EPIC monitors and conducts analysis on key energy-related legislation in California. EPIC's Legislative Center provides a listing and summary of energy-related legislation.
2013 California Energy-Related Legislation
Updated 2/21/13
2013 Bills Being Considered
- Alternative Fuels and Vehicles
- Bioenergy
- California Environmental Quality Act
- California Public Utilities Commission
- Direct Access
- Electric Vehicles
- Energy Efficiency
- Energy Planning
- Energy Program Investment Charge
- Financing
- Green Building
- Greenhouse Gas/Climate Change
- Hydraulic Fracturing
- Natural Gas
- Nuclear Energy
- Proposition 39
- Rates and Tariffs
- Renewable Energy
Alternative Fuels and Vehicles
AB 26 (Bonilla) California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
This bill would (1) require projects involving construction, alteration, demolition, installation, repair, and maintenance work paid for in whole or in part from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be considered public works, as defined, (2) authorize moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund be made available to the owner or operator of a refinery to perform work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if all work at the refinery related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that is not performed by the owner’s or operator’s own employees and that falls within an apprenticeable occupation, as defined, will be performed by skilled journeypersons, as defined, and registered apprentices, as defined, (3) require the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to approve, no later than January 1, 2016, a curriculum for an apprenticeship program in advanced safety training in performing work processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as defined, and would require the chief, in consultation with the California Emergency Management Agency and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, to periodically revise the curriculum to reflect current best practices, (4) require an approved apprenticeship program or community college to issue a certificate to a worker who completes the approved curriculum, (5) prohibit employers from being required to pay for the costs of the training or to pay wages to workers for the time spent in the training unless the employer has agreed to do so.
AB 278 (Gatto) Criteria for Determining Carbon Intensity of Fuels Under Low Carbon Fuel Standard
This bill would (1) require the state board, in determining the carbon intensity of fuels under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations or another scoring system, to consider specified matters, (2) require the state board to identify, to the extent feasible, environmental laws and practices of the jurisdiction from which the fuel originates that may affect greenhouse gas emissions from the production and transportation of fuel, (3) require the state board to solicit comments and consider and respond to evidence regarding specified significant effects caused by the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations.
AB 1079 (Bradford) Energy Management Zones
This bill would: (1) amend the Enterprise Zone Act to authorize a city, county, or city and county to propose one or more energy management plans, developed jointly with an electrical corporation, gas corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, or rural electric cooperative, serving an enterprise zone other than an area within a harbor or port district formed pursuant to specified law, in order to reduce air emissions and to promote economic development, the addition of new business, and the retention of existing businesses in that enterprise zone; (2) require the Public Utilities Commission, if the city, county, or city and county has developed jointly with an electrical or gas corporation one or more plan elements that involve special programs to be offered to the enterprise zone and administered by the electrical or gas corporation to facilitate economic development, to provide expedited review of the proposed jointly developed elements; (3) would require the commission to encourage electrical or gas corporations to participate jointly with local agencies in developing, implementing, and administering viable energy management plans for enterprise zones and would prohibit the commission from limiting the role of the electrical or gas corporation that was cooperatively developed in the energy management plan; (4) require the city, county, or city and county to report the progress of the plan implementation in its biannual report to the Department of Housing and Community Development, as provided, (5) make a project, to promote economic development in enterprise zones developed pursuant to an energy management plan in accordance with the bill, eligible for funding through California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank; and, (6) require the bank to consider appropriate action to remove unnecessary barriers for the financing of that project.
