BILL NUMBER: SBX1 6 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 13, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY FEBRUARY 27, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 20, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 15, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 14, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 13, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senators Burton and Bowen
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Florez, Goldberg,
Hertzberg, Keeley, Shelley, and Wright)
(Coauthors: Senators Alpert, Escutia, Karnette, Kuehl, Murray,
Polanco, Scott, and Vincent)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Aroner, Cedillo, Chan, Firebaugh,
Frommer, Jackson, Koretz, Papan, Romero, Steinberg, Strom-Martin,
Thomson , Washington , and Wiggins)
JANUARY 18, 2001
An act to add Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 3300) to the
Public Utilities Code, relating to electrical power , and making
an appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 6, as amended, Burton. California Consumer Power and
Conservation Financing Authority.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations
and other specified entities.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission) to certify sufficient
sites and related facilities that are required to provide a supply of
electric power sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power
statewide. The Energy Commission administers existing law with
respect to energy conservation.
This bill would create the California Consumer Power and
Conservation Financing Authority, with powers and responsibilities as
prescribed, including the issuance of revenue bonds, for the
purposes of augmenting electric generating facilities and to ensure a
sufficient and reliable supply of electricity, financing incentives
for investment in cost-effective energy-efficient appliances and
energy demand reduction, achieving a specified energy capacity
reserve level, providing financing for the retrofit of inefficient
electric powerplants, renewable energy and conservation, and, where
appropriate, developing strategies for the authority to facilitate a
dependable supply of natural gas at reasonable prices to the public.
The bill would create in the State Treasury the California Consumer
Power and Conservation Financing Authority Fund, and would
continuously appropriate all money in the fund, upon
appropriation, would be available except as specified,
for the support of the authority.
The bill would prohibit the authority from approving any new
program, financing enterprise , or
project, on or after January 1, 2007, unless authority to approve
such an activity is granted by statute enacted on or before January
1, 2007.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 3300) is added to
the Public Utilities Code, to read:
DIVISION 1.5. CALIFORNIA CONSUMER POWER AND CONSERVATION
FINANCING AUTHORITY ACT
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
3300. The Legislature finds and declares that in order to furnish
the citizens of California with reliable, affordable electrical
power, to ensure sufficient power reserves, to assure stability and
rationality in California's electricity market, to encourage energy
efficiency and conservation as well as the use of renewable energy
resources, and to protect the public health, welfare, and safety, the
state needs to finance, purchase, lease, own, operate, acquire, or
otherwise provide financial assistance for public and private
facilities for the generation and transmission of electricity and for
renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation programs.
3301. This division shall be known and may be cited as the
California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority Act.
3302. As used in this division, unless the context otherwise
requires, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Act" means the California Consumer Power and Conservation
Financing Authority Act.
(b) "Authority" means the California Consumer Power and
Conservation Financing Authority established pursuant to Section 3320
and any board, commission, department, or officer succeeding to the
functions thereof, or to whom the powers conferred upon the authority
by this division shall be given by law.
(c) "Board" means the Board of Directors of the California
Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority.
(d) "Bond purchase agreement" means a contractual agreement
executed between the authority and an underwriter or underwriters
and, where appropriate, a participating party, whereby the authority
agrees to sell bonds issued pursuant to this division.
(e) "Bonds" means bonds, including structured, senior, and
subordinated bonds or other securities; loans; notes, including bond
revenue or grant anticipation notes; certificates of indebtedness;
commercial paper; floating rate and variable maturity securities; and
any other evidences of indebtedness or ownership, including
certificates of participation or beneficial interest, asset backed
certificates, or lease-purchase or installment purchase agreements,
whether taxable or excludable from gross income for state and federal
income taxation purposes.
(f) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
(g) "Cost," as applied to a program, project or portion thereof
financed under this division, means all or any part of the cost of
construction, improvement, repair, reconstruction, renovation, and
acquisition of all lands, structures, improved or unimproved real or
personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, licenses,
easements, and interests acquired or used for a project; the cost of
demolishing or removing or relocating any buildings or structures on
land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which
the buildings or structures may be moved; the cost of all machinery
and equipment; financing charges; the costs of any environmental
mitigation; the costs of issuance of bonds or other indebtedness;
interest prior to, during, and for a period after, completion of the
project, as determined by the authority; provisions for working
capital; reserves for principal and interest; reserves for reduction
of costs for loans or other financial assistance; reserves for
maintenance, extension, enlargements, additions, replacements,
renovations, and improvements; and the cost of architectural,
engineering, financial, appraisal, and legal services, plans,
specifications, estimates, administrative expenses, and other
expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility of
any project, enterprise, or program or incidental to the completion
or financing of any project or program.
