Does AB 942 End NEM Grandfathering?

AB 942 (Assemblymember Lisa Calderon) is a bill in California’s 2025–2026 session. Its latest amended version is titled “Electricity: climate credits” — it is no longer structured as a net-metering grandfathering bill. It is a proposed bill, not law. The last recorded legislative action was August 29, 2025 (“do pass and re-refer to the Senate Rules Committee”); as of this writing it has not been signed or vetoed. Because the two-year session is not finally closed, treat this as a live status to re-check, not a bill that is permanently dead.

Sources: California Legislative Information — AB 942 · Digital Democracy — AB 942 · verified August 4, 2026.

The bill that circulated in early 2025 — and that most alarming articles describe — would have made three changes to net-metering (NEM 1.0/2.0) arrangements:

1. Sunset legacy NEM contracts after 10 years instead of the originally promised 20.
2. Force a new owner who buys a home with existing solar onto the current tariff (NEM 3.0 / the Net Billing Tariff) instead of inheriting the seller’s NEM 1/2 terms — effectively voiding the grandfathered contract on sale or transfer.
3. End California Climate Credit allocations to NEM customers.

It passed the Assembly on June 3, 2025 (46–14), which is where much of the “they’re breaking solar contracts” coverage comes from.

Sources: PV Tech — AB 942 moves forward · Canary Media — clawback bill · verified August 4, 2026.

In the Senate, the bill was amended (July 2025). The version dated July 17, 2025 struck the net-metering provisions:

• removed forcing a new home-owner onto the current (NEM 3.0) tariff;
• removed voiding NEM grandfathering on sale or transfer;
• removed the proposed new statutory section that carried those changes;
• removed the NEM-specific Climate Credit denial.

But — and this is the part often left out — the amendments did not remove every climate-credit change. The current version still proposes a different Climate Credit restriction: denying the California Climate Credit to customers who are not enrolled in CARE or FERA and whose total electricity bills for the previous year were less than $300. So the bill is now a climate-credit-eligibility measure, not a net-metering measure.

Sources: AB 942 bill text · CALSSA — Senate amendments protect NEM contracts · verified August 4, 2026.

If you own a home on NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0: AB 942’s current text does not change your grandfathering when you sell, and the bill is not law. The widely shared “your solar contract will be voided on sale” claim describes the original version, which was amended, not the current text or current law.

Two honest caveats: (1) the current version still carries the separate Climate Credit restriction described above, so it isn’t accurate to say “nothing in AB 942 affects anyone”; and (2) it’s a live two-year bill that could be revived or amended, so the status here is a snapshot. This page addresses AB 942 only and is not legal advice about your specific tariff or transaction — confirm the current bill status and consult the utility or a qualified professional before acting.

For how net metering itself works, see NEM 2 vs NEM 3, NEM 3.0 explained, and selling a house with solar.

Because this is live legislation, verify before relying on any summary. On California Legislative Information (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov), open AB 942 and check Today’s Law As Amended, Bill Text, History, and Status. A signed (“chaptered”) date, a veto, or a new amendment would change everything on this page.

Figures on this page come from the primary sources below and, where noted, from Cali Energy calculations using the stated assumptions. Rates, incentives, and program terms change; each was verified August 4, 2026.

1. California Legislative Information — AB 942 (bill text & status)
2. California Legislative Information — AB 942 votes/history
3. Digital Democracy — AB 942
4. CALSSA — Senate amendments protect NEM contracts