SB 11 (Pavley) Alternative Fuel and Vehicle Funding Programs
This bill would (1) provide that the board, until January 1, 2024, has no authority to enforce any element of its existing clean fuels outlet regulation or other regulation that requires or has the effect of requiring any person to construct, operate, or provide funding for the construction or operation of any publicly available hydrogen fueling station, (2) require the board to aggregate and make available to the public, no later than January 1, 2014, and every year thereafter, the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles that automobile manufacturers project to be sold or leased over the next 3 years, as reported to the board, and the number of hydrogen-fueled vehicles registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles through April 30, (3) require the commission to allocate $20 million each fiscal year, as specified, until there are at least 100 publicly available hydrogen fueling stations in California, (4) on or before December 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, would require the commission and the board to jointly review and report on the progress toward establishing a hydrogen fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state, as specified, (5) authorize the commission to design grants, loan incentive programs, revolving loan programs, and other forms of financial assistance, as specified, for purposes of assisting in the implementation of these provisions, (6) no later than July 1, 2013, would require the board and air districts to jointly convene working groups to evaluate the specified policies and goals of specified programs, (7) add intelligent transportation systems as a category of projects eligible for funding under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, (8) require the commission and the board, in making awards under both the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program, to provide a preference to projects with higher benefit-cost scores, as defined, (9) prohibit any customer incentives for light-duty vehicles from being greater than compensations given to customers under the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program for the retirement of certain high polluting vehicles, (10) extend the current authorization for the Carl Moyer program to fund a broader range of projects that reduce emissions until January 1, 2024, and would make other conforming changes in that regard, (11) extend the $6 limitation on the surcharge until January 1, 2024, with the limit returning to $4 beginning on that date, (12) require the commission and the board to ensure that revenues from specified fees imposed on vehicles that are used for purposes of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program are expended in compliance with Section 3 of Article XIX of the California Constitution.
SB 459 (Pavley) Financial Incentives for Middle-Income Households to Adopt Fuel Efficiency Vehicles
This bill would (1) authorize the department to provide other forms of financial assistance for a motor vehicle owner when providing additional payments above those amounts, as specified, (2) require the department, on or before July 1, 2014, to establish a one-year pilot program to provide financial assistance to low-income motor vehicle owners, as defined, for the voluntary retirement of a gross-polluting vehicle, as specified, (3) require a reasonable demonstration, as specified, that a vehicle retired under the program was operated primarily in the state for the last 2 years prior to acceptance in the program and would prohibit the department from requiring proof of registration for that time period, (4) require the department, before January 1, 2016, to submit a specified report to the Legislature and the Governor, (5) require the department, for purposes of that public information program, to engage in multilingual outreach to underserved communities about the benefits of the program, (6) require the department to include car dealerships in the public information program.
SB 600 (Lieu) Alternative Fuel Conversion Certificate Program
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that simplifies and improves the alternative fuel conversion certification program administered by the State Air Resources Board.
SB 611 (Hill) DIvision of Ratepayer Advocates
This bill would rename the Division of Ratepayer Advocates the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, would authorize the office to seek rehearings and judicial review of commission decisions, and would require that the director of the office develop a budget for the office that would be submitted to the Department of Finance for final approval.
Bioenergy
SB 804 (Lieu) Waste Conversion Technologies
This bill would (1) revise the definition of the term “biomass conversion” to include, in addition to controlled combustion, any other conversion technology, as specified, (2) define “composting” to include aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of organic wastes.
California Environmental Quality Act
SB 731 (Steinberg) Changes to the CA Environmental Quality Act
This bill would: (1) state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation revising the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to, among other things, provide greater certainty for smart infill development, streamline the law for specified projects, and establish a threshold of significance for specified impacts, (2) state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate $30,000,000 annually to the Strategic Growth Council for the purposes of providing planning incentive grants to local and regional agencies to update and implement general plans, sustainable communities strategies, and smart growth plans.
California Public Utilities Commission
SB 48 (Hill) Merit Review for Energy Research; Entities Formed to Receive Benefits on Behalf of Rate
This bill would (1) require that when the commission reviews a request from a public utility for authorization to incur expenses for a research and development project, as defined, where the project expenses are to be recovered from ratepayers and are in excess of $1,500,000 per year, the commission is to administer a peer review, as defined, with certain exceptions, (2) require that the peer review consider specified matters, (2) require the commission, by December 31, 2014, and by December 31 of each 3rd year thereafter, to prepare and submit a report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature listing all research and development projects where the expenses of the project were or are recovered from ratepayers during the previous 3 years, including for each project the citations of all published papers, all oral and poster presentations given at public meetings, and all patents awarded for the funded research.
