BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1314
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: wieckowski
VERSION: 6/28/11
Analysis by: Carrie Cornwell FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 5, 2011
SUBJECT:
AB 118: Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology
Program
DESCRIPTION:
This bill makes changes to the process whereby the California
Energy Commission updates its investment plan for the
Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program
and facilitates the making of awards under that program.
ANALYSIS:
AB 118 (Núñez), Chapter 750, Statutes of 2007, created the
Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program,
which the California Energy Commission (CEC) administers to
provide grants, revolving loans, loan guarantees, loans, or
other appropriate funding measures to public agencies, vehicle
consortia, businesses, consumers, academic institutions and
others to develop and deploy innovative technologies that
transform California fuel and vehicle types to help attain the
state's climate change policies.
Funding of approximately $100 million annually for this program
comes from additional fees on vehicle registrations, special
identification plates for various vehicles, and vessel
registrations, plus $10 million annually from the Public
Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund, which is
derived from a portion of electric utility rates. The CEC,
through a competitive process and pursuant to an appropriation
in the state budget, allocates these funds to alternative fuel
and vehicle technology projects. AB 118 directs the CEC to give
a preference to projects that provide a non-state match of
funds.
Pursuant to AB 109 (Núñez), Chapter 313, Statutes of 2008, the
CEC must adopt an investment plan, in consultation with an
AB 1314 (WIECKOWSKI) Page 2
advisory group consisting of a wide array of stakeholders, in
order to set priorities for the allocation of funds it receives
pursuant to AB 118. AB 109 further requires that the CEC
"annually update and approve" the investment plan after
reconvening and consulting with the stakeholder group. The CEC
adopted its first investment plan at its April 22, 2009 meeting
but did not adopt its second investment plan until August of
2010.
Last year, the legislative budget committees and subcommittees
had concerns about the timing of the 2010 investment plan
vis-à-vis their work to appropriate funds for the Alternative
and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. To address
those concerns, SB 855 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review),
Chapter 718, Statutes of 2010, requires that the CEC must submit
a draft investment plan to the Legislature this year by March 15
and beginning in 2012, each year concurrently with the
governor's budget. SB 855 refers to a new investment plan,
rather than the update required under AB 109.
This bill :
1.Clarifies that the CEC must annually update, rather than
completely redraft, the investment plan.
2.Permits the recipient of a CEC award under the Alternative and
Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program to count toward
any required non-state match money the awardee spent on the
project after the CEC issues a notice of award and prior to an
award being received.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . The author introduced this bill to streamline CEC's
work on the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program. CEC reports that it has dedicated a
tremendous amount of staff time to the drafting of investment
plans for the program and that this has limited staff time
available to work to award funds under the program. AB 109,
which created the requirement that CEC adopt an investment
plan, further mandated that CEC annually update the plan, but
not that it redraft the plan. SB 855, last year's budget
trailer bill that aligns the timing of CEC adopting the plan
with work on the budget, refers just to the plan and not to
updates, implying that the CEC must annually develop and adopt
a new, full plan. This bill clarifies that each year CEC is
to update the investment plan, rather than starting over again
AB 1314 (WIECKOWSKI) Page 3
and creating a whole new plan.
The bill also clarifies that under CEC guidelines and without
exposing the CEC to any liability, an applicant for an award
under the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program may spend funds on a project and count
those funds toward a CEC required or preferred funding match.
Only those funds spent after CEC announced it would make
awards would count. Awardees report that this change will
enable them to begin work on their alternative fuel and
vehicle technology projects while applying for CEC funds to
complete the project. While those applying for the funds are
taking on risk, they are also able to move projects along in a
more timely fashion.
2.Double-referral . The Rules Committee referred this bill to
both the Transportation and Housing Committee and to the
Environmental Quality Committee. Therefore, if this bill
passes this committee, it will be referred to the Committee on
Environmental Quality.
Assembly Votes
Floor: 75-0
Appr: 17-0
Nat Res: 9-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 29,
2011)
SUPPORT: CALSTART
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
Clean Energy
Coalition for Clean Air
OPPOSED: None received.