Bill Text: CA AB472 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

---

Bill Title: Energy: integrated energy policy report: port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4)

Status: (Failed) 2026-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB472 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB472-Amended.html

---

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 23, 2025

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 07, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 472

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Rogers
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Zbur)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Calderon and Connolly)

February 06, 2025

---

An act to amend Sections 13101, 13102, 13103, and 65042 of the Government Code, add Section 25302.1 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 472, as amended, Rogers. Energy: integrated energy policy report: port infrastructure for offshore wind generation. energy development.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, and requires the Energy Commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities, as specified.

Existing law, the California Infrastructure Planning Act, requires the Governor to annually submit a 5-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature in conjunction with the Governor’s Budget. Under existing law, “infrastructure” means real property, including land and improvements to the land, structures and equipment integral to the operation of structures, easements, rights-of-way, and other forms of interest in property, roadways, and water conveyances.

Existing law requires the Energy Commission, beginning November 1, 2003, and biennially thereafter, to adopt an integrated energy policy report that contains an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state, presents policy recommendations based on an in-depth and integrated analysis of the most current and pressing energy issues facing the state, and includes an assessment and forecast of system reliability and the need for resource additions, efficiency, and conservation, as specified.

This bill would amend the definition of “infrastructure” described above to include port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, and would require the 5-year infrastructure plan to include, beginning in the 2027–28 fiscal year, require the Energy Commission, as part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report and each edition thereafter, and contingent upon an appropriation for this purpose, to include an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, as specified. The bill would require the Governor, Energy Commission, in consultation with specified entities, to assess include in the assessment any federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

Digest Key

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

---

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Under the California Infrastructure Planning Act (Chapter 606 of the Statutes of 1999), the Governor is required to annually submit a five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature in conjunction with the Governor’s Budget. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that this plan be updated annually and identify state infrastructure needs and set out priorities for funding. Under existing law, “the plan need not identify specific infrastructure projects to be funded, but it shall be sufficiently detailed to provide a clear understanding of the type and amount of infrastructure to be funded and the programmatic objectives to be achieved by this funding.” Under existing law, the infrastructure plan is required to contain, among other things, information on support for infrastructure needs and an evaluation of the impact of the new state debt on the state’s existing overall debt position if the plan proposes the issuance of new state debt.

(b) Under existing law, “infrastructure” means real property, including land and improvements to the land, structures and equipment integral to the operation of structures, easements, rights-of-way, and other forms of interest in property, roadways, and water conveyances.

(c) The infrastructure plan is required to contain specified information for the five years that it covers, including infrastructure requested by state agencies, aggregate funding for transportation, infrastructure needs for public schools and instructional support facility needs for public higher education institutions, as provided, the estimated cost of providing this infrastructure, and a proposal for funding the infrastructure.

(d) The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 enacted by Senate Bill 100 (Chapter 312 of the Statutes of 2018) amended the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program in order to attain targets for total retail sales generation, and required that eligible renewable energy resources supply 60 percent of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2030, and eligible renewable and zero-carbon resources supply 100 percent of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2045.

(e) The publication “2021 SB 100 Joint Agency Report: Achieving 100 Percent Clean Electricity in California: An Initial Assessment,” prepared by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), the Public Utilities Commission, and the State Air Resources Board, includes a review of the policy of supplying 100 percent of retail sales and state loads with eligible renewable and zero-carbon resources in California by 2045, assesses various pathways to achieve the policy, and provides an initial assessment of costs and benefits.

(f) California’s offshore waters are a prime location for new floating offshore wind energy development projects that will help the state meet its bold renewable energy targets. Under existing law, the Energy Commission was required to develop a strategic plan by June 30, 2023, in preparation for advancing the development of offshore wind off the coast of California. In the Energy Commission’s report titled, “Offshore Wind Energy Development off the California Coast: Maximum Feasible Capacity and Megawatt Planning Goals for 2030 and 2045,” preliminary findings of the report set planning goals of 2,000 to 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030, and 25,000 megawatts by 2045.

