Subcommittee approves technical changes to Virginia’s commercial PACE program

House Bill 1819, which makes targeted changes to the Commonwealth’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program, passed the County, Cities and Towns Subcommittee No. 2 by a 6–1 vote.

Sponsor Delegate Reid described the bill as cleanup and efficiency changes to the existing CPACE framework in use by 17 localities. Among the changes in the substitute amendment, the sponsor said, are removal of recording taxes that do not apply to PACE loans, clarification of condominium references to the Condominium Act (rather than the horizontal property act), and expansion of the retroactive financing lookback from two to three years to enable refinancing of completed projects if rates change.

Carrie O’Malley, a commercial real estate and finance attorney advising the Virginia PACE Authority, testified in support and said the changes would "reduce any ambiguity and increase the number of PACE loans that are able to be closed in the Commonwealth." She said the clarifications would open transactions in areas such as ground leases and make Virginia more business friendly for PACE financing.

After testimony and questions, the committee moved to report the substitute; the clerk recorded the vote as 6–1. The bill will proceed to the full committee.