CAI’s California Legislative Action Committee reported today that California Governor Jerry Brown has signed the Electric Vehicle Charging Station “clean up” bill, SB 880. The measure corrects the various issues created by the bill’s predecessor, SB 209 which authorized such installations, but had constitutional flaws. SB 209 also conflicted with existing law that requires ⅔ of HOA members to approve designating common area as exclusive-use area for an individual’s station; that conflict is resolved by SB 880.

SB 880 takes effect immediately as an emergency measure, and amends sections 1353.9 and 1363.0 of the Civil Code. The bill would makes those provisions applicable only to the installation or use of an electric vehicle charging station in an owner’s designated parking space, and also provides that any provision in an association’s governing documents that is in conflict with those requirements is void and unenforceable.

The bill also authorizes the installation of a charging station for the exclusive use of an owner in a common area that is not an exclusive use common area only if installation in the owner’s designated parking space is impossible or unreasonably expensive. However, the bill would authorize an association or owners to install a charging station in the common area for the use of all members and would require the association to develop appropriate terms of use for the charging station.

Additionally, the bill authorizes the board of directors of an association to grant exclusive use of a portion of the common area without the affirmative vote of the members of the association for the purpose of installing and using an electric vehicle charging station in an owner’s garage or designated parking space, under specified circumstances, such as when the installation or use of the charging station requires reasonable access through the common area for utility lines or meters.