(g) On July 10, 2024, the Energy Commission submitted the final “Assembly Bill 525 Offshore Wind Strategic Plan” to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature. The final strategic plan discusses various aspects of offshore wind energy potential in California, including economic and workforce development benefits, transmission technology, transmission planning and interconnection, offshore wind permitting, potential impacts from offshore wind projects, identification of port space and infrastructure, and port infrastructure needs. Under existing law, the strategic plan is required to include a detailed assessment of the necessary investments in California seaports to support offshore wind energy activities, including construction, assembly, operations, and maintenance. The assessment is required to consider the potential availability of land and water acreage at each port, including competing and current uses, infrastructure feasibility, deep water access, bridge height restrictions, and the potential impact to natural and cultural resources, including coastal resources, fisheries, and impacts on Native American and Indigenous people.

(h) The strategic plan is also required to strive for compatibility with other harbor tenants and ocean users to ensure that the local benefits related to offshore wind energy construction complement other local industries when considering port retrofits, and it is required to emphasize and prioritize actions that will improve port infrastructure to support land-based work for the local workforce.

(i) A key finding from the final strategic plan focuses on the necessary upgrades for port and waterfront infrastructure to accommodate the offshore wind industry in California, which will require specialized seaport and waterfront facilities to build, assemble, and service the wind turbines needed to meet the Assembly Bill 525 offshore wind planning goals. Without a port site to assemble the turbine components, the industry will not be able to develop in California.

(j) The final strategic plan also notes that no port site in California can serve all the needs of the offshore wind industry. Instead, a coordinated multiport strategy will be needed and could require more than 16 large and 10 small port sites, including staging, integration, operations, and maintenance sites, to support offshore wind development over the next decade or more. These sites are required to be developed as soon as possible, and have an estimated cost of at least $12 billion.

(k) The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $10 billion to fund a variety of projects across the state related to safe drinking water, flood protection, wildfire prevention, natural lands, and clean energy.

(l) The Proposition 4 funding includes, upon appropriation by the Legislature, $475,000,000 to the Energy Commission to support construction of publicly owned port facilities for manufacturing, assembly, staging, and integration of entitlements and components of offshore wind generation, and upgrades to port facilities, consistent with the strategic plan developed pursuant to Section 25991 of the Public Resources Code.

(m) The Proposition 4 funding represents an initial investment to upgrade ports for offshore wind development. Requiring the state to develop an offshore wind infrastructure plan, and continued significant state, federal, and private investment, will help ensure that the state is on a path toward offshore wind development.

SEC. 2.Section 13101 of the Government Code is amended to read:

13101.

As used in this article, “infrastructure” means port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development and real property, including land and improvements to the land, structures and equipment integral to the operation of structures, easements, rights-of-way, and other forms of interest in property, roadways, and water conveyances.

SEC. 3.Section 13102 of the Government Code is amended to read:

13102.

(a)In conjunction with the Governor’s Budget submitted pursuant to Section 13337, the Governor shall submit annually a proposed five-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature. This plan shall cover a five-fiscal-year period beginning with the fiscal year that is the same as that covered by the Governor’s Budget with which it is submitted.

(b)The infrastructure plan shall contain the following information for the five years that it covers:

(1)(A)Identification of new, rehabilitated, modernized, improved, or renovated infrastructure requested by state agencies.

(B)Aggregate funding for transportation as identified in the four-year State Transportation Improvement Program Fund Estimate prepared pursuant to Sections 14524 and 14525.

(C)Infrastructure needs for Kindergarten through grade 12 public schools necessary to accommodate increased enrollment, class size reduction, and school modernization.

(D)The instructional and instructional support facilities needs for the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges.

