BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1255|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1255
Author: V. Manuel Pérez (D) and Achadjian (R)
Amended: 8/31/12 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 8/31/12
(pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Berryhill, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Emmerson, Simitian, Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: De León, Kehoe, Pavley, Rubio, Wright
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Energy: renewable energy resources
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill broadens eligibility for the planning
grants to also include counties that enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the California Energy
Commission (CEC) agreeing to participate in the development
of a natural community conservation plan (NCCP).
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/23/12 delete the Assembly
version of this bill relating to corporate boards of
directors and instead relates to grant qualification for
counties within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation
Plan (DRECP).
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ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the CEC to provide up to
seven million dollars in grants to 15 qualified counties
for the development or revision of rules and policies,
including general plan elements, zoning ordinances, and
NCCP that facilitate the development of eligible renewable
energy resources, and their associated electric
transmission facilities, and the processing of permits for
eligible renewable energy resources. Funding is to be made
available only upon appropriation by the Legislature.
Existing law prohibits the award of a grant to a county
within the DRECP if the county is not participant in the
plan.
This bill:
1.Allows a county within the DRECP to qualify for grants by
either being a signatory to the planning agreement
associated with the DRECP or by entering into a
memorandum of understanding with the commission in which
the county agrees to participate in the development of
the DRECP for the purpose of ensuring that the Plan can
achieve the goals set forth in the planning agreement
consistent with relevant county policies.
2.Authorizes the Energy Commission to award a grant to such
a county if the county enters into a specified memorandum
of understanding with the commission in which the county
agrees to participate in the development of the natural
community conservation plan.
3.Requires the Energy Commission to provide up to $7
million in grants to 14 "qualified" counties for the
development or revision of rules and policies, including,
but not limited to, general plan elements, zoning
ordinances, and a natural community conservation plan as
a plan participant, that facilitate the development of
eligible renewable energy resources, and their associated
electric transmission facilities, and the processing of
permits for eligible renewable energy resources.
4.Requires the Energy Commission in its initial round of
grant funding, to establish a preference for a grant to a
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qualified county in an amount that is adequate to develop
a renewable energy element in its general plan that will
facilitate the development and siting of eligible
renewable energy resources that utilize multiple
renewable energy technologies. Requires the Energy
Commission shall also establish a preference for a grant
for those counties that have experience in geothermal
energy development and have adopted a geothermal element,
as defined, to its general plan.
5.Defines qualified counties as the Counties of Fresno,
Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo,
San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare. For counties within
the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan planning
area, the commission shall not award a grant to a county
that is not a "plan participant," as defined, in the
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan.
Background
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan . The DRECP is a
component of California's renewable energy planning efforts
that is to result in a biological mitigation and
conservation program providing renewable project developers
with permit timing and cost certainty under the federal and
California Endangered Species Acts while at the same time
preserving, restoring and enhancing natural communities and
related ecosystems. Approximately 22.5 million acres of
federal and non-federal California desert land are in the
DRECP Plan Area.
The DRECP is focused on the desert regions and adjacent
lands of seven California counties - Imperial, Inyo, Kern,
Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. It
is being prepared through a collaborative effort between
the CEC, Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the U.S. Bureau
of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
also known as the Renewable Energy Action Team.
Natural Community Conservation Planning . This DFG program
includes private and public partners and takes a
broad-based ecosystem approach to planning for the
protection and perpetuation of biological diversity. An
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NCCP identifies and provides for the regional or area-wide
protection of plants, animals, and their habitats, while
allowing compatible and appropriate economic activity.
The NCCP program is a cooperative effort to protect
habitats and species. It began in 1991 under the State's
Natural Community Conservation Planning Act, legislation
broader in its orientation and objectives than the
California and Federal Endangered Species Acts. The
primary objective of the NCCP program is to conserve
natural communities at the ecosystem level while
accommodating compatible land use. The program seeks to
anticipate and prevent the controversies and gridlock
caused by species' listings by focusing on the long-term
stability of wildlife and plant communities and including
key interests in the process.
Working with landowners, environmental organizations, and
other interested parties, a local agency oversees the
numerous activities that compose the development of a
conservation plan. The DFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service provide the necessary support, direction, and
guidance to NCCP participants. The NCCP approach to
conservation is available statewide and planning efforts
are underway in Butte, Santa Clara, Placer, Yolo, Sutter,
and Yuba Counties, as well as with the Mendocino Redwood
Company. There are currently 23 active NCCPs covering more
than 11 million acres.
Comments
To broaden eligibility for county plan grants that
facilitate the development of renewable resources to meet
the goals for the Renewables Portfolio Standard which
increases the amount of electricity generated from eligible
renewable energy resources per year, so that amount equals
at least 33% of total retail sales of electricity in
California per year by 2020.
Related Legislation
AB 13 X1 (Perez), Chapter 10, Statutes of 2011-12 First
Extraordinary Session, was signed into law in August 2011
and adds Section 25619 to the Public Resources Code, which
specifies that the Energy Commission can only implement
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Section 25619 upon receiving an appropriation from the
legislature from either the Renewable Resources Trust Fund
or other funds from the Energy Resources Program Account.
This appropriation was made in item 3360-001-0382 of the
2012 Budget Act (AB 1464).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, uncertain
cost pressures, possibly in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars, from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund (General
Fund) from additional applications for local assistance
grants.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/12)
California Energy Commission
RM:nd 8/31/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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