BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1012|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1012
Author: V. Manuel Perez (D), et al
Amended: 8/20/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/25/10
AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Wolk
NOES: Cogdill, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hollingsworth, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 8/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SUBJECT : Energy: renewable resources: endangered
species
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes a procedure for the
Department of Fish and Game to assess a permit application
fee from the owner or developer of an eligible renewable
energy project.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/10 delete the previous
version of the bill relating to broad band communications
and now authorizes a fee of $75,000 for the Department of
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Fish and Game's permitting work pursuant to the California
Endangered Species Act for specified renewable energy
projects.
ANALYSIS : 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 (DFG) to recommend, and the
commission to adopt, criteria for determining if a species
is endangered or threatened. CESA authorizes DFG to
authorize the take of threatened species, endangered
species, or candidate species by permit if certain
requirements are met. CESA authorizes DFG, 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.
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Existing law requires DFG 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 DFG to
utilize the permit application fee to pay for all or a
portion of DFG's cost of processing incidental take permit
applications pursuant to CESA.
This bill requires DFG to collect a fee of $75,000 to pay
for all or a portion of the costs of DFG processing
incidental take permits on a statewide basis, not just in
the DRECP. Unlike SB 8X 34, this bill defines "eligible
project" to mean all renewable energy resource development
projects as defined in the California Renewable Portfolio
Standard. Those projects include solar photovoltaic,
biomass, biogas, small hydro, geothermal, and wind, among
others. If the fee is inadequate for this purpose, the DFG
may obtain an additional fee that represents its actual
costs but that shall not exceed $75,000.
Background
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and the Governor
approved SB 8X 34 (Padilla), a measure which, among other
provisions, allows the DFG to collect a fee of $75,000 for
specified renewable energy projects in the area included
within the DRECP. The DRECP includes large swaths of the
Colorado and Mojave deserts in Imperial, San Diego,
Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, and Mono
counties.
The DRECP intendeds to serve as a Natural Communities
Conservation Plan (NCCP) for this region's development of
renewable energy projects. As such, lands designated for
development and lands designated for conservation purposes
will be identified and dedicated to those purposes
consistent with the terms of the NCCP Act and other
applicable provisions of law.
The fee is intended to offset DFG's costs in processing
incidental take permit applications that may be needed
depending on the circumstances of each proposed renewable
energy development.
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Projects eligible pursuant to SB 8X 34 were limited to
those within the DRECP, those receiving federal American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding, and also were
limited to solar thermal or photovoltaic power plants.
This latter limitation was designed to focus on the 15
projects that were pending review in the DRECP region that
needed to have permits issued in 2010 in order to retain
their ARRA funding and their federal tax credits. ARRA
requires projects to begin construction by December 31,
2010.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Fee revenues About ($2,250) per year
Special*
*Fish and Game Preservation Fund
CTW:do 8/27/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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