Direct Access
AB 687 (Roger Hernández) Direct Access Priority for Groundwater Remediation on Superfund Sites
This bill would (1) additionally require the commission, when authorizing additional direct transactions for retail nonresidential end-use customers, to provide the highest priority to acquire electric services from other providers to entities treating and remediating groundwater that a federal, state, or local agency identifies as contaminated if either the treatment or remediation is on a site listed as a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the entity is a public drinking water system serving a disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged community, (2) the entity treating and remediating contaminated groundwater to use moneys saved as a result of the direct transaction for activities related to the treatment and remediation of the groundwater. Because a violation of this requirement is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Electric Vehicles
AB 225 (Nestande) Medium-Speed Electric Vehicles Regulation
This bill would (1) authorize the operation of a medium-speed electric vehicle, as defined, at speeds of no more than 45 miles per hour on a roadway with a speed limit that does not exceed 45 miles per hour, (2) require a medium-speed electric vehicle to meet certain safety requirements, including specified Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, (3) make, subject to exceptions, a medium-speed electric vehicle subject to all the laws applicable to a motor vehicle, and the driver of a medium-speed electric vehicle subject to all the laws applicable to the driver of a motor vehicle or other vehicle, as specified, (4) because it is unlawful and constitutes an infraction for any person to violate, or fail to comply with any provision of the Vehicle Code, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
AB 1092 (Levine) Electric Charge Station Requirement for New Construction Projects
This bill would (1) require the commission, commencing with the next triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code adopted after January 1, 2014, to adopt, approve, codify, and publish mandatory building standards for the installation of future electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and nonresidential development, (2) require the Department of Housing and Community Development to propose mandatory building standards for the installation of future electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings and submit the proposed mandatory building standards to the commission for consideration, (3) require the department and the commission, in proposing and adopting the mandatory building standards, to use specified sections of the California Green Building Standards Code as the starting point for the mandatory building standards and to actively consult with interested parties.
SB 454 (Corbett) Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act
This bill would (1) create the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act, which would prohibit the charging of a subscription fee on persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station, as defined, and would prohibit a requirement for persons to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station, except as specified, (2) require the total actual charges for the use of an electric vehicle charging station to be disclosed to the public at the point of sale, (3) require an electric vehicle charging station to provide to the general public 2 specified options of payment, (4) require the service provider of electric vehicle service equipment, as defined, at an electric vehicle charging station, as defined, to disclose to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the charging station’s geographic location, a schedule of fees, accepted methods of payment, and the amount of network roaming charges for nonmembers, if any, (5) if no interoperability billing standards have been adopted by a national standards organization by January 1, 2015, would authorize the state board to adopt interoperability billing standards, as defined, for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations, and would require, if the state board adopts standards, all electric vehicle charging stations that require payment to meet those standards within one year, (6) require the state board to maintain a toll-free telephone number and email address or an Internet Web site to collect consumer complaints regarding violations of these provisions, (7) authorize the state board to respond to consumer complaints and would require the state board to summarize those complaints by number and type of complaint and make the summary available to the public annually.
Energy Efficiency
AB 270 (Bradford) Website for Energy Efficiency Program Information
This bill would (1) require the commission to require the electrical and gas corporations to cooperate in establishing, by June 1, 2014, a publicly available Internet Web site containing specified information regarding ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, (2) because a violation of this provision is a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program, (3) require the commission to include in that annual report information on its effort to identify ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs that are similar programs administered by other specified state agencies and to require revisions to ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs to ensure that those programs complement and do not duplicate the programs of other state agencies.
AB 489 (Skinner) CEC Funding for Existing Building Efficiency Program
This bill would repeal the provision of Section 25943 of the Public Resources Code requiring the California Energy Commission to fund a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy savings in the state’s existing residential and nonresidential building stock from the Federal Trust Fund consistent with the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or other sources of nonstate funds available to the commission.
AB 719 (Roger Hernández) Efficient Street Lighting Requirement for Electric Utilities
This bill would (1) require the commission, on or before March 1, 2014, to order electrical corporations to submit a tariff to be used, at the discretion of local governments, to fund energy efficiency improvements in street light poles owned by the electrical corporations, (2) state the intent of the Legislature that utility-owned street light poles, whose electricity use is paid by local governments, be converted to use cost-effective technology that reduces electricity consumption to achieve lower utility bills.
