactive File, meaning it will not be voted on again during this year’s legislative session. It could be reintroduced in January 2022.

The bill looked to cut net metering rates paid to rooftop solar customers and remove some benefits for existing solar customers. In late May the draft bill was significantly revised by lawmakers.

The revisions removed a section that would have lowered net metering rates to wholesale electricity rates. That would have worked out to roughly 3 cents per kWh, a drop from the current range of 20+ cents per kWh. The revision also returned the length of time that legacy net metering rates would be given to existing customers to 20 years, instead of 10 years.

The watered-down revision of AB 1139 also would have given California’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) an extra six months to make its own decision regarding a net metering successor tariff, extending the deadline to August 2022. The initial bill included provisions that would have taken effect had the CPUC not hit a February deadline.

Even with the revisions, the bill came up short twice in the legislature and is off the table for now.