Amended in Senate March 21, 2013

Senate Bill No. 39

Introduced by Senators De León and Steinberg

(Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Evans, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Rubio, Vargas, Wolk, and Yee)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Skinner and Torres)

December 5, 2012

An act to add Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 26230) to Division 16.3 of the Public Resources Code, relating to energy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 39, as amended, De León. Energy: school facilities: energy efficiency upgrade projects.

The California Clean Energy Jobs Act, an initiative measure enacted by voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund and requires moneys in the fund to be available for appropriation during specified fiscal years for, among other things, the purposes of funding energy efficiency projects in school facilities.

This bill would enact the Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement Act of 2013 and would require the Office of Public School Construction begin insert , in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, end insert to establish a school district assistance program to distribute grants, on a competitive basis, for energy efficiency upgrade projects pursuant to the California Clean Energy Jobs Act. The bill would require the office, upon the approval of the State Allocation Board, to award a school district grants for energy efficiency upgrade projects meeting specified criteria. The bill would require the office to give priority applications meeting specified criteria. begin insert The bill would require the office, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, to establish a program to evaluate the potential to fund energy efficiency and clean energy projects for schools, including colleges and universities, through the use of matching funds, low-interest loans, or other financing methods. end insert

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate moneys to the Office of Public School Construction from the fund for the purposes of awarding energy efficiency grants to the most disadvantaged schools in need of modernization for the purposes of energy efficiency upgrades.

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.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The people of the State of California voiced their strong
support for the California Clean Energy Jobs Act by enacting
Proposition 39 at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election.
The voters closed an egregious corporate tax loophole that only
begin delete benefitted end delete begin insert benefited end insert out-of-state companies at the expense of
expanded employment in our state.

(2) It is the duty of the Legislature to put these dollars to work
in a manner that voters can see and experience the begin delete benefit. end delete begin insert benefit
of end insert Proposition 39 enumerated the following key principles in
guiding the expenditure of the revenues raised through the
California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Division 16.3 (commencing
with Section 26200) of the Public Resources Code):

(A) Maximize job creation.

(B) Shrink our carbon footprint.

(C) Minimize bureaucratic costs.

(D) Create full transparency.

(E) Demand rigorous accountability.

(F) Create measurable results.

(3) Since the recession began in late 2007, California has lost
nearly 1.4 million jobs, including 400,000 in the construction
industry alone. Investing in energy efficiency will maximize job
creation and will help the state regain a sense of economic security
and sustainability at a time when unemployment remains high.
The state can further stimulate its economy by putting the industry
segment back to work that is most in begin delete need - the end delete begin insert need--the end insert
construction trades.

(4) Studies show the continuing high cost of energy and utilities
due to inefficient lighting, insulation, heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning systems, plumbing, windows, and irrigation systems
begin insert that end insert take local money away from educational programs. For
example, the Los Angeles Unified School District spends
$105,000,000 annually on begin delete electricity end delete begin insert energy end insert . Energy efficiency
improvements for public schools will reduce long-term energy
costs and the savings can be directed to the classroom.

(5) Substandard physical environments are strongly associated
with truancy and other behavior problems in pupils. Lower pupil
attendance leads to lower scores on standardized tests in
begin delete English-language end delete begin insert English language end insert arts and begin delete math end delete begin insert mathematics end insert .
Schools with better building conditions have up to 14 percent lower
pupil suspension rates. Improving a school’s health and safety
standards can lead to a 36-point increase in California Academic
Performance Index scores.

(6) Several studies have determined that children suffer
significant health consequences from excessive heat, inadequate
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, mold and other
biological hazards, pest infestations, lead and other toxic hazards,
and overcrowding beyond the stated capacity of the school
structure. Research repeatedly shows the detrimental impact to the
health of pupils due to poor indoor air quality in classrooms.
Increasing energy efficiency will reduce air pollution that causes
asthma and lung disease.

(7) Economically disadvantaged school communities are often
the same areas that suffer most from high unemployment and
destructive or unlawful conduct by youth. The program funded by
revenues generated by the California Clean Energy Jobs Act will
encourage community participation in, and a greater sense of
responsibility toward, educational, environmental, and fiscal
benefits of modernizing facilities, which will enhance community
pride and sustain neighborhood vitality.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that:

(1)  begin delete The end delete begin insert First priority for end insert funds made available through the
California Clean Energy Jobs Act begin insert should end insert be begin delete used end delete to award
competitive grants statewide to economically disadvantaged begin delete school
communities that are accomplished by delivering project funds to
neighborhoods in areas of highest need, while offering end delete begin insert schools to
provide operational cost savings in schools maintaining
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and create a
healthy indoor environment for pupils and staff and to offer end insert
technical assistance to all applicants and potential applicants for
grant preparation to encourage full participation in the grant
program.

begin delete

(2) The grant program funded by revenues generated by the
California Clean Energy Jobs Act will finance competitive grants
for energy efficiency upgrade projects that provide operational
cost-savings improvements in K-12 school facilities.

(3) Energy efficiency upgrade projects create long-term benefits
and cost savings for school districts by significantly reducing
energy operational costs, creating a healthy indoor environment
for our pupils and staff and reducing the impact that energy creation
and consumption has on our natural environment.

