BILL NUMBER: SB 388 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 14, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Calderon
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Section 66407 to the Education Code,
relating to college textbooks. An act to add and
repeal Section 2830.1 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 388, as amended, Calderon. Educational materials.
Renewable energy resources.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations,
as defined. Existing law authorizes a local government, as defined,
to receive a bill credit, as defined, to a designated benefiting
account for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an
eligible renewable generating facility, as defined, and requires the
commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account. The
existing definition of a local government excludes a joint powers
authority, the state, and any agency or department of the state. The
existing definition of a "bill credit" provides that the amount of
the credit is based upon the time-of-use electricity generation
component of the electricity usage charge of the generating account.
This bill, until January 1, 2013, would authorize a local
government that is or is within an economically distressed county, as
defined, to receive a bill credit to a designated benefiting account
for electricity exported to the electrical grid by an eligible
photovoltaic generating facility, as defined, and requires the
commission to adopt a rate tariff for the benefiting account. The
bill would include an individual community college campus, California
State University campus, or a University of California campus within
the definition of a local government and would define a bill credit
so that the amount of the credit is based upon the time-of-use
electricity usage charge of the generating account and not the
electricity component of the charge. The bill would provide that a
local government electing to take service pursuant to the rate tariff
is eligible to receive ratepayer funded incentives pursuant to the
California Solar Initiative, as defined, for facilities that are
sized to meet the onsite load and the load of the designated
benefiting account.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or an
order or direction of the commission is a crime. Because the
provisions of this bill would require an order or other action of the
commission to implement, and a violation of that order or action
would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
The Donahoe Higher Education Act authorizes the activities of the
4 segments of the postsecondary education system in the state. These
segments include the 3 public postsecondary segments: the University
of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University
of California, the California State University, which is
administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and
the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board
of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Private and
independent postsecondary educational institutions constitute the
other segment.
Existing law urges textbook publishers to take specified actions
aimed at reducing the amounts that students pay for textbooks.
Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University
and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and
requests the Regents of the University of California, among other
things, to work with the academic senates of each respective segment
to encourage faculty to give consideration to the least costly
practices in assigning textbooks, to encourage faculty to disclose to
students how new editions of textbooks are different from previous
editions and the cost to students for textbooks selected, to review
procedures for faculty to inform college and university bookstores of
textbook selections, and to encourage faculty to work closely with
publishers and college and university bookstores in creating bundles
and packages that are economically sound.
Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature to encourage
private colleges and universities to work with their respective
academic senates, and to encourage faculty to consider practices in
selecting textbooks that will result in the lowest costs to students.
Existing law requires textbook publishers, for textbooks published
on or after January 1, 2010, to print a summary of the substantive
content differences between the new edition and any prior addition
on, or within, the cover of the textbook, as well as the copyright
date of the previous edition.
Existing law prohibits those responsible for choosing course
materials and adopting textbooks at an institution of higher
education from demanding or receiving anything of value for adopting
specific course materials required for coursework instruction.
This bill would enact the Accountability in College Textbook
Publishing Practices Act, as part of the Donahoe Higher Education
Act, which would require any publisher of college textbooks or
supplemental materials, as defined, to make the price of the
textbooks or supplemental materials available on its Internet Web
site, to charge no more than the price shown on its Internet Web site
on the date that an order is received, and if the price is otherwise
changed, to include the amount of the change and the date of the
change on its Internet Web site. The bill would also require a
publisher to provide bundled textbooks and supplemental material
separately.
This bill would allow an action for an injunction to be brought
against a publisher in superior court for violating these provisions.
The bill would state that it would become operative on July 1, 2010.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2830.1 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
2830.1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote
investment in photovoltaic distributed generation by local
governments in economically distressed counties by expanding the
incentives available pursuant to Section 2830, but subject to the
250-megawatt limitation of subdivision (h) of that section.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Benefiting account" means an electricity account, or more
than one account, located within the geographical boundaries of a
local government, that is mutually agreed upon by the local
government and an electrical corporation.
(2) "Bill credit" means an amount of money credited to a
benefiting account that is calculated based upon the time-of-use
electricity usage charge of the generating account, multiplied by the
quantities of electricity generated by an eligible photovoltaic
generating facility that are exported to the grid during the
corresponding time period. Electricity is exported to the grid if it
is generated by an eligible photovoltaic generating facility, is not
utilized onsite by the local government, and the electricity flows
through the meter site and on to the electrical corporation's
distribution or transmission infrastructure.
(3) "Economically distressed county" means a county that with an
unemployment rate of 10 percent or more as determined by the Economic
Development Department as of January 1, 2010.
