Bill Text: CA AB2143 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2143 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Net energy metering: construction of renewable electrical generation facilities: prevailing wage.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 774, Statutes of 2022. [AB2143 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2143-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2143

Introduced by Assembly Member Carrillo

February 15, 2022

~~An act to amend Section 150 of the Labor Code, relating to private employment.~~ An act to add Sections 769.2 and 913.13 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2143, as amended, Carrillo. ~~Department of Industrial Relations.~~ Net energy metering.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires every electric utility, defined to include electrical corporations, local publicly owned electric utilities, and electrical cooperatives, to develop a standard contract or tariff for net energy metering, as defined, for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility, as defined, and to make this contract or tariff available to eligible customer-generators, as defined, upon request 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. For a large electrical corporation, as defined, existing law requires the commission to have developed a 2nd standard contract or tariff to provide net energy metering to additional eligible customer-generators in the electrical corporation’s service territory and imposes no limitation on the number of new eligible customer-generators entitled to receive service pursuant to this 2nd standard contract or tariff. Existing law requires the commission to ensure that the 2nd standard contract or tariff made available to eligible customer-generators by large electrical corporations ensures that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow sustainably. Existing law requires the commission, in developing this standard contract or tariff, to include specific alternatives designed for growth among residential customers in disadvantaged communities.
Existing law imposes various requirements on public works projects, as defined, including a requirement that, at minimum, all workers employed on a public works project be paid the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for work of a similar character in the locality in which a public work is performed, as specified.
This bill would apply those public works project requirements to the construction of any renewable electrical generation facility, and any associated battery storage, after December 31, 2023, that would be eligible to receive service pursuant to the 2nd standard contract or tariff, except a residential facility that will have a maximum generating capacity of 15 kilowatts or less of electricity.
Existing law requires the commission to submit various reports to the Legislature, as specified.
This bill would require the commission, by June 30 of each year, to submit to the Legislature a report on the progress made to grow the use of distributed energy resources among residential customers in disadvantaged communities and a list, by census tract, of all renewable electrical generation facilities that began to receive service pursuant to a net energy metering contract or tariff during the preceding calendar year, as specified.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the above-described provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill’s requirements would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Existing law directs the department to collect, compile, and present facts and statistics relating to the condition of labor in the state and specifies various topics to be included in this effort.
~~This bill would make a nonsubstantive change in the above-described provisions regarding the duties of the Department of Industrial Relations.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 769.2 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

769.2.
(a) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1720 of the Labor Code, construction of any renewable electrical generation facility, and any associated battery storage, after December 31, 2023, that is eligible to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff developed pursuant to Section 2827.1, shall constitute a public works project for purposes of Article 2 (commencing with Section 1770) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code, except as specified in subdivision (b).
(b) This section does not apply to a residential renewable electrical generation facility that is eligible to receive service pursuant to the standard contract or tariff developed pursuant to Section 2827.1 and has a maximum generating capacity of 15 kilowatts or less of electricity.

SEC. 2.

Section 913.13 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

913.13.
The commission shall annually include in the assessment submitted pursuant to Section 913.7 both of the following:
(a) A report on the progress made to grow the use of distributed energy resources among residential customers in disadvantaged communities.
(b) A list, by census tract, of all renewable electrical generation facilities, as defined in Section 2827, that began to receive service pursuant to a net energy metering contract or tariff during the preceding calendar year.

SEC. 3.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 150 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
150.
(a)The department shall collect, compile, and present facts and statistics relating to the condition of labor in the state, including information as to cost of living, labor supply and demand, industrial relations, industrial disputes, industrial accidents and safety, labor productivity, sanitary and other conditions, prison labor, and other matters in relation to labor as the Director of Industrial Relations deems desirable.
(b)To the extent not in conflict with this or any other section, on the date this subdivision becomes operative, the responsibilities of the Division of Labor Statistics and Research that are specified in Subchapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) and Subchapter 2 (commencing with Section 14900) of Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations are reassigned to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the responsibilities of the Division of Labor Statistics and Research that are specified in Subchapter 3 (commencing with Section 16000) of Chapter 8 of Division 1 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations are reassigned to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.