BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1303
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1303 (Williams) - As Amended: April 25, 2011
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Utilities and Commerce 10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill extends, from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2020,
authorization for the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
spend funds collected for energy research, development and
demonstration pursuant to its Public Interest Energy Research
Program (PIER) and renewable energy pursuant to its Renewable
Energy Program (REP).
FISCAL EFFECT
This bill authorizes CEC to spend funds for certain programs,
but it does not extend the public goods charge that, currently,
provides funding for those programs. Therefore, the fiscal
effect of this bill is unknown. Were CEC to continue to fund
its PIER and REP programs at current levels, it would spend at
least $62.5 million a year on REP and $65.5 million a year on
PIER.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author contends it important that CEC continue
to fund the state's programs for energy research and renewable
energy.
2)Background. When California partially deregulated its energy
market in 1996, many assumed the state's for-profit
investor-owned utilities (IOUs), seeking to reduce costs,
would cut research and other efforts that provide public
benefits. To ensure continuation of energy research and other
efforts that benefitted the public, statute directed the IOUs
AB 1303
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to levy a public goods charge on electricity bills to annually
fund energy efficiency ($228 million), renewable energy ($65.5
million), and energy research, development and demonstration
($62.5 million). The public goods charge was authorized for
10 years and is set to expire at the beginning of 2012.
Statute also directs the state's municipally owned utilities
to charge their customers a public goods charge for the same
purposes and in an amount proportional to revenues.
3)Related Legislation.
a) AB 723 (Bradford), pending before this committee,
extends, from January 1, 2012, to January 1, 2016, charges
to electricity customers, known collectively as the public
goods charge, to fund energy efficiency, renewable energy
and energy research.
b) SB 35 (Padilla), pending before the Senate
Appropriations Committee, repeals the public goods charge
and the renewable energy and research programs, replacing
them with a new program.
c) SB 410 (Wright) , also before the Senate Appropriations
Committee, extends the sunset on the public goods charge
and research program for 10 years, to 2022.
1)Support. This bill is supported by Environmental Defense
Fund and several other environmental, conservation and
renewable energy advocates.
2)Opposition. The bill is opposed by the California
Manufacturers Association, whose members often pay large
electric utility bills.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081