BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                AB 1392
                                                                Page  1

        (  Without Reference to File  )

        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 1392 (Utilities and Commerce Committee)
        As Amended  September 9, 2011
        Majority vote
         
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        |ASSEMBLY:  |     |(not relevant)  |SENATE: |     |(August 10,    |
        |           |     |                |        |     |2011)          |
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                                                     (vote not available)
        Original Committee Reference:    U. & C.  

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         SUMMARY  :  Deletes obsolete authority vested in the Public Utilities 
        Commission (PUC) to consider exempting from the California Solar 
        Initiative's time-variant tariff those residential customers whose 
        rates were protected under a rate freeze adopted during the 
        electricity crisis of 2000-01.  Specifically,  this bill  : 

        1) Deletes the permissive authority previously granted to PUC to 
        exclude residential customers under the rate cap for baseline 
        quantities or usage by those customers of up to 130 percent of 
        baseline quantities stemming from the 2000-01 electricity crisis 
        when developing the time-variant tariff for the California Solar 
        Initiative (CSI).

         The Senate amendments  extend authority in existing law for 
        allocation of ARRA funds for energy efficiency.
         
        AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was substantially amended and 
        is not similar to the version passed by the Senate.

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

         COMMENTS  :  Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 
        the California Energy Commission (CEC) received $226 million in 
        State Energy Program funds for increasing energy efficiency to 
        reduce energy costs and consumption, cut reliance on imported 
        energy, and shrink energy impacts on the environment. 

        Current law authorizing CEC expenditure of ARRA funds for the State 








                                                                AB 1392
                                                                Page  2

        Energy Program allocates $25 million for the 2009-2010 fiscal year 
        to the Department of General Services (DGS) for the Energy Efficient 
        State Property Revolving Loan Program to help finance energy 
        efficiency retrofits in state buildings. Additional State Energy 
        Program funds were allocated to a variety of other energy efficiency 
        programs. All ARRA State Energy Program funds have an expenditure 
        deadline of April 30, 2012. 

        These amendments authorize the CEC to transfer an additional $50 
        million total to the DGS revolving loan program in the 2011-12 and 
        2012-13 fiscal years. This authority will give the Energy Commission 
        maximum flexibility to expend all the ARRA funds by the 2012 
        deadline, in accordance with the rules of the federal Department of 
        Energy.


         Analysis Prepared by  :    DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 
        FN: 0002918