BILL NUMBER: ABX1 29 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Kehoe and Shelley
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cedillo, Nakano, and Wesson)
FEBRUARY 5, 2001
An act to add Chapter 5.3 (commencing with Section 25425) to
Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, and to add Section 17053.95
to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to energy conservation,
making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof,
to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 29, as introduced, Kehoe. Energy conservation.
(1) The existing Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission to perform specified duties
relating to the conservation and development of energy resources.
This bill would require the commission to pay the costs of
installation of an interval meter to a small business that
voluntarily reduces its electric consumption.
This bill would require the commission to administer a grant
program for the replacement of energy inefficient appliances. The
bill would require the commission to cooperate with state agencies
and local community-based organizations to open exchange centers that
will assist in the pickup of an old appliance and will certify to
the commission that the energy inefficient model was or will be
destroyed or dismantled in an environmentally sound manner.
The bill would authorize the commission to adopt emergency
regulations.
The bill would also require the commission to administer a grant
and loan program for eligible construction or retrofit projects, as
defined.
(2) The Personal Income Tax Law authorizes various credits against
the taxes imposed by that law.
This bill would provide a credit for a small business for taxable
years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, in an amount equal to
30% of the cost of replacing a commercial refrigeration unit with a
more energy-efficient model. The bill would provide that if the
credit exceeds the "net tax," the excess may be carried over to
reduce the "net tax" in the following 4 years.
(3) The bill would appropriate $375,000,000 from the General Fund
to the commission to carry out the above conservation programs.
(4) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 5.3 (commencing with Section 25425) is added to
Division 15 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.3. ENERGY CONSERVATION ACT OF 2001
Article 1. General Provisions
25425. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Energy Conservation Act of 2001.
Article 2. Business Conservation Incentive Plan
25426. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
article to encourage small businesses to reduce their energy
consumption, thereby saving themselves substantial sums of money and
making more electricity available for further expansion of commercial
enterprises in this state.
25427. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Interval meter" means a device that measures electricity
usage in real time.
(b) "Small business" means any small business as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 14837 of the Government
Code.
25428. (a) The commission shall reimburse each small business for
the cost of installation up to eight hundred dollars ($800) of an
interval meter if the business reduces its electricity usage by not
less than 10 percent for one year compared to the usage during the
preceding 12 months.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "cost of installation"
includes labor and equipment charges imposed by an entity defined in
subdivision (d) of Section 9604 of the Public Utilities Code or a
publicly owned utility that provides electricity.
Article 3. Loans and Grants for Energy Efficiency
25430. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that California is
in the midst of an energy crisis that requires both an increase in
the supply of energy and a reduction in demand.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a
state-sponsored conservation effort to assist California's families
to participate in a solution to the energy crisis by replacing energy
inefficient models of appliances and by retrofitting homes and
workplaces to reduce energy consumption. These conservation
investments are vitally important for California's long-term
well-being.
(c) It is also the intent of the Legislature to establish
state-sponsored incentives in the form of grants and loans to small
businesses, developers, and residential property owners for
constructing and retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient
by using design elements, including, but not necessarily limited to,
energy-efficient siding, higher rated insulation, and double-paned
windows.
(d) The energy conservation program established under this article
is intended to be in addition to, rather than to supplant, any other
existing program.
25431. (a) The commission shall administer a grant program for
qualified individuals for the replacement of energy inefficient
appliances, as provided in subdivision (c), with energy-efficient
models.
(b) Any person of low income, as defined in Section 50093 of the
Health and Safety Code, is eligible for a grant under the program
established under this section. Eligible persons shall also include
very low income Section 8 voucher recipients, as defined in Section
50105 of the Health and Safety Code, public housing authorities, and
private nonprofit low income housing corporations.
(c) A grant shall be equal to 50 percent of the actual cost of the
energy-efficient model of the appliance not to exceed the following
amounts:
(1) Two hundred dollars ($200) for a room air-conditioner, as
defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1601 of Title 20 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(2) Six hundred dollars ($600) for a central air-conditioning heat
pump or other central air-conditioner, as described in subdivision
(c) of Section 1601 of Title 20 of the California Code of
Regulations.
(3) Four hundred dollars ($400) for a refrigerator or refrigerator
freezer, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 1601 of Title 20
of the California Code of Regulations.
(4) Four hundred dollars ($400) for a clothes washing machine.
(d) The amount of the grant received by the grant recipient shall
not be reduced pro rata by any other assistance received by the grant
recipient for the purchase of an energy-efficient appliance to
replace an energy inefficient model. However, the cumulative grant
shall not exceed 100 percent of the actual cost of the appliance.
