Bill Text: CA AB1079 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Economic development: energy management area and plans.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-08-30 - In committee: Placed on APPR. suspense file. In committee: Held under submission. [AB1079 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB1079-Amended.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 1079	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 2, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to add Sections 7083.1, 7083.2, and 63045.1 to the
Government Code,   and to amend Sections 21180 and 21189.1
of, and to repeal and add Section 21189.3 of, the Public Resources
Code,   relating to enterprise zones.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1079, as amended, Bradford. Enterprise zones: energy management
plans.
   The Enterprise Zone Act provides for the designation of zones
according to specified criteria, pursuant to which certain entities
within each zone may receive regulatory, tax, and other incentives
for economic and employment development and private investment.
   This bill would 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. The bill would 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. The bill 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.
   Under the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development
Bank Act, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank
is established within state government for the purpose of funding
specified types of infrastructure development projects.
   The bill would 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 the bank. The
bill would require the bank to consider appropriate action to remove
unnecessary barriers for the financing of that project. 
   The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership
Act of 2011 establishes specified judicial review procedures for the
judicial review of an environmental impact report under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and approvals granted for
a leadership project related to the development of a residential,
retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational
use project, or clean renewable energy or clean energy manufacturing
project. The act authorizes the Governor to certify a leadership
project for streamlining pursuant to the act if certain conditions
are met. Those provisions are repealed as of January 1, 2015.
 
   The bill would include a project pursued in implementation of an
energy management plan in the definition of leadership project
eligible for streamlining under the Jobs and Economic Improvement
Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011. The bill would delete
the January 1, 2015, repeal, of the act and, instead, make those
streamlining provisions inoperative on that date except for a project
pursued in implementation of an energy management plan pursuant to
the bill, for which project those provisions would be operative
indefinitely. Because the lead agency under CEQA would be required to
use these alternative procedures for creating the administrative
record if the applicant for a project pursued in implementation of an
energy management plan so chooses and the project is certified by
the Governor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
 
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.  
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes   no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 7083.1 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   7083.1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The state should encourage the development of new businesses
and the retention of existing businesses within enterprise zones.
   (b) Energy utility customers can benefit from the addition of new
business and the retention of existing business through increased
energy cost certainty.
   (c) Businesses in enterprise zones could benefit through greater
stability and certainty in the cost of energy services.
   (d) Investor-owned utilities and publicly owned utilities are in
an optimal position, and should be encouraged to engage in joint
projects with government administering enterprise zones, to provide
and administer energy-related service alternatives and programs that
can promote economic development and retention in enterprise zones.
  SEC. 2.  Section 7083.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   7083.2.  (a) A city, county, or city and county may propose one or
more energy management plans, developed jointly with an electrical
corporation, gas corporation, or local publicly owned electric
utility, as defined in the Public Utilities Code, or a rural electric
cooperative, serving an enterprise zone other than an area within a
harbor or port district formed pursuant to Division 8 (commencing
with Section 5800) of the Harbors and Navigation Code, in order to
reduce air emissions and to promote economic development, the
addition of new businesses, and the retention of existing businesses
in that enterprise zone.
   (b) The energy management plan shall include, at a minimum, the
following:
   (1) An electric or natural gas load forecast, developed in
coordination with the serving electrical corporation, gas
corporation, or local publicly owned electric utility, or rural
electric cooperative, that reflects anticipated load growth within
the enterprise zone.
   (2) Consideration of the role that distributed generation,
combined with accurately priced utility services, could play in
providing greater rate stability and energy cost certainty to aid in
economic development, and proposed actions with respect to that role.
This assessment shall be developed jointly with the serving
electrical corporation, gas corporation, local publicly owned
electric utility, or rural electric cooperative.
   (3) Proposed actions, developed jointly with the serving
electrical corporation, gas corporation, local publicly owned
electric utility, or rural electric cooperative, for the enhanced use
of cost-effective energy efficiency and demand-side management in
existing buildings and the inclusion of energy efficiency measures as
part of the development of new buildings.
   (4) Proposed actions, developed jointly with the serving
electrical corporation, natural gas corporation, local publicly owned
electric utility, or rural electric cooperative, for the development
of infrastructure, in appropriate areas, to aid in the refueling of
alternative fuel vehicles, including utility ownership or operation
of those facilities to provide services to the community.
