BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2685
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2685 (Oropeza)
As Amended May 20, 2004
Majority vote
UTILITIES AND COMMERCE 12-0 NATURAL RESOURCES 10-0
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|Ayes:|Reyes, Campbell, Bogh, |Ayes:|Jackson, La Malfa, |
| |Calderon, Canciamilla, | |Hancock, Harman, |
| |Correa, Jerome Horton, La | |Aghazarian, Koretz, |
| |Malfa, Levine, | |Laird, Lieber, Lowenthal, |
| |Ridley-Thomas, | |Wolk |
| |Strickland, Longville | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 16-5
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|Ayes:|Chu, Berg, Calderon, | | |
| |Corbett, Correa, | | |
| |Firebaugh, Goldberg, | | |
| |Leno, Nation, Negrete | | |
| |McLeod, Oropeza, Pavley, | | |
| |Ridley-Thomas, Wesson, | | |
| |Wiggins, Yee | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Runner, Bates, Daucher, | | |
| |Haynes, Keene | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Office of Planning and Research (OPR),
upon request, to facilitate the California Environmental Review
Process (CEQA) for renewable energy generation facilities.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that OPR shall, upon request, facilitate the
development of renewable electricity generation facilities by
convening appropriate federal, state, regional, or local
agencies for the purpose of streamlining CEQA process.
2)States that nothing in this bill reduces or authorizes OPR to
reduce existing environmental or other regulatory
requirements.
AB 2685
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates OPR that serves the Governor and his cabinet as staff
for long-range planning and research and constitutes the
comprehensive state planning agency. In this capacity, OPR
formulates, evaluates, and updates long-range goals and
policies for land use, population growth, urban expansion,
development, open space, resource preservation and
utilization, and air and water quality.
2)Creates the State Clearinghouse (SCH) within OPR which
coordinates the state level review of environmental documents
pursuant to CEQA and provides technical assistance on land use
planning and CEQA matters.
3)Grants the exclusive permitting authority for thermal power
plants 50 megawatts (MW) or greater and related facilities.
4)Grants local agencies permitting authority for thermal power
plants under 50 MW and non-thermal electrical generating
facilities (including renewable electricity generation
facilities).
FISCAL EFFECT : Minor absorbable cost to OPR. Codifies a
practice OPR has used in coordinating the state's CEQA reviews.
To the extent ongoing coordination by OPR reduces
inconsistencies in state agencies' CEQA reviews, state costs for
such reviews could be reduced.
COMMENTS : CEC has authority to license all thermal power plants
of 50 MW or greater. CEC acts as a one stop shop for permitting
these larger thermal projects. Alternatively, proposals to
build generation facilities that do not fall within CEC's
jurisdiction may require approval from the local city or county
planning agencies. The local entity will not only issue both
land use permits and building permits but will act as the lead
agency for any CEQA requirements. Many of these projects will
also require approval from the local air board and may require
water discharge permits.
On the eve of the energy crisis, the Legislature created the
Clean Energy Green Team as part of AB 970 (Ducheny), Chapter
329, Statutes of 2000, to help expedite permitting for new
generation facilities. The Green Team consisted of
AB 2685
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representatives from agencies with regulatory authority over any
portion of permitting and construction of new generation,
including OPR. Under provisions in AB 970, the Green Team's
authority sunset on December 31, 2003.
Under its role as a member of the Green Team and under order
from Governor Davis, OPR helped expedite the permitting of the
new generation facilities during the energy crisis by
coordinating the activities of the various agencies with
permitting authority. The coordination efforts of OPR were
aimed at forcing permits to be issued as rapidly as possible by
assuring that agencies were processing applications on similar
timelines and were not issuing contradictory orders.
According the author, the intent of this bill is to help
streamline CEQA permitting process for citing generation
facilities by codifying the role OPR played in the energy
crisis. The author believes that OPR and SCH are in a unique
position to coordinate the activities of the various agencies
that play a role in permitting generation facilities over which
CEC does not have jurisdiction.
What are the true obstacles to new construction? According to
CEC there are over 6,500 MW of power plants that have been
permitted but are not being constructed. The owners of these
permits state that they are not building due to lack of
financing, regulatory uncertainty, and rate recovery. Given the
large number of facilities that are already permitted and not
under construction, there is no clear evidence that streamlining
the permitting process will actually encourage more
construction.
Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0005788