Bill Text: CA SB968 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 674, Statutes of 2016. [SB968 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB968-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 968	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 31, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 14, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Monning
   (Coauthor: Senator Jackson)
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Achadjian)

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2016

   An act to add Section 712.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to electricity.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 968, as amended, Monning. Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, composed of reactor Units 1 and
2, is operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the County
of San Luis Obispo. Existing law requires the commission to convene,
or continue, until August 26, 2025, an independent peer review panel
to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and
surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, including the
surrounding areas of the facility and areas of nuclear waste storage.

   This bill would direct the commission to require the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company to submit an assessment, no later than July 1,
2018, conducted by an independent 3rd party, selected as specified,
of the adverse  and beneficial  economic  impact
  impacts, and net economic effects,  that could
occur, and of potential ways  for the state and local
jurisdictions  to mitigate  that   the
 adverse economic impact, if the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant were to temporarily or permanently shut down before the
powerplant's current operating licenses expire or if the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company were to decide not to pursue license renewal.
The bill would require the commission to consider any further
assessments or reviews needed that could assist local efforts to
prepare for a closure of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.
   This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 712.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   712.5.  (a) (1) The commission shall require the Pacific Gas and
Electric Company to submit an assessment, no later than July 1, 2018,
of the adverse  and beneficial  economic  impact
  impacts  for the region surrounding the County of
San Luis  Obispo   Obispo, and the net economic
effects on that region,  that could occur if the Diablo Canyon
Units 1 and 2 powerplant were to temporarily or permanently shut down
before the powerplant's current operating licenses from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission expire or if the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company were to decide not to pursue license renewal. The assessment
shall include a review, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision
(b), of potential actions for the state and local jurisdictions to
consider in order to mitigate the adverse economic impact of a
shutdown.
   (2) The assessment shall be conducted by an independent third
party, selected in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
   (b) The assessment shall consist of, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
   (1) Estimates of any decreases in local tax revenues, decreases in
workforce populations, losses in indirect or induced economies, and
potential impacts to ratepayers from an early shutdown.
   (2) A review of the economic impacts that affected the region
surrounding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station after it was
decommissioned by the Southern California Edison Company and of the
relevant decommissioning plans of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station.
   (3) A review of regions in the United States similar to the region
surrounding the County of San Luis Obispo that have experienced the
decommissioning of a nuclear powerplant and of the resulting 
adverse  economic impacts of the decommissioning on those
regions.
   (4) Identification of any contingency plans that could mitigate
the adverse economic impact of a shutdown to state and local
jurisdictions, the local workforce, and entities receiving enhanced
tax revenue.
   (c) (1) The commission shall require the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company to issue a request for proposal for the independent third
party that will ensure that the selected party is able to make an
independent review and analysis of the data described in subdivision
(b). The commission shall make the final selection of the independent
third party from the list of qualified bidders.
   (2) The independent third party shall consult with the Board of
Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo, the governing board of
the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, and other relevant
governmental entities to assist in an accurate assessment of
decreases in local tax revenues.
   (d) The commission shall make the assessment publicly available on
its Internet Web site and place it as an item on the agenda at the
next commission meeting after the assessment is made publicly
available for purposes of collecting and recording public comment,
and hold any subsequent public meetings as necessary.
   (e) The commission shall consider any further assessments or
reviews needed that could assist local efforts in the region
surrounding the County of San Luis Obispo to prepare for a closure of
the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant and make those
considerations and findings publicly available.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because, currently, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, owned
and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is the last
operating nuclear powerplant in California and its continued
operation is uncertain as Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 are only
authorized to operate until 2024 and 2025, respectively. Local
communities were ill-prepared and given no notice after the sudden
closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was announced on
June 7, 2013, and the state is still responding, at significant
cost, to the sudden, permanent, and unexpected loss of baseline
electricity. Therefore, an assessment is needed from the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company on the  adverse  economic
impact specific to a shutdown of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant to provide the state, and local communities, with valuable
and necessary information to plan and prepare for that circumstance,
if needed.