Amended in Assembly April 8, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 284

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 11, 2013

An act to add Section 25229 to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 284, as amended, Quirk. Energy: Road to 2050 Board.

Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and vests the commission with various authorities and duties regarding energy-related issues.

This bill would require the commission to convene the Road to 2050 Board consisting of representatives from specified entities. The bill would require the board to begin insert contract with an independent research group to end insert undertake specified studies regarding the achievement of a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of the 1990 emissions level by 2050 begin insert (2050 goal) end insert . The bill would require the board begin delete to conduct a review and provide a full public accounting of energy efficiency programs, alternative energy programs, and alternative fuel programs administered by the members of the board. The bill would require the board to make the accounting available on a publicly available Internet Web site and would require the board to submit to the Legislature the accounting, and a report on the findings of the studies end delete begin insert , on or before January 1, 2015, and every 4 years thereafter, to prepare and adopt the Road to 2050 Report that includes specified information to provide guidance for key infrastructure decisionmaking processes at the local and statewide level to ensure those processes adequately consider implications for meeting the 2050 goal. The bill would require the board to hold a public meeting, on a biennial basis, for the preparation of the Road to 2050 Report end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 25229 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

25229.  

(a)  begin delete The end delete begin insert To ensure that the interests of the people of
California are served, the end insert commission shall convene the Road to
2050 Board consisting of representatives from all of the following:

(1) The commission.

(2) The Public Utilities Commission.

(3) The State Air Resources Board.

begin delete

(4) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced
Transportation Financing Authority.

end delete begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  The California Environmental Protection Agency.

begin delete

(6)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 5) end insert  The Independent System Operator.

begin delete

(7)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 6) end insert  The Governor’s Office.

(b) The board shall do begin delete all end delete begin insert both end insert of the following:

begin delete

(1) Study both of the following:

(A) The best process for meeting a goal of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by 80 percent of the 1990 emissions level by 2050,
including how to reduce emissions from electric generators.

(B) Integration of renewable electrical generation into the
electric grid in a manner to ensure cost-effectiveness and reliability
that would include methods to reduce greenhouse gas emission
from homes, farms, industrial and commercial structures, as well
as emissions reduction from mobile sources.

(2) Review and provide a full public accounting, on a biennial
basis, of all money spent, and jobs and benefits achieved, by each
energy efficiency programs, alternative energy programs, and
alternative fuel programs administered by the members of the
board to ensure that funding is used in a safe, reliable, and
cost-effective manner.

(3) Publish a complete accounting conducted pursuant to
paragraph (2) on a publicly available Internet Web site.

end delete begin insert

(1) Contract with an independent research group to focus on a
study to determine the best process for meeting the 2050 goal to
include all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) The best process for reducing carbon emissions from
electrical generation that ensure cost-effectiveness and reliability.

end insert begin insert

(B) Methods to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from
homes, farms, and industrial and commercial structures.

end insert begin insert

(C) Emission reductions from sources of transportation.

end insert begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 2) end insert  Submit to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code, findings made pursuant to paragraph (1) begin delete or (2) end delete
and identify statutory changes begin insert , policy gaps, and conflicting policies
among state agencies end insert that are needed to begin delete meet end delete begin insert optimize end insert the
objectives of the state’s energy begin insert and environmental end insert policies.

begin insert

(c) (1) On or before January 1, 2015, and on January 1 of every
four years thereafter, the board shall prepare and adopt the Road
to 2050 Report to provide guidance for key infrastructure
decisionmaking processes at the local and statewide level to ensure
those processes adequately consider implications for meeting the
2050 goal.

end insert begin insert

(2) The report shall contain all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) An overview of the overall reduction is emission of
greenhouse gases as a result of California’s energy and
environmental policies.

end insert begin insert

(B) Consistent metric integration among the state agencies to
ensure the analysis of the information included in the report is
reliable and determines cost-effectiveness.

end insert begin insert

(C) Milestones to represent the progress made towards the 2050
goal and a determination if a change in course of action is
appropriate.

end insert begin insert

(D) Different scenarios describing the best possible roadmap
to achieve the 2050 goal.

end insert begin insert

(i) The scenarios shall be based on policies in effect, and existing
technologies and infrastructures at the time of the report.

end insert begin insert

(ii) The scenarios shall contain separate roadmaps to determine
the best process towards the 2050 goal.

end insert begin insert

(iii) The scenarios shall include a marginal cost curve analysis
to better assess the cost-effectiveness of each given scenario.

end insert begin insert

(3) The board may contract with an independent research group
to prepare the report.

end insert

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The board shall hold a public hearing, on a biennial basis,
for the preparation of the Road to 2050 Report. end insert

begin insert (e) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For the purposes of this section, “2050 goal” means the
goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 80 percent from
1990 emission levels by 2050. end insert