BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 361
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
361 (Achadjian)
As Amended May 28, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Governmental |20-0 |Gray, Linder, | |
|Organization | |Achadjian, Alejo, | |
| | |Bigelow, Cooley, | |
| | |Cooper, Daly, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Gipson, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |
| | |Mayes, Perea, Salas, | |
| | |Steinorth, Waldron, | |
| | |Wilk | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Utilities |15-0 |Rendon, Patterson, | |
| | |Achadjian, Bonilla, | |
| | |Burke, Dahle, Eggman, | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, | |
| | | | |
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| | | | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Ting, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Extends the sunset date for the Nuclear Planning
Assessment Special Account (NPASA) from July 1, 2019, to August
26, 2025, to continue funding emergency service programs and
planning activities for the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis
Obispo County. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that state and local costs to carry out activities
pursuant to this bill and the Radiation Protection Act of 1999
(RPA) that are not reimbursed by federal funds shall be borne by
a utility operating a nuclear powerplant with a generating
capacity of 50 megawatts or more.
2)States that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) shall develop
and transmit to the Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) an
equitable method of assessing a utility operating a powerplant
for its reasonable share of state agency costs, as specified.
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Provides that each local government involved shall submit a
statement of its costs, as required, to Cal OES. The amounts
paid by a utility shall be allowed for ratemaking purposes by
PUC.
3)States that upon notification by Cal OES, from time to time, of
the amount of its share of the actual or anticipated state and
local agency costs, a utility shall pay this amount to the State
Controller (Controller) for deposit in the Nuclear Planning
Assessment Special Account (NPASA), which is continued in
existence, for allocation by the Controller, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to carry out activities pursuant to this
bill and the RPA.
4)Provides upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Controller
may disburse up to 80% of a fiscal year allocation from the
NPASA, in advance, for anticipated local expenses, as defined in
law. Cal OES shall review program expenditures related to the
balance of funds in the account and the Controller shall pay the
portion, or the entire balance, of the account, based upon those
approved expenditures.
5)Provides that the total annual disbursement for each fiscal
year, commencing July 1, 2009, of local costs from a utility
shall not exceed the lesser of the actual costs or the maximum
funding levels established in this section, in support of
activities pursuant to this bill and RPA. The maximum annual
amount available for disbursement for local costs, as defined,
shall, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, be $1.732
million for the Diablo Canyon site.
6)Provides that the annual amount of $2.047 million for the
2009-10 fiscal year, the sum of $1.094 million shall be for
support of the office for activities, as defined, and the sum of
$953,000 shall be for support of the State Department of Public
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Health, as specified.
7)Provides that this bill shall become operative on July 1, 2019,
and shall become inoperative on August 26, 2025, and, as of
January 1, 2026, is repealed. When this bill becomes
inoperative, any amounts remaining in the special account shall
be refunded to a utility contributing to it, to be credited to
the utility's ratepayers.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Grants PUC with the regulatory authority over public utilities,
including electrical corporations.
2)Requires the development and maintenance of a nuclear powerplant
emergency response program by state and local governments based
on federal and state criteria.
3)The California Emergency Services Act (Act) authorizes local
government entities to create disaster councils by ordinance and
in turn develop disaster plans specific to their jurisdictions.
4)The RPA requires local governments to develop and maintain
radiological emergency preparedness and response plans to
safeguard the public in the emergency planning zone around a
nuclear powerplant and generally makes Cal OES responsible for
the coordination and integration of all emergency planning
programs and response plans created pursuant to the RPA.
5)Provides under the Act, until July 1, 2019, a method for funding
state and local costs for carrying out these activities that are
not reimbursed by federal funds, with the costs borne by
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utilities operating nuclear powerplants with a generating
capacity of 50 megawatts or more.
6)Requires PUC to equitably allocate the non-reimbursed state
costs associated with the preparation and implementation of the
NPASA between the utilities. Costs for state administration and
reimbursements to local governments are specified, capped, and
paid for by utility customers.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the NPASA had expenditures of approximately $5.5
million per year since FY 2011-12, funded entirely through
regulatory fees.
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, existing law
requires utility companies operating a nuclear powerplant to pay
for anticipated state and local agency costs to the Controller,
into what is called the NPASA. Utility companies pay the actual
expenses up to the maximum allowed under an established funding
cap. The utilities do not pay for these costs directly; rather
they are authorized by the PUC to pass these costs on to consumers
as a function of their utility rates. The expenditure of these
funds is authorized, upon appropriation by the Legislature, on an
annual basis to address planning and response issues, and
administered by Cal OES. The inoperative date of these provisions
ends on July 1, 2019.
