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Ch.356 —2— This bill would require the Energy Commission to set guidelines,adopted through a specified public process,for cities,counties,and cities and counties to report to the commission on the number of permits issued for residential solar energy systems and residential energy storage systems paired with residential solar energy systems and the relevant characteristics of those systems.The bill would make related findings and declarations. The Administrative Procedure Act generally governs the procedure for the adoption,amendment,or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would exempt the guidelines from the Administrative Procedures Act. This bill would expressly apply to charter cities. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and,therefore, apply to all cities,including charter cities. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Permitting fees or soft costs to solar and storage projects can add substantial time and money to the adoption of additional solar and storage projects. (b) To meet its clean energy goals, California may need up to six gigawatts of new renewable and storage resources annually, including additional rooftop solar and storage projects. (c) Per the 2021 Senate Bill 100 Joint Agency Report,Achieving 100% Clean Electricity in California,development of rooftop solar must increase dramatically. (d) Because the 2021 budget included a$20 million appropriation to the Energy Commission for grants to all jurisdictions that adopt the SoIarAPP+ or a similar program in order to expedite permitting, local permitting jurisdictions can and should be required to adopt SolarAPP+or a similar program for automated permitting in order to promote the development of solar and storage to help meet the state's clean energy needs. SEC.2. Section 65850.52 is added to the Government Code,immediately following Section 65850.5,to read: 65850.52. (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: 89