(h) "Electrical corporation" has the same meaning as that term is
defined in Section 218.
(i) "Energy Commission" means the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission.
(j) "Enterprise" means a revenue-producing improvement, building,
system, plant, works, facilities, or undertaking used for or useful
for the generation or production of electric energy for lighting,
heating, and power for public or private uses. Enterprise includes,
but is not limited to, all parts of the enterprise, all appurtenances
to it, lands, easements, rights in land, water rights, contract
rights, franchises, buildings, structures, improvements, equipment,
and facilities appurtenant or relating to the enterprise.
(k) "Financial assistance" in connection with a project ,
enterprise or program, includes, but is not limited to, any
combination of grants, loans, the proceeds of bonds issued by the
authority, insurance, guarantees or other credit enhancements or
liquidity facilities, and contributions of money, property, labor, or
other things of value, as may be approved by resolution of the
board; the purchase or retention of authority bonds, the bonds of a
participating party for their retention or for sale by the authority,
or the issuance of authority bonds or the bonds of a special purpose
trust used to fund the cost of a project or program for which a
participating party is directly or indirectly liable, including, but
not limited to, bonds, the security for which is provided in whole or
in part pursuant to the powers granted by this division; bonds for
which the authority has provided a guarantee or enhancement; or any
other type of assistance determined to be appropriate by the
authority.
(l) "Fund" means the California Consumer Power and Conservation
Financing Authority Fund.
(m) "Loan agreement" means a contractual agreement executed
between the authority and a participating party that provides that
the authority will loan funds to the participating party and that the
participating party will repay the principal and pay the interest
and redemption premium, if any, on the loan.
(n) "Local publicly owned electric utility" has the same meaning
as that term is defined in Section 9604.
(o) "Participating party" means either of the following:
(1) Any person, company, corporation, partnership, firm, or other
entity or group of entities, whether organized for profit or not for
profit, engaged in business or operations within the state and that
applies for financial assistance from the authority for the purpose
of implementing a project or program in a manner prescribed by the
authority.
(2) Any subdivision of the state or local government, including,
but not limited to, departments, agencies, commissions, cities,
counties, nonprofit corporations, special districts, assessment
districts, and joint powers authorities within the state or any
combination of these subdivisions, that has, or proposes to acquire,
an interest in a project, or that operates or proposes to operate a
program under Section 3365, and that makes application to the
authority for financial assistance in a manner prescribed by the
authority.
(p) "Program" means a program that provides financial assistance,
as provided in Article 6 (commencing with Section 3365).
(q) "Project" means plants, facilities, equipment, appliances,
structures, expansions, and improvements within the state that serve
the purposes of this division as approved by the authority, and all
activities and expenses necessary to initiate and complete those
projects described in Article 5 (commencing with Section 3350)
and Article 7 (commencing with Section 3368), of Chapter 3 .
(r) "Revenues" means all receipts, purchase payments, loan
repayments, lease payments, rents, fees and charges, and all other
income or receipts derived by the authority from an enterprise, or by
the authority or a participating party from any other financing
arrangement undertaken by the authority or a participating party,
including, but not limited to, all receipts from a bond purchase
agreement, and any income or revenue derived from the investment of
any money in any fund or account of the authority or a participating
party.
(s) "State" means the State of California.
3304. Any action taken pursuant to this division is exempt from
the Administrative Procedure Act, as defined in Section 11370 of the
Government Code.
CHAPTER 2. PURPOSE OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER POWER AND
CONSERVATION FINANCING AUTHORITY
3310. The authority may only exercise its powers pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 3340) of Chapter 3 for the
following purposes:
(a) Establish, finance, purchase, lease, own, operate, acquire, or
construct generating facilities and other projects and enterprises
, on it's to supplement private sector power
in operation or under development as of the effective date of this
section, on its own or through agreements with public and
private third parties or joint ventures with public or private
entities, or provide financial assistance for projects or programs by
participating parties, to ensure a sufficient and reliable supply of
electricity for California's consumers at just and reasonable rates.
(b) Finance programs, administered by the Energy Commission, the
commission, and other approved participating parties for consumers
and businesses to invest in cost-effective energy efficient
appliances, renewable energy projects, and other programs that will
reduce the demand for energy in California.
