California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 628


Introduced by Assembly Members Gorell and Hall

February 20, 2013


An act to add Section 63045.1 to the Government Code, and to amend Section 21180 of, and to add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) to Division 15 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 628, as introduced, Gorell. Energy management plans for harbor and port districts.

(1) Existing law requires the California Infrastructure Development Bank, following consultation with appropriate state and local agencies, to establish criteria, priorities, and guidelines for the selection of projects to receive assistance from the bank, including those based on, among other things, the State Environmental Goals and Policy Report, or its successor, relating to implementation of state environmental goals and policies. Existing law further requires that projects that receive assistance from the bank, among other things, facilitate effective and efficient use of existing and future public resources so as to promote both economic development and conservation of natural resources.

This bill would require the bank to fund projects to finance projects to promote economic development in harbor and port districts that are developed pursuant to energy management plan.

(2) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt energy conservation standards to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, and to implement various programs to provide financial assistance to specified entities for energy efficient improvements.

This bill would require a harbor or port district, as defined, in collaboration with an electrical corporation, gas corporation, or publicly owned electric utility, as defined, serving the district, to prepare an energy management plan for the district that is intended to reduce air emissions and promote economic development through the addition of new businesses and the retention of existing businesses in the district, in accordance with specified requirements.

(3) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA establishes procedures for creating the administrative record judicial review procedure for any action or proceeding brought to challenge the lead agency’s decision to certify the EIR or to grant project approvals.

Existing law, the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011, until January 1, 2015, establishes specified judicial review procedures for the judicial review of the EIR and approvals granted for a leadership project related to the development of a residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment or recreational use project, or clean renewable energy or clean energy manufacturing project. The act authorizes the Governor to certify a leadership project for streamlining pursuant to the act if certain conditions are met.

This bill would include a project to develop or implement an energy management plan developed pursuant to provisions of the bill among those types of projects covered by the Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011. Because the lead agency would be required to use alternative procedures for creating the administrative record for projects to implement an energy management plan, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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

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

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 63045.1 is added to the Government
2Code
, to read:

3

63045.1.  

Projects to promote economic development in harbor
4and port districts implemented pursuant to an energy management
5plan developed in accordance with Chapter 13 (commencing with
6Section 25990) of Division 15 of the Public Resources Code shall
7be eligible for funding under this article. The bank shall consider
8appropriate action to remove unnecessary barriers for the financing
9of those projects.

10

SEC. 2.  

Section 21180 of the Public Resources Code is
11amended to read:

12

21180.  

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
13shall have the following meanings:

14(a) “Applicant” means a public or private entity or its affiliates,
15or a person or entity that undertakes a public works project, that
16proposes a project and its successors, heirs, and assignees.

17(b) “Environmental leadership development project,” “leadership
18project,” or “project” means a project as described in Section 21065
19that is one the following:

20(1) A residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural,
21entertainment, or recreational use project that is certified as LEED
22silver or better by the United States Green Building Council and,
23where applicable, that achieves a 10-percent greater standard for
24transportation efficiency than for comparable projects. These
25projects must be located on an infill site. For a project that is within
26a metropolitan planning organization for which a sustainable
27communities strategy or alternative planning strategy is in effect,
28the infill project shall be consistent with the general use
29designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies
30specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities
31strategy or an alternative planning strategy, for which the State
32Air Resources Board, pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph
33(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code,
34has accepted a metropolitan planning organization’s determination
35that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning
P4    1strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas
2emission reduction targets.

3(2) A clean renewable energy project that generates electricity
4exclusively through wind or solar, but not including waste
5incineration or conversion.

6(3) A clean energy manufacturing project that manufactures
7products, equipment, or components used for renewable energy
8generation, energy efficiency, or for the production of clean
9alternative fuel vehicles.

begin insert

10(4) A project to develop or implement an energy management
11plan developed pursuant to Chapter 13 (commencing with Section
1225990) of Division 15.

end insert

13(c) “Transportation efficiency” means the number of vehicle
14trips by employees, visitors, or customers of the residential, retail,
15commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational use
16project divided by the total number of employees, visitors, and
17 customers.

18

SEC. 3.  

Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) is added
19to Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

20 

21Chapter  13. Energy Management Plans for Harbor and
22Port Districts
23

 

24

25990.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

25(a) The state should promote the efficient use of low-cost,
26low-emissions energy sources in the operations of its ports and
27harbors.

28(b) There is an opportunity in port and harbor district operations,
29including the movement of commercial goods, to reduce vehicular
30emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants.