SB 418 (Jackson) Low-Income Energy Efficiency Programs
This bill would (1) enact the Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act and would require the PUC to require an applicant electrical corporation applying for ratepayer funding, or reopening an existing application for ratepayer funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to submit a detailed study of the project needs and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant, (2) require the PUC to make the study available on its Internet Web site and to independently review the study to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant, (3) because a violation of this provision would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Energy Planning
AB 628 (Gorell) Energy Management Plans for Harbor and Port Districts
This bill would (1) authorize the bank to fund projects to promote economic development in harbor and port districts that are developed pursuant to an energy management plan, and would require the bank to consider appropriate action that it may take to facilitate the financing of those projects, (2) authorize specified harbor and port districts, as defined, in collaboration with an electrical corporation, gas corporation, or publicly owned electric utility serving the district, to prepare one or more energy management plans to reduce air emissions and promote economic development through the addition of new businesses and the retention of existing businesses in the district, (3) require, if a district prepares an energy management plan pursuant to these provisions, that the plan include specified provisions.
Energy Program Investment Charge
AB 340 (Bradford) Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Rules
This bill would require (1) the commission to establish a program to encourage the use of women, minority, and disabled veteran-owned businesses as prime contractors and subcontractors for all grants, contracts, subsidies, financing, and activities administered through the EPIC consistent with General Order 156 of the commission, (2) require the commission to include in its 2014 report a status report on the commission’s progress in increasing the participation of women, minorities, and disabled veteran-owned businesses, as specified.
Financing
AB 1131 (Skinner) Changes to Clean Energy Upgrade (PACE) Program
This bill would (1) expand the Clean Energy Upgrade Program to provide financial assistance for residential projects eligible for the program to 4 units or fewer and for energy-related projects for mobilehomes and would delete that consideration requirement that the authority consider whether the loan is for less than 10% of the value of the property, (2) by expanding the eligibility of loan programs under the Clean Energy Upgrade Program, this bill would make an appropriation.
Green Building
AB 341 (Dickinson) Green Building Standards
This bill would require (1) the commission and state agencies that propose green building standards to allow for input by other state agencies that have expertise in green building subject areas, (2) require the process by which these other state agencies shall submit suggested changes for consideration to be adopted as administrative regulations that include certain elements, (3) expand these provisions to authorize the expenditure of those funds by the commission in performing an analysis of existing green building standards and for carrying out verification protocols relating to building standards, including, but not limited to, training and guidance for local building officials in jurisdictions that have adopted Tier 1 and Tier 2 green building standards, (4) as part of the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code, that state agencies that propose green building standards, as specified, to the extent that it is feasible, reference or reprint those green building standards in other relevant portions of the California Building Standards Code.
Greenhouse Gas/Climate Change
AB 691 (Muratsuchi) Requirement for Local Land Trustees to Develop Plan for Sea Level Rise
This bill would (1) provide that addressing the impacts from sea level rise for all of its legislatively granted public trust lands shall be among the management priorities of a local trustee, as defined, (2) require a local trustee whose gross public trust revenues average over $250,000 annually between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2014, to prepare and submit to the commission, no later than July 1, 2019, except as provided, an assessment of how it proposes to address sea level rise, (3) permit, but not require, a local trustee whose gross public trust revenues are $250,000 or less to prepare and submit to the commission an assessment, (4) require a local trustee to consider and use relevant information from specified reports on sea level rise in preparing the assessment and would permit a trustee that has already completed an assessment on the impacts of sea level rise to submit that assessment to the commission, (5) require that the commission make those assessments available to the public on its Internet Web site, and send electronic copies to certain other public entities.