(4) 

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert Energy efficiency upgrade projects begin insert should end insert also provide
short-term benefits, including the creation of begin delete prevailing-wage
paying end delete jobs begin insert that pay prevailing wages end insert in communities around the
state, and stimulate local economies.

begin insert

(3) In addition to grants for economically disadvantaged
schools, to the extent funds are available, funds could be allocated
to finance or provide matching funds for cost-effective energy
efficiency upgrades and clean energy projects at schools
maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and
for projects at community colleges or at the campuses of the
University of California or the California State University.

end insert begin insert

(4) Workforce training programs, including the California
Conservation Corps, certified community conservation corps,
YouthBuild, and other existing programs to train and employ
disadvantaged youth, veterans, and others on energy efficiency
and clean energy projects could also be funded.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to make moneys
available to the Office of Public School Construction, upon
appropriation, from the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund to award
energy efficiency upgrade grants to the most disadvantaged schools
in need of modernization for the purposes of energy efficiency
upgrades pursuant to the California Clean Energy Jobs Act
(Division 16.3 (commencing with Section 26200) of the Public
Resources Code).

SEC. 3.  

Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 26230) is added
to Division 16.3 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

 

Chapter  5. Clean Energy Employment and Student
Advancement Act of 2013

 

26230.  

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement Act of 2013.

26231.  

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:

(a) “Energy efficiency upgrade project” means a school facility
project that reduces energy consumption and operational costs
through means that include, but are not limited to, improvements
to one or a combination of the following:

(1) Ventilation.

(2) Lighting and other system controls.

(3) Air infiltration.

(4) Water use.

(5) Windows and doors (fenestration).

(6) Heating and begin delete Cooling end delete begin insert cooling end insert (HVAC).

(7) Electrical begin delete System end delete begin insert system end insert .

(8) Insulation.

(b) “Office” means the Office of Public School Construction.

(c) “School district” means a school district or a county office
of education.

26232.  

The office shall begin insert , in consultation with the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the
Public Utilities Commission, end insert establish a school district assistance
program to distribute grants, on a competitive basis, prioritizing
economically disadvantaged school communities for energy
efficiency upgrade projects that offer the highest energy efficiency
begin delete saving end delete begin insert savings end insert , pursuant to this division.

26233.  

(a) The office shall offer technical assistance to all
applicants and potential applicants for grant preparation to
encourage full participation in the grant program.

(b) The office shall use existing benchmarking tools to determine
present average energy consumption for a school facility by size
and type.

26234.  

Upon approval by the State Allocation Board, the office
shall award to a school district a grant pursuant to this chapter only
for an energy efficiency upgrade project that meets all of the
following criteria:

(a) The proposed project meets the qualifications of an energy
efficiency upgrade project.

(b) The school district complies with the required labor
compliance and contractor qualification standards.

(c) The amount of the grant applied for, together with any
matching contribution, will meet all of the costs of implementing
the energy efficiency upgrade project.

(d) The school district allows the office to audit all expenditures
made with grant funds.

(e) The school district agrees to track and report to the office
the number of jobs created as a result of the energy efficiency
upgrade project.

(f) The school district reports to the office the operational cost
savings resulting from the energy efficiency upgrade project, both
at the district level, in aggregate, and school facility site level.

26235.  

In evaluating applications for grants that meet the
requirements of Section 26234, the office shall assign higher
priority to begin delete applications that meet each end delete begin insert any application that meets
all end insert of the following criteria:

(a) The energy efficiency upgrade project is located at a school
facility with an above average energy consumption, as determined
by the benchmark pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 26233.

(b) The energy efficiency upgrade project is located in an
economically disadvantaged school community, based on the
percentage of pupils eligible for the federal free and begin delete reduced price end delete
begin insert reduced-price end insert lunch program.

(c) The energy efficiency project is located in an area with an
above average unemployment rate as compared to the statewide
unemployment rate.

(d) The school district has actively involved pupils begin insert and classified
school employees end insert at the school facility site in the planning and
design of the energy efficiency upgrade project.

begin insert

(e) The energy efficiency upgrade project includes a plan to
fund and train classified school employees to service and maintain
the projects.

end insert begin delete

(e) 

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert begin insert   end insert The energy efficiency upgrade project will enhance workforce
development and employment opportunities, utilize members of
the California Conservation Corps or certified local conservation
corps, if available, or accommodate learning opportunities for
school pupils or at-risk youth in the community.

begin delete

(f) 

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert begin insert   end insert The energy efficiency upgrade project is a joint partnership
between two or more agencies, including, but not limited to, other
school districts, nonprofit organizations, and local government
agencies to maximize the investment and benefit to the public.

begin insert

begin insert 26236. end insert   

end insert begin insert

(a) In addition to the program established pursuant to
Section 26232, the office, in consultation with the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission, shall
develop a financing program by evaluating the potential to fund
projects, consistent with the requirements of Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 26205) for schools maintaining
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community
colleges, and campuses of the University of California and the
California State University through the use of matching funds,
low-interest loans, or other financing methods.

end insert begin insert

(b) Upon appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of
implementing this section, the office may establish standards
consistent with this division for the implementation of a financing
program developed pursuant to subdivision (a).

end insert