BILL NUMBER: AB 796 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Blumenfield
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Section 44559.3 of the Health and Safety
Code, and to add Division 16.1 (commencing with Section 26050)
to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
financial assistance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 796, as amended, Blumenfield. Energy: clean energy
economy. Financial assistance.
(1) The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation
Financing Act requires the California Alternative Energy and Advanced
Transportation Financing Authority (CAEATFA) , in
consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission, to establish criteria for selecting projects
related to renewable energy and alternative transportation
technologies that would receive financial assistance, including
loans, loan loss reserves, interest rate reductions, insurance,
guarantees, and other credit enhancement or liquidity facilities,
from the authority.
This bill would require the state CAEATFA
to establish a program the Clean Energy
and Jobs Incentive Program to provide financial assistance in
the form of loan guarantees and energy output insurance
guarantees loan loss reserves to a parti
cipating financial institution providing loans to
California-based entities for the development and expansion of
manufacturing facilities or the installation of eligible
technologies, as defined .
(2) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
(2) Existing law establishes the Capital Access Loan Program for
small businesses, administered by the California Pollution Control
Financing Authority (authority), which provides loans through
participating financial institutions to qualifying small businesses.
Existing law requires the authority to create a loss reserve account
for each financial institution in order to provide protection against
loss. The loss reserve account for a financial institution consists
of moneys paid as fees by borrowers and the financial institution,
moneys transferred to the account from a small business assistance
fund, matching federal moneys, and other moneys provided by the
authority or other source. Existing law requires the combined amount
to be deposited by the participating financial institution into any
individual loss reserve account over a 3-year period, in connection
with any single borrower or any group of borrowers among which a
common enterprise exists, to be not more than $100,000.
This bill would increase this maximum contribution by the
financial institution to $200,000, if the matching contribution made
by the authority is funded exclusively from funds made available
pursuant to the federal Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
Vote: 2/3 majority . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44559.3 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
44559.3. (a) The authority shall establish a loss reserve account
for each financial institution with which the authority makes a
contract.
(b) The loss reserve account for a financial institution shall
consist of moneys paid as fees by borrowers and the financial
institution, moneys transferred to the account from a small business
assistance fund, any matching federal moneys, and any other moneys
provided by the authority or other source.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the authority may establish and maintain loss reserve accounts with
any a financial institution under such
policies as the authority may adopt.
(d) All moneys in a loss reserve account established pursuant to
this article are the exclusive property of, and solely controlled by,
the authority. Interest or income earned on moneys credited to the
loss reserve account shall be deemed to be part of the loss reserve
account. The authority may withdraw from the loss reserve account all
interest or other income that has been credited to the loss reserve
account. Any A withdrawal made pursuant
to this subdivision may be made prior to paying any claim and shall
be used for the sole purpose of offsetting costs associated with
carrying out the program, including administrative costs and loss
reserve account contributions.
(e) The (1) Except
as provided in paragraph (2), the combined amount to be
deposited by the participating financial institution into
any an individual loss reserve account over a
three-year period, in connection with any a
single borrower or any a group of
borrowers among which a common enterprise exists, shall be not more
than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).
(2) The combined amount to be deposited by the participating
financial institution into an individual loss reserve account over a
three-year period, in connection with a single borrower or any group
of borrowers among which a common enterprise exists, shall be not
more than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), if the matching
contribution made by the authority is funded exclusively from funds
made available pursuant to the federal Small Business Jobs Act of
2010 (Public Law 111-240).
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Division 16.1
(commencing with Section 26050) is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:
DIVISION 16.1. Clean Energy Economy and Jobs
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITION
DEFINITIONS
26050. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The continued growth of California's clean technology industry
is essential to the state's economic solvency and will continue to
create California-based jobs.
(2) Promoting innovative technologies that reduce dependence on
fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions
will help California meet its environmental targets and increase
energy security.
(3) From 1995 to 2008, inclusive, clean technology manufacturing
employment expanded by 19 percent, while overall manufacturing
employment dropped by 9 percent.
(4) California's environmental laws have stimulated nine billion
dollars ($9,000,000,000) in cumulative venture capital investment
from 2005 to 2009, inclusive, including two billion one hundred
million dollars ($2,100,000,000) in investment capital in 2009,
representing 60 percent of the total investment in North America and
more than five times the investment in the state's nearest
competitor, Massachusetts.
(5) Between 2007 and 2009, California led all other states in
clean technology patent registrations, outpacing the second-ranked
state, New York, by more than 150.
(6) California-based companies have patented more types of
electric vehicle battery technology than companies in other states.
