2010 Archive
2010 California Energy-Related Legislation
Chaptered BIlls 2010
The following bills have been signed into law by the Governor.
AJR 26 (Chesbro) Federal Action on Climate Change Adaptation
This measure would request the Congress of the United States to establish a comprehensive framework, including dedicated funding, for adapting our nation’s wildlife, habitats, coasts, watersheds, rivers, and other natural resources and ecosystems to the impacts of climate change.
AB 510 (Skinner) Net Energy Metering
This bill would require that the standard contract or tariff for net energy metering be offered on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity used by eligible customer-generators exceeds 5% of the electric utility's aggregate customer peak demand. The bill would require an electrical corporation to include a provision in the net energy metering contract or tariff requiring that any customer with an existing electrical generating facility and meter who enters into a new net energy metering contract to provide an inspection report to the electrical corporation, unless the electrical generating facility and meter have been installed or inspected within the previous 3 years.
AB 584 (Huber) Coherence of Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Plans Across Counties
This bill, until January 1, 2016, would authorize the County of Amador and the Cities of Jackson, Sutter Creek, and Amador City, jointly or individually, to establish a similar neighborhood electric vehicle transportation plan, and would make a person in violation of certain provisions subject to the same penalties. The bill also would also require the plan to be submitted to the Director of Transportation for approval and require a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2015.
AB 1947 (Fong) Municipal Utility Solar Programs
This bill would authorize a local publicly owned electric utility to adopt, implement, and finance a solar initiative program exempt from those offset and same-premises program requirements, where residential and business consumers offset part or all of their electricity demand with electricity generated by a solar energy system not located on the premises of the consumer, if the program meets certain requirements.
AB 1504 (Skinner) Carbon Sequestration by Forests
This bill would: include sequestration of carbon in the list of specified public needs and values provided for in the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973 (the Act); make other legislative findings and declarations relative to carbon dioxide sequestration as it relates to forests; require the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to ensure that its rules and regulations that govern the harvesting of commercial forest tree species consider the capacity of forest resources to sequester carbon dioxide emissions sufficient to meet or exceed the state’s greenhouse gas reduction requirements for the forestry sector, consistent with the scoping plan adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, and would permit fees collected under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 to be used for contracts for related studies and analyses.
AB 1781 (Villines) Neighborhood Electric Vehicles
Existing law authorizes certain cities and counties in California to establish Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) plans. This bill would: authorize the City of Fresno to establish a similar NEV transportation plan, subject to the same penalties: require a report to the Legislature by November 1, 2014, if the city adopts a plan; and, require that the bill's provisions be repealed on January 1, 2016.
AB 1809 (Smyth) Home Energy Audits
Existing law requires the California Energy Commission to establish specified standards for a statewide home energy rating program for residential dwellings, known as the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Program.
This bill would authorize a home inspection to include, if requested by the client, a HERS home energy audit that meets the requirements of the HERS regulations established by the commission. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that a HERS audit may, at the request of the client, be performed by a home inspector who meets the requirements of the HERS regulations.
AB 1846 (V. Manuel Perez) CEQA Review of Climate Change Regulations
This bill would require that environmental analysis necessary under existing law be performed for a rule or regulation that requires the installation of pollution control equipment or a performance standard or treatment requirement adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, including those for rules and regulations requiring the installation of pollution control equipment adopted by the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission. The bill also would authorize the use of the focused environmental impact report for a project that consists solely of the installation of pollution control equipment or other components that are necessary to complete the installation of that equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with a rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
AB 1954 (Skinner) Electrical Transmission and Renewable Energy
This bill would: provide that an application by an electrical corporation for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for new transmission facilities is necessary to the provision of electric service if the CPUC finds that the new transmission facility is necessary to facilitate achievement of the renewables portfolio standard; authorize the CPUC to approve the recovery in retail rates by an electrical corporation of certain costs for transmission facilities that are incurred in certain circumstances if not approved for recovery in transmission rates by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; revise and recast certain of the definitions applicable to the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program, and would revise certain requirements applicable to the California Energy Commission for certifying when an eligible renewable energy resource may earn a renewable energy credit; and, would incorporate additional changes to Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by SB 722, to be operative only if SB 722 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last.
AB 2037 (V. Manuel Perez) Air Pollution Standards for Municipal Utility Electric Generation
This bill would prohibit a load-serving entity or local publicly owned (municipal) electric utility from entering into, and would prohibit the CPUC from approving for an electrical corporation, a long-term financial commitment with or for a new electrical generation facility constructed in California, or in a shared pollution area, that does not meet specified air pollution criteria.