(4) "Eligible photovoltaic generating facility" means a
photovoltaic solar collector or other photovoltaic solar energy
device that has a generating capacity of no more than one megawatt,
is located within the geographical boundary of, and is owned,
operated, or on property under the control of, the local government,
and is sized to offset all or part of the electrical load of the
benefiting account. The geographic boundary of an individual
community college campus, California State University campus, or
University of California campus shall be the limits of the city,
county, or city and county in which each is located. For these
purposes, premises that are leased by a local government are under
the control of the local government.
(5) "Generating account" means the time-of-use electric service
account of the local government where the eligible photovoltaic
generating facility is located.
(6) "Local government" means a city, county, whether general law
or chartered, city and county, special district, school district,
political subdivision, or an individual community college campus,
California State University campus, or University of California
campus, or other local public agency, that is located within an
economically distressed county, but shall not mean a joint powers
authority, the state or any agency or department of the state, other
than a campus of the University of California or the California State
University.
(c) Subject to the limitation in subdivision (h) of Section 2830,
a local government may elect to receive electric service pursuant to
this section, if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The local government is itself an economically distressed
county, or is geographically located within an economically
distressed county.
(2) The local government designates one or more benefiting
accounts to receive a bill credit.
(3) A benefiting account receives service under a time-of-use rate
schedule.
(4) The benefiting account is the responsibility of, and serves
property that is owned, operated, or on property under the control of
the same local government that owns, operates, or controls the
eligible photovoltaic generating facility.
(5) The electrical output of the eligible photovoltaic generating
facility is metered for time of use to allow calculation of the bill
credit based upon when the electricity is exported to the grid.
(6) All costs associated with the metering requirements of
paragraphs (2) and (4) are the responsibility of the local
government.
(7) All costs associated with interconnection are the
responsibility of the local government. For purposes of this
paragraph, "interconnection" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 2803, except that it applies to the interconnection of an
eligible photovoltaic generating facility rather than the energy
source of a private energy producer.
(8) The local government does not sell electricity exported to the
electrical grid to a third party.
(9) All electricity generated by the eligible photovoltaic
generating facility shall be counted toward the electrical
corporation's total retail sales procurement requirements, but not
incremental procurement requirements, pursuant to Article 16
(commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1. Ownership
of the renewable energy credits, as defined in Section 399.12,
associated with electricity generated by the eligible photovoltaic
generating facility shall be the property of the electrical
corporation.
(d) (1) A benefiting account shall be billed for all electricity
usage, and for each bill component, at the rate schedule applicable
to the benefiting account, including any cost-responsibility
surcharge or other cost recovery mechanism, as determined by the
commission, to reimburse the Department of Water Resources for
purchases of electricity, pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with
Section 80000) of the Water Code.
(2) The bill shall then subtract the bill credit applicable to the
benefiting account. The amount credited to the benefiting account
may not include the cost-responsibility surcharge or other cost
recovery mechanism, as determined by the commission, to reimburse the
Department of Water Resources for purchases of electricity, pursuant
to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code.
The electrical corporation shall ensure that the local government
receives the full bill credit.
(3) If, during the billing cycle, the electricity usage charges
exceed the bill credit, the benefiting account shall be billed for
the difference.
(4) If, during the billing cycle, the bill credit applied pursuant
to paragraph (2) exceeds the electricity usage charges, the
difference shall be carried forward as a financial credit to the next
billing cycle.
(5) After the electricity usage charge pursuant to paragraph (1)
and the credit pursuant to paragraph (2) are determined for the last
billing cycle of a 12-month period, any remaining credit resulting
from the application of this section shall be reset to zero.
(e) The commission shall ensure that costs associated with the
transfer of a bill credit to a benefiting account do not result in a
shifting of costs to bundled service subscribers. The costs
associated with the transfer of a bill credit shall include all
billing-related expenses.
(f) Not more frequently than once per year, and upon providing the
electrical corporation with a minimum of 60 days' notice, the local
government may elect to change a benefiting account. Any credit
resulting from the application of this section earned prior to the
change in a benefiting account that has not been used as of the date
of the change in the benefiting account, shall be applied, and may
only be applied, to a benefiting account as changed.
(g) A local government shall provide the electrical corporation to
which the eligible photovoltaic generating facility will be
interconnected with not less than 60 days' notice prior to the
eligible photovoltaic generating facility becoming operational. The
electrical corporation shall file an advice letter with the
commission, that complies with this section, not later than 30 days
after receipt of the notice, proposing a rate tariff for a benefiting
account. The commission, within 30 days of the date of filing, shall
approve the proposed tariff, or specify conforming changes to be
made by the electrical corporation to be filed in a new advice
letter.
(h) The local government may terminate its election pursuant to
subdivision (b), upon providing the electrical corporation with a
minimum of 60 days' notice. Should the local government sell its
interest in the generating account, or sell the electricity generated
by the eligible photovoltaic generating facility, in a manner other
than required by this section, upon the date of either event, and the
earliest date if both events occur, no further bill credit pursuant
to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) may be earned. Only credit earned
prior to that date shall be made to a benefiting account.
