BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 361 (Achadjian) - California Emergency Services Act: nuclear
powerplants.
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|Version: May 28, 2015 |Policy Vote: G.O. 12 - 0, E., |
| | U., & C. 11 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 361 would extend the sunset date on the requirement
that state and local costs associated with preparing for and
responding to accidents at nuclear powerplants be borne by
utilities operating those powerplants.
Fiscal
Impact:
Total revenues of $8.5 million to the Nuclear Planning
Assessment Special Account (special) to cover OES's costs
between 2019 and 2024.
Passthrough of $13.3 million to the Nuclear Planning
Assessment Special Account (special) that is collected and
distributed by OES on behalf of local agencies for their costs
between 2019 and 2024.
AB 361 (Achadjian) Page 1 of
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Background: The Radiation Protection Act (HSC §§114650) establishes the
responsibilities of OES, the Department of Health Services, and
local governments in preparing and responding to accidents at
nuclear powerplants. Section 8610.5 of the Government Code
requires utilities operating a nuclear powerplant with a
generating capacity of 50 megawatts or more to cover state and
local costs from preparing and responding to accidents at the
powerplant that are not reimbursed by federal funds. In order to
collect these costs, the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC) is to develop an equitable method of assessing the
utilities their reasonable pro rata share of state agency costs
and providing this method to OES. Local agencies are also
responsible for reporting their costs to OES. Then OES will
periodically collect payments from the utilities for their share
of the local and state costs. Payments are deposited into the
Nuclear Planning Assessment Special Account (account). Section
8610.5 specifies that OES is to receive up to $1,094,000 for the
support of its duties in the 2009-10 fiscal year and the
Department of Public Health is to receive up to $953,000 for its
duties. Additionally, local governments can receive up to
$1,732,000 for the Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant and up to
$1,600,000 for the San Onofre site. These amounts are to be
adjusted for subsequent years according to the Consumer Price
Index or the percentage change in the prevailing wage for San
Luis Obispo County employees in the case of the Diablo Canyon.
Payments to the local governments are made out of the account by
the Controller. Up to 80% of the fund can be disbursed in
advance for anticipated costs while the balance is paid out for
OES approved expenditures.
These provisions for the recovery of state and local costs
become inoperative on July 1, 2019. Any remaining funds in the
account at that time shall be credited to the utility's
ratepayers.
There remains only one operating nuclear powerplant in
California - Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E) Diablo Canyon
Powerplant. The powerplant is licensed by the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to operate until 2024 and 2024 for
units 1 and 2, respectively. In 2009, PG&E filed an application
with NRC to expend Diablo Canyon's operation by 20 years.
AB 361 (Achadjian) Page 2 of
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Proposed Law:
This bill would extend the sunset date of the cost recovery
provisions until August 26, 2025 and would make technical
amendments to reflect that the state now only has one operating
nuclear powerplant.
Staff
Comments: This bill would align the statutory requirements for
state and local cost recovery with the existing operating
license for PG&E's nuclear facility, which expires in 2024 and
2025 for units 1 and 2, respectively. By extending the sunset
date on the cost recovery provisions, the state will be ensured
a mechanism to recover its costs associated with the Radiation
Protection Act from PG&E. Between 2019 and 2024, OES anticipates
a total of $8.5 million in cost recovery.
As this bill would also extend the ability for OES to collect
payments on behalf local governments and then disburse those
funds as reimbursements, this bill will also technically extend
costs to the Nuclear Planning Assessment Special Account.
However, staff notes that there should ultimately be no net
costs to the state for these provisions.
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