AB 425 Assembly Bill

BILL NUMBER: AB 425	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 26, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 16, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 3, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 29, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2003

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member  Richman  
Campbell 
    (Principal coauthor:  Senator Johnson) 

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2003

    An act to amend Section 743.1 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to public utilities.   An act to amend
Section 2 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1997, relating to public
trust lands. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 425, as amended, Richman.   Electric service:  rates:
interruptible programs   City of Newport Beach:  public
trust lands  . 
   Existing law grants in trust to the City of Newport Beach all tide
and submerged lands, whether filled or unfilled, bordering upon and
under the Pacific Ocean or Newport Bay, as described, subject to
specified conditions.  Existing law specifies that, for purposes of
provisions related to the City of Newport Beach establishment of a
Tideland Capital Fund, acquisition or improvement of real property by
the city for purposes of enhancing the public trust lands
administered by the Department of Fish and Game shall be deemed to be
authorized by, and be in furtherance of, the trust created pursuant
to existing law.
   This bill would provide that, for purposes of those provisions,
those tide and submerged lands shall be considered to be public trust
lands whether or not those lands are acquired by the state as
sovereign tide and submerged lands, or are otherwise acquired. 

   (1) The Public Utilities Act authorizes the Public Utilities
Commission to establish rates for public utilities regulated by the
commission, including electrical corporations.  The act requires
electrical corporations to continue the availability to qualified
heavy industrial customers, until March 31, 2002, of optional
interruptible or curtailable service wherein the heavy industrial
customer is charged a rate that reflects a pricing incentive for
electing to operate under the optional or curtailable service.
   This bill would instead require an electrical corporation to
continue the availability to qualified customers, as defined, of
optional interruptible or curtailable service until January 1, 2009,
and would require the effective rate for that service to be cost
effective compared to other resource options. The bill would require
a customer electing to operate under the interruptible or curtailable
service option to comply with the commitment to shed load in excess
of the customer's firm service level within the time period provided
for in the tariff, if called upon to do so by the electrical
corporation.  The bill would require the commission to establish a
penalty for noncompliance. The bill would require an electrical
corporation to remove from the rate option any customer who
voluntarily elects not to comply substantially with any two requests
to shed load in any 12-month period.  The bill would require an
electrical corporation to eliminate by a certain date any incentive
not described above that is included in an optional interruptible or
curtailable service rate of that electrical corporation as of January
1, 2004.  The bill would require the commission to require each
electrical corporation to adopt and implement a plan for
certification by a participating customer of the manner in which the
participating customer will comply with the terms of the
interruptible or curtailable service option.
   Because a violation of the act is a crime, this bill, by
continuing to require electrical corporations to offer optional
interruptible or curtailable service and by imposing new
requirements, would change the definition of a crime, thereby
imposing a state-mandated local program.
  (2) 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. 
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  
yes   no  . State-mandated local program:
 yes   no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  
  SECTION 1.  Section 743.1 of the Public Utilities Code is 

