BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2715 (Eduardo Garcia) - Agricultural Working Poor Energy
Efficient Housing Program
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|Version: June 20, 2016 |Policy Vote: E., U., & C. 9 - |
| | 1, T. & H. 8 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2715 establishes the Agricultural Working Poor
Energy Efficient Housing Program (Program), within the
Department of Community Services and Development (CSD), to
provide weatherization services to improve energy efficiency in
farmworker housing.
Fiscal
Impact:1)
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 $100,000 to $600,000
for one to six permanent staff positions to create a unit
within CSD to establish and administer the program.
AB 2715 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 1 of
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3)Absorbable, costs for the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) to
advise CSD in developing the program.
Background:
Energy efficiency of farmworker housing. According to the
sponsor, La Cooperative Campesina, California's 800,000
low-income farmworkers cannot afford to reduce their reliance on
carbon intensive energy sources. 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. This bill
provides a program specifically targeted towards making
farmworker housing energy efficient.
Department of Community Services and Development energy
assistance programs. CSD administers three of the energy
assistance programs available to low-income Californians: the
federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and
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, the CSD-administered, GGRF-funded LIWP funds the
installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems and solar
water heaters in low-income single-family and multi-family
households located within disadvantaged communities.
CSD contracts with a network of private, nonprofit, and local
government community-based organizations to provide for the
AB 2715 (Eduardo Garcia) Page 2 of
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local administration of grant programs and delivery of service
to eligible low-income households. Each program has an
income-eligibility requirement ranging from 60 percent state
median income to 80 percent area median income, depending on the
program.
CSD has received $154 million from the AB 32 cap-and-trade
revenues (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.
Proposed Law:
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-owned housing.
2)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.
3)Requires CSD to consult with the CPUC and the CEC in
developing the program to avoid duplication with the energy
efficiency programs supervised by those commissions.
4)Requires CSD to develop program requirements and guidelines,
including income-based program eligibility limits, and may
develop subgrantee contract provisions for the program.
5)Requires CSD to report specified information to the
legislature.
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Staff
Comments: As mentioned above, CSD has received $154 million
from GGRF for low-income weatherization programs. While,
according to the author, CSD efforts to reach farmworkers have
been unsuccessful, it is not clear that developing a new program
would be the most efficient way of serving this population.
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