BILL ANALYSIS
SB 675
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Date of Hearing: June 16, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 675 (Steinberg) - As Amended: April 2, 2009
[Note: This bill has been double referred to the Assembly
Natural Resources Committee and will be heard as it relates to
issues under its jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE : 26-9
SUBJECT : Energy job training: Clean Technology and Renewable
Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education, and Dropout
Prevention Act of 2010
SUMMARY : Establishes the Clean Technology and Renewable Energy
Job Training, Career Technical Education, and Dropout Prevention
Act of 2010. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes declarations and findings regarding renewable energy,
energy conservation, clean technology and climate change
policies, with a focus on California's leadership in those
areas, the need to use renewable energy and the technologies
it requires to reduce high school dropout and joblessness
rates for the state's young people and to develop the state's
renewable energy resources.
2)States legislative intent to stimulate the state's economy,
create tens of thousands of good paying jobs in industries and
businesses that are in compliance with the state's
environmental protection laws and regulations, to provide
entrepreneurs and employers the best-trained workforce in the
United States and to prepare young people and adults to work
in clean, green industries and professions.
3)Defines the following terms in the bill:
a) "Board" means the State Allocation Board (SAB).
b) "Clean technology projects" mean the following:
i) Energy audits that include a determination of the
energy savings that can be achieved from projects funded
under this program and that can be recovered through
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utility bill financing;
ii) Retrofitting and weatherization activities that
increase energy efficiency and conservation;
iii) Energy- and water- efficient public buildings;
iv) Retrofitting and installing energy efficient
household appliances, windows, doors, insulation and
lighting;
v) Retrofitting and installing water and energy
conservation technologies in existing residential,
industrial, commercial and public structures to improve
efficiency, including the use of energy and water
management technologies and control systems;
vi) The manufacture, sale, assembly, installation,
construction and maintenance of energy efficient
technologies and renewable energy facilities or the
components of renewable energy technologies;
vii) Projects related to energy efficient technologies or
practices and renewable energy production or the
component parts of renewable energy plants and energy
distribution, including energy storage, energy
infrastructure, transportation, clean vehicle technology,
clean heat and power and water and wastewater; and,
viii) Natural resource conservation projects related to
climate change such as fish and wildlife restoration,
reforestation, native species restoration, invasive
species eradication, community tree planting and other
projects that fight climate change.
c) "Council" means the Clean Technology and Renewable
Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education and Dropout
Prevention Council comprised of the Secretaries of the
Natural Resources, Labor and Workforce Development, and
Environmental Protection agencies, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges, two members appointed by the Senate
Rules Committee (one who is a renewable energy projects
employer and another who is a member of a nonprofit
environmental advocacy organization) and two members
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appointed by the Assembly Speaker (one who represents
disadvantage communities and another from a labor
organization that provides state approved renewable energy
development pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs).
The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency will serve
as the Chair of the Council.
d) "Disadvantaged community" means a community with a
median household income that is less than 89% of the
statewide average. Severely disadvantaged community means
a community with a median household income that is less
than 60% of the statewide average.
e) "Eligible entity" means a public school serving any of
grades 7-12, a California community college, a public
entity providing career technical education (CTE) including
a county office of education or a school agency joint
powers authority, a publicly or investor owned facility, a
nonprofit organization, a labor organization, a business
entity, a state-approved apprenticeship program, a
regional collaborative (local educational agencies, higher
education institutions, businesses, labor organizations or
community-based organizations), the California Conservation
Corps (CCC) or a certified local conservation corps, a
public postsecondary educational institution or any other
entity approved by the Council.
f) "Program participant" means middle or high school
pupils, community college students, job trainees, incumbent
workers, members of the CCC or certified local conversation
corps, or minors or adults under 22 years of age either on
probation or participating in programs that include career
technical education as an alternative to conviction,
incarceration or adjudication, as specified.
g) "Reconfiguration" means a modification of a structure of
any age that will enhance the educational opportunities for
program participants in order to provide them with the
skills and knowledge necessary for their successful
employment in careers directly related to clean technology,
renewable energy, or energy efficiency that may also
contribute to California's goals to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. "Reconfiguration" may include new construction
necessary to accommodate the reconfiguration.
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h) "Renewable energy projects" means research and
development, manufacturing, generation, development, and
maintenance of appropriately sited power line transmission,
power storage, installation, repair, maintenance, and
related activities necessary to produce energy from wind,
photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal, biomass, including
cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, and biomass power, green
waste, and fuel cells.
4)Creates the Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job
Training, Career Technical Education and Dropout Prevention
Fund (Fund) in the State Treasury to provide competitive
grants for the purpose of constructing or reconfiguring new
facilities with a useful life expectancy of at least 20 years
or the length of bond maturity to provide program participants
with skills and knowledge necessary for successful employment
related to clean technology, renewable energy or energy
efficiency.