SB 1 (Steinberg) Communities Investment Authority
This bill would (1) authorize certain public entities of a Sustainable Communities Investment Area, as described, to form a Sustainable Communities Investment Authority (authority) to carry out the Community Redevelopment Law in a specified manner, (2) require the authority to adopt a Sustainable Communities Investment Plan for a Sustainable Communities Investment Area and authorize the authority to include in that plan a provision for the receipt of tax increment funds provided that certain economic development and planning requirements are met, (3) authorize the legislative body of a city or county forming an authority to dedicate any portion of its net available revenue, as defined, to the authority through its Sustainable Communities Investment Plan, (4) require the authority to contract for an independent financial and performance audit every 5 years, (5) establish prequalification requirements for entities that will receive more than $1,000,000 from the Sustainable Communities Investment Authority and would require the Department of Industrial Relations to monitor and enforce compliance with prevailing wage requirements for specified projects within a Sustainable Communities Investment Area, (6) deposit moneys received by the department from developer charges related to the costs of monitoring and enforcement in the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, (6) by depositing a new source of revenue in the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, a continuously appropriated special fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Hydraulic Fracturing
SB 4 (Pavley) Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation
This bill would: (1) define hydraulic fracturing and hydraulic fracturing fluid, (2) require an operator of a well to record and include all data on hydraulic fracturing treatment, including names and locations of all known seismic faults, as a part of the history of the drilling of the well, (3) require the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Air Resources Board, and the State Water Resources Control Board, on or before January 1, 2015, to adopt rules and regulations specific to hydraulic fracturing, including governing the construction of wells and well casings and full disclosure of the composition and disposition of hydraulic fracturing, (4) require an operator to file with the supervisor or a district deputy, at least 30 days prior to the commencement of a hydraulic fracturing treatment, a notice of intention to commence hydraulic fracturing treatment, (5) require the hydraulic fracturing to be completed within one year of the filing of the notice of intention, (6) require DOGGR, within 10 days of the receipt of the notice of intention, to make the notice publicly available, to post it on the division’s Internet Web site, and to notify the appropriate regional water quality control board, (7) require the supplier of the hydraulic fracturing treatment to provide to the operator, within 30 days following the conclusion of the hydraulic fracturing, certain information regarding the hydraulic fracturing fluid, (8) require the operator, within 60 days of the cessation of hydraulic fracturing treatment, to post or cause to have posted on an Internet Web site accessible to the public specified information on the fracturing and fluid, (9) require a supplier claiming trade secret protection for the chemical composition of additives used in the hydraulic treatment to disclose the composition to DOGGR, but would prohibit those with access to the trade secret to disclose it, and a person who violates this prohibition would be guilty of a misdemeanor, and (11) require the supervisor, on or before January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, to transmit to the Legislature and make available publicly a comprehensive report on hydraulic fracturing in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources in the state.
Natural Gas
AB 1257 (Bocanegra) California Energy Commission Natural Gas Report
This bill would (1) require the Energy Commission, on or before January 1, 2015, and every 4 years thereafter, to prepare and submit to the Governor a report containing specified information identifying strategies to maximize the benefits obtained from natural gas as an energy source, as specified, (2) further require the Governor to review that report by a specific date and to report specific agreement or disagreement with, or modifications to, the report to the Legislature, would declare the modified version of the report the natural gas policy of the state, and would require the Energy Commission to incorporate the report into the subsequent biennial integrated energy policy report.
Nuclear Energy
AB 418 (Jackson) Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act
This bill would: (1) enact the Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act; (2) require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to require an applicant electrical corporation applying for ratepayer funding, or reopening an existing application for ratepayer funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to submit a detailed study of the project needs and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant; and, (3) require the CPUC to make the study available on its website and to independently review the study to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
Proposition 39
AB 39 (Skinner) Proposition 39: Grants and Loans for Public K-12 Schools
This bill would: (1) require the California Energy Commission (CEC) to administer grants, no-interest loans, or other financial assistance to an eligible institution, defined as a public school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for the purpose of projects that create jobs in California by reducing energy demand and consumption at eligible institutions, (2) continuously appropriate for prescribed fiscal years an unspecified amount to the CEC for this purpose in each year that at least that amount of money is transferred to the General Fund to the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund (Job Creation Fund), (3) require the CEC to administer the grants, no-interest loans, or other financial assistance program to ensure that projects satisfy the prescribed criteria that apply to all expenditures from the Job Creation Fund, (4) require an eligible institution that receives a grant, no-interest loan, or other financial assistance to report the amount of energy saved to the CEC and to compute the cost of energy saved as a result of implementing projects funded by the grant, as prescribed, (5) set forth certain criteria to be used to prioritize projects to be funded from moneys in the Job Creation Fund relative to public schools, school districts, public colleges and universities, and other public buildings and facilities, (6) require moneys for job training and workforce development to be available from the Job Creation Fund to the California Conservation Corps, Certified Community Conservation Corps, Youth Build, and other existing workforce development programs consistent with the requirements of the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, (7) require moneys for public-private partnerships to be available from the Job Creation Fund for assistance to certain local governments to establish and implement Property Assisted Clean Energy programs or similar financial and technical assistance consistent with the requirements of the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, (8) require a person or entity receiving financial assistance from the Job Creation Fund to report certain information to the Citizens Oversight Board, and (9) require this information to be included in an annual report by the Citizens Oversight Board to the Legislature.
