BILL NUMBER: SB 1130 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator De León
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Skinner )
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to add Division 16.3 (commencing with Section
26200) to the Public Resources Code, relating to energy, and making
an appropriation therefor. An act to add Chapter 5.10
(commencing with Section 254 99) to of Division 15 of the
Public Resources Code, relating to energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1130, as amended, De León. Energy: energy assessment:
commercial buildings: financing.
retrofitting.
Existing law establishes incentives in the form of grants and
loans to low-income residents, small businesses, and residential
property owners for constructing and retrofitting buildings to be
more energy efficient.
The bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission to analyze and evaluate standards for
commercial energy building.
Existing law requires the California Alternative Energy and
Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to establish programs to
provide financial assistance to participating parties to purchase
alternative source energy and to develop renewable energy projects.
Existing law authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds secured
by revenues generated by a project to provide financing for those
purposes.
This bill would enact the Commercial Building Energy Retrofit
Financing Act of 2012 and would require the authority to establish
the Commercial Building Energy Retrofit Financing Program to provide
financial assistance, through the issuance of revenue bonds, to
owners of eligible buildings for implementing energy efficiency
retrofit measures for the buildings. The bill would provide that the
bonds are secured by the recording of an energy remittance repayment
agreement, as defined, on the deed of the building for which the
energy efficiency retrofits are performed. The bill would require the
State Board of Equalization to collect installment payments from
owners of eligible buildings whose applications have been approved by
the authority. This bill would authorize the authority and the State
Board of Equalization to assess a fee to reimburse them for the
administrative costs incurred in implementing the program.
This bill would require the authority to meet, on a semiannual
basis, for the purpose of issuing the revenue bonds to generate
moneys sufficient to finance energy efficiency retrofit measures
specified on applications that have been approved prior to the
meeting.
This bill would establish the Commercial Building Energy Retrofit
Debt Servicing Fund, the Loan Loss Reserve Account, the
Administration Account, and the Collection Administration Account
within the fund. The bill would require the State Board of
Equalization to deposit the installment payment received from the
owners of eligible buildings into the fund and the fees collected by
the authority and the State Board of Equalization into the specified
accounts. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys in the
fund and the accounts to repay the principal and interest on the
bonds, and to cover the administrative costs incurred by the
authority and the State Board of Equalization, thereby making an
appropriation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes no
. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Commercial buildings represent a substantial opportunity to
significantly increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. To accomplish these objectives, we need to address the
design, construction, and operation of these buildings.
(b) Energy use in the building sector accounts for approximately
20 percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide, or 10 billion tons,
annually.
(c) The lack of accessible and affordable financing for energy
efficiency results in energy-inefficient buildings, estimated to
consume up to 50 percent more energy than required to achieve the
same level of comfort.
(d) It is possible to retrofit the California commercial building
stock to use, on average, at least 50 percent less energy by 2050
through the wide adoption of deep energy retrofits that save more
energy and increase profits for building owners.
(e) Investment in building performance upgrades is an intelligent
business decision. Building performance upgrades lower operating
costs, improve occupant comfort, hedge against utility price
increases, demonstrate commitment to tenant well-being, reduce
exposure to regulation, help the environment, and ultimately boost
property values.
(f) It is in the best interest of the state and its citizens to
enable and encourage the owners of eligible commercial property to
invest in new energy improvements, including energy improvements and
renewable energy improvements, by enacting this act.
(g) New improvements, including energy efficiency improvements and
renewable energy improvements, can provide positive cashflow as the
costs of the improvements are spread out over a long enough time and
the owners' utility bill cost savings exceed the amount of the liens
recorded on the eligible buildings to pay for the improvements.
(h) Reduction in the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases and
environmental pollutants, resulting from increased efficiencies and
the resulting decreased use of traditional nonrenewable fuels, will
improve air quality and may help to mitigate climate change.
SEC. 2. Chapter 5.10 (commencing with Section
25499) is added to Division 15 of the Public Resources
Code , to read:
CHAPTER 5.10. COMMERCIAL BUILDING RETROFIT
25499. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Commercial Building Energy Retrofit Act of 2012.
25499.1. The purpose of this chapter is to enable private
commercial building owners to invest in clean energy improvements, to
incentivize private equity managers to invest in clean energy
improvements, to stimulate the state economy by directly creating
jobs for contractors and other persons who complete new energy
improvements, and to reinforce the leadership role of the state in
the new energy economy, thereby attracting energy manufacturing
facilities and related jobs to the state.
25499.2. (a) On or before January 1, 2016, the commission shall
analyze and evaluate standards for commercial energy building
retrofits previously developed by various national and international
organizations to provide uniformity and transparency for financial
institutions evaluating loan proposals for energy improvements to
commercial properties.
(b) The evaluation shall evaluate existing protocols or
combination of elements of existing measurement protocols and shall
be made available in an electronic format to financial institutions
and local governments initiating PACE bonds as defined in Section
26104. All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears
in the bill as introduced in the Senate, February 21, 2012. (JR11)