(c) Achieve an adequate energy reserve capacity in California by
2006. within 5 years of the effective date of
this division.
(d) Provide financing for owners of aged, inefficient, electric
powerplants to perform necessary retrofits to improve the efficiency
and environmental performances of those powerplants.
CHAPTER 3. THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER POWER AND CONSERVATION
FINANCING AUTHORITY
Article 1. Creation of the Authority
3320. (a) There is hereby created in the state government the
California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority, which
shall be responsible for administering this division.
(b) The authority shall implement the purposes of Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 3310), and to that end finance projects and
programs in accordance with this division, all to the mutual benefit
of the people of the state and to protect their health, welfare, and
safety.
Article 2. Board of Directors
3325. (a) The authority shall be governed by a
seven-member five-member board of directors that
shall consist of the following persons:
(1) Four individuals appointed by the Governor, subject to
confirmation by the Senate. These four members shall have
considerable experience in power generation, conservation, and
financing.
(2) A member of the public appointed by the Senate Rules
Committee.
(3) A member of the public appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly.
(4) considerable experience in power generation,
natural gas transportation or storage, energy conservation,
financing, or ratepayer advocacy.
(2) The State Treasurer.
(b) (1) For the initial term, the appointed members shall
serve staggered terms as follows:
(A) The member appointed first shall serve a term of four years.
(B) The member appointed second shall serve a term of three years.
(C) The member appointed third shall serve a term of two years.
(D) The member appointed fourth shall serve a term of one year.
(2) The second and any subsequent terms shall be for four years.
(c) Any appointed member of the board shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointing power.
(c)
(d) A quorum is necessary for any action to be taken by the
board. Four Three of the members shall
constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of four
three board members shall be necessary for any
action to be taken by the board.
(d)
(e) Except as provided in this subdivision, the members of
the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed
for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of
their duties to the extent that reimbursement for these expenses is
not otherwise provided or payable by another public agency, and shall
receive one hundred dollars ($100) for each full day of attending
meetings of the authority.
3326. (a) The members of the board shall be subject to the
Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section
81000)) of the Government Code, the applicable rules and standards of
the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and all other applicable
provisions of law.
(b) The board may purchase insurance for its fiduciaries or for
itself to cover liability or losses occurring by reason of the act or
omission of a fiduciary, if the insurance permits recourse by the
insurer against the fiduciary in the case of a breach of a fiduciary
obligation by the fiduciary.
3327. Meetings of the board shall be open to the public and shall
be conducted in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act
(Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
3328. The California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code)
applies to all records of the authority.
Article 3. Chief Executive Officer
3330. The chief executive officer shall manage and conduct the
business and affairs of the authority and the fund subject to the
direction of the board. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the board may assign to the executive director, by
resolution, those duties generally necessary or convenient to carry
out its powers and purposes under this division. Any action
involving final approval of any bonds, notes, loans, or other
financial assistance shall require the approval of a majority of the
members of the board.
Article 4. Powers of the Authority
3340. The authority is authorized and empowered to do any of the
following:
(a) Adopt an official seal.
(b) Sue and be sued in its own name.
(c) Employ or contract with officers and employees to administer
the authority. The authority may contract for the services of a
chief executive officer, who shall serve at the pleasure of the
board. The chief executive officer, subject to the approval of the
board, may contract for the services of other persons as are needed
to effectuate the purposes of this division. These contracts shall
not be subject to any otherwise applicable provisions of the
Government Code and the Public Contract Code.
(d) Exercise the power of eminent domain.
(e) Adopt rules and regulations for the regulation of its affairs
and the conduct of its business.
(f) Do all things generally necessary or convenient to carry out
its powers under, and the purposes of, this division.
3341. In connection with the purposes of this division, the
authority may do any or all of the following:
(a) Issue bonds, from time to time, as further provided in Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 3380.1), to pay all or part of the cost
of any enterprise, project, or program, or to otherwise carry out the
purposes of this division.
(b) Enter into joint powers agreements with eligible public
agencies pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(c) Subject to any statutory or constitutional limitation on their
use, do any of the following as may, in the determination of the
authority, be necessary or convenient for the successful development,
conduct, or financing of a project, program, or enterprise, or for
carrying out the purposes of this division:
(1) Engage the services, including, without limitation, the
services of private consultants; attorneys; financial professionals
and advisors; engineers; architects; construction, land use and
environmental experts; and accountants, to render professional and
technical assistance and advice.