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Subdivision (h) of Section 1 of Chapter 415 of the Statutes of
1975 directed the County of Orange and the State Lands Commission to
grant certain described lands, which are a portion of the tide and
submerged lands granted in trust to the county by that act, to the
Department of Fish and Game for creation of an ecological reserve in
Upper Newport.
   (b) Subdivision (h) of Section 1 of Chapter 74 of the Statutes of
1978 authorized the City of Newport Beach to transfer portions of its
public trust lands to the State Lands Commission to thereafter be
leased to the Department of Fish and Game for inclusion in the Upper
Newport Bay Ecological Reserve. Subdivision (c) of Section 2 of
Chapter 74 of the Statutes of 1978 further authorized the City of
Newport Beach to acquire real property for purposes of enhancing tide
and submerged lands leased to the Department of Fish and Game by the
State Lands Commission.
   (c) Chapter 715 of the Statutes of 1984 authorizes the County of
Orange and the City of Newport Beach to expend revenues from leases
of the tide and submerged lands surrounding Harbor Island in lower
Newport Bay for purposes of enhancing the Upper Newport Bay
Ecological Reserve.
   (d) Section 2 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1997 authorizes
the expenditure of certain public trust revenues by the City of
Newport Beach on public trust lands administered by the Department of
Fish and Game in Upper Newport Bay.
   (e) In addition to the public trust lands granted by the
Legislature to the County of Orange pursuant to Chapter 415 of the
Statutes of 1975 (Chapter 415), the County has acquired additional
lands adjacent to Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and desires to
make them assets of the public trust and the legislative trust
created by that act.  The State Lands Commission has approved the
inclusion of these lands to be held as assets of those trusts and
desires legislative adoption of the lands as trust assets.
   (f) Certain lands described in Section 2 of Chapter 415 included
lands for which issues of title and boundary were unresolved at the
time of enactment of Chapter 415 and some remain unresolved today.
The state acquired, by purchase, certain interests of the Irvine
Company in and adjacent to those lands subsequent to passage of
Chapter 415.  Those lands are included in the Upper Newport Bay
Ecological Reserve operated by the Department of Fish and Game.  Some
of those lands are subject to the public trust and others are not.
These lands are integral to the operation of the Ecological Reserve
and provide support to the adjacent tide and submerged lands.
   (g) In order to clarify the Legislature's intent and authorize the
trustees, the County of Orange, and the City of Newport Beach to
expend revenues generated from public trust lands that the county and
city hold pursuant to Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1997, and
Chapter 415 of the Statutes of 1975, those statutes need to be
amended.
  SEC. 2.  Section 2 of Chapter 317 of the Statutes of 1997 is
amended to read 
  Sec. 2.  (a) The City of Newport Beach shall establish a Tideland
Capital Fund as one of the funds required by subdivision (i) of
Section 1 of this act.  The money in the Tideland Capital Fund shall
be used by the city in conformity with the following terms and
conditions:
   (1) Expenditures from the fund may be made for the acquisition of
real property that will further the purposes of the trust created by
this act or for capital improvements for those purposes.
   (2) The city may make acquisitions of real property by purchase,
gift, or other conveyance, including, but not limited to, the
transfer of city-owned property held in a municipal capacity to the
trust created by this act.  All such real property shall be held by
the city in trust pursuant to this act.
   (3) For purposes of this  subdivision  
section  , acquisition or improvement of real property by the
city for purposes of enhancing the public trust lands administered by
the Department of Fish and Game pursuant to Chapter 415 of the
Statutes of 1975 shall be deemed to be authorized by, and to be in
furtherance of, the trust created by this act.   For purposes of
this section, all the lands described in subdivision (a) of Section 2
of Chapter 415 of the Statutes of 1975 shall be considered to be
public trust lands whether or not those lands are acquired by the
state as sovereign tide and submerged lands, or are otherwise
acquired. 
   (4) The city may expend municipal funds to acquire real property
for purposes specified in this subdivision.  The city may transfer
amounts from the Tideland Capital Fund to reimburse municipal funds
for any such expenditures, together with an appropriate amount of
interest on the municipal funds advanced, if the State Lands
Commission gives advance approval of the transaction.
   (b) The city shall establish a Tideland Operation and Maintenance
Fund as one of the funds required by subdivision (i) of Section 1 of
this act.  The money in the Tideland Operation and Maintenance Fund
shall be used by the city for the operation and maintenance of the
tide and submerged lands granted by this act and any additional lands
and assets that are made subject to the public trust pursuant to
this act in furtherance of the purposes of the trust created by this
act.
   (c) The city shall establish an Upper Newport Bay Restoration Fund
as one of the funds required by subdivision (i) of Section 1 of this
act.  The money in the Upper Newport Bay Restoration Fund shall be
used by the city for Upper Newport Bay environmental restoration and
improvement on tide and submerged lands described in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) or otherwise made subject to the public trust
pursuant to this act and located in Upper Newport Bay, to do both of
the following:
   (1) Construct improvements to, or otherwise physically alter,
those public trust lands if the construction or alteration directly
benefits those lands.
   (2) Fund environmental documents, planning studies, or scientific
analyses, or experiments directly related to the improvement or
enhancement of the habitat values of those lands and the water
quality of the overlying waters.
   (d) (1) Eighty percent of the money received by the city pursuant
to subdivision (g) of Section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the
Tideland Capital Fund described in subdivision (a) and in the
Tideland Operation and Maintenance Fund described in subdivision (b),
the allocation between those funds to be determined by the city.
   (2) Ten percent of the money received by the city pursuant to
subdivision (g) of Section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the
Upper Newport Bay Restoration Fund described in subdivision (c).
   (3) Ten percent of the money received by the city pursuant to
subdivision (g) of Section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the
Land Bank Fund created in the State Treasury pursuant to Section 8610
of the Public Resources Code, available for expenditure by the State
Lands Commission as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1)
of subdivision (f) of Section 4.5 of this act.
   (4) The city may deposit in the city funds established pursuant to
subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) any other income from the tide and
submerged lands granted to the city pursuant to this act or from
lands otherwise held in the public trust pursuant to this act that
the city determines to be appropriate and consistent with this act
and the public trust.    amended to read:
   743.1.  (a) Electrical corporations shall continue the
availability to qualified customers of optional interruptible or
curtailable service until January 1, 2009.  The effective rate for
interruptible or curtailable service to qualified customers shall  be
cost effective compared to other resource options.
   (b) A customer electing to operate under the interruptible or
curtailable service option shall comply with the commitment to shed
load in excess of the customer's firm service level within the time
period provided for in the tariff, if called upon to do so by the
electrical corporation.  The commission shall establish a
noncompliance penalty of at least nine dollars and thirty cents
($9.30) per kilowatthour for excess power taken.  The commission may
subsequently adopt a higher noncompliance penalty, if the commission
makes a determination that the penalty level is insufficient to
ensure compliance with the program.  In addition to the noncompliance
penalty, the electrical corporation shall remove from the rate
option any customer who voluntarily elects not to comply
substantially with any two requests to shed load in any 12-month
period.
   (c) The commission shall require an electrical corporation to
eliminate any incentive not authorized pursuant to subdivision (a)
that is included in an optional interruptible or curtailable service
rate of that electrical corporation as of January 1, 2004, before the
earlier of the following dates:
   (1) January 1, 2005.
   (2) The date of the next final commission decision in the
allocation of revenue requirement and rate design phase of the
electrical corporation's general rate case proceeding.
   (d) In order to further ensure the value of the interruptible or
curtailable service option, the commission shall require each
electrical corporation to adopt and implement plans for certification
by the participating customer of the manner in which a participating
customer will comply with the terms of the interruptible or
curtailable service option.
   (e) As used in this section, the term "qualified customers"
includes all customers with demand at, or in excess of, 500
kilowatts.  The commission, by order or decision, may exclude from
this definition any category of customer for which firm service is
essential for public health and safety.  A prior interruptible or
curtailable service customer with a historical record of compliance
of less than 90 percent, as measured by hours interrupted divided by
hours called, shall be ineligible for interruptible or curtailable
service.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B 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 XIII B of the California
Constitution.