BILL NUMBER: AB 427 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Mullin
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to amend Section 33459 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to local government. An act to amend
Section 371 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to electrical
corporations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 427, as amended, Mullin. Local government: Polanco
Redevelopment Act. Electrical corporations: uneconomic
cost recovery: bottoming cycle waste heat recovery.
Existing law specifies that, in recognition of statutory authority
and past investments existing as of December 20, 1995, and subject
to a specified fire wall, the uneconomic costs of specified
energy-generation-related assets and obligations are applied to each
customer based on the amount of electricity purchased by the customer
from an electrical corporation, subject to changes in usage
occurring in the normal course of business. Existing law specifies
those changes that constitute "changes in usage occurring in the
normal course of business" to include, among others, changes in fuel
switching.
This bill would additionally include the production of electricity
using bottom cycle waste heat recovery, as defined, as changes in
fuel switching. The bill would exempt from all nonbypassable charges
approved by the Public Utilities Commission changes in usage
occurring in the normal course of business.
Existing law, the Polanco Redevelopment Act, authorizes a
redevelopment agency to take any action that the agency determines is
necessary and consistent with state and federal laws to remedy or
remove a release of hazardous substances on, under, or from property
within a project area, whether the agency owns that property or not,
subject to specified conditions. Existing law dissolved redevelopment
agencies and provides for the winding down of the affairs of a
redevelopment agency by a successor agency. Existing law provides
that any existing cleanup plans and liability limits authorized under
the Polanco Redevelopment Act shall be transferred to the successor
agency and may be transferred to the successor housing entity at that
entity's request.
This bill would specify that a successor agency or successor
housing entity may implement hazardous cleanup pursuant to the
Polanco Redevelopment Act, with regard to enforceable obligations,
including brownfield cleanup.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 371 of the Public
Utilities Code is am ended to read:
371. (a) Except as provided in Sections 372 and 374, the
uneconomic costs provided in Sections 367, 368, 375, and 376 shall be
applied to each customer based on the amount of electricity
purchased by the customer from an electrical corporation or alternate
supplier of electricity, subject to changes in usage occurring in
the normal course of business.
(b) (1) Changes in usage occurring in the
normal course of business are those resulting from changes in
business cycles, termination of operations, departure from the
utility service territory, weather, reduced production, modifications
to production equipment or operations, changes in production or
manufacturing processes, fuel switching, including installation of
fuel cells pending a contrary determination by the
California Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
in Section 383 , enhancement or increased efficiency of
equipment or performance of existing self-cogeneration equipment,
the production of electricity using bottoming cycle
waste heat recovery, replacement of existing cogeneration
equipment with new power generation equipment of similar size as
described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 372,
installation of demand-side management equipment or facilities,
energy conservation efforts, or other similar factors.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, "bottoming cycle waste
heat recovery" means a form of energy efficiency by which waste heat
from a commercial or industrial process is used to produce
electricity, excluding any electricity produced as a result of
combusting fossil fuels to supplement the waste heat.
(c) Changes in usage occurring in the normal course of business as
described in subdivision (b) are exempt from all nonbypassable
charges approved by the commission.
(c) Nothing in this
(d) This section shall
be interpreted to does not exempt or alter the
obligation of a customer to comply with Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 119075) of Part 15 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation on
the ability of residential customers to alter their pattern of
electricity purchases by activities on the customer side of the
meter.
SECTION 1. Section 33459 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
33459. For purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances
Control.
(b) "Director" means the Director of Toxic Substances Control.
(c) "Hazardous substance" means any hazardous substance as
defined in subdivision (h) of Section 25281, and any reference to
hazardous substance in the definitions referenced in this section
shall be deemed to refer to hazardous substance, as defined in this
subdivision.
(d) "Local agency" means a single local agency that is one of the
following:
(1) A local agency authorized pursuant to Section 25283 to
implement Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 25280) of, and Chapter
6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10) of, Division 20.
(2) A local officer who is authorized pursuant to Section 101087
to supervise a remedial action.
(3) A successor agency or successor housing entity pursuant to
subdivision (f) of Section 34173, with regard to enforceable
obligations, including brownfield cleanup.
(e) "Qualified independent contractor" means an independent
contractor who is any of the following:
(1) An engineering geologist who is certified pursuant to Section
7842 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) A geologist who is registered pursuant to Section 7850 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(3) A civil engineer who is registered pursuant to Section 6762
of the Business and Professions Code.
(f) "Release" means any release, as defined in Section 25320.
(g) "Remedy" or "remove" means any action to assess, evaluate,
investigate, monitor, remove, correct, clean up, or abate a release
of a hazardous substance or to develop plans for those actions.
"Remedy" includes any action set forth in Section 25322 and "remove"
includes any action set forth in Section 25323.
(h) "Responsible party" means any person described in subdivision
(a) of Section 25323.5 of this code or subdivision (a) of Section
13304 of the Water Code.