BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 865
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
865 (Alejo)
As Amended May 6, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Utilities |10-3 |Rendon, Achadjian, |Patterson, Hadley, |
| | |Bonilla, Burke, |Obernolte |
| | |Eggman, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Ting, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Jobs |6-1 |Eduardo Garcia, |Brough |
| | |Brown, Chu, Gipson, | |
| | |Irwin, Mathis | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |12-4 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Jones, Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Gordon, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
AB 865
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SUMMARY: Requires any contractor or recipient of a grant or loan
of $1 million or more from the California Energy Commission (CEC),
on or after October 1, 2016, to prepare, implement, and report on
an outreach plan for increasing subcontractor opportunities for
certified women, minority, disabled veteran, and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) business enterprises as
specified. This bill also requires CEC to develop an outreach
program to inform and recruit the most qualified loan and grant
applicants and contractors, including but not limited to women,
minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises as
defined.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, increased annual costs of $300,000 (Energy Resources
Program Account or other fund) to develop guidelines for the
outreach programs, establish policies for funding agreements, and
perform additional outreach and tracking activities.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: "AB 865 will ensure that California's clean
energy future is inclusive of diverse communities. This bill
will help working families and working-class communities make
economic and environmental gains with its investments. The CEC
currently directs much of California's investments in clean
energy research, clean transportation, and energy efficiency.
This bill helps ensure California's climate change policies and
investments have maximum co-benefits to reduce pollution and
poverty."
2)CEC Resolution: On April 8, 2015, the CEC adopted a resolution
to implement a policy to reflect the CEC's commitment to making
sure the widest possible range of Californians participate in
existing and future programs. The resolution specifically aims
AB 865
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to maximize opportunities for small businesses, women, disabled
veteran, minority and LGBT-owned businesses, as well as
economically disadvantaged and underserved communities, to
participate in and benefit from CEC programs.
3)Similar PUC programs: Beginning in 1986, the Legislature
enacted a series of statutes, resulting in the adoption of
General Order (GO) 156 by the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC).
GO 156 established the Supplier Diversity program, symbolizing
an evolving state effort to increase utility contracting with
women and minority-owned businesses. Disabled veterans were
added in 1990, and LGBT enterprises were added to the program in
2012.
Under GO 156, each electrical, gas, water, and telephone
corporation with gross annual revenues exceeding $25 million,
and their associated CPUC-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates,
are required to participate in the Supplier Diversity program.
Under this program, utilities are required to annually submit a
detailed and verifiable plan with goals and timetables for
increasing supplier diversity in all procurement categories.
4)Auditor Report: A recent State Auditor's report, titled
Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Program, released in
February 2014, analyzes the current way the state contracts with
Disabled Veteran businesses, a subcategory of what this bill
requires. The Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE)
program, administered by the Department of General Services,
directs state governmental entities to procure goods and
services from DVBE firms. The legislative intent of the DVBE
program is to target DVBE firms and have them benefit
financially from doing business with the State. However, based
on data compiled in the State Auditor's report, only a
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relatively small subset of DVBE firms benefit from the program
and State contracting. For example, during the fiscal year 2012
to 2013, 83 percent of the DVBE contracting went to only 30
firms. A significant cause of this problem, among others, can
be attributed to weak reporting requirements. This bill
addresses the discrepancies in the reporting process and is in
line with the Auditor's recommendations.
Analysis Prepared by:
Allegra Roth / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 FN:
0000710