Amended in Senate June 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2271

Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk

February 18, 2016

An act to add Section 713 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2271, as amended, Quirk. Electricity: research programs: peer review.

Existing law provides the Public Utilities Commission with broad authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the commission to convene, or continue, until August 26, 2025, an independent peer review panel to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and surveys of a certain nuclear powerplant.

This bill would require the commission to establish a procedure for an independent peer review of certain research programs proposed by an electrical corporation for approval by the commission. The bill would require the independent peer review of a proposed research program to be conducted upon the commission’s receipt of the proposed program. The bill would require the commission to make available to the public on its Internet Web site the results of the review upon approval of the program.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 713 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:

713.  

(a) For purposes of this section, “research programs”
means programs for the development of novel and innovative
processes that are proposed by electrical corporations for approval
by the commission and that would be funded through the rates of
ratepayers of the electrical corporations. Research programs do
not include programs that are funded pursuant to the Public Interest
Energy Research, Demonstration, and Development Program
(Chapter 7.1 (commencing with Section 25620) of Division 15 of
the Public Resources Code) or the Electric Program Investment
Charge program developed pursuant to Section 25711.5 of the
Public Resources Code.

(b) The commission shall establish a procedure for begin insert the end insert
independent peer review of begin delete research programs end delete begin insert a research program end insert
proposed by an electrical begin delete corporation. end delete begin insert corporation, to be followed
if the research program will cost fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
or more. end insert The independent peer review shall be conducted in
accordance with the procedure upon the commission’s receipt of
begin delete a end delete begin insert the end insert proposed research program.

(c) The commission shall make available to the public on its
Internet Web site the results of the review upon the approval of
the research program.