Bill Text: CA AB865 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 583, Statutes of 2015. [AB865 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB865-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 865 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 583
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 8, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer)
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Section 25230 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 865, Alejo. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission: contracts, grants, and loans: diversity.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission. Existing law requires the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission to administer
various grant and loan programs.
This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission to develop and implement an outreach
program to inform the most qualified loan and grant applicants, and
contractors, including, but not limited to, women, minority, disabled
veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, as defined, about workshops,
trainings, and funding opportunities. The bill would require that
one component of the outreach program be a process for tracking the
diversity of contractors, loan recipients, and grant recipients. The
bill would require the outreach program to include a strategy to
encourage the participation of certified women, minority, disabled
veteran, and LGBT business enterprises in the commission's relevant
programs and consider including them in capacity building activities.
The bill would authorize the commission to consider establishing a
Diversity Task Force to consider and make recommendations about
diversity in the energy industry, including diversity of corporate
governing boards and procurement from diverse businesses, and
addressing and promoting local and targeted hiring.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25230 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
25230. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) "Certified" means a business enterprise that is certified by
the Public Utilities Commission, the Department of General Services,
or other nonprofit organizations that verify or certify women,
minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.
(2) "Control" means exercising the power to make policy decisions.
(3) "Disabled veteran business enterprise" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 999 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(4) "LGBT business enterprise" means a business enterprise that is
at least 51 percent owned by a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender person or persons, or, in the case of any publicly owned
business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one
or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons, and whose
management and daily business operations are controlled by one or
more of those individuals.
(5) "Minority business enterprise" means a business enterprise
that is at least 51 percent owned by a minority group or groups, or,
in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of
the stock of which is owned by one or more minority groups, and whose
management and daily business operations are controlled by one or
more of those individuals. The contracting utility shall presume that
minority includes African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, and Asian Pacific Americans.
(6) To "operate" means to be actively involved in the day-to-day
management. It is not enough to merely be an officer or director.
(7) "Women business enterprise" means a business enterprise that
is at least 51 percent owned by a woman or women, or, in the case of
any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of
which is owned by one or more women, and whose management and daily
business operations are controlled by one or more of those
individuals.
(b) (1) The commission shall develop and implement an outreach
program to inform the most qualified loan and grant applicants, and
contractors, including, but not limited to, women, minority, disabled
veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, about workshops, trainings,
and funding opportunities. The purpose of the program is to ensure
that the commission recognizes the demographic shifts of the
California marketplace and is nurturing the new and next generation
of energy technology leaders.
(2) One component of the outreach program shall be a process for
tracking the diversity of contractors, loan recipients, and grant
recipients. The commission may rely on existing sources for locating
information on certified women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT
business, which may include, but is not limited to, the clearinghouse
database maintained by the Public Utilities Commission, the list of
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises certified by the Procurement
Division of the Department of General Services, as well as
information on other nonprofit organizations that verify or certify
women, minority, and LGBT business enterprises.
(3) The outreach program shall include a strategy to encourage the
participation of certified women, minority, disabled veteran, and
LGBT business enterprises in the commission's relevant programs and
shall consider including them in capacity building activities.
(c) The commission may consider establishing a Diversity Task
Force to consider and make recommendations about diversity in the
energy industry, including diversity of corporate governing boards
and procurement from diverse businesses, and addressing and promoting
local and targeted hiring.
