BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 460
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2001

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                    AB 460 (Wyman) - As Amended:  April 17, 2001 

          Policy Committee:                              Natural  
          ResourcesVote:10-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill appropriates $10 million from the General Fund to the  
          California Energy Commission (CEC) to fund Path 15-related  
          environmental studies to be completed by the Transmission  
          Authority of Northern California (TANC).

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Appropriates $10 million GF to the CEC.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  .  Path 15 is a set of high-voltage power lines  
            located between Los Banos and Gates (near Kettleman City)   
            that move electricity back and forth between northern and  
            southern California.  A "bottleneck"  can occur on Path 15  
            during times of high energy use in southern California which  
            has been a significant cause for blackouts that have occurred  
            in recent months.  

            A two-phase project is being pursued by municipal utilities,  
            the state and the federal government to expand the capacity of  
            Path 15 to, in turn, increase reliability and accessibility.   
            The author argues that state funds are needed to pay for a  
            timely environmental study of this project.
           
          2)Rationale  .  Environmental studies related to the capacity  
            expansion of Path 15 have been initiated by TANC.  According  
            to the author, TANC's internal funding is almost gone and  
            unless additional funding is forthcoming, environmental  
            studies would be suspended for several months so that seasonal  








                                                                  AB 460
                                                                  Page  2

            environmental considerations are adequately covered.



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081