BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1953
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1953 (Skinner)
As Amended May 23, 2014
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 13-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Williams, Ch�vez, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Fong, Fox, Jones-Sawyer, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Levine, Linder, Medina, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Olsen, Quirk-Silva, | |Gomez, Holden, Jones, |
| |Weber, Wilk | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Higher Education Energy Efficiency Act
to provide financial assistance to eligible institutions for
building retrofits that reduce energy demands. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Establishes the Higher Education Energy Efficiency Act and
Fund and directs the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission) to provide
financial assistance to eligible University of California (UC)
and California State University (CSU) campuses for building
retrofits that reduce energy demand.
2)Defines "financial assistance" to include, but not necessarily
be limited to no-interest or low-interest loans, and loan loss
reserves.
3)Requires the Energy Commission to ensure that adequate energy
audit, measurement, and verification procedures are employed
to ensure that energy savings occur as a result of the
financial assistance.
4)Authorizes an eligible institution to submit an application to
the Energy Commission for financial assistance from the fund
and requires the Energy Commission, in consultation with the
CSU Chancellor and the UC President, to prioritize eligible
financial assistance, taking into consideration age of the
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facilities and any recent modernization, proportion of
students receiving Cal Grant awards, the potential for demand
reduction, and the campus's energy score.
5)Requires each institution that receives financial assistance
to report to the Energy Commission the amount of energy saved
as a result of implementing projects funded by the assistance
and requires the Energy Commission to determine the total
amount of energy savings achieved.
EXISTING LAW establishes the UC as a public trust, administered
by the Regents and provides that statutes related to UC are
applicable only to the extent that the UC Regents make such
provisions applicable. Confers upon the CSU Trustees the
powers, duties, and functions with respect to the management,
administration, and control of the CSU system. Establishes the
Energy Commission, consisting of five members appointed by the
Governor and confirmed by the Senate, tasked with forecasting
energy needs, setting appliance and building efficiency
standards, conducting research and developing programs,
developing renewable and alternative energy technologies,
licensing large thermal power plants, and responding to energy
emergencies.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the Energy Commission would likely require at least
two ongoing positions ($200,000) to implement and administer the
program. No funding is identified for the loans, but a viable
revolving loan program would require initial outlay costs of at
least $10 million.
COMMENTS : The Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32 (N��ez),
Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006) established the goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, and
directed the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop
actions to reduce greenhouse gasses and prepare a scoping plan,
to be updated every five years, to identify how best to reach
the 2020 limit. The initial reduction measures, including Low
Carbon Fuel Standard, Advanced Clean Car standards, and
Cap-and-Trade have been adopted over the last five years and
implementation activities are ongoing. The ARB is currently in
the process of updating the plan.
In November 2012, California voters approved Proposition 39 to
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close a corporate tax loophole and increase the state's annual
corporate tax revenues by as much as $1.1 billion. Proposition
39 specified that half of the revenue generated from 2013 to
2018, up to $550 million, should support energy efficiency and
alternative energy projects at public schools, colleges,
universities and other public buildings, as well as related
public-private partnerships and workforce training. Several
bills were introduced in 2013 which proposed a variety of
approaches for distribution of funds. SB 73 (Budget and Fiscal
Review Committee), Chapter 29, Statutes of 2013, specified the
allocation of $428 million Proposition 39 revenues for energy
efficiency projects for K-12 local educational agencies ($381
million) and community college districts ($47 million). The
State Energy Conservation Assistance Account at the California
Energy Commission received $28 million and the California
Workforce Investment Board received $3 million to develop and
implement a competitive grant program for eligible
community-based organizations and other training workforce
organizations preparing disadvantaged youth or veterans for
employment.
According to the author, "after years of budget cuts, deferred
maintenance, tuition hikes and increasing fees, there is a need
to reinvest in higher education for long-term stability. Since
many UC and CSU facilities were built in the 1960's and 70's,
before California had building efficiency standards, one
opportunity to reduce economic cost from campus operations is
through advanced energy efficiency projects. Moreover, there is
an opportunity for California's higher education institutions to
lead the nation in novel energy projects and more efficient
buildings, operations, and maintenance. Most importantly, the
financial savings from such measures would provide flexibility
to the universities to pay for other upgrades that enhance the
learning environment and improve education for students."
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0003649
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