BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2593
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2593 (Bradford)
As Amended August 21, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |53-22|(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |21-12|(August 25, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: U. & C.
SUMMARY : Requires large businesses participating in programs
administered by the Air Resources Board (ARB) and funded via
Cap-and-Trade proceeds to report annually to the ARB on efforts
to increase procurement from women, minority, and disabled
veteran enterprises. Specifically, this bill :
1)Applies to business enterprises with gross annual revenues
exceeding $25 million, funded in whole or in part from the
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Fund.
2)Require business enterprises to submit reports to the ARB in
an electronic format determined by the ARB, and requires the
ARB to post the reports on its Internet Web site.
3)Defines "control," "operate," "women business enterprise," and
"minority business enterprise" consistent with similar
provisions already in statute that are used in a similar
program to report on procurement efforts by regulated
utilities.
The Senate amendments :
1)Require business enterprises to submit reports to the ARB in
an electronic format determined by the ARB.
2)Require ARB to post the reports on its Internet Web site.
3)Clarify that this bill does not apply to governmental agencies
that are not the ARB.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, annual costs ranging from $150,000 to $300,000 from
the General Fun to the ARB to collect the required information.
AB 2593
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose. According to the author, women and minority-owned
businesses participating in programs to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions should factor in inclusion of diverse sectors within
California's economy to ensure that access to new job
opportunities are available to all Californians. In
California, women and minority-owned businesses represent the
bulk of small businesses. Since diverse business owners are
more likely to hire diverse workers, the success of women-,
minority-, and disabled veteran-owned businesses translates
into jobs for women, minorities, and disabled veterans.
2)Cap-and-Trade Revenues. The California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (N��ez), Chapter 488, Statutes of
2006] requires ARB to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit
equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020, and adopt regulations,
including market-based compliance mechanisms, to achieve
maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG
emission reductions.
All moneys collected by ARB from the auction or sale of
allowances pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism
(i.e., the cap-and-trade program adopted by ARB under AB 32)
are deposited into the GHG Reduction Fund and are available
for appropriation by the Legislature. The local and regional
agencies defined in this bill are eligible for funding under
this program.
For the 2014-15 budget, the Governor has proposed spending
$850 million on a variety of programs, including $100 million
for grants to local governments to support implementation of
Sustainable Communities Strategies, $50 million for inter-city
rail grants, $30 million for organic waste diversion
infrastructure, and $20 million for water and energy saving
projects.
3)Public Utilities Commission Supplier Diversity Reporting. In
response to legislation authored by former Assembly Member
Gwen Moore, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
adopted General Order 156 (GO 156), in 1988 which created
Women-Owned and Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (W/MBE)
program to increase diversity in various utility operations
and procurement processes. GO 156 requires PUC-regulated
AB 2593
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electrical, gas, and telephone corporations with gross annual
revenues exceeding $25 million to submit annual detailed and
verifiable plans that includes short- and long-term goals and
timetables for increasing W/MBE procurement in all procurement
categories. GO 156 includes rules and regulations for the
utilities' compliance with the W/MBE program, and requires
participating utilities to inform, recruit, and obtain at
least 20% of their products and services purchased within a
five-year period from W/MBEs (15% from minority-owned
businesses and 5% from women-owned businesses).
4)California Energy Commission (CEC) Diversity Reporting. In
response to AB 340 (Bradford) of 2009, which was vetoed by the
Governor, the CEC is voluntarily implementing a program to
report on diversity within its Electricity Program Investment
Charge research and development program.
Analysis Prepared by : Brandon Gaytan / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0005468