(2) Contract for engineering, architectural, accounting, or other
services of appropriate state agencies.
(3) Pay the reasonable costs, including, without limitation, costs
of consulting engineers, architects, accountants, and construction,
land use, and environmental experts employed by the authority or any
participating party. Except as otherwise provided in Section 3341.5,
those costs shall be recovered from participating parties.
(d) Acquire, lease, take title to, and sell by installment sale or
otherwise, lands, structures, real or personal property, rights,
rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands
that are located within the state, as the authority determines to be
necessary or convenient for an enterprise or the financing of a
project, upon terms and conditions the authority considers to be
reasonable.
(e) Make, receive, or serve as a conduit for the making of, or
otherwise provide for, grants, contributions, guarantees, insurance,
credit enhancements or liquidity facilities, or other financial
enhancements to a participating party as financial assistance for a
project or program. The sources may include bond proceeds, dedicated
taxes, state appropriations, federal appropriations, federal grants
and loan funds, public and private sector retirement system funds,
and proceeds of loans from the Pooled Money Investment Account, or
any other source of money, property, labor, or other things of value.
(f) Make loans to any participating party, either directly or by
making a loan to a lending institution or other financial
intermediary, in connection with the financing of a project or
program in accordance with an agreement between the authority and a
participating party, either as a sole lender or in participation with
other lenders.
(g) Make loans to any participating party, either directly or by
making a loan to a lending institution, in accordance with an
agreement between the authority and the participating party to
refinance indebtedness incurred by the participating party in
connection with projects undertaken and completed prior to any
agreement with the authority or expectation that the authority would
provide financing, either as a sole lender or in participation with
other lenders. The power generated by those projects shall be
subject to the terms and conditions specified by the authority in the
agreement and pursuant to Section 3351.
(h) Mortgage all or any portion of the authority's interest in a
project or enterprise and the property on which any project or
enterprise is located, whether owned or thereafter acquired,
including the granting of a security interest in any property,
tangible or intangible.
(i) Assign or pledge all or any portion of the authority's
interest in assets, things of value, mortgages, deeds of trust,
bonds, bond purchase agreements, loan agreements, indentures of
mortgage or trust, or similar instruments, notes, and security
interests in property, tangible or intangible and the revenues
therefrom, of a participating party to which the authority has made
loans, and the revenues therefrom, including payment or income from
any interest owned or held by the authority, for the benefit of the
holders of bonds.
(j) Lease the project being financed to a participating party,
upon terms and conditions that the authority deems proper; charge and
collect rents therefor; terminate any lease upon the failure of the
lessee to comply with any of the obligations thereof; include in any
lease, if desired, provisions that the lessee shall have options to
renew the lease for a period or periods, and at rents determined by
the authority; purchase any or all of the project; or, upon payment
of all the indebtedness incurred by the authority for the financing
of the project, the authority may convey, any or all of the project
to the lessee or lessees. The power generated by those projects
shall be subject to the terms and conditions specified by the
authority in the agreement and pursuant to Section 3351.
(k) (1) Issue, obtain, or aid in obtaining, from any department or
agency of the United States, from other agencies of the state, or
from any private company, any insurance or guarantee to or for, or
any letter or line of credit regarding, the payment or repayment of
interest or principal, or both, or any part thereof, on any bond,
loan, lease, or obligation or any instrument evidencing or securing
the same, made or entered into pursuant to this division.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, enter
into any agreement, contract or other instrument regarding any
insurance, guarantee, letter or line of credit specified in paragraph
(1), and accept payment in the manner and form provided therein in
the event of default by a participating party.
(3) Assign any insurance, guarantee, letter or line of credit
specified in paragraph (1) as security for bonds issued by the
authority.
(l) Enter into any agreement or contract, execute any instrument,
and perform any act or thing necessary or convenient to, directly or
indirectly, secure the authority's bonds or a participating party's
obligations to the authority, including, but not limited to, bonds of
a participating party purchased by the authority for retention or
sale, with funds or moneys that are legally available and that are
due or payable to the participating party by reason of any grant,
allocation, apportionment, or appropriation of the state or agencies
thereof, to the extent that the Controller shall be the custodian at
any time of these funds or moneys, or with funds or moneys that are
or will be legally available to the participating party, the
authority, or the state or any agencies thereof by reason of any
grant, allocation, apportionment, or appropriation of the federal
government or agencies thereof; and in the event of written notice
that the participating party has not paid or is in default on its
obligations to the authority, direct the Controller to withhold
payment of those funds or moneys from the participating party over
which it is or will be custodian and to pay the same to the authority
or its assignee, or direct the state or any agencies thereof to
which any grant, allocation, apportionment, or appropriation of the
federal government or agencies thereof is or will be legally
available to pay the same upon receipt to the authority or its
assignee, until the default has been cured and the amounts then due
and unpaid have been paid to the authority or its assignee, or until
arrangements satisfactory to the authority have been made to cure the
default.
