BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1529
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   January 24, 2002

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                   AB 1529 (Wyman) - As Amended:  January 10, 2002 

          Policy Committee:                              U & CVote:15-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Public Utilities Commission  
          (PUC) to act as expeditiously as possible, and certainly not  
          exceed the timelines provided by law, when reviewing or acting  
          on an application for a certificate of public convenience and  
          necessity (CPCN) allowing construction of any gas or electric  
          plant, line or extension.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct fiscal effect on the PUC since the bill does not  
          include penalties if the PUC does not act as expeditiously as  
          possible and within existing timelines.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author believes it is important to reinforce  
            the current accelerated PUC review process by requiring the  
            commission to act expeditiously and within the timelines  
            already spelled out in existing law.   The author believes new  
            or expanded electric or natural gas facilities are vital  
            components in addressing the current instability between  
            energy supply and demand in California and, to that end, wants  
            to see this review process operate expeditiously and strictly  
            within the current timelines provided.
           
          2)The CPCN Review Process  .  The PUC considers several factors,  
            including cost, reliability, need, and environmental impact,  
            when reviewing an application for a CPCN.  For projects likely  
            to cause significant environmental impacts, the PUC is  
            required to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) under  
            the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).








                                                                  AB 1529
                                                                  Page  2


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