(i) An eligible photovoltaic generation facility is an eligible
renewable generating facility for purposes of the 250-megawatt
limitation of subdivision (h) of Section 2830. An electrical
corporation is not obligated, pursuant to this section, to provide a
bill credit to a benefiting account that is not designated by a local
government prior to the point in time that the combined statewide
cumulative rated generating capacity of all eligible renewable
generating facilities, as defined in Section 2830, and eligible
photovoltaic within the service territories of the state's three
largest electrical corporations reaches 250 megawatts. Each
electrical corporation shall only be required to offer service or
contracts under this section until that electrical corporation
reaches its proportionate share of the 250-megawatt limitation based
on the ratio of its peak demand to the total statewide peak demand of
all electrical corporations.
(j) A local government electing to take service pursuant to
subdivision (b) is eligible to receive ratepayer funded incentives
pursuant to the California Solar Initiative for facilities that are
sized to meet the onsite load and the load of the designated
benefiting account. For purposes of this subdivision, "California
Solar Initiative" means the program providing ratepayer funded
incentives for eligible solar energy systems adopted by the Public
Utilities Commission in Decision 05-12-044 and Decision 06-01-024, as
modified by Chapter 8.8 (commencing with Section 25780) of Division
15 of the Public Resources Code and Article 1 (commencing with
Section 2851) of Chapter 9.
(k) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 66407 is added to the
Education Code, to read:
66407. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
Accountability in College Textbook Publishing Practices Act.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that every student seeking
a higher education in the state is offered affordable access to
course materials and to do all of the following:
(1) To encourage textbook publishers and distributors to work with
faculty to promote understanding of the cost to students of
purchasing faculty selected textbooks, including the disclosure of
prices and bundling practices.
(2) To encourage innovation in the development and use of course
materials, including open textbooks and other open educational
resources, that can help students receive the full value of their
educational investment without excessive cost.
(3) To ensure that faculty members are informed of accurate and
relevant pricing information for course materials and that students
are protected as a consumer group.
(4) To strengthen and enforce existing federal regulations.
(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Bundle" means one or more college textbooks or other
supplemental learning materials that may be packaged together to be
sold as course material for one price.
(2) "Campus bookstore" means the bookstore on the campus of, or
otherwise associated with, an institution of higher education.
(3) "College textbook" means a textbook or set of textbooks used
for, or in conjunction with, a course at an institution of higher
education.
(4) "Custom textbook" means a college textbook that is compiled by
a publisher at the direction of a faculty member or other person or
adopting entity in charge of selecting course materials at an
institution of higher education and may include, alone or in
combination, items such as selections from original instructor
materials, previously copyrighted publisher materials, copyrighted
third-party works, and elements unique to a specific institution,
such as commemorative editions.
(5) "Publisher" means a publisher of college textbooks or
supplemental materials that markets college textbooks or supplemental
materials to faculty members at institutions of higher education.
(6) "Substantial content" means parts of a college textbook, such
as new chapters, additional eras of time, new themes, or new subject
matter.
(7) "Supplemental material" means educational material developed
to accompany a college textbook, which may include printed materials,
computer disks, Internet Web site access, and electronically
distributed materials.
(8) For purposes of this section, "writing" includes electronic
communications.
(d) If a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in charge
of selecting course materials at an institution of higher education
with information regarding a college textbook or supplemental
material, the publisher shall also communicate whether the college
textbook or supplemental material is available in any other format,
including paperback or unbound, and the price at which the publisher
would make the college textbook or supplemental material in the other
format available.
(e) A publisher shall do all of the following:
(1) Make the price at which the textbook or supplemental material
is made available to the institution's campus bookstore available on
the publisher's Internet Web site.
(2) Charge no more than the price shown on the publisher's
Internet Web site on the date that the order is received from the
institution's campus bookstore by the publisher.
(3) If a publisher provides a faculty member or entity in charge
of selecting course material at an institution of higher education
with the price at which the publisher would make the college textbook
or supplemental material available to the institution's campus
bookstore, and after a price is provided, but before an order is
placed, the publisher changes the price at which it will make a
textbook or supplemental material available to the institution's
campus bookstore, the publisher shall make information available on
its Internet Web site regarding the amount of the change in price,
whether the price was increased or decreased, and the date or dates
when the price was changed.
(f) A publisher that sells a college textbook and any supplemental
material as a bundle shall also make the college textbook and each
item of supplemental material available, as separate and unbundled
items at separate prices.
(g) If a faculty member or entity in charge of selecting course
materials at an institution of higher education directs a publisher
to compile a custom textbook or bundle, the publisher shall provide,
in writing, prior to accepting an order for the custom textbook or
bundle, the price at which the publisher would make the custom
textbook or bundle available to the campus bookstore.
(h) Any publisher violating any of the provisions of this section
may be enjoined by any superior court of competent jurisdiction upon
action for an injunction.
(i) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2010.