BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2304
Author: Richman (R)
Amended: 8/18/04 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMM. COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/8/04
AYES: Morrow, Alarcon, Battin, Dunn, Sher, Vasconcellos
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bowen, McClintock, Murray
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 4/29/04 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Energy resources
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill deletes several obsolete provisions
and consolidates reporting requirements related to the
California Energy Commission.
Senate Floor Amendment of 8/18/04 makes a change to conform
with pending legislation. It corrects a reference to a
code section being amended by SB 1478 (Sher).
ANALYSIS : Current law requires the California Energy
Commission (CEC) to submit quarterly reports to the
Legislature on the use of Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether
(MTBE) in gasoline by refinery.
This bill deletes that requirement.
CONTINUED
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Current law establishes a program promoting the use of
methanol fuel.
This bill deletes that requirement.
Current law imposes a variety of reporting requirements on
the CEC with varying reporting intervals on the status of
its existing renewable energy program.
This bill consolidates those reporting requirements into a
single annual report.
Background
MTBE has been used in gasoline to boost octane, in place of
lead, and to promote cleaner combustion. Concerns about
groundwater pollution led to the banning of MTBE in
California as of January 1, 2004. The MTBE reporting
requirement, established in 1999, is therefore unnecessary.
In 1986, the CEC was required to create a technology
demonstration for the use of methanol in heavy-duty diesel
engines, methanol-powered buses, and flexible fuel
vehicles. That program, funded by proceeds from
settlements and judgements against oil companies for
misreporting oil revenues from state oil leases, has
lapsed.
Since 1996, the CEC has administered a statutorily-created
program to encourage the use of renewable energy through
production incentives and consumer rebates. The
Legislature has required a variety of reports to monitor
the success and status of the program. Some of those
reports are required quarterly, others biannually or
annually. This bill consolidates those reports into a
single annual report.
Comments
This bill is sponsored by the CEC. The reporting
consolidation reduces the number of reports, but it does
not alter the content of what the CEC is statutorily
required to study and report on. While more frequent
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reporting may have been appropriate when the program was
first implemented, now that the program has a track record,
less frequent reporting seems reasonable.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/04)
California Energy Commission (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh,
Calderon, Campbell, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu,
Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz,
Dutra, Dutton, Dymally, Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia,
Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton,
Houston, Jackson, Keene, Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa, La
Suer, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville,
Lowenthal, Maddox, Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez,
Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nakano, Nation, Negrete
McLeod, Oropeza, Parra, Reyes, Richman, Ridley-Thomas,
Runner, Salinas, Samuelian, Simitian, Spitzer, Steinberg,
Strickland, Wesson, Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Haynes, Leslie, Maldonado, Pacheco,
Pavley, Plescia, Vargas, Wiggins
NC:mel 8/19/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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