5)Requires the Council to develop criteria to evaluate the Fund
and requires the criteria to include measures of education,
job readiness, and environmental outcomes and shall ensure
equity, program relevance to industry needs, and articulation
with more advanced coursework at qualified community colleges,
public universities, or private institutions.
6)Specifies the following process for allocating the competitive
grant program:
a) Requires the SAB to administer grant applications and to
implement the program pursuant to regulations and
guidelines established by the Council;
b) Requires grants be allocated on a per square foot basis
and prohibits any requirement that students be unhoused or
that facilities meet any age requirements to receive a
grant under the program;
c) Establishes a maximum of $3 million per project per
eligible entity for new construction grants for either
stand-alone projects or as supplements to the new
construction per unhoused pupil grants under the School
Facility Program (SFP);
d) Establishes a maximum of $1.5 million per project per
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eligible entity for modernization grants for the purpose of
reconfiguration and provides that the grant be supplemental
to the modernization per pupil grants under the SFP;
e) Requires the eligible entity to contribute toward the
project on a dollar for dollar match basis and authorizes
the local contribution to come from private industry
groups, the school district or a joint powers authority and
authorizes the reduction, but not the elimination, of the
match at the discretion of the Council. Authorizes the
local contribution to be a dollar amount that is used to
fund CTE programs that will be housed in the projects or
used to purchase durable equipment.
f) Authorizes the repayment of the local contribution over
time and authorizes the SAB to establish a repayment
schedule similar to that established for the Charter School
Facility Program, but prohibits the SAB from waiving the
local contribution on the basis of financial hardship or on
any other basis.
g) Requires applicants to meet any criteria established by
the Council and enter into agreements with any other
eligible entity, as specified, to provide middle and high
school pupils, school dropouts or high school graduates
under 22 years of age, members of the CCC and certified
local conservation corps, and minors or adults under 22
years of age who are on probation or parole with job
training, knowledge, skills and credentials necessary for
the successful employment in careers directly related to
clean technology, renewable energy, or energy efficiency.
h) Requires the grant application to include all of the
following:
i) A clear and comprehensive CTE plan for each course
of study applicable to the instructional space that
includes programs that focus on clean technology,
renewable energy, or energy efficient systems;
ii) Projections of program participant enrollment;
iii) Identification of feeder schools and institutions,
industry, labor organizations, community colleges, or
other postsecondary schools participating in the
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development, articulation, and review of the educational
program, or other appropriate collaborating entities;
iv) Written approval of the plan by the groups specified
in the paragraph above;
v) The method by which accountability for program
participant enrollments and outcomes will be maintained.
Outcomes shall include, but are not limited to,
certificate completion, the successful employment of
program participants in the applicable industry, and
successful transition to postsecondary institutions or
state-approved apprenticeship training programs for work
in the applicable industry or other areas of study;
vi) Evidence of coordination with appropriate feeder
schools, middle schools, high schools, state-approved
apprenticeship training programs, or other relevant
entities within the area to ensure that the project and
programs complement CTE offerings in the area;
vii) Evidence that upon completion of the project, local
educational agencies will meet all of their obligations
relating to CTE; and,
viii) The number of program participants expected to
attend, the cost per program participant, financial
participation by industry partners in the construction
and equipping of the facility, commitment to
accountability for outcomes and participation, the
strength and relevance of the educational plans to the
needs of industry for qualified technical employees
applicable to the economic development and environmental
needs of the region in which the project will be located,
and coordination and articulation with feeder schools,
other high schools, community colleges, labor
organizations, and relevant community-based
organizations.
i) Requires the Council to award and develop and adopt
guidelines for awarding the competitive grants and requires
priority be given to the following:
i) Projects serving students in grades 7-12 and
dedicated to dropout prevention and CTE;
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ii) Projects in communities containing a school that
serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12 that ranks in the
bottom three deciles of the Academic Performance Index
(API) or that would rank in deciles 1-3 for a school
participating in the Alternative Schools Accountability
Model;
iii) Projects in communities with higher than average
rates of dropouts, low-income households, or other
challenges, as specified. Requires the Council to grant
not less than 20% of the moneys in the Fund to these
projects; and,
iv) Projects initiated by the CCC or a certified local
conservation corps.
7)Authorizes the Council to use state agency personnel in
administering outreach, education, technical assistance,
guideline development and grant application review.
8)Requires the Council to give special consideration to projects
that create partnerships among labor, management, and the
public sector in clean technology, renewable energy, or energy
efficiency sectors.
9)Requires every proposed activity or project financed be in
compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and
that real property acquisitions are from willing sellers.
10)Authorizes up to five percent of funds be allocated for
administrative costs of the program.
11)Requires the body awarding a contract for a public works
project financed from these funds to adopt and enforce a labor
compliance program, as specified.
