California's Heat Pump Access Act, a bill that would create the state's first standardized permitting framework for residential heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC systems, cleared the Assembly Local Government Committee on July 1, 2026, on an 8-0 vote, moving the measure a step closer to a floor vote after it cleared the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on a 10-0 vote the week before. The bill, SB 222, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, previously passed the full Senate 29-8 and is now headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It carries backing from the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute and Daikin U.S. Corporation, giving the Heat Pump Access Act rare direct support from an HVAC manufacturer and its national trade association.
What the Heat Pump Access Act Would Require of Local Governments
SB 222 would cap the permit fee a city or county can charge for a residential heat pump water heater installation at $150 and for a heat pump HVAC system at $200, unless the jurisdiction documents a higher reasonable cost in a public finding. It would require cities and counties to offer asynchronous inspections, in which a building inspector does not need to be on-site at the same time as the installing contractor, and would require an online, automated permitting system for straightforward equipment swapouts by July 1, 2028. For HVAC swapouts specifically, contractors would have to certify under penalty of perjury that they performed a load calculation using the Air Conditioning Contractors of America's Manual J standard, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association's residential comfort systems standard, or the California Mechanical Code. The bill also caps the local zoning and setback conditions cities can layer on top of state requirements and bars permit or inspection requirements altogether for plug-in, 120-volt window heat pump and air conditioner units that don't need new circuits or panel upgrades. Cities under 5,000 residents and counties under 150,000 residents are exempt from several of the bill's mandates.
Support and Opposition to the Heat Pump Access Act
The Heat Pump Access Act is sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Building Decarbonization Coalition Action Fund and the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association. Its registered supporters include the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, Daikin U.S. Corporation and dozens of environmental and local government groups, who argue that inconsistent permitting rules across California's roughly 540 cities and counties add unpredictable cost and delay to heat pump installations. The League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties and the Rural County Representatives of California registered in opposition, along with the cities of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks and a statewide association representing homeowners association managers. Opponents point to a California Public Utilities Commission-commissioned market study that found emergency replacement situations and high upfront equipment costs, not local permitting, are the primary barriers to heat pump adoption, and argue the bill sets a troubling precedent for state preemption of local land-use authority.
The bill responds to a target Gov. Gavin Newsom set in 2022 to have 6 million heat pumps installed statewide by 2030. As of December 2024, California had an estimated 1.9 million heat pumps installed, according to a 2025 report from the California Heat Pump Partnership, which projected the state would reach only about 4 million by 2030 at the current pace of adoption, roughly 2 million short of the goal. Bill sponsors point to permitting delays and fees ranging from roughly $50 to several thousand dollars per installation, depending on jurisdiction, as one factor slowing adoption alongside the higher upfront cost of heat pump equipment compared with gas-fired systems.
SB 222 also addresses homeowners associations directly, voiding any HOA governing document provision that prohibits or restricts a member from installing, upgrading or replacing a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system, and barring associations from charging fees or requiring the use of a specific contractor or product tied to those installations. The bill's provisions do not apply to new residential construction, only to existing homes.
Having cleared both committees on unanimous votes, SB 222 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee before it can reach a floor vote. If enacted, most local agencies would need to publish permitting requirements and fees online immediately, offer asynchronous inspections by July 1, 2027, and stand up automated online permitting for straightforward swapouts by July 1, 2028.