   (5) Other actions and associated utility services to implement the
jointly developed energy management plan.
   (6) Proposed methods to fund the activities included in the plan,
including funding through utility ratepayer-funded programs and
financing through the California Infrastructure and Economic
Development Bank established pursuant to Division 1 (commencing with
Section 63000) of Title 6.7, the California Alternative Energy and
Advanced Transportation Financing Authority established pursuant to
Section 26004 of the Public Resources Code, or other appropriate
sources.
   (c) If the city, county, or city and county has developed jointly
with an electrical or gas corporation one or more plan elements that
involves special programs to be offered in the enterprise zone and
administered by the electrical or gas corporation to facilitate
economic development, including, but not limited to, energy
efficiency, the use of biogas for direct injection into common
carrier pipelines, economic development rates, distributed
generation, energy storage, and alternative fuel vehicle
infrastructure, the Public Utilities Commission shall provide
expedited review of the proposed jointly developed elements. The
Public Utilities Commission shall encourage electrical or gas
corporations to participate jointly with local agencies in
developing, implementing, and administering viable energy management
plans for enterprise zones, and shall not limit the role of the
electrical or gas corporation that was cooperatively developed in the
energy management plan. The governing boards of local publicly owned
utilities and rural electric cooperatives shall encourage joint
participation with local agencies and gas corporations in developing,
implementing, and administering viable energy management plans for
enterprise zones.
   (d) The energy management plan shall consider the development of
projects that provide greater certainty of energy costs over a period
of up to 15 years for businesses developing in the enterprise zone
and shall consider applying to the California Infrastructure and
Economic Development Bank for financial support of those projects
under Section 63045.1.
  SEC. 3.  Section 63045.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   63045.1.  A project to promote economic development in enterprise
zones developed pursuant to an energy management plan in accordance
with Section 7083.2 shall be eligible for funding under this article.
The bank shall consider appropriate action to remove unnecessary
barriers for the financing of that project. 
  SEC. 4.    Section 21180 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
   21180.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
   (a) "Applicant" means a public or private entity or its
affiliates, or a person or entity that undertakes a public works
project, that proposes a project and its successors, heirs, and
assignees.
   (b) "Environmental leadership development project," "leadership
project," or "project" means a project as described in Section 21065
that is one the following:
   (1) A residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural,
entertainment, or recreational use project that is certified as LEED
silver or better by the United States Green Building Council and,
where applicable, that achieves a 10-percent greater standard for
transportation efficiency than for comparable projects. These
projects must be located on an infill site. For a project that is
within a metropolitan planning organization for which a sustainable
communities strategy or alternative planning strategy is in effect,
the infill project shall be consistent with the general use
designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies
specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities
strategy or an alternative planning strategy, for which the State Air
Resources Board, pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, has accepted
a metropolitan planning organization's determination that the
sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy
would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets.
   (2) A clean renewable energy project that generates electricity
exclusively through wind or solar, but not including waste
incineration or conversion.
   (3) A clean energy manufacturing project that manufactures
products, equipment, or components used for renewable energy
generation, energy efficiency, or for the production of clean
alternative fuel vehicles.
   (4) A project pursued in implementation of an energy management
plan pursuant to Section 70832.2 of the Government Code.
   (c) "Transportation efficiency" means the number of vehicle trips
by employees, visitors, or customers of the residential, retail,
commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational use
project divided by the total number of employees, visitors, and
customers.  
  SEC. 5.    Section 21189.1 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
   21189.1.  (a) Except for a project defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 21180, if a lead agency fails to certify
an environmental impact report for a leadership project subject to
this chapter on or before June 1, 2014, this chapter shall not apply
to that project. The lead agency shall notify the Secretary of the
Natural Resources Agency by July 1, 2014, if an environmental impact
report subject to this chapter has not been certified by that date.
   (b) If, prior to June 1, 2014, a certification issued pursuant to
this chapter has not been used or the time period during which an
action or proceeding, for purposes of Section 21185, may be filed
under this chapter has not elapsed, the certification expires and is
no longer valid.  
  SEC. 6.    Section 21189.3 of the Public Resources
Code is repealed.  
  SEC. 7.    Section 21189.3 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:
   21189.3.  Except for a project defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 21180, this chapter shall become
inoperative on January 1, 2015.  
  SEC. 8.    If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.