BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1314
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 6/28/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/5/11
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Harman, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Rubio
NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/26/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology
Program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : 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
CONTINUED
AB 1314
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(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 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
(Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), 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.
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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
The author's office 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 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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/11)
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
CALSTART
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
Clean Energy
Coalition for Clean Air
Tesla Motors
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/26/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Cedillo, Davis, Gorell, Jones
JJA:do 8/15/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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