BILL NUMBER: AB 2390	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chesbro

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

    An act relating to electricity.   An act to
add Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990) to Division 15 of the
Public Resources Code, relating to electricity. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2390, as amended, Chesbro.  Biomass: incentive program.
  Electricity: biomass: incentive programs. 
   Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), in
consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission  (Energy Commission)  , to authorize
electrical corporations to collect moneys for the self-generation
incentive program (SGIP) at 2008 calendar year levels through
December 31, 2014. Existing law requires the PUC to require
electrical corporations to administer the SGIP, until January 1,
2016. Existing law limits eligibility for SGIP incentives to
distributed energy resources that the PUC, in consultation with the
State Air Resources Board, determines will achieve reductions in
emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
    This bill would state legislative findings and declarations
regarding the use of waste products from forest thinning and fire
prevention activities to generate electricity at biomass facilities.
The bill would  state the intent of the legislature 
 require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,  to establish an
incentive program to compensate  producers and collectors of
 biomass  facilities for processing waste associated
with forest thinning and fire prevention activities  
material associated with forest fuel reduction and fire prevention
activities that are delivered to eligible biomass facilities, as
defined, for use as a fuel source  .
   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.   (a)    The
Legislature finds and declares all of the following: 
   (1) 
    (a)  Prudent forest thinning and fire prevention
activities are important for protecting public safety. 
   (2) 
    (b)  The utility of fire prevention activities can be
supplemented by harnessing the energy potential of waste products
 in the form of woody biomass material  from  those
activities and   forest fuels reduction activities and
 generating  renewable  electricity at biomass
generation facilities. 
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
establish an incentive program to compensate biomass facilities for
processing waste associated with forest thinning and fire prevention
activities.  
   (c) Several large fires have resulted in significant costs to
California investor owned utilities that affect electric rates. These
costs include actual cost settlements with homeowners, fire
suppression cost reimbursement to the state and federal emergency
service agencies, transmission and distribution equipment
replacement, and ever increasing costs of insuring utility
infrastructure.  
   (d) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection estimates that
almost 25 million acres of forest are considered high- and
medium-priority landscapes at risk to wildfire.  
   (e) Ratepayers will benefit by reducing the risk and associated
costs of fire related to the electric infrastructure. 
   SEC. 2.    Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 25990)
is added to Division 15 of the  Public Resources Code 
 , to read:  
      CHAPTER 13.  BIOMASS INCENTIVE PROGRAM


   25990.  For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
   (a) "Community scale biomass facilities" means an electric
generation facility that uses biomass that has a generation capacity
of under three megawatts and meets both of the following criteria:
   (1) The facility is located in an area identified by the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as high- and
medium-priority landscapes at risk to wildfire.
   (2) The facility uses as a fuel source only forest biomass
materials, such as shrubs, limbs, and small trees, collected from a
high- or medium-priority landscape considered at risk to wildlife, as
determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
pursuant to a project consistent with the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) or the
federal National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et
seq.), as applicable.
   (b) "Eligible biomass facility" means an electric generation
facility that uses as a fuel source forest biomass materials, such as
shrubs, limbs, and small trees, collected from a high- or
medium-priority landscape considered at risk to wildlife, as
determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
   25991.  The commission shall, in consultation with the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection, establish an incentive program to
compensate producers and collectors of biomass material associated
with forest fuel reduction and fire prevention activities that are
delivered to eligible biomass facilities for use as a fuel source.
   25992.  In implementing the program, the commission shall
encourage the maximum amount of hazardous forest fuels removal.