BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 64
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 64 (Corbett) - As Amended: July 2, 2014
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development (Go-Biz) to expend cap-and-trade auction
revenues appropriated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
(GHGRF) for evaluating new technologies and providing grants for
proven technologies or products with potential to reduce
greenhouse gas emission. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the Clean Technology Innovation Account (Account)
within the GHGRF and requires the Legislature to appropriate
moneys to the Account from the GHGRF or other funds.
2)Requires that funds in the Account be expended by GO-Biz, upon
appropriation, for the specified purposes including a grant
programs and evaluation activities.
3)Requires GO-Biz to establish a Science and Business Review
Committee to provide programmatic and technical expertise and
specifies the membership of the Committee. Requires the
Committee to develop criteria for GHG emissions evaluation and
efficacy programs, funding priorities and policy guidelines,
and evaluate and score funding requests. Requires the
Committee to develop guidelines for the grant program.
4)Requires GO-Biz to conduct a public meeting to consider public
comments before finalizing the guidelines for the grant
programs and requires the draft solicitation and evaluation
guidelines be posted on its website at least 30 days before
the meeting.
5)Exempts the criteria and guidelines adopted by GO-Biz under
SB 64
Page 2
this bill from the Administrative Procedure Act.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Significant cost pressures, likely in the tens of millions of
dollars range, to Go-Biz to fund the specified grants and
activities (GHGRF and other special funds).
2)Significant administrative costs to Go-Biz, likely in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars range. This bill limits
administrative costs to five percent of the funds appropriated
(GHGRF and other special funds).
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, California continues to be
a major force in fostering cutting-edge technologies, creating
jobs, and enhancing a healthy economic and environmental
future. This bill will develop a program to help transfer
technology from innovations along the technology development
track, through to the end user.
2)Background. As part of the recently passed 2014-15 Budget,
SB 862 (Budget and Fiscal Review) allocates cap-and-trade
revenues for the 2014-15 fiscal year and establishes a
long-term plan for the allocation of cap-and-trade revenues
beginning in fiscal year 2015-16.
SB 862 continuously appropriates 35% of cap-and-trade funds
for investments in transit, affordable housing, and
sustainable communities. Twenty-five percent of the revenues
are continuously appropriated to continue the construction of
high-speed rail. The remaining 40% will be appropriated
annually by the Legislature for investments in programs that
include low-carbon transportation, energy efficiency and
renewable energy, and natural resources and waste diversion.
The total amount appropriated under SB 862 is $872 million.
Funding for this bill could be appropriated from the 40% of
cap-and-trade revenues that will be annually appropriated by
the Legislature in subsequent budgets.
If this bill is enacted this year, it is unlikely it would be
SB 64
Page 3
funded prior to the 2015-16 Budget Act.
3)Go-Biz. GO-Biz was established in 2011 (AB 29, Chapter 475)
as the lead state entity for economic strategy and marketing
on issues relating to business development, private sector
investment, and economic growth. GO-Biz includes the Office
of the Small Business Advocate and the Office of Business
Assistance.
Currently GO-Biz includes units relating to business
investment services; permit streamlining; small business
assistance; and, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship,
and international affairs and business development.
This bill would expand GO-Biz's duties and authority to
include providing grants and other financial assistance to
evaluate new technologies and products that have the potential
to reduce GHG emissions and provide grants for these
technologies and products. It is not clear that GO-Biz has
the expertise or is the appropriate entity to evaluate grant
applications based on GHG emission reduction value.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081