BILL ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
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| |48(Wright) |
|-------------------------------+----------------------------|
| | |
|-------------------------------+----------------------------|
|Hearing Date: 9/10/01 |Amended: 9/5/01 |
|-------------------------------+----------------------------|
|Consultant: Lisa Matocq |Policy Vote: E, U & C |
| |9-0 |
| | |
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 48xx enacts the Solar Training,
Education, and Certification Act of 2001, as specified.
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2001-02 2002-03
2003-04 Fund
EDD Probably $500+
Various
Contractors State Probably minor costs
Special*
License Board
*Contractors' License Fund
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral
to the Suspense File. The bill, among other things:
requires the Employment Development Department (EDD), in
coordination with the Contractors' State License Board
and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to
administer a solar training program, with specified
program elements, to ensure that solar energy products
and service providers have and maintain the necessary
skills, training, and certification,
provides that the solar training program shall be funded
by available job training funds in existence on the
effective date of the bill. STAFF NOTES that it is
unclear whether there are job training funds available
for this purpose, and that if the program is intended to
be ongoing, this provision should be amended to identify
the funding source in subsequent years,
allows local governments to administer programs to
encourage building construction using solar thermal and
photovoltaic systems, as specified,
makes changes to the California Energy Commission's (CEC)
energy system grant program related to battery storage
technologies certification.
Costs to EDD are probably at least $500,000 annually.
STAFF NOTES that although the bill requires EDD to
administer the program, it is unclear which entity would be
required to develop curriculum and provide the actual
training.
The provisions of the bill related to CEC result in no
increased costs.
Because the provisions of the bill related to local
governments are permissive, any increased costs would be
nonreimbursable.