BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 454
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 454 (Pavley) - As Amended: May 31, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 25-14
SUBJECT : Energy efficiency standards
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
adopt an administrative enforcement process, including civil
penalties, for violations of its appliance efficiency standards.
Requires utility energy efficiency rebates to be provided only
if work complies with applicable permitting and contractor
licensing requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CEC to take specified actions to reduce the
wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption
of energy, including adopting energy and water efficiency
standards for appliances that the CEC determines use a
significant amount of energy or water on a statewide basis.
2)Prohibits the sale of any new appliance unless it is certified
by the manufacturer to be in compliance with the CEC
standards.
3)Requires the standards to be drawn so that they do not result
in any added total costs for consumers over the designed life
of the appliance.
4)Provides that, if the CEC finds any actual or imminent
violation of the provisions of law relating to CEC's authority
or operations, the Attorney General is required to petition a
court to enjoin the violation.
THIS BILL :
1)Authorizes the CEC to establish an administrative enforcement
process for violations of its appliance efficiency standards,
including administrative civil penalties up to $2500 for each
violation, in compliance with existing law governing
administrative hearings and adjudication.
SB 454
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2)Authorizes the CEC to refer violations to the Attorney General
to petition a court to enjoin the violation, and authorizes a
court to grant injunctive relief and assess a civil penalty up
to $2500 for each violation.
3)Requires penalties to be deposited into the Appliance
Efficiency Enforcement Subaccount, which is established by the
bill, to be expended by the CEC, upon appropriation, for
appliance efficiency enforcement and public education.
4)Provides that a CEC-imposed civil penalty shall be subject to
judicial review by petition for writ of mandate in the
superior court.
5)Provides that a person subject to a CEC-imposed civil penalty
shall not be liable for a court-imposed civil penalty.
6)Requires the court, upon granting relief to the CEC for an
action brought to enforce its appliance efficiency standards,
to award the CEC its reasonable costs in investigating and
prosecuting the action.
7)Requires that any energy efficiency rebate or incentive
offered by a public utility (i.e. investor-owned electrical
and gas corporations regulated by the Public Utilities
Commission) be provided only if work complies with applicable
permitting and contractor licensing requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background. Among its regulatory powers, the CEC has
authority to adopt regulations describing the standards for
minimum levels of efficiency for appliances that use a
significant amount of energy or water. These regulations
include standards for both federally-regulated appliances and
non-federally-regulated residential and commercial appliances
including water heaters, clothes washers, dishwashers, traffic
signals, lighting, and heat and air conditioning systems to be
sold in California. The CEC's appliance regulations are
designed to achieve significant energy savings state-wide that
are feasible, attainable, and do not result in added costs to
the consumer for the estimated lifetime of the regulated
SB 454
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appliance. With one exception (power plant certification),
the CEC doesn't have administrative civil penalty authority
and must refer enforcement matters to the Attorney General to
petition a court to grant injunctive relief and/or impose
civil penalties.
2)Purpose of the bill. According to the author:
A recent survey suggests half of appliances sold in
California have not properly certified to meet California's
energy efficiency standards. The high number of
manufacturers that fail to certify appliances means that
Californians cannot be sure they are avoiding energy-hog
appliances and puts compliant manufacturers at a
disadvantage. These standards are key to minimizing
California's energy needs and this bill will allow the CEC
to ensure compliance.
3)Double referral. This bill has been double-referred to the
Utilities and Commerce Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Breathe California
California Labor Federation
California League of Conservation Voters
Environmental Defense Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
OSRAM Sylvania
Sierra Club California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092