republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20112012-special-session-1/ab-15.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Property tax: newly constructed: exclusion: active solar energy system."
description: "The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, \"full cash value\" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under \"full cash value\" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. Pursuant to an authorization in the California Constitution, existing law excludes from classification as \"newly constructed\" the construction or addition of an active solar energy system. Existing law defines \"active solar energy systems for purposes of this exclusion to mean a system that uses solar devices, which are thermally isolated from living space or any other area where the energy is used, to provide for the collection, storage, or distribution of solar energy."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20112012 Special Session 1"
identifier: "AB 15"
citation: "California AB 15 (20112012 Special Session 1)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Property tax: newly constructed: exclusion: active solar energy system."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hill"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 22
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2011-03-14"
last_action: "2011-06-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a81ce6bc-15d5-4c6c-84cb-fa8784f765d1"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15"
source_hash: "fc28bc3ee2611b5a36eb8292b399266f33e3bfab4b15e67bec413fa3a3c78aa6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 15 (20112012 Special Session 1) — Property tax: newly constructed: exclusion: active solar energy system.

The California Constitution generally limits ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property. For purposes of this limitation, "full cash value" is defined as the assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill under "full cash value" or, thereafter, the appraised value of that real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership has occurred. Pursuant to an authorization in the California Constitution, existing law excludes from classification as "newly constructed" the construction or addition of an active solar energy system. Existing law defines "active solar energy systems for purposes of this exclusion to mean a system that uses solar devices, which are thermally isolated from living space or any other area where the energy is used, to provide for the collection, storage, or distribution of solar energy.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **03/14/11 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15&version=20111AB1599INT)
2. **03/22/11 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15&version=20111AB1598AMD)
3. **06/02/11 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15&version=20111AB1597AMD)
4. **06/28/11 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15&version=20111AB1595CHP)
5. **AB15** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15)
6. **06/27/11 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120121AB15&version=20111AB1596ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass. — **9–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 15 HILL Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **75–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended. — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB15 Hill By DeSaulnier Urgency Clause — **31–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 15 HILL Third Reading Urgency — **73–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Hill — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-03-14** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2011-03-15** From printer.
- **2011-03-17** Referred to Com. on REV. & TAX. `referral-committee`
- **2011-03-17** Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 112.)
- **2011-03-21** From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 17). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2011-03-22** Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2011-03-23** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2011-03-25** Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 128.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2011-03-25** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2011-03-31** Referred to Com. on GOV. & F. `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-16** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2011-06-02** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2011-06-15** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2011-06-22** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 22). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2011-06-23** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2011-06-27** Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 31. Noes 0. Page 167.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2011-06-27** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after June 29 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2011-06-27** Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 222.)
- **2011-06-27** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 222.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2011-06-27** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1:55 p.m.
- **2011-06-28** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2011-06-28** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 3, Statutes of 2011.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a81ce6bc-15d5-4c6c-84cb-fa8784f765d1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).