AB 2514 (Skinner) Energy Storage Targets
Among other things, this bill would: require the CPUC, by March 1, 2012, to open a proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any, for each load-serving entity to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems and, by October 1, 2013, to adopt an energy storage system procurement target,, to be achieved by each load-serving entity by December 31, 2015, and a 2nd target to be achieved by December 31, 2020; require the governing board of a local publicly owned (municipal) electric utility, by March 1, 2012, to open a proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any, for the utility to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems and, by October 1, 2014, to adopt an energy storage system procurement target, if determined to be appropriate, to be achieved by the utility by December 31, 2016, and a 2nd target to be achieved by December 31, 202; require each load-serving entity and municipal electric utility to report certain information to the CPUC, for a load-serving entity, or to the California Energy Commission, for a municipal electric utility; exempt from these requirements an electrical corporation that has 60,000 or fewer customers within California and a public utility district that receives all of its electricity pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United States Congress pursuant to a specified law.
AB 2696 (Bass) California Workforce Investment Board - Green Collar Jobs Council
This bill would: revise the duties of the Green Collar Jobs Council (GCJC); authorize the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) to accept any revenues, moneys, grants, goods, or services from federal and state entities, philanthropic organizations, and other sources, to be used for purposes relating to the administration and implementation of the strategic initiative; authorize the Employment Development Department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to expend those moneys and revenues for purposes related to the strategic initiative and the award of grants; require the GCJC to consult with appropriate state and local agencies to identify opportunities to coordinate the award of grant and green workforce training funds received by the state under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or any other funding sources; and, require the CWIB, board, on or before April 1, 2011, and annually each April 1 thereafter, to report to the Legislature on the status of GCJC activities, grants awarded, and the development and implementation of a green workforce strategic initiative.
AB 2724 (Blumenfield) Feed-In Tariff Elegibility and Solar Incentives for State Agencies
This bill would require a state agency generating electricity from an electric generation facility that operates under an existing feed-in tariff and that is owned by, operated by, or on property under the control of, the state agency, to take the total annual amount of kilowatthours exported to the grid into consideration when determining whether the state agency has achieved the policy goals and objectives established by law or executive order for the state agency. Also, this bill, until January 1, 2013, would require the CPUC to authorize the award of monetary incentives through the California Solar Initiative for up to 5 megawatts of alternating current generated by an eligible state solar energy system. The bill would require the CPUC to limit any incentives provided for eligible state solar energy systems to an aggregate of 26 megawatts of alternating current.
SBx8 34 (Padilla) Expedited Siting for Solar Thermal Powerplant
This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to establish an expedited process to issue, not later than December 31, 2010, a final decision on an application for certification of a solar thermal powerplant that has applied for and will receive funding under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
SJR 17 (Leno) Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
This measure would reaffirm the Legislature’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gases in California to 1990 levels by 2020. It would urge the United States Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases and the federal government to persevere in its commitment to leading the world in efforts to address global climate change and ocean acidification, and reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.
SB 71 (Padilla) Sales and Use Tax Exclusions for Environmental Technology
This bill would, for purposes of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act until January 1, 2021, expand the definition of “alternative sources” and “projects.” The bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to evaluate project applications, and to approve projects for financial assistance under the existing exclusion from a “sale” or “purchase” subject to sales or use tax.
SB 77 (Pavley) Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing
This bill would require the authority to establish a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Reserve program to assist local jurisdictions in financing the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy or water efficiency improvements meeting specified requirements that are permanently affixed on real property through the use of a voluntary contractual assessment. The bill would, until January 1, 2015, appropriate up to $50,000,000 from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund to the authority for the purposes of the PACE Reserve program. The bill would require the
authority, on March 31, 2011, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2015,
to submit to the Legislature a report containing specified information
regarding the implementation of the above provisions.
SB 1006 (Pavley) Stratregic Growth Council Funds for Urban Greening
This bill would also require the Strategic Growth Council to manage and award revolving loans or grants to a city, county, special district, nonprofit organization, or entity formed under a joint powers agreement for urban greening plans and projects.
SB 1198 (Huff) Television Product Labeling Regulations Effective date
This bill would provide that the television product labeling regulations adopted by the commission would not be effective until July 1, 2011, and would be effective on that date only if a United States Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for those products is not effective on or before July 1, 2011. The bill also would provide that those regulations would remain in effect only until a Federal Trade Commission labeling rule for television products becomes effective.
