Bill Text: CA AB1912 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Electricity: legislation imposing mandated programs and requirements: third-party review.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-23 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. [AB1912 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1912-Amended.html
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Amended
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Assembly
May 16, 2024 |
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Amended
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March 18, 2024 |
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Amended
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February 21, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1912
| Introduced by Assembly Member Pacheco (Coauthors: Assembly Members Petrie-Norris, Wallis, and Wood) |
January 24, 2024 |
An act to add and repeal Section 3261 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1912, as amended, Pacheco.
Electricity: legislation imposing mandated programs and requirements: third-party review.
Existing law regulates public utilities, including electrical corporations. The California Council on Science and Technology is organized as a nonprofit corporation in response to an Assembly Concurrent Resolution in 1988.
This bill would request the council to establish a program to, upon request of the Legislature, assess legislation that would establish a mandated requirement or program or otherwise affect electrical ratepayers, as specified. The bill would request the council to develop and implement conflict-of-interest provisions that would prohibit a person from participating in an analysis for which the person knows or has reasons to know that the person has a financial interest. The bill would request the council to annually inform the State Controller
Public Utilities Commission of the amount necessary to fund the work of the council pursuant to the bill, not to exceed $2,000,000. The bill would require the State Controller, commission, on June 15 of each year, to assess large electrical corporations, as defined, their proportionate share of the amount reported by the council, as provided. The bill would require the large electrical corporations to pay their proportionate shares no later than August 1 of each year. The bill would require the moneys collected to be deposited into the Electric Programs Benefit Fund, which would be created established
by the bill. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the council to support the work of the council in providing analyses under this the bill. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.
This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Digest Key
Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) There are an increasing number of proposals that mandate certain programs be paid by ratepayers of electrical corporations.
(2) Many of the proposals would potentially result in positive outcomes that would be in the public interest.
(3) Those proposals providing benefits may also contribute to the cost and affordability of electricity.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do all
of the following:
(1) Promote affordable electricity rates while also addressing the critical climate issues of the time, including the requirements for renewable and zero-carbon electricity and economywide decarbonization in law.
(2) Preemptively address the issue that electricity rates are
increasing.
(3) Analyze the estimated costs and efficacy of a new program or requirement imposed under proposed legislation that would be paid for by ratepayers of electrical corporations to ensure the cost impact and potential benefits may be fully weighed and carefully considered before enacting the legislation.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the California Council on Science and Technology conduct a systematic review of proposed programs or requirements imposed under proposed legislation that would be paid for by ratepayers of electrical corporations to assist the Legislature in determining whether mandating a particular program or requirement is in the ratepayer’s interest, and for the California Council on Science and Technology to
publish a written analysis of the estimated cost and efficacy of each legislative proposal, including expert data.
SEC. 2.
Section 3261 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:3261.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(1) “Annual fee” means the amount determined by the council to fund the actual and necessary expenses incurred by the
council in implementing this section, not to exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000).
(2) “Annual fee allocation” means the annual fee multiplied by a large electrical corporation’s percentage of the statewide load served by all large electrical corporations.
(3) “Council” means the California Council on Science and Technology.
(4) “Large electrical corporation” means an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, with more than 100,000 service connections.
(5) “Mandated program or requirement” means any of the following:
(A) A new
requirement imposed on an electrical corporation.
(B) A new program that would be paid for by the ratepayers of an electrical corporation.
(C) A revision to an existing requirement imposed on an electrical corporation or an existing program paid for by the ratepayers of an electrical corporation.
(b) (1) The Legislature hereby requests that the council establish a program to, upon request of the Legislature and in a manner and pursuant to a timeline agreed to by the Legislature and the council, assess legislation that would establish a mandated program or requirement or otherwise affect electrical ratepayers, including relevant data on the following:
(A) Whether the legislation will increase electricity rates, and, if so, the analysis shall assess the potential costs to all categories of ratepayers.
(B) The potential benefits to all categories of ratepayers resulting from the legislation, with a specific focus on tangible benefits related to the safe, reliable delivery of electricity, including whether the legislation is directly related to, or necessary for, the delivery of safe, reliable electricity.
(C) Similar mandated programs or requirements applicable at the time of the analysis, the costs associated with those mandated programs or requirements, and if those mandated programs or requirements are consistent with the state’s climate change policy requirements, including, but not limited to, reducing the emissions
of greenhouse gases, the carbon neutrality targets set forth in Section 454.53 of this code or Section 38562.2 of the Health and Safety Code, and the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1).
(D) All existing legislatively mandated programs applicable at the time of the analysis that are paid for by the ratepayers of electrical corporations.
(E) The impacts of the legislation on jobs, the economy, and communities that are identified as disadvantaged communities under Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code or low-income communities as defined in Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code.
(F) Whether the legislation is the most
cost-effective and appropriate means to achieve the desired outcomes, including costs and benefits beyond the electricity market and nonmonetary benefits, such as improvements in environmental quality, public health, and climate stability. If nonmonetary societal benefits are noted, the written analysis shall clearly indicate how all Californians would benefit.
(G) Whether other funding sources besides ratepayers of electrical corporations, such as the General Fund, environmental funds, or other low-income programs, such as CalFresh, could be more appropriately used for the mandated programs or requirements.
(2) The request may be made by the chairperson of the appropriate policy or fiscal committee or their staff, the Speaker of the Assembly, or the President pro
Tempore of the Senate, and the legislation shall be provided to the
council for assessment.
(c) To avoid conflicts of interests, the
council is requested to develop and implement conflict-of-interest provisions to prohibit a person from participating in conducting an analysis described in this section for which the person knows or has reasons to know that the person has a material financial interest, including, but not limited to, a person who has a consulting or other agreement with another person or organization that would be affected by the legislation.
(d) To effectively support the council for its work under this section, there is hereby established in the State Treasury, the Electric Programs Benefit Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, moneys in the fund are hereby appropriated to the council to support the work of the
council in providing analyses under this section.
(e) (1) On or before June 15, 2025, and on June 15 of each year thereafter, the State Controller commission shall assess the applicable annual fee allocation on each large electrical corporation.
(2) The council is requested to inform the State Controller commission of the annual fee each year within a sufficient amount of time for the State Controller
commission to notify the large electrical corporations of their annual fee allocations.
(3) (A) Each large electrical corporation shall pay its annual fee allocation no later than August 1 of each year. Moneys collected pursuant to this subparagraph shall be deposited into the Electric Programs Benefit Fund.
(B) The large electrical corporation shall not recover its annual fee allocation from its ratepayers.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.