12)Requires the Chair of the Council to provide for an annual
independent audit of expenditures from the Fund.
13)Specifies the following for funding of the grant program:
a) Authorizes the Council to incur indebtedness and issue
and renew negotiable bonds, notes, debentures or other
securities of any kind or class;
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b) Requires all indebtedness incurred to be paid solely
from moneys from the Public Interest Research Development
and Demonstration Fund (PIER) and from funds appropriated
by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act for this
purpose and requires that proceeds from the sale of these
instruments be deposited into the Fund;
c) Specifies that funds appropriated by the Legislature in
the annual Budget Act for this purpose shall not exceed an
unspecified amount;
d) Authorizes the Legislature by statute, to permit the
Council to issue bonds in excess of the unspecified amount
provided for in the bill; and,
e) Declares that bonds issued do not constitute a debt or
liability of the state or any political subdivision of the
state other than the Council and that the issuance of bonds
under these provisions does not obligate the state or any
political subdivision of the state to levy or pledge any
form of taxation or to make any appropriation for their
payment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Career Technical Education Facilities Program
(CTEFP) to provide funding to eligible local educational
agencies to construct or reconfigure existing facilities, and
to purchase equipment with an average useful life expectancy
of at least 10 years.
2)Provides that grants shall be allocated on a per-square-foot
basis and shall not exceed $3 million per project per
schoolsite for a new construction project and $1.5 million per
project per schoolsite for a modernization project.
3)Provides that grants shall only be allocated to comprehensive
high schools that have an active Career Technical Advisory
Committee and have a clear and comprehensive CTE plan.
4)Requires a school district to contribute a 50% local match
that can be provided by private industry groups, the school
district, or a joint powers authority. Provides that the SAB
shall not waive the local contribution for any basis,
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including financial hardship.
5)Establishes the PIER, administered by the California Energy
Commission and funded by deposits from electrical utility and
natural gas corporations, to grant awards to support
cost-effective energy efficient and conversation projects and
programs and public interest research and development to
improve environmental quality, enhance electrical system
reliability, increase efficiency of energy using technologies,
lower electrical system costs or other tangible benefits.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, potential costs in the hundreds of millions over 20
years for issuance of bonds and $900,000 to the Office of Public
School Construction for administration of the grant program.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "California suffers from too
many high school dropouts, too little meaningful career
technical education (CTE) at the middle and high school levels,
and the lack of a skilled workforce to fuel the emerging green
economy. California must lead the world in addressing both the
problems of its youth and the opportunities created by the new
green economy. SB 675 offers solutions at the intersection of
these two state priorities. Investment in these emerging careers
and industries will drive the next phase of California's
economic growth in a way that helps us meet the challenge of
climate change. This investment in reducing the dropout rate,
expanding workforce opportunities, and targeting climate change
will create major economic stimulus for clean energy and
technology jobs in California that will jumpstart our economy
and improve our quality of life."
This bill establishes a competitive grant program for the
construction and modernization of facilities to house programs
that will provide education, job training, knowledge, skills and
credentials necessary for the successful employment in careers
directly related to clean technology, renewable energy, or
energy efficiency to pupils in grades 7 through 12, school
dropouts, high school graduates under 22 years of age, members
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of the CCC<1> and certified local conservation corps, and minors
or adults under 22 years of age who are on probation or parole.
Entities eligible to apply for grants include any public middle
or high school, California community colleges, public entities
providing career technical education (county office of education
or a school agency joint powers authority), a publicly or
investor owned facility, a nonprofit organization, a labor
organization, a business entity, a state-approved
apprenticeship program, a regional collaborative (local
educational agencies, higher education institutions, businesses,
labor organizations or community-based organizations), the CCC
or a certified local conservation corps, a public postsecondary
educational institution or any other entity approved by the
Council. These entities are required to have an agreement with
another eligible entity in administering an education or
training program.
The grant is governed by a nine-member Council comprised of the
Secretaries of the Natural Resources Agency, Labor and Workforce
Development, and Environmental Protection, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges, two members appointed by the Senate Rules Committee
(one who is a renewable energy projects employer and another who
is a member of a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization)
and two members appointed by the Assembly Speaker (one who
represents disadvantage communities and another from a labor
organization that provides state approved renewable energy
development pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs), and
administered by the SAB.
The grants established by this bill are similar to the Career
Technical Education Facilities Program (CTEFP) funded by
Proposition 1D. Proposition 1D, authorized by AB 127 (Nunez and
Perata), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2006, and approved by the
voters in November 2006, provided $7.3 billion for kindergarten
through grade 12 school facilities, and established the CTEFP
within the School Facility Program, providing $500 million to
---------------------------
<1> CCCs are non-profit organizations whose primary goal is to
provide youth between the ages of 18 and 23 with a one-year
non-residential program that emphasizes work, education, skill
building and community service. An important component of CCCs'
work is recycling programs through education and coordination of
recycling efforts.
