BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2715
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2715 (Eduardo Garcia, et al.)
As Amended May 27, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |8-0 |Williams, Jones, | |
|Resources | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, | |
| | |McCarty, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
AB 2715
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Establishes the Agricultural Working Poor Energy
Efficient Housing Program (Program) within the Department of
Community Services and Development (CSD) and states legislative
intent to appropriate not less than $50 million from the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to implement the Program.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CSD to develop and administer the Program.
2)Specifies that the Program be used to improve energy
efficiency in farmworker housing, including:
a) Weatherization of homes and other residences;
b) Replacement of energy inefficient appliances with Energy
Star certified appliances;
c) Replacement of lighting with light emitting diode
lighting;
d) Installation of photovoltaic solar panels and solar
water heating systems; and,
e) Installation of battery backups.
3)Specifies that CSD give priority to an association of
federally designated farmworker organizations and other
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organizations that have a proven track record of assisting
farmworkers.
4)Authorizes CSD to develop requirements, guidelines, and
subgrantee contract provisions for the Program.
5)Requires CSD to:
a) Consult with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in
developing the program in order to avoid duplication with
those energy efficiency programs supervised by the PUC.
b) No less than 30 days before finalizing the Program
guidelines, post the draft guidelines on CSD's website and
hold a public hearing to obtain public input.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter
488, Statutes of 2006], to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and
adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible
and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. AB 32 authorizes
ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance mechanisms to
comply with GHG reduction regulations, once specified
conditions are met.
2)Establishes the GGRF and requires all moneys, except for fines
and penalties, collected by ARB from the auction or sale of
allowances pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism
(i.e., the cap-and-trade program adopted by ARB under AB 32)
to be deposited in the GGRF and available for appropriation by
the Legislature.
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3)Establishes the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities
Revitalization Act to set procedures for the investment of GHG
allowance auction revenues. Requires the investment plan to
allocate 1) a minimum of 25% of the available moneys in the
GGRF to projects that provide benefits to identified
disadvantaged communities, and 2) a minimum of 10% of the
available moneys in the GGRF to projects located within
identified disadvantaged communities.
4)Establishes the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant
Program, which authorizes the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) to provide financing for new
construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of
owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with
priority given to low income households.
5)Tasks CSD with implementing several types of federal
assistance to help low-income households meet their energy
needs, including:
a) The Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides
one-time financial assistance to help offset an eligible
applicant's energy costs;
b) The Energy Crisis Intervention Program, which provides
assistance to low-income households that are in a crisis
situation due to receiving a termination notice or an
energy-related life-threatening emergency, such as a
malfunctioning heater;
c) The Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides
free energy efficiency upgrades to low-income households.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has the following state costs:
1)Unknown costs pressures, likely in the $25 to $50 million
range, to fund the Program. This bill does not specify a
funding source.
2)Increased annual costs of approximately $600,000 and five
permanent staff to create a unit within CSD to establish and
administer the program.
3)Unknown, likely absorbable, costs for the PUC and California
Energy Commission to advise CSD in developing the program to
avoid duplicating existing programs.
COMMENTS: CSD has received $154 million from the GGRF for
low-income weatherization programs. According to the author,
CSD efforts to reach farmworkers for these programs have not
been successful. While the farmworker population was once
characterized by its mobility, today it has become much more
stable in the agricultural areas of the state. Energy
consumption in homes owned by farmworkers is often higher than
average, because there are generally larger numbers of
individuals per household. According to the National
Agricultural Workers Survey conducted by the US Department of
Labor, approximately 15% of California's farmworkers own homes.
According to CalEPA, 39% of all GGRF investments to date,
excluding high speed rail, have been spent on projects located
in disadvantaged communities, and 51% of GGRF spending has
benefitted disadvantaged communities. None has been
specifically targeted to benefit farmworkers. Much of
California's farmworker housing is located in areas identified
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by CalEnviroScreen as disadvantaged.
This bill is intended to provide assistance to California's
800,000 low-income farmworkers who cannot afford to reduce their
reliance on carbon intensive energy sources. According to the
author, without additional resources and assistance, it will be
especially difficult for farmworkers, who are very low-income
because of seasonal employment and low wages, to make the
expensive investments in retrofitting homes for increased energy
efficiency, fuel-efficient cars, and other low carbon
infrastructure and/or technologies.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0003322