BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 870
                                                                  Page 1

          Date of Hearing:  June 27, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
                 SB 870 (Padilla) - As Introduced:  February 18, 2011

           SENATE VOTE  :  39-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Energy:  State Energy Resources Conservation and 
          Development Commission

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the Chair of the California Energy Commission 
          (CEC) to annually appear before the Senate Committee on Energy, 
          Utilities and Communications and the Assembly Committee on 
          Utilities and Commerce to report on the CEC's activities.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes the CEC, provides for appointment of the Chair and 
            four other commissioners by the Governor, subject to Senate 
            confirmation, and requires the Chair to direct the adviser, 
            the executive director, and other staff in the performance of 
            their duties in conformance with the policies and guidelines 
            established by the CEC.

          2)Requires the President of the Public Utilities Commission 
            (PUC) to annually appear before the appropriate policy 
            committees of the Senate and Assembly to report on two 
            specified annual reports required by statute.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations 
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :

           1)Annual check-up.   In 2003, AB 1735 (U&C Committee) enacted a 
            requirement for the President of the PUC to annually appear 
            before the "appropriate policy committees" to report on two 
            specific items - the PUC's annual workplan and the "SB 960 
            report" on resolution of cases and commissioner attendance at 
            hearings.  This bill applies a similar appearance requirement 
            to the Chair of the CEC, though the scope of the report is 
            broader, applying to "the activities of the commission."  
            According to the author, this bill is "part of a multi-pronged 
            effort to improve communication between the CEC and the 








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            Legislature in an attempt to focus and revitalize its programs 
            and priorities."

            Notwithstanding the stated intent to improve communication, 
            the scope and purpose of this bill appear vague, and its 
            necessity unclear.  There are a couple differences between the 
            CEC and PUC that may be relevant to this bill.  First, the CEC 
            already has annual general policy reporting obligations to the 
            Legislature and Governor via the Integrated Energy Policy 
            Report.  Second, the CEC is three blocks, rather than 90 
            miles, from the Capitol, making in-person communication 
            easier.

            While the Natural Resources Committee is not listed in the 
            bill, this committee has general jurisdiction over the CEC.  
            Changes in jurisdiction and committee names would be addressed 
            best by amending the bill to say "appropriate policy 
            committees", rather than naming specific committees, although 
            this committee is confident that the Chair would appear if 
            invited without a statutory requirement.

           2)Prior legislation.   Last year, the Governor vetoed SB 1467 
            (Padilla), which contained the same provision as this bill.  
            In his veto message, the Governor stated:

               I am returning Senate Bill 1467 without my signature.

               In addition to making several non-substantive changes to 
               the Public Utilities Code and the Public Resources Code, 
               this bill requires the Chairperson of the State Energy 
               Resources Conservation and Development Commission 
               (Commission) to appear annually before the Senate Committee 
               on Energy, Utilities and Communications and the Assembly 
               Committee on Utilities and Commerce to report on the 
               activities of the Commission.

               This bill is unnecessary.  During my Administration, the 
               Chairperson of the Commission has always been accessible to 
               the Legislature and, in fact, has appeared on several 
               occasions this year before both committees to report on 
               Energy Commission activities.

               If the Legislature would like to invite the Chairperson to 
               appear before their committees, they simply need to call.  
               In this bill's absence, I am ordering DGS to check all 








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               phone lines between the Legislature and the Chairperson's 
               office to make sure they are in good working order.

          3)Double referral.   This bill has been double-referred to the 
            Utilities and Commerce Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          None on file
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file


           Analysis Prepared by  :  Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092