BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2141
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2141 (Ting) - As Amended April 20, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires each electrical and gas corporation to
develop a program under the direction and supervision of the
California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to provide
AB 2141
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incentives and assistance to owners, operators, or lessees of
corner stores to reduce their electricity and gas bills.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Defines a "corner store" as a small-scale store or grocery
store, either an independent store or a chain store, that
sells a limited selection of foods and other products, in
rural, urban, and suburban settings, including stores that are
not located on a corner and stores commonly referred to as
convenience stores or neighborhood stores.
2)Requires the program to prioritize low-income areas and
communities, areas and communities with limited access to
healthy food, and communities with higher rates of
diet-related diseases.
3)Requires participating corner stores to agree to sell fresh
produce and other healthy foods for a minimum of three years,
unless the store ceases all of its retail flood sales. The
PUC may impose other conditions to ensure the integrity of the
program and to protect ratepayers.
4)Requires each electrical and gas corporation, in designing its
program, to consult with store owners, product vendors,
refrigeration manufacturers and the Office of Farm to Fork in
the Department of Food and Agriculture.
5)Requires each electrical corporation and gas corporation to
submit its proposal for the program to the PUC by January 1,
2018. Authorizes the PUC to approve the proposal, modify and
approve the proposal, or direct the utility to file a new
proposal by a date certain.
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6)Requires the PUC to implement equitable means to fund the
program, which may include, but is not limited to,
over-collections pursuant to the California Alternate Rates
for Energy (CARE) program, the Energy Savings Assistance
Program (ESAP), and other energy efficiency funds or programs
subject to the PUC's oversight.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)The PUC anticipates overseeing this program will require one
Regulatory Analyst, at an annual cost of approximately
$130,000 and a total of $500,000 in contract fees for third
party evaluators for the first four years of the program (PUC
Utilities Commission Fund.)
2)To implement this bill, the Office of Farm to Fork estimates
$70,000 in costs in the first year and $110,000 in the second.
Ongoing costs of $100,000 to $150,000 for one staff analyst
to develop standards for healthy foods, eligible communities,
and how much space should be devoted toward selling those
foods. In addition to developing the overall guidelines, the
staff analyst would consult with each individual gas and
electric corporation to develop their specific programs. The
bill does not appropriate funding for these costs and they
cannot be absorbed within the Office's existing budget.
This bill requires the Office of Farm to Fork (Office) to
consult with more than 50 gas and electric corporations in
California to develop standards relating to healthy foods and
refrigerated space as they develop their corner store
programs.
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill brings energy
efficiency and refrigeration to neighborhood corner stores in
an effort to provide fresh produce and healthy food options to
low-income communities and communities that lack access to
grocery stores due to geographic barriers. Specifically, this
bill requires utility providers to develop a program to
encourages owners of corner stores to participate in the
state's energy efficiency programs to expand healthy food
choices.
2)Background. For decades, the state and federal governments
have overseen low-income programs to provide low-income
customers discounts on their utility bills to the extent the
customer meets the program eligibility requirements. The
following is a breakdown of select programs:
a) The CARE program offers eligible customers a 20%
discount on their electricity and natural gas bill.
b) The Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program
offers assistance to families whose household income
slightly exceeds the low-income energy program allowances
by billing some of their electricity usage at a lower rate.
c) ESAP provides no-cost weatherization services to
low-income households who meet the CARE income guidelines.
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Services provided include attic insulation, energy
efficient refrigerators, energy efficient furnaces, weather
stripping, caulking, low-flow showerheads, water heater
blankets, and door and building envelope repairs which
reduce air infiltration.
d) The Department of Community Services and Development
administers Federal low-income home energy assistance,
energy crisis intervention, and low-income weatherization
programs (LIHEAP). These programs are funded by federal
grants to provide weatherization services and financial
assistance to help low-income customers pay their energy
bills.
e) The Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) provides
low-income individuals and households with surplus
commodities donated by the USDA.
It is unclear if all of the funding sources identified in the
bill are appropriate for this purpose. The author may wish to
work with electric and gas corporations to further refine the
requirements of the bill, eligible recipients, and potential
funding sources.
3)Prior Legislation. AB 2218 (Bradford), Chapter 581, Statutes
of 2014 requires each electrical corporation and gas
corporation, subject to direction and supervision by the PUC,
to develop and implement a program of rate assistance to
eligible food banks, at a fixed percentage determined by the
PUC. This law authorizes the PUC to adjust the fixed
percentage of rate assistance as appropriate. Furthermore,
this law encourages the governing board of each local publicly
owned electric utility to develop and implement a program of
rate assistance to eligible food banks at a fixed percentage.
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The program created under AB 2218 shares similar goals with
the program created by this bill. An evaluation of the AB
2218 program is not possible, as it has not yet been
implemented.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081