(m) Purchase, with the proceeds of the authority's bonds, bonds
issued by, or for the benefit of, any participating party in
connection with a project, pursuant to a bond purchase agreement or
otherwise. Bonds purchased pursuant to this division may be held by
the authority, pledged or assigned by the authority, or sold to
public or private purchasers at public or negotiated sale, in whole
or in part, separately or together with other bonds issued by the
authority, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, may be
bought by the authority at private sale.
(n) Enter into purchase and sale agreements with all entities,
public and private, including state and local government pension
funds, with respect to the sale or purchase of bonds.
3341.1. In connection with an enterprise, the authority may do
any or all of the following:
(a) Acquire any enterprise by gift, purchase, or eminent domain.
(b) Construct or improve any enterprise. By gift, lease,
purchase, eminent domain, or otherwise, it may acquire any real or
personal property, for an enterprise, except that no property of a
state public body may be acquired without its consent. The authority
may sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of
any real or personal property or any interest in such property. It
may lay out, open, extend, widen, straighten, establish, or change
the grade of any real property or public rights-of-way necessary or
convenient for any enterprise.
(c) Operate, maintain, repair, or manage all or any part of any
enterprise, including the leasing for commercial purposes of surplus
space or other space that is not economic to use for such enterprise.
(d) Adopt reasonable rules or regulations for the conduct of the
enterprise.
(e) Prescribe, revise, and collect charges for the services,
facilities, or energy furnished by the enterprise. The charges shall
be established and adjusted so as to provide funds sufficient with
other revenues and moneys available therefor, if any, to (1) pay the
principal of and interest on outstanding bonds of the authority
financing such enterprise as the same shall become due and payable,
(2) create and maintain reserves, including, without limitation,
operating and maintenance reserves and reserves required or provided
for in any resolution authorizing, or trust agreement securing such
bonds, and (3) pay operating and administrative costs of the
authority.
(f) Execute all instruments, perform all acts, and do all things
necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers granted by this
article.
3341.2. In connection with a project, the authority may do any or
all of the following:
(a) Determine the location and character of any project to be
financed under this division.
(b) Acquire, construct, enlarge, remodel, renovate, alter,
improve, furnish, equip, own, maintain, manage, repair, operate,
lease as lessee or lessor, or regulate any project to be financed
under this division.
(c) Contract with any participating party for the construction of
a project by such participating party.
(d) Enter into leases and agreements, as lessor or lessee, with
any participating party relating to the acquisition, construction,
and installation of any project, including real property, buildings,
equipment, and facilities of any kind or character.
(e) Establish, revise, charge and collect rates, rents, fees and
charges for a project. The rates, rents, fees, and charges shall be
established and adjusted in respect of the aggregate rates, rents,
fees, and charges from all projects so as to provide funds sufficient
with other revenues and moneys available therefor, if any, to (1)
pay the principal of and interest on outstanding bonds of the
authority financing such project as the same shall become due and
payable, (2) create and
maintain reserves, including, without limitation, operating and
maintenance reserves and reserves required or provided for in any
resolution authorizing, or trust agreement securing such bonds, and
(3) pay operating and administrative costs of the authority.
(f) Enter into contracts of sale with any participating party
covering any project financed by the authority.
(g) As an alternative to leasing or selling a project to a
participating party, finance the acquisition, construction, or
installation of a project by means of a loan to the participating
party.
(h) Execute all instruments, perform all acts, and do all things
necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers granted by this
article.
3341.5. In connection with the purposes of this division, the
authority shall charge and equitably apportion among participating
parties or other public or private entities the authority's
administrative costs and expenses, including operating and
financing-related costs incurred in the exercise of the powers and
duties conferred by this division, except to the extent that those
costs are related to one of the authority's own enterprises or
projects, in which case costs shall be included in the cost of
generating that electricity as provided in Section 3351.
