BILL NUMBER: AB 834	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Williams

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to amend Section 25402.11 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to energy efficiency standards.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 834, as amended, Williams. Energy efficiency standards:
administrative enforcement.
   Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission to establish an administrative enforcement
process to enforce regulations establishing appliance efficiency
standards. Existing law requires the commission to establish, by
regulations, building construction and design standards and energy
and water efficiency standards for new residential and new
nonresidential buildings to increase the efficient use of energy and
water.
   This bill would additionally authorize the commission to establish
an administrative enforcement process to enforce regulations
establishing the building construction and design standards and
energy and water efficiency standards.
   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 25402.11 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:
   25402.11.  (a) (1) The commission may adopt regulations
establishing an administrative enforcement process for a violation of
a regulation adopted pursuant to Section 25402 and for the
assessment of an administrative civil penalty not to exceed two
thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation. The
process shall comply with the requirements of Chapter  4
  4.5  (commencing with Section 11400) and Chapter
 4.5   5  (commencing with Section 11500)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (2) In assessing the amount of an administrative penalty, the
commission shall consider all of the following factors:
   (A) The nature and seriousness of the violation.
   (B) The number of violations.
   (C) The persistence of the violation.
   (D) The length of time over which the violation occurred.
   (E) The willfulness of the violation.
   (F) The violator's assets, liabilities, and net worth.
   (G) The harm to consumers and to the state that resulted from the
amount of energy wasted due to the violation.
   (b) If the commission finds that a violation of the regulations
adopted pursuant to Section 25402 has occurred or is threatening to
occur, the commission may refer the matter to the Attorney General to
petition a court to enjoin the violation. The court may grant
prohibitory or mandatory injunctive relief as warranted by issuing a
temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent
injunction, and may assess a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand
five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation, considering the
factors specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
   (c) Penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be
deposited into the  Appliance  Efficiency
Enforcement Subaccount, which is hereby established in the Energy
Resources Program Account. The moneys in the  Appliance
 Efficiency Enforcement Subaccount may be expended by the
commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the education
of the public regarding  appliance  energy
efficiency and for the enforcement of the regulations adopted
pursuant to  subdivision (c) of  Section 25402.
   (d) An order imposing an administrative civil penalty shall be
subject to judicial review pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of
Section 25534.2.
   (e) A person shall not be liable for a civil penalty pursuant to
subdivision (b) if that person is subject to an administrative civil
penalty pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (f) In a civil action brought on behalf of the commission pursuant
to this section, upon granting relief, the court shall award to the
commission the reasonable costs incurred by the commission in
investigating and prosecuting the action.
   (g) The commission shall not initiate an administrative
enforcement process pursuant to the regulations adopted pursuant to
this section against an entity for the unlawful sale or the unlawful
offer for sale of an appliance if both of the following apply:
   (1) The appliance fully complies with all of the requirements of
the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 25402.

   (2) The only basis for the commission's potential enforcement
action is that the appliance is not considered to be in compliance
because of the commission's delay in reviewing and processing
information submitted to it that demonstrates full compliance.
   (h) In addition to the prohibitions specified in subdivision (g),
the commission shall not initiate an administrative enforcement
process pursuant to the regulations adopted pursuant to this section
for a violation of a  standard   regulation
 adopted pursuant to Section 25402 until both of the following
occur:
   (1) No fewer than 60 days have elapsed since the date when the
 standard   regulation  was published in
the California Register.
   (2) No fewer than 30 days have elapsed since the date when the
alleged violator received written notice of the alleged violation and
date when the commission provided public notice of the standard.