BILL NUMBER: SBX1 2 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alarcon
JANUARY 17, 2001
An act to amend Sections 382, 739.1, and 2790 of, and to add
Section 382.1 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to public
utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 2, as introduced, Alarcon. Public utilities.
Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish
a program of assistance to low-income electric and gas customers,
which is referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or
CARE program.
This bill would establish the Low-Income Oversight Board for the
purpose of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of low-income
programs. The bill would require, beginning in 2002, the Low-Income
Oversight Board to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of both
program implementation and the effectiveness of specific energy
efficiency services on a periodic basis.
The bill would require the commission to establish the CARE
discount at 30% and establish eligibility for individuals with
incomes at or below 200% of the state poverty level or 60% of the
state median income, whichever is higher. The bill would authorize
the commission to increase the level of the discount or lower the
eligibility level based on an assessment of customer need.
The bill would require public utility electrical and gas
corporations to establish 95% penetration goals to increase
participation in CARE. The bill would require the commission to
adjust the current CARE balancing account of the utilities to ensure
for maximum efficiency and greater program outreach.
The bill would require public utility electrical corporations to
work with public utility telephone corporations to streamline the
eligibility for low-income rate programs and would require that
customers already enrolled in the Universal Lifeline Telephone
Services program be automatically enrolled in the CARE program and be
given the option to opt out of the program.
The bill would require weatherization programs to use the needs
assessment conducted by the Low-Income Oversight Board to maximize
efficiency of delivery.
Because a violation of the Public Utilities Act is a crime, this
bill would change the definition of that crime by adding new
requirements for electric utilities, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
The bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose
of increasing state revenues within the meaning of Section 3 of
Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and this would require
for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of
the Legislature.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 382 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
382. (a) Programs provided to low-income electricity
customers, including, but not limited to, targeted energy-efficiency
services and the California Alternative Rates for Energy Program
shall be funded at not less than 1996 authorized levels based on an
assessment of customer need. The commission shall allocate funds
necessary to meet the low-income objectives in this section.
(b) Beginning in 2002, an assessment of need shall be conducted
periodically by the Low-Income Oversight Board pursuant to Section
382.1 to enhance program delivery and ensure that funding adequately
reflects low-income electricity customers' energy expenditures,
hardship, and economic burdens.
SEC. 2. Section 382.1 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
382.1. (a) A Low-Income Oversight Board shall be established and
comprised of low-income community experts, members of the Governor's
staff, designated representatives of the commissioner, employees of
the Department of Community Services and Development, and the public
utility electric corporations for the purpose of all of the
following:
(1) Overseeing the development of an assessment of customer need.
(2) To ensure a comprehensive needs assessment is conducted of
both program implementation and the effectiveness of specific energy
efficiency services on a periodic basis.
(3) To ensure the most effective and efficient implementation of
programs that provide assistance to low-income electricity customers.
(b) The Low-Income Oversight Board shall report directly to the
Legislature and the members of the commission, but shall act
independently from the commission.
(c) The commission shall provide technical support to the
Low-Income Oversight Board.
SEC. 3. Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
739.1. (a) The commission shall establish a program of assistance
to low-income electric and gas customers, the cost of which shall
not be borne solely by any single class of customer. The program
shall be referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or
CARE program. The commission shall establish the CARE discount
at 30 percent. Eligibility shall be established for individuals with
incomes at or below 200 percent of the state poverty level or 60
percent of the state median income, whichever is higher. The
commission may increase the level of the discount or lower the
eligibility level based on an assessment of customer need.
(b) Public utility electric and gas corporations shall
establish 95 percent penetration goals to increase program
participation. The commission shall adjust the current CARE
balancing account corporation to ensure for maximum efficiency and
greater program outreach.
(c) Public utility electric corporations shall work with public
utility telephone corporations to streamline the eligibility for
low-income rate programs. Customers already enrolled in the
Universal Lifeline Telephone Services program shall automatically be
enrolled in the CARE program. Customers who are automatically
enrolled in the CARE program may choose to opt out of the program.
The commission shall work with public utilities to meet the
low-income objectives in this section.
(d) The commission's program of assistance to
low-imcome low-income electric and gas customers
shall, as soon as practicable, include nonprofit group living
facilities specified by the commission, if the commission finds that
the residents in these facilities substantially meet the commission's
low-income eligibility requirements and there is a feasible process
for certifying that the assistance shall be used for the direct
benefit, such as improved quality of care or improved food service,
of the low-income residents in the facilities. The commission shall
authorize utilities to offer discounts to eligible facilities
licensed or permitted by appropriate state or local agencies, and to
facilities, including women's shelters, hospices, and homeless
shelters, that may not have a license or permit but provide other
proof satisfactory to the utility that they are eligible to
participate in the program.
SEC. 4. Section 2790 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
2790. (a) The commission shall require an electrical or gas
corporation to perform home weatherization services for low-income
customers, as determined by the commission under Section 739, if the
commission determines that a significant need for those services
exists in the corporation's service territory, taking into
consideration both the cost effectiveness of the services and the
policy of reducing the hardships facing low-income households.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, "weatherization" may
include, where feasible, any of the following measures for any
dwelling unit:
(A) Attic insulation.
(B) Caulking.
(C) Weatherstripping.
(D) Low flow showerhead.
(E) Waterheater blanket.
(F) Door and building envelope repairs that reduce air
infiltration.
(2) The commission shall direct any electrical or gas corporation
to provide as many of these measures as are feasible for each
eligible low-income dwelling unit.
(c) "Weatherization" may also include other building conservation
measures, energy-efficient appliances, and energy education programs
determined by the commission to be feasible, taking into
consideration for all measures both the cost effectiveness of the
measures as a whole and the policy of reducing energy-related
hardships facing low-income households.
(d) Weatherization programs shall use the needs assessment
pursuant to Section 382.1 to maximize efficiency of delivery.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.