BILL NUMBER: AB 1012 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Fuentes, Galgiani, and Nielsen)
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 11546.1 to the Government Code,
relating to broadband services, and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately. An act to add Section
2099.10 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1012, as amended, V. Manuel Perez. Broadband
communications. Energy: renewable resources:
endangered species.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission (Energy Commission), and requires it to
certify sufficient sites and related facilities that are required to
provide a supply of electricity sufficient to accommodate projected
demand for power statewide. The act grants the Energy Commission the
exclusive authority to certify any stationary or floating electrical
generating facility using any source of thermal energy, with a
generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more, and any facilities
appurtenant thereto. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to
establish a process for certain applicants for certification of a
solar thermal powerplant that are proposed to be constructed in the
planning area for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, as
defined, that allows the applicant to elect to pay additional fees to
be used by the Energy Commission to contract with 3rd parties to
assist the Energy Commission staff in performing the analysis
otherwise performed by staff in determining whether or not to issue a
certification.
The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish and
Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list
of threatened species, and requires the Department of Fish and Game
to recommend, and the commission to adopt, criteria for determining
if a species is endangered or threatened. CESA authorizes the
department to authorize the take of threatened species, endangered
species, or candidate species by permit if certain requirements are
met. CESA authorizes the department, in consultation with the Energy
Commission and, to the extent practicable, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service and the United States Bureau of Land Management, to
design and implement actions to protect, restore, or enhance the
habitat of plants and wildlife that can be used to fully mitigate the
impacts of the take of endangered, threatened, or candidate species
(mitigation actions) resulting from certain solar thermal and
photovoltaic powerplants in the planning area of the Desert Renewable
Energy Conservation Plan.
Existing law requires the department to collect, and requires the
owner or developer of certain solar thermal powerplants or
photovoltaic powerplants to pay, a one-time permit application fee of
$75,000. Existing law requires the department to utilize the permit
application fee to pay for all or a portion of the department's cost
of processing incidental take permit applications pursuant to CESA.
This bill would require the department to collect,
and an owner or developer of an eligible project to pay, a one-time
permit application fee of $75,000 to the department, to pay for all
or a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take
permit applications. The bill would define "eligible project" to mean
an eligible renewable energy resource as defined in the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard. If the permit application fee is
insufficient to complete permitting work due to the complexity of a
project or timeline delays, the bill would authorize the department
to collect an additional fee from the owner or developer to pay for
its actual costs, not to exceed an additional $75,000.
Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2013, the office of the
State Chief Information Officer, within the Governor's cabinet, with
the State Chief Information Officer having specified duties in
creating and managing the technology policy of the state.
This bill would require the State Chief Information Officer to
establish a strategy to maximize federal funding opportunities
pursuant to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Recovery Act) and the federal Broadband Data Improvement Act
that are directed for broadband-related activities, programs, or
projects. The bill would require the State Chief Information Officer,
no later than 30 days after the effective date of this bill, to
develop the strategy and require that the strategy include specific
information for purposes of broadband development and deployment in
the state and the obtaining of federal funding for those purposes.
The State Chief Information Officer would be required to submit the
strategy to the relevant policy and fiscal committees in each house
of the Legislature within 30 days of the preparation of the strategy.
The bill would require the State Chief Information Officer to
administer, expend, and distribute broadband-related funding received
under the Recovery Act in a manner consistent with federal law and
specified policy goals.
The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission, as the
designated recipient for a grant under the federal State Broadband
Data and Development Grant Program of the Broadband Data Improvement
Act, to administer and expend funding received under that program in
a manner consistent with federal and state law.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3 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 2099.10 is added to the
Fish and Game Code , to read:
2099.10. (a) The department shall collect a permit application
fee from the owner or developer of an eligible project to support its
permitting of eligible projects pursuant to this chapter. The owner
or developer of a proposed eligible project shall pay a one-time
permit application fee of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) to
the department. For purposes of this section, an "eligible project"
means an eligible renewable energy resource as defined in the
California Renewables Portfolio Standard (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public
Utilities Code).
(b) The department shall collect the permit application fee, at
the time the owner or developer submits its permit application or,
for eligible projects for which an application has already been
submitted, within 30 days of the operative date of this section. The
department shall utilize the permit application fee to pay for all or
a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take
permit applications pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2081 and
Section 2080.1. If the permit application fee is insufficient to
complete permitting work due to the complexity of a project or
timeline delays, the department may collect an additional fee from
the owner or developer to pay for its actual costs, not to exceed an
additional seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000).
(c) For an eligible project seeking site certification, pursuant
to Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 25500) of Division 1 of the
Public Resources Code, by the Energy Commission, the owner or
developer shall pay the permit application fee directly to the
department. The permit application fee paid to the department shall
fund the department's participation in the Energy Commission's site
certification process as the state's trustee for natural resources.
The permit application fee shall be in addition to any application
fees collected by the Energy Commission. The permit application fee
shall be due and payable within 30 days of the operative date of this
section. As used in this subdivision, "Energy Commission" has the
same meaning as defined in Section 2099.
(d) The permit application fees paid pursuant to this section
shall be proportional to the cost incurred by the department, and
shall be annually reviewed and adjustments recommended to the
Legislature in an amount necessary to pay the full costs of
department programs as specified. The fees shall be deposited in the
Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and shall be eligible for
expenditure by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
2081 and Section 2080.1.
(e) If an owner or developer withdraws a project within 30 days
after paying the permit application fee, the department shall refund
any unused portion of the fee to the owner or developer.
