BILL NUMBER: AB 1138 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member La Suer
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to add Section 63025.3 to and
repeal Section 63025.3 of the Government Code, relating to
infrastructure development , and declaring the urgency
thereof, to take effect immediately .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1138, as amended, LaSuer. Infrastructure development:
low-interest loans.
The existing Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic
Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and
Economic Development Bank within state government with a board of
directors having prescribed duties. Existing law authorizes the bank
board to make secured loans and undertake related activities for the
purpose of financing projects, as defined, that relate to economic
development and infrastructure improvements, including, but not
limited to, utilities and power facilities.
This bill would authorize until January 1, 2007, the
bank board to make a low-interest loan to a sponsor or a
participating party, as defined, for costs associated with the
repowering, as defined, of existing peak demand electrical
powerplant facilities or for the planning, design,
construction, and startup of peak demand powerplant
facilities of up to 150 megawatts, subject to specified conditions.
The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to provide
incentives to build new power plants repower
existing powerplant facilities for peak demand periods and
provide for construction and startup of new peak demand powerplant
facilities in California.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3 majority .
Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local
program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares that in
order to encourage increased power generation in California, it would
be useful to provide incentives to build new powerplants in
California. all of the following:
(a) Beginning in the summer of 2000 and continuing to the present,
the State of California has experienced unprecedented energy
shortages, which have contributed to enormous increases in the prices
paid for electricity in California's wholesale power market and by
all ratepayers.
(b) These sudden and severe energy shortages threaten the health
and safety of all California citizens, weaken the vital nature of the
high-technology economy which is exclusive to this state, reduce the
productivity of the state's farming community, and disrupt the
education of the children of the state.
(c) Because it is likely that serious shortages of electricity
will continue until sufficient additional generation capacity is
installed and operational, which could require several years, it is
the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to facilitate the
long-term well-being of the citizens of this state by providing an
incentive for businesses to invest in electrical generation by making
private projects eligible for financing from the California
Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank.
(d) It is further the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
act to provide an incentive for the purposes of repowering existing
electrical powerplant facilities for peak demand periods and to plan
and design construction and startup of peak demand powerplant
facilities so they may expand their business and simultaneously
assist in producing and supplying electricity to the consumers of
this state.
SEC. 2. Section 63025.3 is added to the Government Code to read:
63025.3. (a) In addition to other powers set forth in this
division, the bank board may make a low-interest loan to a sponsor or
a participating party for either of the following:
(1) Costs associated with the repowering of any existing
facilities for the generation of electrical power.
powerplant facilities generating electrical power during peak demand
periods.
(2) Costs associated with the planning, design, construction, and
startup of powerplant facilities for the generation of
electrical power of up to 150 megawatts that are intended to operate
only during peak demand periods.
(b) Loans made pursuant to this section shall be subject to the
following conditions:
(1) The sponsor or participating party shall agree to give
(1) The sponsor or participating party is a business licensed and
headquartered in this state.
(2) The sponsor or participating party shall agree to give the
Department of Water Resources, California electrical corporations,
municipal corporations, irrigation districts, or other public
electric utility districts a right of first refusal to purchase any
electricity produced by the powerplant facility for which the loan is
made.
(3) The powerplant facility for which the loan is made is not or
shall not be diesel operated.
(4) The electrical power generated by the powerplant facility for
which the loan is made shall be used exclusively within the state.
(5) The loan amount shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost
of the project.
(c) For purposes of this section, "powerplant facility" means an
electric transmission line, thermal powerplant, wind generating
facility, hydroelectric electrical generating facility, or solar
electrical generating facility.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2007, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2007, deletes or extends
that date. California utilities a right of first
refusal to purchase any electricity produced by the facility for
which the loan is made.
(2) The participating party shall have an existing contract with
the Independent System Operator or the Department of Water Resources.
(3) The electrical power generated by the facility for which the
loan is made shall be used exclusively within the state.
(4) The loan amount shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost
of the project.
SEC. 3. 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 provide timely relief from rapidly increasing
wholesale energy costs and retail energy rates that are endangering
the public peace, health, and safety, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately.