BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 343 (De Leon)
Hearing Date: 05/23/2011 Amended: 05/10/2011
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EU&C 8-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 343 requires the California Energy Commission
to expend an unspecified amount of funds from the Renewable
Resource Trust Fund for energy efficiency retrofits in
commercial buildings. The bill requires investor owned utilities
to dedicate a portion of ratepayer funds they collect for low
income programs to community based organizations for energy
efficiency projects. The bill requires publicly owned utilities
to dedicate a portion of the ratepayer funds they collect for
energy efficiency to be used for energy efficiency retrofits in
commercial buildings.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Energy efficiency projects Unknown costs, likely in the
millions. General *
* Renewable Resources Trust Fund.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Under current law, electricity ratepayers in the state pay a
public goods charge on their monthly electricity bills. Some of
those ratepayer funds are retained by the investor owned
utilities to pay for energy efficiency programs and some of the
funds are remitted to the state, to pay for renewable energy
programs ($228 million per year) and public interest energy
research projects ($77 million per year). The statutory
authorization for the public goods charge sunsets on January 1,
2012.
Under current law, investor owned utilities are authorized to
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collect funds from ratepayers to pay for programs to support
low-income electricity customers, including providing funding
for energy efficiency projects that benefit low-income
customers.
Current law also required publicly owned utilities to collect
funds from their ratepayers to support programs for renewable
energy and energy efficiency. Those programs are overseen by the
publicly owned utilities.
SB 343 requires the California Energy Commission, upon
appropriation of the Legislature, to dedicate an unspecified
portion of the funds collected for state-funded renewable energy
projects to energy efficiency retrofits in commercial buildings.
There is a fund balance of more than $30 million in the specific
account referenced in the bill.
The bill also requires investor owned utilities to use an
unspecified portion of the funds that are collected for
low-income energy efficiency programs to provide grants to
community based organizations for energy efficiency projects.
The bill requires publicly owned utilities to dedicate an
unspecified portion of the funds they collect for energy
efficiency programs to energy efficiency retrofits for
commercial buildings.
Because the bill does not specify how much funding should be
expended for commercial building retrofits, the cost of the bill
is unknown. However, given the large balance available in the
specific account, the costs are likely to be in the millions.
Staff notes that because the public goods charge is a tax on
ratepayers, funds allocated from the public goods charge to the
Renewable Resource Trust Fund are General Fund moneys.
While the bill imposes a requirement on publicly owned
utilities, because they have authority to set electricity rates
to cover any mandated activities, this bill does not impose a
reimbursable state mandate.
AB x1 13 (Skinner) reappropriates $50 million from a prior
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appropriation from the Renewable Resources Trust Fund for energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects. That bill will be
heard in this committee.
SB 679 (Pavley) reappropriates $50 million from a prior
appropriation from the Renewable Resources Trust Fund for
certain energy efficiency loans to local governments. That bill
is on this committee's Suspense File.