BILL ANALYSIS
SB 168
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Date of Hearing: June 30, 2003
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
SB 168 (Energy, Utilities and Communications) - As Amended:
June 19, 2003
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Telecommunications: Renewable Resource Trust Fund.
SUMMARY : This bill is the Senate Energy, Utilities and
Communications Committee annual clean up measure and contains a
number of technical and non-substantive changes to the codes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Act (CEC) to certify a sufficient number of sites
and related facilities to provide a supply of electric power
sufficient to accommodate projected demand for power
statewide.
2)Prohibits the CEC from certifying any power facility that does
not comply with applicable state, local, or regional
standards, ordinances, or laws, unless determined by the CEC.
3)Authorizes the CEC to solicit applications for awards, using a
sealed competitive bid, competitive negotiation process,
multiparty agreement, single source, or sole source method.
4)Requires the CEC to regularly convene an advisory board to
make recommendations guiding the CEC's selection of specified
programs and projects to be funded.
5)Requires the CEC to report to the Legislature on the
implementation of the Renewable Resource Trust Fund and
funding mechanisms on a quarterly basis and on the funding
mechanisms every two years.
6)Requires the CEC, in consultation with the Public Utilities
Commission (PUC), to submit a report to the Legislature on the
feasibility of implementing real-time metering by March 31,
2003.
SB 168
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7)Requires the PUC to develop, implement, and maintain a
suitable program to establish a fair and equitable local rate
structure aided by transfer payments to small independent
telephone corporations serving high cost rural and small
metropolitan areas, in order to promote the goals of universal
telephone service.
8)Requires the PUC to transfer monies for this program into the
California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund,
upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
9)Establishes the Universal lifeline Telephone Trust
Administrative Committee Fund, within the PUC, to meet minimum
residential communication needs.
THIS BILL :
1)Expands the potential membership of a CEC advisory board to
include the Public Interest Research Program.
2)Eliminates requirements that the CEC file four quarterly
reports, an annual report and a biennial report, on the
Renewable Resource Trust Fund and consolidates these reports
into one annual report to the Legislature.
3)Extends, from March 31, 2003 to September 30, 2003, the due
date for a CEC report, as revised, regarding the feasibility
of implementing real-time metering.
4)Appropriates $40,000,000 from the High Cost Fund A
Administrative Committee Fund to the PUC to pay for prior year
claims owed to telephone corporations providing services in
the high-cost rural and small metropolitan areas.
5)Appropriates $6,000,000 from the Universal Lifeline Telephone
Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund to the PUC to pay
for prior year claims owed to telephone corporations providing
discounted residential telephone services to eligible
customers.
6)Makes technical changes to correct cross-reference errors and
grammatical errors.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
SB 168
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Analysis, the bill has minimal costs.
COMMENTS : This bill is the annual omnibus clean up bill for the
Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. The bill
contains only technical items that have no opposition and do not
present a major policy question.
According to the Committee Chair's office, the bill corrects
several incorrect cross references, expands the potential
membership of a CEC advisory board for the Public Interest
Research Program, and consolidates a number of reports the CEC
is required to file with the Legislature into a single annual
report. In addition, this bill contains an appropriation to pay
approved prior year claims owed to telephone corporations that
provide services under the High Cost Fund B program and the
Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Kyra Emanuels Ross / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092