AB 114 (Salas) Proposition 39: Workforce Development Programs
This bill would (1) require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, in consultation with specified entities, to develop and implement the Clean Energy Jobs and Workforce Development Program to award grants to eligible entities, as defined, for projects to provide job training on energy efficiency and clean energy projects that serve low-income or unemployed residents of economically disadvantaged communities, (2) require the agency, after the first year of program implementation, to review and assess the effectiveness of the program, identify problems and barriers to achieving the workforce development goals of the act, and develop solutions to improve program performance, (3) for each fiscal year in which revenue is deposited into the fund, make available 9.6% of the revenue, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the agency for the purposes of providing to eligible entities grants.
SB 39 (De León) Proposition 39: Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement Act of 2013
This bill would (1) enact the Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement Act of 2013 and would require the Office of Public School Construction, in consultation coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to develop the Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement Program to award grants, based on the average daily attendance, to a school district, weighted as specified, for energy efficiency upgrade projects pursuant to the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, (2) require the commission to develop criteria for project development, approval, and energy savings reporting, (3) require the commission to establish a technical assistance grant program to assist in the assessment, development, and implementation of energy upgrade projects for school districts and charter schools without access to a utility-sponsored technical assistance program, (4) require the commission, in coordination with the University of California energy research centers, to develop innovative facility evaluation systems to assist school districts with facility evaluations, benchmarking, scoping, and investigation, (5) authorize the commission, in consultation with the California Conservation Corps and the certified community conservation corps, to provide preaudit, audit, and postinstallation verification services to assist school districts, (6) require the commission to develop guidelines for a financing program for projects for which grants are inappropriate or not needed for implementation, (7) require the commission to develop a database to quantify the costs and benefits of funded projects, (8) require a school district or a charter school facility receiving moneys from the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund to repay those moneys under specified conditions, (9) for the 2013–14 fiscal year, the bill would provide that moneys from the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would be available to fund energy efficiency projects that are on the Emergency Repair Program unfunded approval list as of January 1, 2013, (10) specify the bidding requirements for contracts for projects that are funded, in whole or in part, by moneys from the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund and would require contractors for those contracts to meet specified requirements, (11) require, with specified exceptions, the Department of Industrial Relations to monitor and enforce applicable prevailing wage requirements and would authorize the Director of Industrial Relations to charge the contracting agency for its reasonable and directly related costs incurred.
SB 64 (Corbett) Proposition 39: Clean Energy on Schools, Universities, and Colleges
This bill would (1) require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop and administer a competitive financial assistance program for energy efficiency and clean energy onsite generation projects that are consistent with specified provisions of the act and to develop and adopt certain guidelines for the program, (2) provide that eligible facilities for the competitive financial assistance program include, but are not limited to, hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities. The bill would also provide that eligible facilities include facilities in public school districts, as provided, (3) appropriate for the 2013–14 fiscal year an unspecified sum from the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund to the commission for the above purpose, thereby making an appropriation.
