BILL NUMBER: SB 1153	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 5, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2010

    An act relating to global warming.   An act
to add Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section 25545) to Division 15 of
the Public Resources Code, relating to energy. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1153, as amended, Hancock.  Global warming: renewable
energy projects: agricultural land.   Energy:
sustainable energy zone.  
   Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to designate
transmission corridors and establishes various procedures for the
designation.  
   This bill would authorize the Energy Commission to designate an
area as a sustainable energy zone suitable for the construction or
operation of renewable energy projects, as defined, and would require
the Energy Commission to identify zones where projects can be built
that are consistent with the strategic plan for the state's electric
transmission grid. The bill would require the Energy Commission, by
January 1, 2012, to report to the Legislature regarding the
designation of sustainable energy zones.  
   The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the
State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the
reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse gases and to
monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and verification
program, and requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse
gas emissions limit, equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas
emissions level in 1990, to be achieved by 2020. The state board is
required by January 1, 2011, to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits
and emission reduction measures by regulation to achieve the
prescribed emission reductions.  
   This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to address the serious threat of global warming to the
economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the
environment of the state by coordinating permit approvals and
providing incentives for renewable energy projects with multiple
environmental and economic benefits to agricultural land. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Chapter 6.1 (commencing with Section
25545) is added to Division 15 of the   Public Resources
Code   , to read:  
      CHAPTER 6.1.  SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ZONES


   25545.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms mean
the following:
   (a) "Renewable energy project" means a project for the
construction of a solar nonthermal, wind, or other renewable energy
nonthermal powerplant with a generating capacity equal to or more
than 50 megawatts, or transmission lines connecting these powerplants
to the interconnected electrical transmission grid.
   (b) "Sustainable energy zone" means a geographically defined area
that is environmentally and economically suitable for the
construction and operation of one or more types of renewable energy
projects taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social,
agricultural, and technological factors, including, the achievement
of the state's renewable energy goals and goals of the California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 35.5 (commencing with
Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code).
   25545.1.  (a) The commission may designate a sustainable energy
zone to expedite renewable energy development.
   (b) The commission may contract for needed biologists to collect
data on land proposed to be designated as a sustainable energy zone.
   25545.2.  (a) In designating a sustainable energy zone, the
commission shall identify zones where one or more future renewable
energy projects can be built that are consistent with the state's
needs and objectives as set forth in the strategic plan adopted
pursuant to Section 25324.
   (b) The designation of a sustainable energy zone is subject to the
California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000)). The commission shall be the lead agency, as provided
in Section 21165, for all sustainable energy zones proposed for
designation pursuant to this chapter.
   25545.3.  (a) By January 1, 2012, the commission shall report to
the Legislature regarding the designation of sustainable energy
zones.
   (b) (1) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
   (2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2016.  
  SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to address the serious threat of global warming
to the economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the
environment of the state by coordinating permit approvals and
providing incentives for renewable energy projects with multiple
environmental and economic benefits to agricultural land.