Residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC systems.

The document changed from a formal enrolled bill format (with Senate/Assembly passage dates, Secretary and Chief Clerk signature blocks, Governor receipt line, and page numbers) to a web page layout from the California Legislature website (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), adding navigation elements, search fields, version history dropdown, and UI components. The underlying legislative text is identical.

The bill's provisions now explicitly do not apply to new residential construction, narrowing the scope of the law to existing homes only.

New Civil Code 4737(b)(2) prohibits HOAs and associations from charging members fees for heat pump installation, requiring specific contractors or products, claiming rebates or commissions, or requiring removal of installed heat pump systems.

New Civil Code 4737(c) requires that residential heat pump systems meet applicable health and safety standards imposed by law.

New Civil Code 4737(d) preserves an association's right to require a member to repair damage to common areas or other members' separate interests caused by the installation, operation, maintenance, or removal of a heat pump system.

Government Code 51297.53(a) changed from 'may issue up to one nondiscretionary permit' to 'require up to one nondiscretionary permit,' making the single-permit limit a mandatory requirement rather than an authorization.

New Government Code 51297.52(d) allows a building inspector to require the contractor to be simultaneously present if the inspector needs the contractor onsite to gain access to a location that requires inspection.

The self-certification requirement for local entities applying for funding from the Energy Commission (previously in 51297.55(e)) appears to have been removed from this section in the Assembly version.

New Civil Code 4737(b)(3) creates exceptions to the HOA prohibition: it does not apply if the installation would violate federal, state, or local law, or if a required permit has not been granted.

Civil Code 4737(a) now requires that the electric appliance replacing a fuel-gas-burning appliance must comply with all applicable state and local building codes for the restriction to be void.

New Government Code 51297.55(c) provides that all liabilities and immunities applicable to cities and counties (including Sections 818.4, 818.6, and 821.2 of the Civil Code) apply to permits issued through online automated permitting platforms and inspections conducted in connection with those permits.

Removed all prior amendment date headers (January 2025 through August 2026) and the original introduction line with coauthors.

Added enrollment language including 'Passed the Senate August 25, 2026,' 'Passed the Assembly August 24, 2026,' and a blank block for the Governor's receipt date and time.

Removed line-number prefixes (e.g., 'line 1', 'line 2') that appeared in the amended assembly version, and adjusted page numbering from 94 to 93 in several places.

The entire climate disaster civil action provision (Part 3.5 of Division 4 of the Civil Code) and insurance subrogation provisions (Insurance Code Sections 540 and 10100.3) are deleted. This removes the right to sue parties responsible for climate disasters, joint/several/strict liability, insurer subrogation rights, and the California FAIR Plan Association petition process.

The state-mandated local program designation changes from 'no' to 'yes,' and a new Section 4 is added stating no reimbursement is required for certain costs because the act creates a new crime (the perjury certification), while other mandated costs remain reimbursable.

The urgency clause is removed. The bill no longer takes effect immediately upon passage; it will follow the standard January 1 effective date.

A new definition of 'swapout' is added in Section 51297.51(d). A swapout is a heat pump water heater or HVAC installation where the new unit goes in the same location as the unit being replaced, excluding installations requiring more than 25 linear feet of ductwork modification or replacing a package unit with a split system (or vice versa).

For instant online permits of residential heat pump HVAC systems, the licensed contractor must now certify under penalty of perjury that they performed a load calculation to properly size the equipment per Manual J, SMACNA standards, or the California Mechanical Code, and must provide the calculation to the local authority upon request.

The instant permitting requirement in Section 51297.55 is changed from 'online, instant permitting process' to 'online, instant automated permitting process,' and the compliance methods are reworded from 'may comply by using' to 'methods that may use... may include, but are not limited to,' making clear the listed options are examples rather than an exhaustive list.

A new exception is added in Section 51297.53(c) allowing a city or county to issue more than one nondiscretionary permit per installation if the building official makes written findings based on substantial evidence that the installation would have a specific adverse impact on public health or safety with no feasible method to mitigate it.

The bill's vote requirement changes from two-thirds majority to simple majority, reflecting the removal of the urgency clause. Coauthors are reduced from multiple senators and assembly members to only Senators Allen, Becker, and Stern.

The bill's scope expanded from solely climate disaster civil actions to also include residential heat pump water heater and HVAC installation permitting, adding new provisions to the Civil Code (Section 4737) and Government Code (Chapter 7.5).

