BILL NUMBER: SB 418 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 11, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 8, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
( Principal coauthor: Senator
Block )
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to repeal Section 350 of the Public Utilities
Code, and to repeal Section 1 of Chapter 677 of the Statutes of 2012,
relating to energy. An act to add Section 1091.5 to
the Public Utilities Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 418, as amended, Jackson. Energy: reports.
nuclear fission powerplants.
(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission, commonly
known as the PUC, has regulatory authority over public utilities,
including electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities
Act prohibits any electrical corporation from beginning the
construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of
any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a
certificate that the present or future public convenience and
necessity require or will require that construction. A violation of
the act, or an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or
requirement of the PUC is a crime.
Existing federal law requires an operator of a nuclear fission
thermal powerplant to obtain from the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission a license for the operation of the powerplant.
This bill would enact the Nuclear Energy Planning and
Responsibility Act and would require the PUC to require an applicant
electrical corporation applying for ratepayer funding, or reopening
an existing application for ratepayer funding, for the relicensing of
a nuclear fission thermal powerplant with a generation capacity of
50 megawatts or greater by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
to submit a detailed study of the project needs and costs in order
to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the
nuclear fission thermal powerplant. The bill would require the PUC to
make the study available on its Internet Web site and to
independently review the study to assess the cost-effectiveness of
the continued operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
Because a violation of this provision would be a crime, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) 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.
(1) Existing law requires the Independent System Operator, in
consultation with the California Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, the Public Utilities Commission, the Western
Electricity Coordinating Council, and concerned regulatory agencies
in other western states, to provide a specified report to the
Legislature and to the Oversight Board within 6 months after the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Independent System
Operator.
This bill would repeal this provision.
(2) Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development to consult with the Legislative Analyst's
Office, among others, to review and identify efficient and
cost-effective methods for the state to create jobs in advanced
manufacturing and report its findings to the Legislature by January
1, 2017.
This bill would repeal this provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be
cited, as the Nuclear Energy Planning and Responsibility Act.
SEC. 2. Section 1091.5 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
1091.5. (a) Upon application to the commission for ratepayer
funding, or reopening of an existing application for ratepayer
funding, for the relicensing of a nuclear fission thermal powerplant
with a generation capacity of 50 megawatts or greater by the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the commission shall require the
applicant electrical corporation operating the nuclear fission
thermal powerplant to submit a detailed study of the project needs
and costs in order to assess the cost-effectiveness of the continued
operation of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
(b) The study shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following areas of concern for the relicensing period:
(1) The effect of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant on system
reliability and the affordable supply of electricity, including
planned provisions for emergency operations and unplanned shutdowns
as well as the costs of replacement power.
(2) The costs attributable to major disruptions in electrical
generation due to aging or major seismic events that may require
repair, replacement, or retrofit in excess of fifty million dollars
($50,000,000) at the nuclear fission thermal powerplant.
(3) The costs of responding to, or mitigating for, any new state
or federal requirements that have arisen or are anticipated to become
enforceable during the period of the license extension.
(4) Potential costs and impacts associated with current and
accumulating high-level radioactive waste and its ongoing storage at
the nuclear fission thermal powerplant during the relicensing period.
(5) Potential costs associated with mitigation or alternatives to
the use of once-through cooling at the nuclear fission thermal
powerplant as required by state or federal law.
(6) Potential costs associated with expanding and maintaining
emergency planning zones in compliance with state or federal
regulations.
(7) Costs associated with achieving compliance with requirements
for a federal consistency certification granted by the California
Coastal Commission to the electrical corporation, required for the
relicensing of the nuclear fission thermal powerplant by the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(c) The commission shall make the study publicly available on its
Internet Web site and shall independently review the study to assess
the cost-effectiveness of the continued operation of the nuclear
fission thermal powerplant.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 350 of the Public Utilities
Code is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 1 of Chapter 677 of the
Statutes of 2012 is repealed.