BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair 1198 (Huff) Hearing Date: 05/10/2010 Amended: 04/27/2010 Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EU&C 6-4 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: SB 1198 prevents the California Energy Commission from implementing existing television product labeling regulations before July 1, 2011. In addition, the regulations shall only be effective until the Federal Trade Commission issues a federal labeling rule. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund Regulation implementation Minor costs General * * Energy Resources Program Account. _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: Current law requires the California Energy Commission to adopt energy efficiency standards for appliances that use significant amounts of energy or water. Adopted standards must not result in additional total costs to consumers over an appliance's life. In November 2009, the Energy Commission adopted energy efficiency standards for new televisions beginning in 2011 and 2013. (These standards have not yet been approved by the Office of Administrative Law.) The Tier 1 standards will reduce energy use of new televisions by about 33 percent, starting in 2011. The Tier 2 standards will reduce total energy use of new televisions by an average of 49 percent, starting in 2013. In addition, beginning in 2011, televisions sold in the state must be permanently marked with information on the television's electricity consumption. The Federal Trade Commission has a program requiring certain appliances to be labeled with "EnergyGuide" labels containing information on estimated operating costs. The Federal Trade Commission is currently considering extending this labeling requirement to televisions. This bill would prohibit the Energy Commission television labeling requirement from taking effect before July 1, 2011. After July 1, 2011, the labeling requirement would only be effective until the Federal Trade Commission adopts a federal labeling requirement.