Added exemption from the heat pump permitting requirements for cities with population under 5,000 and counties with population under 150,000.

Added Civil Code Section 4737 making void and unenforceable any HOA governing document, architectural guideline, deed covenant, or restriction that prevents replacing fuel-gas appliances with electric ones or restricts installation of residential heat pump water heaters or HVAC systems.

The definition of 'climate disaster' was narrowed from a five-part test (federal major disaster declaration, catastrophic incident, billion-dollar disasters list, state/local emergency, $100M insurer losses) to a simpler three-part test (extreme weather event, event attributable to climate change, or state/local emergency declaration), all requiring climate change as a contributing factor.

The 'responsible party' definition was simplified by removing the requirement that the party engaged in 'misleading and deceptive practices' or provided 'misinformation or disinformation.' Now it only requires: $500M+ market cap/revenue, involvement in fossil fuel extraction/production/sale, and sufficient contacts with California.

Removed the provision (former Section 3508.5.3) that made any person seeking declaratory or injunctive relief to block enforcement of the climate disaster provisions jointly and severally liable for the prevailing party's attorney's fees and costs.

Removed the detailed list of 12 prohibited defenses (including ignorance of law, reliance on court decisions, assumption of risk, inconvenient forum, preemption arguments, and choice-of-law clauses).

Removed the requirement that the FAIR Plan commissioner establish an independent advisory body of industry experts to conduct cost-benefit analyses of subrogation. Replaced with a policyholder petition mechanism requiring at least 25 policyholders to sign a written request.

Added requirements for local governments: asynchronous inspections by July 1, 2027; nondiscretionary permits by January 1, 2028; online instant permitting by July 1, 2028; and publication of permitting documentation on websites.

Added prohibition on local entities requiring permits or inspections for plug-in ready window air-conditioner or window heat pump HVAC systems that are self-contained units with a voltage rating of 120 volts or less.

Added permit fee caps for residential heat pump installations, including a $150 maximum for heat pump water heater permits. Local entities may exceed the cap only with substantial evidence of reasonable cost in a written finding and adopted resolution or ordinance.

State-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting that the new heat pump provisions impose mandates on local governments requiring potential state reimbursement under the California Constitution.

A new Section 1 adds legislative findings and declarations stating that fossil fuel companies have known since at least the 1950s-1960s that their products cause climate change, concealed that knowledge, and that California has a compelling state interest in empowering harmed residents and the FAIR Plan Association to recover from responsible parties.

The definition of 'climate disaster' was simplified from five specific threshold qualifications (federal disaster declaration, catastrophic incident, billion-dollar weather list, state of emergency, $100M insurer losses) to a broader three-part test: extreme weather events, events attributable to climate change including consequences like fire or flood, and events triggering a state or local emergency. The new definition requires that climate change was a contributing factor in the event's frequency, severity, location, timing, or extent.

A new definition of 'person' was added covering natural persons, corporations, government entities, business trusts, estates, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, and other entities.

The definition of 'responsible party' now requires three additional criteria beyond misleading conduct: (1) aggregate market capitalization or worldwide annual revenue of at least $500 million averaged over three years across the parent and all affiliated entities, (2) engagement in extraction, production, manufacture, marketing, or sale of fossil fuel products, and (3) sufficient contacts with California for jurisdiction. This narrows the class of potentially liable defendants to large fossil fuel companies.

The FAIR Plan Association's obligation to pursue subrogation was changed from being triggered by an independent advisory body determining that benefits outweigh costs, to being triggered by receiving a policyholder petition. The association must notify petitioners of deficiencies within 30 days, allow responses per specified procedures, and file a lawsuit within 90 days of a court-ordered or statutory determination of completeness.

Insurance Code Section 540 was changed from stating that an insurer may seek damages 'in addition to its right of subrogation' to specifying that an insurer 'has a right of subrogation against a responsible party,' making the subrogation right explicit rather than merely additive.

The assessment mechanism for member insurers when the FAIR Plan Association's claims-paying capacity is exhausted was changed from a flat 10 percent reduction (if subrogation exercised) or increase (if not) to assessments based on each insurer's market share, with adjustments based on whether the insurer has or has not filed a subrogation lawsuit for a disaster where the association also filed a lawsuit.

The digest now explicitly states the bill would require an action to be filed within 3 years of the date the harm was or should have been discovered, and adds 'restitution' as a remedy alongside damages.