31(c) The state should encourage the development of new
32businesses and the retention of existing businesses within port and
33harbor district boundaries.

34(d) Energy utility customers located within the state’s port and
35harbor districts can benefit from the addition of new businesses
36and the retention of existing businesses through increased energy
37cost certainty.

38(e) Businesses located within the state’s port and harbor districts
39could benefit through greater stability and certainty in the cost of
40energy services.

P5    1(f) Investor-owned and publicly owned utilities are in an optimal
2position, and should be encouraged to engage in joint projects with
3port and harbor districts to provide and administer energy-related
4service alternatives and programs that can promote economic
5development and retention in those districts.

6

25991.  

(a) For purposes of this chapter, the term “district”
7shall mean a harbor or port district formed pursuant to Division 8
8(commencing with Section 5000) of the Harbors and Navigation
9Code. A district may prepare one or more energy management
10plans, developed jointly with an electric corporation, as defined
11in subdivision (a) of Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, a
12gas corporation, as defined in Section 222 of the Public Utilities
13Code, or a public utility, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section
14216 of the Public Utilities Code, that produces, generates, or
15supplies electricity to the public and that serves the district in order
16to reduce air emissions, promote economic development, and
17encourage the development of new businesses and retain existing
18businesses in that district.

19(b) If a district prepares an energy management plan pursuant
20to this chapter, it shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:

21(1) An electric or natural gas load forecast, developed in
22coordination with the serving electrical corporation, gas
23corporation, or local publicly owned electric utility, and that
24reflects anticipated load growth within the district.

25(2) An assessment of the role that distributed generation,
26combined with accurately priced utility services, could play in
27providing greater rate stability and energy cost certainty to aid in
28economic development, and proposed actions with respect to that
29role. This assessment shall be developed jointly with the serving
30electrical corporation, gas corporation, or local publicly owned
31electric utility.

32(3) A list of recommendations, developed jointly with the
33serving electrical corporation, gas corporation, or local publicly
34owned electric utility, for the enhanced use of cost-effective energy
35efficiency and demand-side management in existing buildings and
36the inclusion of energy efficiency measures as part of the
37development of new buildings.

38(4) A plan to reduce air emissions for vehicle use within district
39boundaries, including vehicles used for movement of commercial
40products. Proposed actions, developed jointly with the serving
P6    1electrical corporation, gas corporation, or local publicly owned
2electric utility, may include replacement of vehicles with lower
3emitting alternatives and development of infrastructure, in
4appropriate areas, to aid in the refueling of alternative fuel vehicles,
5and may provide for utility ownership or operation of those
6facilities to provide services within the district.

7(5) Other proposed actions and associated utility services that
8may be implemented in connection with the jointly developed
9energy management plan.

10(6) Proposed methods to fund the activities included in the plan,
11including funding through utility ratepayer-funded programs and
12financing through the California Infrastructure and Economic
13Developmental Bank established pursuant to Chapter 3
14(commencing with Section 63050) of Division 1 of Title 6.7 of
15the Government Code, the California Alternative Energy and
16Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act (Division 16
17(commencing with Section 26000)), or other appropriate sources.

18(c) If a district has jointly developed with an electric or gas
19corporation one or more plan elements under a plan prepared
20pursuant to subdivision (b) that involves special programs to be
21 offered in the district and administered by the electric or gas
22corporation to facilitate emissions reductions, increase energy
23efficiency, or promote economic development, including, but not
24limited to, the use of biogas for direct injection into common carrier
25pipelines, economic development rates, distributed generation,
26energy storage, and alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure, the
27Public Utilities Commission shall provide expedited review of the
28proposed jointly developed elements of the plan. The Public
29Utilities Commission shall encourage electric or gas corporations
30to participate jointly with local agencies in developing,
31implementing, and administering viable energy management plans
32for districts, and shall not limit the role of the electric or gas
33corporation that was cooperatively developed in the energy
34management plan. The governing boards of local publicly owned
35utilities and rural electric cooperatives shall encourage joint
36participation with local agencies and gas corporations in
37 developing, implementing, and administering viable energy
38management plans for districts.

39(d) If an energy management plan is prepared pursuant to this
40chapter, it shall also address the development of projects that
P7    1provide greater certainty of energy costs over a period of up to 15
2years for businesses developing in the district and shall consider
3applying to the California Infrastructure and Economic
4Development Bank for financial support of these projects.

5

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
6Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
7a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
8charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
9level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
1017556 of the Government Code.



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