Currently, the Diablo Canyon power plant pays into the NPASA but
is scheduled to cease payments into the account on July 1, 2019,
which is before their current license expires in July 1, 2024.
Therefore, the nuclear power plant could still be in operation
without having to contribute to the costs of emergency planning or
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response should an emergency occur.
The author states, "If the power plant was to continue in
operation without funding, then emergency preparedness and
response will be jeopardized. Continuing this account is vital to
assure the maintenance of the State's nuclear emergency programs,
which has been a model program established to safeguard public
health and safety in California."
The author maintains this bill will assist local governments with
the costs associated with emergency planning and response in areas
surrounding the Diablo Canyon site by extending the "sunset date"
of the NPASA from July 1, 2019, to August 26, 2025. This
extension will ensure that these critical programs are funded to
match the duration of the nuclear power plant's license and are
vital to our local communities to guarantee that they have the
resources necessary to plan and react to any emergency.
Background: In 1979, following the accident at Three Mile Island
nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the California State
Legislature mandated that the Cal OES, together with the
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and affected
counties, investigate the consequences of a serious nuclear power
plant accident. Based on site-specific studies in 1980, Emergency
Planning Zones (EPZ) around the plant sites were established in
detail and integrated plans were developed. Legislation mandating
the Nuclear Power Plant Program (NPPA) has been continuous since
1979, enacted as Government Code and Health and Safety Code
sections, called the Radiation Protection Act.
Local governments are also required to develop and maintain
radiological emergency preparedness and response plans to
safeguard the public in the EPZ around a nuclear power plant and
to take specified actions within that zone. Utilities also have a
role to play, including developing and maintaining radiological
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emergency preparedness and response plans in coordination with
state and local governments and to coordinate with state and local
governments in maintaining nuclear power plant education
information.
Nuclear Power Plant Program: The Nuclear Power Plant Program
(NPPP) covers emergency planning issues related to the state's one
operating nuclear power plant - Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP)
and one decommissioning nuclear power plant - San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station (SONGS). The NPPP also continues coordination
with the two retired nuclear power plants - Humboldt Bay Nuclear
Power Plant and Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station. NPPP
works with federal, state, local and utility officials in
emergency planning, training, and exercises to test emergency
readiness.
Emergency Plans: Federal regulations require nuclear power
plants, states and surrounding counties have a federally tested
and approved emergency response plan. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for ensuring adherence to
emergency planning and exercise requirements by emergency response
organizations outside of the power plant boundaries, which is
referred to as "offsite." Radiation releases are monitored and
controlled by strict Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
guidelines to keep the public and emergency responders safe.
In the event of an emergency at one of California's nuclear power
plants, Cal OES is the lead agency to mobilize state resources and
to request and coordinate federal resources to mitigate the
effects of radiation released into the atmosphere.
Prior legislation: AB 2791 (Governmental Organization Committee),
Chapter 618, Statutes of 2010. Made various statutory and
technical changes to reflect the merger of the former Office of
Emergency Services and the former Office of Homeland Security into
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the California Emergency Management Agency in January 1, 2009.
AB 292 (Blakeslee), Chapter 492, Statutes of 2007. Extended the
sunset date on the NPASA from July 1, 2009, to July 1, 2019, and
the repeals date from January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2020.
Revises the funding levels payable from the account beginning
fiscal year 2009-10. Required that any money remaining in the
account when it becomes inoperative be returned to the
contributing utility for rebates to the ratepayers.
SB 2141 (O'Connell), Chapter 543, Statutes of 1998. Stipulated
that OES shall continue to have prime responsibility for
coordinating and integrating all levels of emergency planning and
response within a "joint" state and local government decision
making process. Modified the method for providing funding to
those state agencies responsible with implementing various aspects
of the NPASA. Authorized the State Controller, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to advance up to 80% of a fiscal year
allocation from the Account to the agencies for anticipated local
costs. Extended, by 10 years, the current sunset (July 1, 1999).
SB 876 (Hart), Chapter 759, Statutes of 1993. Updated the state's
NPERP by revising and reallocating responsibilities between the
Office of Emergency Response, Department of Health Services,
utilities, local jurisdictions, and other agencies. The bill
extended the sunset on the NPASA until July 1, 1999, and
authorizes payment from the account of specific sums of money over
the next five years to state and local agencies for the purposes
of implementing the plan. Revenues to the account are derived
from fees imposed on parties owning and operating nuclear
powerplants.
Analysis Prepared by:
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Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0000795