Bill Text: CA SB49 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Renewable energy: Department of Transportation: evaluation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 379, Statutes of 2023. [SB49 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB49-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  April 24, 2023

Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 49

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Introduced by Senator Becker

December 05, 2022

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An act to add Section 6377.5 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, and to add Section 91.9 to the Streets and Highways Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 49, as amended, Becker. Renewable energy: solar canopy tax incentives: Department of Transportation strategic plan.

(1)Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state of, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes.

This bill would provide an exemption from those taxes for the sale and use of materials and supplies purchased to construct a qualified solar canopy project, as specified.

(2)Existing

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. Existing law authorizes the department to lease, for up to 99 years, areas above or below state highways to public or private entities, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue certain permits for a state highway’s right-of-way necessary for telegraph, telephone, or electrical lines or of any ditches, pipes, drains, sewers, or underground structures, unless otherwise specifically provided in the instrument conveying title.

This bill would require the department, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, to develop a strategic plan to lease and license department-owned rights-of-way to public utilities or other entities to build and operate renewable energy generation facilities, energy storage facilities connected to renewable energy generation facilities, and electrical transmission facilities, as specified.

(3)Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements.

This bill would provide findings to comply with the additional information requirement for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure.

(4)The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws.

Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions.

This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill.

Digest Key

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

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Bill 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) With Senate Bill 100 (Chapter 312 of the Statutes of 2018) and Senate Bill 1020 (Chapter 361 of the Statutes of 2022), the state has established a target for 100 percent of retail sales of electricity to be from renewable or zero-carbon resources by 2045, with interim targets of 90 percent by 2035 and 95 percent by 2040.

(2) To achieve the 100 percent target for retail sales of electricity, the Senate Bill 100 Joint Agency report from March 2021 estimated that the state will need to add 110 gigawatts of solar generation capacity by 2045.

(3) Solar energy generation requires a lot of land and competes against other beneficial uses for that land, including agricultural uses, recreational uses, and land conservation as part of the state’s 30x30 strategy.

(4) It is in the interest of the state to encourage and enable the development of renewable energy generation, including solar energy generation, on land with no other planned beneficial use, such as along highway rights-of-way, or in ways where the land can be used for renewable energy generation without interfering with current uses, such as building solar energy generation on canopies above parking lots. rights-of-way.

(5)The County of Los Angeles alone has an estimated 101 square miles of parking lots that could provide about 6,500 megawatts of power if they were covered by solar canopies. Encouraging the development of solar canopies could make a significant contribution to achieving the state’s need for increased solar energy generation capacity while reducing the amount of other land required.

(6)

(5) Additional renewable energy generation, especially if paired with energy storage, can also help the state achieve better grid reliability and lower the risk of power outages.

(7)

(6) Renewable energy generation from solar canopies over parking lots and from solar energy generation facilities along highway rights-of-way can provide a local source of electricity for electric vehicle charging stations that are also usually often located within parking lots and along highways.

(8)

(7) The Independent System Operator has estimated the need for $30,000,000,000 in investments in increased transmission capacity by 2040 in order to achieve the Senate Bill 100 target.

(9)

(8) High-voltage transmission lines are extremely difficult to site and permit, in part because they often require coordination with a large number of landowners and local jurisdictions. Numerous studies have recommended siting new transmission lines along existing rights-of-way as an approach for getting past these siting challenges.

(10)

(9) In April 2021, the Federal Highway Administration issued guidance to encourage state departments of transportation to use highway rights-of-way “for pressing public needs relating to climate change,” including “renewable energy generation and electrical transmission and distribution projects.”

(11)Increasing renewable energy generation in urban and suburban areas, including from solar canopies, can also reduce the need for long-distance transmission of renewable energy generated in rural areas into population centers.

(12)

(10) Leasing or licensing land within transportation rights-of-way for renewable energy generation, energy storage, and electrical transmission can be a source of revenue for the state.

(13)

(11) Developing renewable energy generation within the transportation rights-of-way can also reduce the state’s roadside maintenance burden by reducing the need for vegetation management.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do both of following:

(1)Provide incentives for the development of solar canopies to boost the local generation of renewable energy in urban and suburban areas thereby reducing the need for dedicated land in rural areas to generate clean energy and for long-distance transmission to deliver that clean energy into population centers.

