BILL NUMBER: AB 527 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 1, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 18, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torrico
FEBRUARY 21, 2007
An act to add Sections 15814.50 and 15814.51 to the Government
Code, and to amend Section 25401 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to energy efficiency.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 527, Torrico. Energy efficiency.
(1) Existing law requires all new public buildings to be models of
energy efficiency, according to specified criteria, and requires the
Department of General Services to consult with the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission with respect to
these criteria.
This bill would require the department, in partnership with the
commission, to develop and adopt, on or before January 1, 2009, a
state plan to include energy efficient technology in public
buildings, according to specified criteria. It would require the
department, with the cooperation of the commission, to begin
implementation of the state plan upon its adoption. The bill would
also require the department, in conjunction with the commission, to
report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2011, on the
progress of the implementation of the state plan and its
effectiveness in improving the energy efficiency of public buildings.
The bill would create the California Energy Efficient Technology
Pooled Investment Fund in the State Treasury, which would be
administered by the Secretary of State and Consumer Services, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for the procurement and
implementation of qualifying measures that are specified in the state
plan and approved by the State Public Works Board. In addition to
authorizing private monetary contributions to the fund the bill would
require each state agency to deposit a specified percentage of its
annual utility budget into the fund for these purposes, except as
specified, and would specify that all net savings resulting from the
implementation of a qualifying measure would be retained by the state
agency implementing the measure.
(2) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission to carry out studies, technical
assessments, research projects, and data collection directed to
reducing wasteful, inefficient, unnecessary, or uneconomic uses of
energy, including, but not limited to, improved appliance efficiency.
This bill would revise the subjects of the commission's studies,
technical assessments, research projects, and data collection to
include improved appliance efficiency and electrical device design.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
the most efficient and reliable energy technology is available in the
marketplace.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that state
government lead by example and demonstrate to the public the cost and
environmental benefits of implementing energy efficient technology
into daily life.
SEC. 2. Section 15814.50 is added to the Government Code, to read:
15814.50. (a) (1) On or before January 1, 2009, the Department of
General Services, in partnership with the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, shall develop and adopt a
state plan to include energy efficient technology in public
buildings. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the
implementation of new emerging technologies identified through the
research conducted and successfully completed through the Public
Interest Energy Research Program administered by the commission. In
identifying the technology to be included in the plan, the department
shall solicit input from both public and private entities.
(2) Upon the adoption of the state plan described in paragraph
(1), the Department of General Services, with the cooperation of the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall
begin implementation of the state plan.
(3) The state plan shall not prohibit, limit, or supersede more
stringent green building requirements for public buildings.
(4) The state plan may be included in the multiyear plan required
pursuant to Section 15814.22.
(b) On or before January 1, 2011, the Department of General
Services, in conjunction with the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission, shall report to the Legislature on the
progress of the implementation of the state plan and its
effectiveness in improving the energy efficiency of public buildings.
(c) This section shall not be construed to limit the plan to
technology developed through publicly funded programs.
(d) This section shall not apply to any building leased by the
state, except in the case of a building financed through the issuance
of lease-revenue bonds.
SEC. 3. Section 15814.51 is added to the Government Code, to read:
15814.51. (a) The California Energy Efficient Technology Pooled
Investment Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury, and shall be
administered by the Secretary of State and Consumer Services for the
purposes of this section.
(b) The fund shall consist of the following moneys:
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each state agency,
as defined in Section 11000, shall deposit into the fund 3 percent
of its annual utility budget, as determined by the Department of
Finance based on actual energy expenditures from the most recent
fiscal year data. If the energy expenditures of an agency are not
known, the Department of Finance may estimate the agency's deposit
into the fund based on procedures specified in the plan established
pursuant to Section 15814.50 using a pro rata formula or other
simplified means.
(2) Private monetary contributions.
(3) All interest earned on moneys in the fund.
(c) A state agency shall not be required to deposit into the fund
if the secretary determines either of the following:
(1) The state agency has fully complied with the state plan
established under subdivision (a) of Section 15814.50.
(2) The state agency cannot make the deposit without incurring a
negative fund balance to pay for its utilities.
(d) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the secretary shall
make moneys in the fund available to state agencies for the
procurement and implementation of qualifying measures that are
specified in the plan established pursuant to Section 15814.50 and
have been approved by the State Public Works Board.Unless otherwise
specified in this section, the moneys shall be used exclusively to
fund technology projects not eligible for financing from other public
sources. The moneys may be used to augment, but not supplant,
financing from private sources.
(e) Upon presentation of a positive cost-benefit analysis, the
secretary may allow the funds to be used to conduct
retro-commissioning projects in lieu of the qualifying measures
identified in the plan. For the purposes of this subdivision,
"retro-commissioning" means a systematic, documented process that
identifies low-cost operational and maintenance improvements in an
existing building and brings the building up to the design intentions
of its current usage.
(f) All net savings resulting from the implementation of a
qualifying measure shall be retained by the state agency implementing
the measure.
SEC. 4. Section 25401 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
25401. The commission shall continuously carry out studies,
research projects, data collection, and other activities required to
assess the nature, extent, and distribution of energy resources to
meet the needs of the state, including, but not limited to, fossil
fuels and solar, nuclear, and geothermal energy resources. It shall
also carry out studies, technical assessments, research projects, and
data collection directed to reducing wasteful, inefficient,
unnecessary, or uneconomic uses of energy, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(a) Pricing of electricity and other forms of energy.
(b) Improved building design and insulation.
(c) Restriction of promotional activities designed to increase the
use of electrical energy by consumers.
(d) (1) Improved appliance efficiency and electrical device
design.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "electrical device" means
any unit of a system intended to carry electrical energy, including
raceways, conductors, conduit, wires, switches, and other devices.
(e) Advances in power generation and transmission technology.
(f) Comparisons in the efficiencies of alternative methods of
energy utilization.
The commission shall survey pursuant to this section all forms of
energy on which to base its recommendations to the Governor and
Legislature for elimination of waste or increases in efficiency for
sources or uses of energy. The commission shall transmit to the
Governor and the Legislature, as part of the biennial report
specified in Section 25309, recommendations for state policy and
actions for the orderly development of all potential sources of
energy to meet the state's needs, including, but not limited to,
fossil fuels and solar, nuclear, and geothermal energy resources, and
to reduce wasteful and inefficient uses of energy.