(E)Construction, operation, and maintenance for facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control, support for infrastructure needs pursuant to Part 9 (commencing with Section 12980) of Division 6 of the Water Code, support for infrastructure needs pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12310) of Part 4.8 of Division 6 of the Water Code, and aggregate funding for the state share of nonfederal capital costs for flood control projects located outside of the Central Valley.

(F)(i)Beginning with the 2027–28 fiscal year, and contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this subparagraph, an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development consistent with recommendations in the strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters developed pursuant to Section 25991 of the Public Resources Code and the seaport plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities pursuant to Section 25991.3 of the Public Resources Code.

(ii)For purposes of the assessment described in clause (i), port infrastructure subject to the assessment includes construction and staging of foundations, manufacturing of components, final assembly, and long-term operations and maintenance facilities associated with offshore wind energy development.

(iii)The Governor shall, in consultation with the Department of Finance, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Lands Commission, and the California Workforce Development Board, include in the assessment pursuant to clause (i) any federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding opportunities from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

(iv)The assessment described in clause (i) shall be in addition to, and shall not be a substitute for, other assessments that may be required for ports to determine specific local needs for accessing funds for offshore wind energy development.

(2)The estimated cost of providing the infrastructure identified in paragraph (1).

(3)A proposal for funding the infrastructure identified in paragraph (1) that includes all of the following:

(A)Criteria and priorities used to identify and select the infrastructure it proposes to fund, including criteria used to identify and select infrastructure that by January 1, 2005, shall be consistent with the state planning priorities specified pursuant to Section 65041.1 for infrastructure requested by state agencies pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(B)Sources of funding, including, but not limited to, General Fund, state special funds, federal funds, general obligation bonds, lease-revenue bonds, and installment purchases.

(C)An evaluation of the impact of the new state debt on the state’s existing overall debt position if the plan proposes the issuance of new state debt.

(D)(i)Recommended specific projects for funding or the recommended type and amount of infrastructure to be funded in order to meet programmatic objectives that shall be identified in the proposal.

(ii)Any capital outlay or local assistance appropriations intended to fund infrastructure included in the Governor’s Budget shall derive from, and be encompassed by, the funding proposal contained in the plan.

SEC. 4.Section 13103 of the Government Code is amended to read:

13103.

By January 1, 2005, if a state agency requests infrastructure pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13102, that agency shall specify how that infrastructure is consistent with the state planning priorities specified pursuant to Section 65041.1. The Governor may also order any entity of state government to assist in preparation of the infrastructure plan.

SEC. 5.Section 65042 of the Government Code is amended to read:

65042.

Every officer, agency, department, or instrumentality of state government, including, but not limited to, all trustee agencies as defined in Section 21070 of the Public Resources Code, shall do all of the following:

(a)Cooperate in the preparation and maintenance of the State Environmental Goals and Policy Report.

(b)By January 1, 2005, ensure that their entity’s functional plan is consistent with the state planning priorities specified pursuant to Section 65041.1 and annually demonstrate to the office, and to the Department of Finance when requesting infrastructure pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 13102, how the plans are consistent with those priorities.

(c)Comply with any request for advice, assistance, information, or other material.

SEC. 2

 Section 25302.1 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25302.1.

 (a) (1) As part of the 2027 edition of the integrated energy policy report and each edition thereafter, and contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this section, the commission shall include an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development consistent with the recommendations in the strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters developed pursuant to Section 25991 and the plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities pursuant to Section 25991.3.

(2) For purposes of the assessment described in paragraph (1), both of the following shall apply:

(A) Port infrastructure subject to the assessment includes construction and staging of foundations, manufacturing of components, final assembly, and long-term operations and maintenance facilities associated with offshore wind energy development.

(B) The assessment shall be in addition to, and shall not be a substitute for, any other assessment that may be required for ports to determine specific local needs for accessing funds for offshore wind energy development.

(b) The commission shall, in consultation with the Department of Finance, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the State Lands Commission, and the California Workforce Development Board, include in the assessment required by this section any federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding opportunities from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.