(2)Increase to increase the availability of state-controlled land within transportation rights-of-way for renewable energy development, energy storage, and electrical transmission.

SEC. 2.Section 6377.5 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

6377.5.

(a)There are exempted from the taxes imposed by this part, the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, materials and supplies purchased to construct a qualified solar canopy project.

(b)For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Eligible area” means a residential, commercial, government, or industrial site, containing an area dedicated to both the placement of a solar canopy and another use, including, but not limited to, use as a parking lot, outdoor seating, or recreation area. “Eligible area” does not include the roof of a building.

(2)“Qualified solar canopy project” means construction of a solar canopy over an eligible area with a nameplate capacity of at least 15 kilowatts of alternating current.

(3)“Solar energy system” means a solar energy device that has the primary purpose of providing for the collection and distribution of solar energy for the generation of electricity.

(4)“Solar canopy” means an elevated structure, containing a solar energy system. “Solar canopy” includes the solar energy system, energy storage connected to and primarily charged by the solar energy system, and power lines or other equipment required to connect the solar canopy to the electrical grid or a building on the site.

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

 Section 91.9 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to read:

91.9.

 (a) On or before December 31, 2025, the department, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, shall develop a strategic plan to lease and license department-owned rights-of-way to public utilities or other entities to build and operate renewable energy generation facilities, energy storage facilities connected to a renewable energy generation facility, and electrical transmission facility. facilities.

(b) The strategic plan described in subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:

(1) Evaluate the suitability of department-owned rights-of-way for the development of renewable energy generation and energy storage facilities.

(2) Identify and quantify department-owned rights-of-way that could be made available for leasing or licensing for the development of renewable energy generation and energy storage facilities, to the maximum extent feasible, after consideration of safety and other priorities that the department has identified for the department-owned rights-of-way.

(3) Establish goals for the amount of renewable energy generation capacity for department-owned rights-of-way that will be leased by 2030 and 2045.

(4) Identify department-owned rights-of-way corridors that are aligned with the needs for increased electrical transmission capacity as identified by the Public Utilities Commission, the Independent System Operator, or other balancing authorities, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, and prioritize making those corridors available for the purpose of electrical transmission facility development.

(5) Publish requirements for the development of solar energy generation and energy storage facilities or electrical transmission facilities within department-owned rights-of-way, including any safety or environmental issues and the steps that projects will be required to take to mitigate these issues.

(6) Establish a process for entities interested in leasing or licensing department-owned rights-of-way to operate and build a renewable energy generation facility, an energy storage facility connected to a renewable energy generation facility, or an electrical transmission facility to apply to the department for land use agreements.

(7) Recommend regulatory or statuary changes that, if enacted, would facilitate the development of renewable energy generation facilities, energy storage facilities, and electrical transmission facilities on department-owned rights-of-way.

(c) On or before July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the department shall annually publish on its internet website all of the following information during the prior year:

(1) The goals established under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).

(2) The actual amount of area of department-owned rights-of-way leased or licensed for renewable energy generation or energy storage.

(3) The nameplate capacity of renewable energy generation or energy storage that are operating on department-owned rights-of-way.

(4) The number of megawatt-miles of transmission facilities developed within department-owned rights-of-way.

SEC. 4.

(a)For purposes of complying with Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Legislature finds and declares that the objective of the exemption created by Section 6377.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as added by Section 2 of this act, is to provide incentives for the development of solar canopies to boost the local generation of renewable energy in urban and suburban areas while reducing the need for dedicated land in rural areas and the need for transmission to deliver the clean energy into population centers.

(b)The performance indicators the Legislature can use to determine if the exemption is achieving the objective stated in subdivision (a) shall be the dollar amount of taxes that would have been collected if there was no exemption, and the number of materials and supplies purchased to construct solar canopies exempted from sales and use taxes pursuant to this act.

(c)The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall annually prepare a written report that includes both of the following:

(1)The dollar amount of taxes not collected for materials and supplies purchased to construct solar canopies exempted from sales and use tax pursuant to this act.

(2)The nameplate capacity of solar canopies connected to the electrical grid each year.

(d)No later than July 1, 2024, and each July 1 thereafter, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall submit the report prepared pursuant to subdivision (c) to the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate and Assembly Committees on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance, and the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.

Notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made by this act and the state shall not reimburse any local agency for any sales and use tax revenues lost by it under this act.