SB 1319 (Pavley) Subdivisions and Mergers for Renewable Energy
This bill would provide that specified provisions of the Subdivision Map Act do not prohibit a landowner, local agency, or renewable energy corporation authorized to conduct business in the state from seeking financial assistance from eligible state funding sources to defray the costs of merging parcels on private or public lands, or the costs of establishing or administering a joint powers authority established or authorized to merge parcels on private or public lands for the purpose of siting renewable energy facilities.
SB 1340 (Kehoe) Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Funding and Financing
This bill would specify projects eligible for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program to include a cost-effective program to provide funding for homeowners who purchase an electric vehicle to offset costs associated with modifying electrical sources to include a residential plug-in electric vehicle charging station. It also would expand the use of the voluntary contractual assessment to finance electric vehicle charging infrastructure affixed on real property.
SB 1476 (Padilla) Advanced Meters & Customer Privacy
This bill would repeal a provision that reqiures the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to conduct a pilot study to determine the value to ratepayers of information, rate design and metering innovation. In addition, the bill would, among other things: prohibit an electrical corporation or gas corporation from sharing, disclosing, or otherwise making accessible to any 3rd party a customer’s electrical or gas consumption data and would require those utilities to use reasonable security procedures and practices to protect a customer’s unencrypted electrical and gas consumption data from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure; prohibit an electrical corporation or gas corporation from selling a customer’s electrical or gas consumption data or any other personally identifiable information for any purpose; prohibit an electrical corporation or gas corporation from providing an incentive or discount to a customer for accessing the customer’s electrical or gas consumption data without the prior consent of the customers; and, require that an electrical or gas corporation that utilizes an advanced metering infrastructure that allows a customer to access the customer’s electrical and gas consumption data to ensure that the customer has an option to access that data without being required to agree to the sharing of his or her personally identifiable information with a 3rd party.
Back to Chaptered Bills
Vetoed Bills 2010
The following bills have been passed by both house and await action by the Governor.
For applications for rehearing filed on or after January 1, 2011, if the commission has not acted on the application within 120 days, this bill would authorize the commission, by order, to extend the period for acting on the application, but would prohibit any single order to extend the period for more than an additional 120 days. It also would require the CPUC to include data on the disposition of applications for rehearing in that report.
SB 730 (Wiggins) Utility Energy Efficiency Evaluation Considerations (Veto Message)
This bill would require the CPUC, in evaluating energy efficiency investments, to ensure that local and regional interests, multifamily dwellings, and energy service industry capabilities are incorporated into an electrical corporation’s energy efficiency program portfolio design, and to encourage participation from local governments, community-based organizations, and energy efficiency service providers in program design, revision, and implementation, where appropriate. The bill would require an electrical corporation, when developing or revising its energy efficiency program portfolio design, to collaborate with, and seek comments from, county climate protection authorities or other public agencies that are directly authorized to implement regional or countywide climate protection and energy efficiency programs.
SB 675 (Steinberg) Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education, and Dropout Prevention Program (Veto Message)
This bill would: require the Controller annually to allocate $8,000,000 from the Energy Resources Program Account to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for expenditure in the form of local grants to be allocated pursuant to the existing provisions for creating and maintaining partnership academies; require a grantee to implement or maintain a partnership academy that focuses on employment in clean technology businesses and renewable energy businesses and provides skilled workforces for the products and services for energy or water conservation, or both, renewable energy, pollution reduction, or other technologies; require the California Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to develop guidelines, that would be exempted from the Administrative Procedure Act, to ensure that programs receiving grants reflect current state energy policies and priorities as well as provide skills and education linked to the needs of relevant industries; authorize a school district to apply for planning grants for implementing a partnership academy and would allow the Superintendent to expend up to 4% 5% of the funds transferred to the Superintendent to pay the costs incurred in the administration of this program; require the State Department of Education in consultation with the California Energy Commission to provide a report to the Legislature that includes a description of the curriculum and substance of the programs funded by grants awarded pursuant to these provisions, and specified data; and provide that the bill’s provisions would become inoperative on June 30, 2016, and, as of January 1, 2017, would repeal these provisions.
AB 1923 (Evans) Theft of Solar Energy Systems (Research) (Veto Message)
This bill would authorize moneys allocated by the CPUC for research, development, and demonstration pursuant to the California Solar Initiative, to be used for research, development, and demonstration for antitheft technology to protect investments in solar energy systems.
SB 1437 (Kehoe) Independent System Operator Activities Report (Veto Message)
This bill would require the independent governing board of directors
to annually select a representative of the ISO to appear before the
appropriate policy committees of the Senate and Assembly to report on
the activities of the ISO.
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