3342. The fiscal powers granted to the authority by this division
may be exercised without regard or reference to any other
department, division, or agency of the state, except the Legislature
or as otherwise stated in this division. This division shall be
deemed to provide an alternative method of doing the things
authorized by this division, and shall be regarded as supplemental
and additional to powers conferred by other laws.
3343. No member of the board or any person executing bonds of the
authority pursuant to this division shall be personally liable on
the bonds or subject to any personal liability or accountability by
reason of the issuance thereof.
3344. All expenses incurred in carrying out this division shall
be payable solely from funds provided under the authority of this
division and no liability or obligation shall be imposed upon the
State of California and, none shall be incurred by the authority
beyond the extent to which moneys shall have been provided under this
division. Under no circumstances shall the authority create any
debt, liability, or obligation on the part of the State of California
payable from any source whatsoever other than the moneys provided
under this division.
3345. The authority's operating budget shall be subject to review
and appropriation in the annual Budget Act. For purposes of
this section, the authority's operating budget shall include the
costs of personnel, administration, and overhead.
3346. The authority shall, on or before January 1 of each year,
prepare and submit to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee, and the chairperson of the committee in
each house that considers appropriations, a report regarding its
activities and expenditures pursuant to this division.
3347. The authority shall contract for an independent
3347. The Bureau of State Audits shall perform an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the authority's efforts in
achieving its purposes as described in Section 3310. The evaluation
shall include recommendations as to whether there is a continued need
for the authority beyond January 1, 2007. The evaluation shall be
submitted to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1,
2005.
Article 5. Generation Facilities
3350. In evaluating the need for the
eligibility for financing of additional generation
facilities, the authority shall utilize the expertise and data of the
Energy Commission and the Independent System Operator, or its
successor, as that expertise and data relate to forecasts of electric
facilities, the authority shall utilize the Energy
Commission's and the Independent System Operator's, or their
successor's, information relating to the need for additional
generating facilities and their forecasts of electric supply
and demand for the state.
3351. (a) All generation-related projects and enterprises
financed pursuant to this division shall provide electricity to
the consumers of this state at the cost of generating that
electricity , including the costs of financing those projects or
enterprises . To the extent that electricity is not needed in
the state, or that it is financially advantageous to California
consumers, the electricity may be sold outside the state.
(b) If a participating party is an electrical corporation, the
commission shall determine the cost of generating electricity and to
which entities the electricity is sold.
(c) If a participating party is a local publicly owned electric
utility seeking to provide electricity to consumers in its service
territory, the governing board of that utility shall determine the
cost of generating electricity and to which entities the electricity
is sold.
(d) If neither subdivision (b) nor subdivision (c) applies, the
authority shall determine the cost of generating electricity and to
which entities the electricity is sold, consistent with subdivision
(a).
3352. In addition to the other powers provided in this division,
the activities of the authority under this article are intended to
supplement private sector power generation in operation or under
development , consistent with achieving reasonable energy
capacity reserves within five years of the effective date of the
division.
3353. The authority shall have the authority to receive and act
on applications for financial assistance from owners of existing
powerplants that are 30 years old or older whose owners or operators
commit to undertake capacity expansion through facility retrofits,
new construction, or both, that will improve the efficiency and
environmental performance of generation facilities.
3354. All generation facilities constructed or improved pursuant
to this division shall comply with Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
3355. The authority may not invest in any nuclear facilities or
develop additional hydroelectric facilities without first receiving
specific statutory authorization to do so on a project-by-project
basis.
Article 6. Renewable Energy and Conservation
3365. The authority may provide loans, utilizing up to one
billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) of the bond authority, under terms
and conditions approved by the authority, to any participating party,
which shall use that loan to make loans available to California
consumers and businesses for all of the following purposes:
(a) The purchase of consumer appliances and home improvements with
electric and gas energy efficiency or renewable energy
characteristics, as approved by the Energy Commission, the
commission, or a participating local publicly owned electric utility,
as applicable, and certified by the applicable party as having been
installed or completed.
(b) The purchase or lease of business equipment and facility
improvements with electric and gas energy efficiency or renewable
energy characteristics, as approved by the Energy Commission, the
commission, or a participating local publicly owned electric utility,
as applicable, and certified by the applicable party as having been
installed or completed.
(c) Any other electric or natural gas energy conservation program
or any program for the use of renewable energy resources, as approved
by the Energy Commission, the commission, or a participating local
publicly owned electric utility, as applicable, and certified by the
applicable party as having been installed or completed.