Rates and Tariffs
AB 327 (Perea) CPUC Authority to Change Residential Electric and Natural Gas Rates
This bill would (1) repeal the limitations upon increasing the electric service rates of residential customers, including the rate increase limitations applicable to electric service provided to CARE customers, but would require the commission, in establishing rates for CARE program participants, to ensure that low-income ratepayers are not jeopardized or overburdened by monthly energy expenditures and to adopt CARE rates in which the level of discount for low-income electricity and gas ratepayers correctly reflects their level of need, as determined by a specified needs assessment. When the commission approves changes to electric service rates charged to residential customers, the bill would (2) require the commission to determine that the changes are reasonable, including that the changes are necessary in order to ensure that the rates paid by residential customers are fair, equitable, and reflect the costs to serve those customers, (3) require the commission to ensure that any changes made to electric service rates are made consistent with specified principles, (4) require the commission to report to the Legislature its findings and recommendations relating to tiered residential electric service rates in a specified rulemaking by January 31, 2014, (5) delete the statement of Legislative intent that CARE program participants be afforded the lowest possible electric and gas rates and, to the extent possible, be exempt from additional surcharges attributable to the energy crisis of 2000–01.
SB 743 (Steinberg) Changes to California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE)
This bill would replace the existing authorization to increase California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) rates based upon the annual percentage increase in benefits under the CalWORKs program and instead authorize the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to increase the rates in effect for CARE program participants for electricity usage up to 130% of baseline quantities by the annual percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index from the prior year but not to exceed 4% per year, and subject to the limitation that the CARE rates not exceed 80% of the corresponding rates charged to residential customers not participating in the CARE program.
Renewable Energy
AB 1014 (Williams) Shared Renewable Energy Program
This bill would (1) require specified electrical corporations to file with the commission, by March 1, 2014, an advice letter requesting the approval of a green tariff shared renewable program, (2) require the commission, by July 1, 2014, after notice and opportunity for public comment, to approve the advice letter if the commission finds that the proposed program is reasonable and consistent with specified findings, (3) require the commission to require that a green tariff shared renewable program be administered in accordance with specified provisions, (4) repeal these provisions on January 1, 2019.
AB 1021 (Eggman) Financial Assistance for Use of Recycled Feedstock
This bill would expand projects eligible for the sales and use tax exclusion to include projects that process or utilize recycled feedstock, as defined, that is intended to be reused in the production of another product or soil amendment.
SB 43 (Wolk) Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program
This bill would (1) enact the Shared Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program, (2) the program would authorize a retail customer of an electrical corporation to acquire an interest, as defined, in a shared renewable energy facility, as defined, for the purpose of receiving a bill credit to offset all or a portion of the customer’s electricity usage, consistent with specified requirements, (3) repeal the program on January 1, 2019, (4) provide that any corporation or person engaged directly or indirectly in developing, owning, producing, delivering, participating in, or selling interests in, a shared renewable energy facility is not a public utility or electrical corporation solely by reason of engaging in any of those activities.
SB 124 (Corbett) Rules of Clean Energy Contracts for Public Entities
This bill would: (1) require state agencies and the Trustees of the California State University that accept bids or proposals for a contract for the purchase or installation of a clean energy device, technology, or system, as defined, to provide a 5% preference to a bidder that certifies that all of the parts of the clean energy device, technology, or system to be installed have been manufactured in the state, and (2) authorize a public agency, including, but not limited to, the Trustees of the California State University, to award a contract based on the fact that a clean energy device, technology, or system was manufactured in the state if the contract is an energy service contract determined to be in the best interest of the public agency.
SB 217 (Bradford) Low-Income Solar Homes Program
This bill would, upon the exhaustion of those funds, (1) authorize the surcharge collected by the electrical corporations for the California Solar Initiative to continue to provide funding for the administration of the SASH and MASH programs, (2) require the commission to ensure the total amount resulting from the continued collection of the charge does not exceed $108,000,000, (3) extend the operation of the SASH and MASH programs to December 31, 2021, or until the exhaustion of that amount, whichever occurs sooner, (4) require the SASH and MASH programs to meet specified requirements, (5) make legislative findings and declarations that it is the goal of the state to install solar energy systems that have a generating capacity equivalent to 50 megawatts for low-income residential housing. Because a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
SB 591 (Cannella) Role of Hydroelectric Generation in RPS Requirements for Municipal Utilities
This bill would provide that a local publicly owned electric utility is not required to procure additional eligible renewable energy resources in excess of specified levels, if it receives 50% or greater of its annual retail sales from its own hydrodelectric generation meeting specified requirements.
