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A Brief History of California PACE

Below is a brief overview of key pieces of legislation related to PACE over the past few years.

2021

AB 790 (Quirk-Silva) Clarifies the existing protections for senior citizens from door-to-door sales of property-secured home improvement financing under the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, which is commonly marketed door-to-door.

2020

AB 1551 (Arambula). Barred penalties for early payment of PACE loans and prohibited PACE loans for those with reverse mortgages. Required delivery of certain disclosures in hard copy.

AB 2471 (Maienschein). Extended the right to cancel PACE contracts to 5 days for seniors.

2018

AB 2063 (Aguiar-Curry). Required that the determination that a homeowner had the ability to repay a PACE loan be made before the loan could be financed.

AB 1087 (Roth) Required the Department of Financial Innovation and Protection (formerly the Department of Business Oversight) to list on its website the identities of enrolled and terminated PACE contractors.

2017

AB 1284 (Dabaneh). Required PACE program administrators to be licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (formerly the Department of Business Oversight) and provided for agency oversight of contractors soliciting property owners. Added a requirement that PACE borrowers be reviewed for their ability to pay back a PACE loan.

SB 242 (Skinner). Required PACE program administrators to orally confirm the key terms and conditions of the assessment contract with a property owner, and that agreements be translated in the preferred language of the property owner.

2016

AB 2693 (Dabaneh). Required some disclosures aimed at consumer protection and a three-day right to cancel PACE assessment contracts.

2014

AB 2597 (Ting). Increased the amount PACE loans could be made for, to up to 15% if the property value.

2013

SB 96 (Budget Act). Set aside $10 million for loss reserve fund to address the risks of foreclosure.

2010

SB 77 (Pavley). Established that to be eligible for a PACE loan the owner only had to be current and not in bankruptcy and that loans could be for up to 10% of the property value; permitted Cities and Counties to use municipal bond measures as a source for PACE financing.

2008

AB 811 (Levine). Allowed property tax assessments to pay for energy efficient improvements on individual homes, which would serve the “public purpose” of addressing “global climate change.”