3366. As a condition of receipt of a loan pursuant to Section
3365, a participating party shall be required to conduct a
comprehensive marketing program that makes consumers aware of the
availability of these financial assistance programs, and to provide
appropriate security for repayment of the loan, including, without
limitation, a pledge to the authority of consumer and business loan
repayments collected through utility bills, as applicable and a
certification that the duration of a loan will not exceed the useful
life of a purchase.
Article 7. Natural Gas
3368. (a) The commission, in consultation with the Energy
Commission, shall prepare and submit to the authority and to the
Legislature, within 90 days of the effective date of the act adding
this section, a report on the present, planned, and required future
capacity of the state's natural gas transportation and storage system
to provide adequate, seasonally reliable amounts of competitively
priced natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial
customers, including, but not limited to, electric generating plants.
(b) The authority may provide financing for natural gas
transportation or storage projects recommended to it by the
commission. In recommending a project to the authority, the
commission shall ensure that the project is in the public interest.
(c) Nothing in this section prevents the commission from acting on
its own authority to direct gas corporations within its jurisdiction
to construct, or facilitate the construction or operation, by the
owners or operators of pipelines not within the jurisdiction of the
commission, of, natural gas transportation and storage facilities as
the commission determines to be needed to provide adequate,
seasonally reliable amounts of competitively priced natural gas to
residential, commercial, and industrial customers, including, but not
limited to, electric generating plants.
Article 8. Energy Resource Investment Plan
3369. (a) Within 180 days of the effective date of this division,
the authority, in consultation with the Energy Commission and the
Independent System Operator, shall develop an Energy Resource
Investment Plan and submit that plan to the Governor and the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee and the chairs of the policy committees
with jurisdiction over energy policy in the State of California.
(b) The Energy Resource Investment Plan shall take into account
California's anticipated energy service needs for both electricity
and natural gas over the next decade. The plan shall address issues
regarding adequacy of supply, storage, reliability of service, grid
congestion, and environmental quality. In developing the investment
plan, the authority shall compare the costs of various energy
resources, including a comparison of the costs and benefits of demand
reduction strategies with the costs and benefits of additional
generation supply. The plan shall acknowledge the potential
volatility of fossil fuel prices and that value of resources that
avoid the risk.
(c) The plan shall outline a strategy for cost-effective energy
resource investments, using the financing powers provided to the
authority by this division. The plan may recommend changes to the
specific expenditure authority granted in this division in order to
carry out the investment strategy contained in the plan.
(d) The plan shall be developed with input from interested parties
at scheduled public hearings of the authority. The authority should
adopt the plan by majority vote of the board at a public meeting.
The authority shall update the plan on a regular basis as determined
by the authority.
(e) All investments made by the authority under this division
shall be consistent with the strategy outlined in the Energy Resource
Investment Plan. Nothing in this section shall preclude the
authority from exercising its powers prior to the adoption of the
initial Energy Resource Investment Plan.
Article 9. Agencies Relation to Other State Energy Oversight
3369.5. Nothing in this division shall be construed to obviate
the need to review the roles, functions, and duties of other state
energy oversight agencies and, where appropriate, change or
consolidate those roles, functions, and duties. To achieve that
efficiency, the Governor may propose to the Legislature a
Governmental Reorganization Plan, pursuant to Section 8523 of the
Government Code and Section 6 of Article V of the Constitution.
CHAPTER 4. CALIFORNIA CONSUMER POWER AND CONSERVATION
FINANCING AUTHORITY FUND
3370. (a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury the
California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority Fund
for expenditure by the authority for the purpose of implementing the
objectives and provisions of this division. For the purposes of
subdivision (e), or as necessary or convenient to the accomplishment
of any other purpose of the authority, the authority may establish
within the fund additional and separate accounts and subaccounts.
(b) The assets of the fund shall be available for the payment of
the salaries and other expenses charged against it in accordance with
this division.
(c) All moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, may be used for
(c) Except as provided under Section 3345, all moneys in the fund
that are not General Fund moneys are continuously appropriated to the
authority and may be used for any reasonable costs which may
be incurred by the authority in the exercise of its powers under this
division.
(d) The fund, on behalf of the authority, may borrow or receive
moneys from the authority, or from any federal, state, or local
agency or private entity, to create reserves in the fund as provided
in this division and as authorized by the board.
