BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2715 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016
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|Author: |Eduardo Garcia |
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|Version: |6/20/2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Manny Leon |
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SUBJECT: Agricultural Working Poor Energy Efficient Housing
Program
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Agricultural Working Poor
Energy Efficient Housing Program and requires the program to be
administered by the Department of Community Services and
Development (CSD).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)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.
2)Tasks CSD with implementing several types of federal
assistance to help low-income households meet their energy
needs.
3)Establishes a charge on electricity and natural gas
consumption to fund cost-effective energy-efficiency and
conservation activities.
4)Requires electric and gas corporations to provide
weatherization assistance to low-income customers and
AB 2715 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 2 of ?
specifies that weatherization may include attic insulation,
caulking, weatherstripping, a low-flow showerhead, water
heater blanket, and door and building envelope repairs to
reduce air infiltration.
5)Specifies that weatherization may also include other building
conservation measures, energy-efficient appliances, and energy
education programs determined by the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) to be feasible, considering the
cost effectiveness of the measures as a whole and the policy
of reducing energy-related hardships facing low-income
households.
6)Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and
implement a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy
savings in California's existing residential and
nonresidential building stock.
This bill:
1)Directs CSD to develop and administer the Agricultural Working
Poor Energy Efficient Housing Program by expending moneys
appropriated by the Legislature to improve energy efficiency
in farmworker housing.
2)Specifies that program funds are to be used to fund
energy-efficient projects including, but not limited to, the
following:
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,
commonly known as LED, lighting
d) Installation of photovoltaic solar panels and solar
water heating systems.
e) Installation of battery backups
1)Directs CSD, when distributing program funding, to give
preference to an association of federally designated
farmworker organizations and other organizations that have a
proven track record of assisting farmworkers.
2)Establishes a number of program requirements, including that
CSD consult with the CPUC and the CEC in developing the
program to avoid duplication with the energy-efficiency
AB 2715 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 3 of ?
programs supervised by those commissions, and that CSD submit
a report to the Legislature on program performance, as
specified.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The author notes, "CSD, which received $75 million
of cap-and-trade revenue for low-income programs, has a long
history of serving hundreds of thousands of people in poverty
through their network of non-profit organizations. However,
CSD has also experienced, in spite of their strong efforts,
difficulty in reaching out to and helping low-income farm
workers. This has presented a challenge for CSD which the
department been unable to overcome for some time.
"While at one time the farmworker population was characterized
by its mobility, today it has become much more stable and
permanent in the agricultural areas of the state. Many
farmworkers are located in rural, hard-to-reach areas. Energy
consumption in their homes is higher than average because of
the larger number of individuals per household."
2)CSD energy assistance programs. CSD administers three
low-income energy assistance programs: the federal Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Weatherization
Assistance Program (WAP), and the state-funded Low Income
Weatherization Program (LIWP). Each of the three
weatherization programs administered by CSD provides
energy-efficiency services to eligible low-income households,
both homeowners and renters, by installing a range of
weatherization upgrades to reduce energy usage, improve
resident comfort, and provide monetary savings to the
residents. Residents are also educated on basic
energy-efficiency practices and on the proper use and
maintenance of the appliances and measures installed. In
addition, with revenues from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Fund, CSD also administers, through LIWP, funds for the
installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and solar
water heaters in low-income single-family and multi-family
households located within disadvantaged communities.
The CSD reports that it contracts with a network of private,
nonprofit, and local government community-based organizations
to provide for the local administration of grant programs and
delivery of service to eligible low-income households. Each
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program has an income-eligibility requirement ranging from 60%
state median income to 80% area median income, depending on
the program.
1)Additional state energy assistance programs. In addition to
the low-income energy assistance programs described above,
there exists the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant
program. Administered by HCD, the program provides financing
for the new construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition of
owner-occupied and rental units for agricultural workers, with
a priority for lower income households. The program requires
a match of at least 100%. The program budget for FY 2015-16
is $11.1 million.
3)Improving farmworker housing conditions. The bill's sponsors
and supporters report that existing programs have had limited
success in reaching low-income farmworkers and providing
much-needed housing assistance. As a solution, the bill
proposes to create the Agricultural Working Poor Energy
Efficient Housing Program, to be administered by CSD, to
expend moneys appropriated by the Legislature. The purpose of
the new program is to improve energy efficiency in farmworker
housing. Writing in support of the bill, AFSCME notes,
"California's 800,000 low-income farmworkers cannot afford to
reduce their reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources. In
addition, energy consumption in homes owned by farmworkers is
often higher than average, because there are generally larger
numbers of individuals per household. This bill provides a
program specifically targeted towards making farmworker
housing energy efficient."
4)Double-referral. This bill passed out of the Senate Energy,
Utilities and Communications Committee at its June 13 hearing
on a 9-1 vote.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 79-0
Appr: 20-0
Nat. Res: 8-0
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POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
June 22, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
La Coperativa Campesina (Sponsor)
AFSCME
California Human Development
Center for Employment and Training
Central Valley Opportunity Center, Inc.
OPPOSITION:
None received
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