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
(a) In October 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commissioned
through Executive Order S-23-06, the California Broadband Task Force
to "remove barriers to broadband access, identify opportunities for
increased broadband adoption, and enable the reaction and development
of new advance communication technologies." After more than a year
of work, the task force issued a report titled "The State of
Connectivity: Building Innovation Through Broadband" that maps
current broadband availability and speed, makes recommendations to
achieve universal broadband access and increased usage, and a
timeframe in which to meet these critical goals. While the report
shows terrific progress for the state, there is still more work to be
done, because nearly 2,000 communities are still unable to access
high-speed Internet, only one-half of Californians have access to
broadband at speeds greater than 10 megabits per second (Mbps), and
even though availability rates are at 96 percent, just over one-half
of California households use broadband.
(b) In 2008 the Legislature created the California Advanced
Services Fund in order to spur deployment of broadband infrastructure
in both rural and urban unserved and underserved areas within the
state, and encouraged a statewide policy to promote broadband
throughout the state.
(c) On February 17, 2009, the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5; hereafter the Recovery
Act) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The act requires
the Federal Communications Commission to develop a National Broadband
Plan, and contains two new funding programs: (1) the Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program under the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration and (2) the Rural
Development Broadband Program under the United States Department of
Agriculture's Office of Rural Development, Rural Utilities Service.
(d) The Recovery Act authorizes $4.7 billion for the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration for the Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program, and appropriates $2.5 billion to
Rural Utilities Service to extend loans, loan and grant combinations,
and grants to projects where at least 75 percent of a Rural
Utilities Service funded area is in a rural area that lacks
sufficient access to high-speed broadband service in order to
facilitate rural economic development. Funding for each program must
be awarded by September 30, 2010. Up to $350 million is authorized
under the Recovery Act to fund the State Broadband Data and
Development Grant Program authorized by the Broadband Data
Improvement Act of 2008 (Title I of Public Law 110-385; hereafter the
Broadband Data Improvement Act).
(e) In fulfilling the state's role, pursuant to the Notice of
Funds Availability and solicitation of applications for the Broadband
Technology Opportunities Program and Broadband Initiatives Program,
the Chief Information Officer, on behalf of the Governor, is required
to submit to the appropriate federal entities a prioritization of
recommended state projects, along with an explanation of why the
selected proposals meet the greatest needs of the state. In
furthering the state's role, the Governor, in a letter dated July 21,
2009, designated the Public Utilities Commission as the single
entity in California to receive a grant under Section 106(i)(2) of
the Broadband Data Improvement Act.
(f) As funding awarded pursuant to the above-described federal
programs is expected to be allocated through a series of requests for
proposals prior to the conclusion of the program on September 30,
2010, it is incumbent on the state to have a comprehensive and
multiphased strategy to assist California applicants in obtaining
these funds.
SEC. 2. Section 11546.1 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
11546.1. (a) The State Chief Information Officer, in addition to
serving on the Governor's California Federal Stimulus Task Force,
shall establish a strategy to maximize federal funding opportunities
pursuant to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Public Law 111-5) and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (Title
1 of Public Law 110-385) that are directed for broadband-related
activities, programs, or projects. These broadband-related
activities, programs, and projects include the State Broadband Data
and Development Grant Program, the Broadband Initiatives Program
(BIP), and the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP).
(b) The State Chief Information Officer, no later than 30 days
after the effective date of this section, utilizing any information
in the Notice of Funds Availability and solicitation of applications
for each program, shall develop the strategy, which shall include all
of the following:
(1) Specific actions that should be taken to maximize both the
amount of federal broadband-related funding to the state and the
number of California applicants.
(2) Specific actions needed to facilitate broadband deployment in
California's rural areas, facilitate deployment of broadband
infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, enhance broadband
capacity at public computer centers, and promote sustainable
broadband adoption projects.
(3) A specific process for prioritizing state projects for BTOP
and BIP funding and appropriate sources used to determine how
individual selected proposals meet the greatest needs of the state.
(4) Identification of the specific roles of the State Chief
Information Officer, the Public Utilities Commission, the California
Emerging Technology Fund, and any other state entity that is
necessary to carry out the specific actions recommended in the
strategy.
(5) Identification of the specific state resources, if any, that
may be utilized to leverage federal funds.
(6) A description of the state's role, if any, in the development
of the federal Broadband Plan.
(7) Identification of other key public and private community
development partners and their respective roles and areas of
expertise, necessary statutory or regulatory changes, and needed
resources to accomplish the strategy.
(8) Identification of key tasks, timelines, and monitoring
processes.
(c) The State Chief Information Officer shall submit the strategy
developed pursuant to this section to the relevant policy and fiscal
committees of each house of the Legislature within 30 days of the
preparation of the strategy.
(d) To the extent permitted by law, the State Chief Information
Officer shall consult with the Office of Planning and Research to
provide guidance to applicants and to help expedite permits required
for the deployment of broadband infrastructure projects and the
meeting of deadlines pursuant to the Notice of Funds Availability and
solicitation of applications for the BTOP and the BIP funding in the
federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
(e) The State Chief Information Officer , in consultation with the
Public Utilities Commission, shall administer, expend, and
distribute broadband-related funding, received under the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, in a manner
consistent with federal law and the goals of the California Broadband
Task Force, the California Advanced Services Fund, established
pursuant to Section 281 of the Public Utilities Code, and the
California Emerging Technology Fund, a nonprofit public benefit
corporation established pursuant to Public Utilities Commission
Decision 05-11-028.
(f) The Public Utilities Commission, as the designated recipient
for a grant under the federal State Broadband Data and Development
Grant Program, shall administer and expend funding received under
that program in a manner consistent with federal and state law.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and
shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity
are:
In order to develop a strategy, at the earliest possible time, for
providing broadband access to unserved and underserved areas in the
state, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.