(7) Attempting to take advantage of California's economic and
environmental progress, other states and other countries are
providing financial incentives to California clean energy companies
to move away from California and establish manufacturing facilities
elsewhere.
(8) Given the surge in out-of-state and overseas competition and
incentives, it is in the state's best interest to immediately
incentivize California-based clean technology companies so that they
remain in California.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the development
of in-state manufacturing facilities and jobs that produce
technologies that reduce pollution, increase energy
efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, or
reduce water pollution.
26051. As used in this division, "California-based entity" has
the same meaning as that set forth in Section 25620.5.
26051. As used in this division, the following terms mean the
following:
(a) "Authority" means the California Alternative Energy and
Advanced Transportation Financing Authority established pursuant to
Section 26004.
(b) "California-based entity" means either of the following:
(1) A corporation or other business form organized for the
transaction of business in California that has its headquarters in
California and manufactures in California the product in an eligible
technology that qualifies for the incentive or award, as determined
by the authority.
(2) A corporation or other business form organized for the
transaction of business that has an office for transaction in
California and substantially manufactures in California the product
in an eligible technology that qualifies for the incentive or award,
as determined by the authority.
(c) "Eligible technology" means any of the following:
(1) A device of technology that conserves or produces heat,
processes heat, space heating, water heating, steam, space cooling,
refrigeration, mechanical energy, electricity, or energy in any form
convertible to these uses that does not expend or use conventional
energy fuels, and that uses any of the following electrical
generation technologies:
(A) Biomass.
(B) Solar thermal.
(C) Photovoltaic.
(D) Wind.
(E) Geothermal.
(2) Ultralow emission equipment for energy generation based on
thermal energy systems such as natural gas turbines and fuel cells.
(3) Advanced transportation vehicles, fuels, or infrastructure.
(4) Advanced electric distributive generation technology as
defined in Section 379.8 of the Public Utilities Code or energy
storage technologies and their component materials.
(d) "Program" means the Clean Energy and Jobs Incentive Program
established pursuant to Section 26055.
CHAPTER 2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CLEAN
ENERGY AND JOBS INCENTIVE PROGRAM
26055. (a) The state shall establish a program to provide
financial assistance in the form of loan guarantees and energy output
insurance guarantees to California-based entities.
(b) The program shall approve financial assistance application for
an in-state manufacturing project that has reasonable prospects of
repayment and sufficient funds to complete the project.
(c) The program shall identify qualified lender-applicants to be
responsible for the overall financial structure of the financial
assistance.
(d) The program shall evaluate applications based on need, job
development benefit, environmental benefit, and financial risk.
(e) To the extent funds are required to implement the program,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, the state may use federal
funds as authorized by federal law, state special funds, or private
funds to develop the program.
SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
To expedite the promotion of California-based manufacturing and
California-based jobs, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the
reduction in air and water pollution, and the reduction in energy
consumption by providing, as soon as possible, financial assistance
to projects undertaken by California-based companies, thereby
preserving the public peace, health, and safety, it is necessary for
this measure to take effect immediately.
26055. (a) The authority shall establish the Clean Energy and
Jobs Incentive Program for eligible California-based entities for the
development and expansion of manufacturing facilities or the
installation of eligible technologies.
(b) The program shall provide a loan loss reserve account to a
participating loan institution that would be responsible for the
overall financial structure of the financial assistance for clean
technology manufacturing development and expansion.
(c) The program shall evaluate an application based on need, job
development benefit, environmental benefit, and financial risk.
(d) The program shall allow a participating financial institution
to apply for loan loss reserve support for qualified loans for clean
energy technology manufacturing development and expansion.
(e) The program shall establish a process for allowing a lender
applicant to become a participating financial institution and enroll
in the loan loss reserve program.
(f) The process established pursuant to subdivision (e) shall, at
a minimum, require the lender applicant to provide certification of
all of the following:
(1) The applicant meets federal and state requirements for a
financial institution.
(2) The borrower has secured or made applications for all
applicable licenses or permits needed to conduct business, including
appropriate environmental review.
(3) The borrower is a California-based entity that is developing
an eligible technology.
(4) The lender applicant and the borrower would not be able to
enter into a loan without the loan loss reserve support.
(g) The program shall give priority to lender applicants that are
working with borrowers that have been offered financial assistance to
relocate to another state or other countries.
(h) To the extent funds are required to implement the program,
that authority, upon the appropriation of the Legislature, may use
federal funds as authorized by federal law, state funds, including
the renewable energy public goods charge collected pursuant to
Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, or private funds to
develop the program.