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construct or modernize facilities and to purchase equipment with
an average useful life expectancy of at least 10 years for
career technical education programs at existing comprehensive
high schools. As of May, 2010, a total of $91 million remains
in the program.
Similar to the CTEFP, this bill provides $3 million per project
per eligible entity for new construction projects and $1.5
million per project per eligible entity for modernization
projects, and requires a match equal to the amount of the state
grant provided. The contribution can come from private industry
groups, the school district, or a joint powers authority. The
local contribution may also be a dollar amount that will be used
to fund CTE programs that will be housed in the projects or used
to purchase equipment. The SAB is prohibited from waiving the
local contribution on any basis, including for financial
hardship assistance. However, the SAB may authorize a repayment
schedule and a loan similar to that provided under the Charter
School Facilities Program.
This bill is very similar to SB 1672 (Steinberg), which was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file in
2008. The main difference is the fund source. SB 1672 would
have authorized a General Obligation Bond to fund a grant and a
loan program for the same purposes as this bill. The source of
funds for this bill is derived from the issuance of an
unspecified amount of revenue bonds that will be securitized by
PIER funds and funds appropriated by the Legislature through the
Budget Act. The Council is authorized to incur indebtedness and
issue the bonds. The California Energy Commission's Research
Development and Demonstration Division administers the PIER
program and the PIER fund to provide grants for energy-related
research, development and demonstration efforts not adequately
provided by competitive and regulated markets. The PIER fund,
which receives funds from electric and natural gas utilities,
allocates $83.5 million in public interest energy research funds
annually: $62.5 million for electricity and $21 million for
natural gas. The general goal of the program is to develop, and
help bring to market, energy technologies that provide increased
environmental benefits, greater system reliability, lower system
costs and provide tangible benefits to electric utility
customers. PIER funds are currently used to fund research
projects to develop new energy technologies. If enacted, these
funds would be redirected for the purposes outlined in this
bill. Current law restricts the expenditure of these funds for
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specified purposes from 2007 until 2012. The author may wish to
consider whether conforming changes need to be made in these
provisions.
Under current law, districts are required to adopt alternative
means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study
which may include practical demonstration of skills and
competencies, supervised work experience or other outside school
experience, CTE classes, courses offered by regional
occupational centers/programs, interdisciplinary study,
independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary
institution.
This bill attempts to increase access to CTE programs. There
has been much interest in the issue of reforming high schools
and increasing CTE opportunities for pupils in California
schools as an approach to provide access to a relevant
curriculum for pupils who may be disengaged and at risk of
dropping out. The California Dropout Research Project released
a report entitled, Solving California's Dropout Crisis which
estimated that only about two thirds of California's students
graduate on time and that dropping out and low achievement have
many shared causes such as poor attendance, low engagement and
low-quality instruction. One of the recommendations in the
report suggested that the state should consider more options for
students to meet the graduation requirements and points out
that, "An increasing number of states have pursued the idea of
multiple pathways for students to meet high school graduation
requirements such as through career and technical education
courses."
This bill also provides access to training programs for
individuals under age 22 who may have dropped out of school or
are involved in the juvenile justice system. According to the
California Department of Education, the drop out rate in the
state in 2007-08 was 18.9%.
Issues for considerations . While this bill addresses relevant
issues in K-14 education and the workforce while promoting green
technology, is lack of facilities the only barrier that prevents
development of such programs?
This bill authorizes grants to be awarded to private for profit
and nonprofit entities. Would this constitute a gift of public
funds?
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Clarifications Needed . The bill requires the Council to
establish guidelines for awarding competitive grants and the SAB
to administer the program. However, there are several
provisions that appear duplicative or overlapping.
1)Section 102004(c) requires the Council to "award" competitive
grants. If the SAB is the entity administering the program,
shouldn't the award of grants come from the SAB?
2)Section 102004(b) authorizes the Council to use appropriate
state agency personnel to, among others, administer grant
application review. Shouldn't grant application review be a
function of the SAB? It is also unclear which state agency
this provision is referring to.
Arguments in Support. The California School Boards Association
states, "SB 675 offers key investments and solutions to address
the needs of both schools and local job markets. Investment in
emerging green careers and industries will drive the next phase
of California's economic growth in a way that helps us meet the
challenge of climate change. SB 675 takes a unique approach to
link the emerging green economy to the collective efforts to
address the state's dropout and employment training problems."
Prior legislation . SB 1672 (Steinberg) establishes the
Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Career Technical Education,
and Clean Technology Job Creation Bond Act of 2010, to be
operative only if approved by voters at an unspecified election
in 2010. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file in 2008.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California School Boards Association
Plug in America
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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