(e) The authority may pledge any or all of the moneys in the fund
(including in any account or subaccount) as security for payment of
the principal of, and interest on, any particular issuance of bonds
issued pursuant to this division.
(f) The authority, may, from time to time, direct the Treasurer to
invest moneys in the fund that are not required for the authority's
current needs, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in any
securities permitted by law as the authority shall designate. The
authority also may direct the Treasurer to deposit moneys in
interest-bearing accounts in state or national banks or other
financial institutions having principal offices in this state. The
authority may alternatively require the transfer of moneys in the
fund to the Surplus Money Investment Fund for investment pursuant to
Article 4 (commencing with Section 16470) of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of
Division 4 of the Government Code. All interest or other increment
resulting from an investment or deposit shall be deposited in the
fund, notwithstanding Section 16305.7 of the Government Code. Moneys
in the fund shall not be subject to transfer to any other fund
pursuant to any provision of Part 2 (commencing with Section 16300)
of Division 4 of the Government Code, excepting the Surplus Money
Investment Fund.
CHAPTER 5. BONDS
3380.1. For the purposes provided in this division, the authority
is authorized to incur indebtedness and to issue securities of any
kind or class, at public or private sale by the Treasurer, and to
renew the same, provided that all such indebtedness, howsoever
evidenced, shall be payable solely from revenues. The authority may
issue bonds for the purposes of this division in an amount not to
exceed five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000), exclusive of any
refundings.
3380.2. In connection with the issuance of bonds, in addition to
the powers otherwise provided in this division, the authority may do
all of the following:
(a) Issue, from time to time, bonds payable from and secured by a
pledge of all or any part of the revenues in order to finance the
activities authorized by this division, including, without
limitation, an enterprise or multiple enterprises, a single project
for a single participating party, a series of projects for a single
participating party, a single project for several participating
parties, or several projects for several participating parties, and
to sell those bonds at public or private sale by the Treasurer, in
the form and on those terms and conditions as the Treasurer, as agent
for sale, shall approve.
(b) Pledge all or any part of the revenues to secure bonds and any
repayment or reimbursement obligations of the authority to any
provider of insurance or a guarantee of liquidity or credit facility
entered into to provide for the payment or debt service on any bond.
(c) Employ and compensate bond counsel, financial consultants,
underwriters, and other advisers determined necessary and appointed
by the Treasurer in connection with the issuance and sale of any
bond.
(d) Issue bonds to refund or purchase or otherwise acquire bonds
on terms and conditions as the Treasurer, as agent for sale, shall
approve.
(e) Perform all acts that relate to the function and purpose of
the authority under this division, whether or not specifically
designated in this chapter.
3381. Bonds issued by the authority are legal investments for all
trust funds, the funds of all insurance companies, banks, both
commercial and savings, trust companies, executors, administrators,
trustees, and other fiduciaries, for state school funds, pension
funds, and for any funds that may be invested in county, school, or
municipal bonds. The bonds issued under this division are securities
that may legally be deposited with, and received by, any state or
municipal officer or agency or political subdivision of the state,
including, without limitation, local agencies, schools, and pension
funds, for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds or obligations
of the state is now, or may hereafter be, authorized by law,
including deposits to secure public funds.
3382. The authority is authorized to obtain loans from the Pooled
Money Investment Account pursuant to Sections 16312 and 16313 of the
Government Code. These loans shall be subject to the terms
negotiated with the Pooled Money Investment Board, including, but not
limited to, a pledge of authority bond proceeds or revenues.
3383. Bonds issued under this division shall not be deemed to
constitute a debt or liability of the state or of any political
subdivision thereof, other than the authority, or a pledge of the
faith and credit of the state or of any political subdivision, other
than the authority, but shall be payable solely from the funds herein
provided therefor. All bonds issued under this division shall
contain on the face thereof a statement to the following effect:
"Neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the State of
California or any local agency is pledged to the payment of the
principal of or interest on this bond." The issuance of bonds under
this division shall not directly or indirectly or contingently
obligate the state or any political subdivision thereof to levy or to
pledge any form of taxation whatever therefor or to make any
appropriation for their payment. Nothing in this section shall
prevent nor be construed to prevent the authority from pledging its
full faith and credit to the payment of bonds or issue of bonds
authorized pursuant to this division.
CHAPTER 6. TERMINATION PROVISIONS
3384. The authority may not finance or approve any new
program, financing enterprise , or
project on or after January 1, 2007, unless authority to approve such
an activity is granted by statute enacted on or before January 1,
2007.