BILL ANALYSIS
AB 808
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 808 (Canciamilla)
As Amended April 30, 2003
Majority vote
UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 24-0
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|Ayes:|Reyes, Richman, Calderon, | | |
| |Diaz, Jerome Horton, La | | |
| |Malfa, La Suer, Levine, | | |
| |Nunez, Ridley-Thomas, | | |
| |Wolk | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes an Energy Agency (Agency) and reorganizes
the state's energy regulatory framework. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Establishes the Agency, with a cabinet-level Secretary of
Energy (Secretary) who is appointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the Senate.
2)Requires the Governor, by May 1, 2004, to submit for study and
recommendation to the Little Hoover Commission, and requires
the Little Hoover Commission to transmit a plan for
reorganization of the energy regulatory activities of the
state by July 1, 2004.
3)Requires the reorganization plan to:
a) Establish within the Agency all major policy making
functions with respect to the state's energy policy;
b) Merge the California Consumer Power and Conservation
Financing Authority (Power Authority) and the California
Energy Commission (CEC) into the Agency;
c) Eliminate the Electricity Oversight Board;
d) Eliminate the Power Exchange;
e) Transfer to the Agency all policy-making functions
pertaining to energy matters currently performed by the
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California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and establish
review mechanisms to ensure that the regulatory activities
of PUC are consistent with the state's energy policy;
f) Transfer to the Agency all energy conservation programs
and oversight currently performed by PUC; and,
g) Establish a single board responsible for the siting of
electrical generation and transmission facilities and
natural gas transmission facilities that will coordinate
with agencies having environmental protection
responsibilities.
4)Declares that the Agency is responsible for planning,
developing and implementing all major aspects of the state
energy policy to ensure an adequate, reasonably priced supply
of electricity and natural gas.
5)Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Independent
System Operator (ISO), to determine appropriate reserve levels
needed to maintain the reliability and stability of the
electrical transmission and distribution grid.
6)Specifies that PUC will ensure that electrical corporations
meet the reserve levels determined to be appropriate by the
secretary.
7)Requires the Agency to plan, develop and implement all major
aspects of the state energy policy. The state energy policy
will ensure an adequate, reasonably priced supply of
electricity and natural gas
8)Enacts an Energy Code containing basic structural provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, expenditures include one-time costs in the range of
$200,000 for the Governor's Office to prepare the reorganization
plan and ongoing costs of around $1.5 million (General Fund and
special funds) for the agency level operations. The net fiscal
impact of reorganizing several state entities under a new agency
is unknown, but, to the extent it provides consolidation and
better coordination of current functions, it should result in
cost savings.
COMMENTS : The author believes that the state's recent
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experiences during the energy crisis brought to light a lack of
accountability by regulators, and also revealed considerable
inter-agency competition and functional duplication that has
tended to degrade the operations of the state's energy
regulatory programs. Accordingly, the authors believe that the
recent energy crisis and the public focus on energy programs
present a unique opportunity to comprehensively reorganize the
state's energy agencies to achieve policy consistency,
accountability, efficiency and responsiveness.
The reorganization process: Under existing law, the Governor
may propose an executive branch reorganization plan. A
reorganization plan becomes effective 60 days after it has been
submitted to the Legislature unless either the Senate or the
Assembly adopts, by a majority vote, a resolution rejecting the
plan. The Little Hoover Commission has 30 days after the plan
has been submitted to the Legislature to report to the Governor
and the Legislature its evaluation of the reorganization and any
recommendations for changes. The law contemplates enactment in
the following year of statutory language to give effect to the
reorganization, but the reorganization is effective regardless
of whether any follow-up statutes are enacted.
Analysis Prepared by : Paul Donahue / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083
FN: 0001428