BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 968|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 968
Author: Monning (D), et al.
Amended: 8/17/16
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 3/29/16
AYES: Hueso, Morrell, Cannella, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Leyva,
McGuire, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hertzberg, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 6/1/16
AYES: Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, De
León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno,
Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell,
Nguyen, Nielsen, Pavley, Roth, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Liu, Pan, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/24/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires an assessment of the regional
economic effect that would result from closure of the Diablo
Canyon Power Plant.
Assembly Amendments require the California Public Utilities
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Commission (CPUC) (1) to distribute copies to relevant state and
local jurisdictions, and convene a public forum in the County of
San Luis Obispo on the findings and recommendations of the
assessment; and (2) to authorize Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)
to withdraw $400,000 from the nuclear decommissioning trust
funds to pay for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the
third-party assessment required by this bill.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the CPUC to fix rates, establish rules, examine
records, issue subpoenas, administer oaths, take testimony,
punish for contempt, and prescribe a uniform system of
accounts for all public utilities, including electrical and
gas corporations, subject to its jurisdiction. (Article 12 of
the California Constitution)
2)Requires that all charges demanded or received by any public
utility for any product, commodity or service be just and
reasonable, and that every unjust or unreasonable charge is
unlawful. (Public Utilities Code §451)
3)Authorizes the collection of funds, on a nonbypassable basis,
required for site restoration when an electrical corporation's
nuclear powerplant is removed from service. (Public Utilities
Code §379)
4)Requires each electrical corporation owning or operating
nuclear facilities to establish an externally managed,
segregated fund for expenses associated with decommissioning
of nuclear facilities. (Public Utilities Code §8321)
This bill:
1)Directs the CPUC to cause an assessment, including potential
mitigation actions, to be completed by no later than July 1,
2018, of the adverse and beneficial economic effects, and net
economic effects, for the County of San Luis Obispo and the
surrounding regions that could occur if Diablo Canyon nuclear
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powerplant permanently shut down before the powerplant's
current operating licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission expire or when PG&E closes the powerplant upon the
expiration of its current licenses.
2)Requires the assessment to be conducted by an independent
third party, selected by the CPUC from among qualified
entities who respond to a request for proposal by the CPUC.
3)Requires the independent third party to consult with
governmental and community-based entities in San Luis Obispo
County, as well as the Center for Labor Research and Education
at University of California Berkeley.
4)Requires the CPUC to make the assessment publicly available on
its Web site, distribute copies to relevant state and local
jurisdictions, and convene a public forum in the County of San
Luis Obispo on the findings and recommendations of the
assessment.
5)Requires the CPUC to approve the withdrawal of $400,000 from
the nuclear decommissioning trust funds established by PG&E
and to use the moneys for additional staffing to urgently
effectuate the third-party assessment required by this bill.
6)Declares the need for a special law: Diablo Canyon is the
only nuclear powerplant operating in California.
Background
Diablo Canyon's uncertain future. There remains one operating
nuclear powerplant in California - PG&E's Diablo Canyon Power
Plant in San Luis Obispo County. According to PG&E, the plant
produces approximately 10 percent of California's energy load
and about 20 percent of PG&E's overall electricity.
Diablo Canyon is licensed by the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) to operate until 2024 and 2025, respectively,
for units 1 and 2. In 2009, PG&E filed an application with NRC
to extend Diablo Canyon's operation by 20 years. The outcome of
the application is uncertain.
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In addition to the application with NRC, continued operation of
Diablo Canyon is subject to state permitting and regulation.
Diablo Canyon sits on state tideland. It operates pursuant to
leases, issued by the State Lands Commission, that expire in
2018 and 2019, for units 1 and 2, respectively. It is unknown
whether the State Lands Commission will renew the leases. And,
of course, the CPUC must approve ratepayer funding to pay for
operation of Diablo Canyon.
These permitting uncertainties, along with the sudden and
seemingly unexpected closure of the San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station (SONGS) in 2013, lead many in the region
around Diablo Canyon to contemplate a future without the nuclear
powerplant. Whatever its other effects, shuttering of Diablo
Canyon would remove a major contributor to the economy of San
Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County.
Bill proponents call for a study by an independent, third party
that would, at a minimum, consider decreases in local tax
revenues, decreases in local workforce, and indirect economic
losses. Proponents conclude that such a study, informed by the
experiences of SONGS and similar facilities that have shut down
elsewhere, would better prepare the communities that would be
most affected by closure of Diablo, thereby enabling mitigation
of the worst economic effects.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 361 (Achadjian, Chapter 399, Statutes of 2015) extended the
sunset date for the Nuclear Planning Assessment Special Account
(NPASA) from July 1, 2019, to August 26, 2025, to continue
funding emergency service programs and planning activities for
the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The
bill passed each house of the Legislature with zero "no" votes.
SB 657 (Monning, 2015) would have required the CPUC to convene,
or continue, until August 25, 2025, the independent peer review
panel to review PG&E's seismic studies of PG&E's Diablo Canyon
Power Plant. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 38-0. The
bill was held at the Assembly Desk.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
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Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Appropriates $400,000 to the CPUC to fund the assessment and
hire limited-term staff to provide oversight (Utilities
Reimbursement Fund).
The CPUC estimates it will require $250,000 to contract with
an independent third party to perform the assessment and an
additional $170,000 to provide oversight.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/24/16)
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
City of Morro Bay
City of San Luis Obispo
Economic Vitality Corporation
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
San Luis Coastal Unified School District
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/24/16)
Azul
CodePink Women for Peace, Golden Gate Chapter
Committee to Bridge the Gap
Desert Protection Society
Ecological Options Network
Food and Water Watch
Green Action for Health and Environmental Justice
Green Party of San Luis Obispo
Greenpeace
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No Nukes Action Team
Northern Chumash Tribal Council
Nuclear Energy Information Services
Nuclear Hotseat
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Nuclear Watch South
People of Faith for Justice
People's Democratic Club of Santa Cruz County
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Physicians for Social Responsibility-San Francisco
Public Citizen
Residents Organized for Safe Energy
Rocketdyne Cleanup Coalition
San Francisco Occupy Forum Environmental Working Group
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
San Onofre Safety
Southern California Federation of Scientists
Sunflower Alliance
Teens Against Toxins
Tri-Valley CAREs
West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Energy and Safe Jobs
Women For: Orange County
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Santa Cruz
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, no one can
say for certain whether the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
will continue to operate in the near-term or long-term. Given
this uncertainty and the region's economic reliance on the
plant, it is critical that state regulators and the public be
informed about the potential adverse economic impacts should the
plant not be in operation and how to best mitigate these
impacts.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents make numerous arguments
against the bill, including that the assessment is unneeded
because PG&E already commissioned a benefits assessment, and
that the CPUC cannot be trusted to act independently of PG&E in
selecting a third party to conduct the assessment.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/24/16
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough, Daly
Prepared by:Jay Dickenson / E., U., & C. / (916) 651-4107
8/25/16 17:34:52
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