(e) The commission shall cooperate with state agencies and local
community-based organizations to open exchange centers. The staff
operating the exchange centers shall do both of the following:
(1) Assist in the pickup of an old appliance.
(2) Certify to the commission that the energy inefficient model
was or will be destroyed or dismantled in an environmentally sound
manner.
(f) The commission may contract with an appropriate entity to
implement and administer this article.
Article 4. Home Building Standards Grant and Loan Program
25433. The guidelines developed by the commission pursuant to
Section 25495 shall be utilized by the commission for the purpose of
determining eligibility for the construction or retrofit projects in
Section 25434.
25434. (a) (1) A small business or person of low income may apply
to the commission to receive a grant for an eligible construction or
retrofit project.
(2) The amount of a grant for an eligible construction or retrofit
project shall not exceed ____ dollars ($____).
(3) A grant shall be made only for an eligible construction or
retrofit project that will be as energy-efficient as a project that
utilizes the standards developed pursuant to Section 25495.
(4) The amount of the grant received by the grant recipient shall
be reduced pro rata by any other assistance received by the grant
recipient for the eligible construction or retrofit project.
(b) (1) A developer of housing for the persons described in
subdivision (b) of Section 25431, any residential homeowner or
homebuyer, or small business, may apply for a 2 percent low-interest
loan for an eligible construction or retrofit project.
(2) The amount of a loan for an eligible construction or retrofit
project shall not exceed _____ dollars ($___).
(3) A loan shall be made only for an eligible construction or
retrofit project that will be as energy efficient as a project that
utilizes the standards developed pursuant to Section 25495.
(c) For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Eligible construction or retrofit project" means a new or
retrofit construction project for a building owned or to be owned by
a small business or a residence owned or to be owned by a homeowner
that complies with the guidelines developed by the commission
pursuant to Section 25495.
(2) "Person of low income" means a person of low income as defined
in Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Small business" means a small business as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 14837 of the Government
Code.
Article 5. Small Business Refrigeration Tax Credit
25435. The commission shall administer the small business
refrigeration tax credit, as provided for in Section 17053.95 of the
Revenue and Taxation Code.
Article 6. Miscellaneous
25436. (1) The commission shall adopt regulations for purposes of
this chapter as emergency regulations in accordance with Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11349) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code. For purposes of that chapter of the
Government Code, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code,
the adoption of the regulations shall be considered by the Office of
Administrative Law to be necessary for the immediate preservation of
the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare.
(2) To the extent possible, the commission shall use existing
energy efficiency appliance standards.
SEC. 2. Section 17053.95 is added to the Revenue and Taxation
Code, to read:
17053.95. (a) For each taxable year beginning on or after January
1, 2002, there shall be allowed as a credit against the "net tax,"
as defined in Section 17039, a credit for a small business equal to
30 percent of the cost paid or incurred during the taxable year for
replacing a commercial refrigeration unit with a more
energy-efficient model, not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000).
(b) "Small business" means a small business as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 14837 of the Government
Code.
(c) In the case where the credit allowed by this section exceeds
the "net tax," the excess may be carried over to reduce the "net tax"
in the following year, and the succeeding four years if necessary,
until the credit is exhausted.
SEC. 3. The sum of three hundred seventy-five million dollars
($375,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for
allocation in accordance with the following schedule:
(a) Fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) shall be expended for the
consumer-based program that fosters the development of emerging
renewable technologies in distributed generation applications, as
described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 383.5 of the
Public Utilities Code. At least twenty-five million dollars
($25,000,000) of this amount shall be allocated by the commission for
photovoltaic technologies, as described in subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 383.5 of the Public
Utilities Code and the remainder shall be allocated by the commission
for solar thermal electric, fuel cell technologies that utilize
renewable fuels, and wind turbines of not more than 10 kilowatts
rated electrical capacity per customer site as described in that
subparagraph.
(b) Two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) shall be expended
in accordance with Section 25431 of the Public Resources Code, for a
grant program for qualified individuals for the replacement of energy
inefficient appliances.
(c) One hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be expended
in accordance with Section 25434 of the Public Resources Code, for a
loan or a grant for an eligible construction or retrofit project.
(d) Twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) shall be expended
for the Business Conservation Incentive Plan provided for in Article
2 (commencing with Section 25426) of Chapter 5.3 of Division 15 of
the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to implement energy conservation programs to address the
energy crisis of the winter of 2001 as soon as possible, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.