BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1298
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 23, 2000

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                   SB 1298 (Bowen) - As Amended:  August 18, 2000 

          Policy Committee:                             Natural  
          ResourcesVote:10-0 (Consent)
                       Utilities & Commerce

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to adopt  
          emission control performance standards, based on best available  
          control technology (BACT), for "electrical generation  
          technologies," exhibiting growth potential in the California  
          energy marketplace.  Specifically,  this bill  : 

          1)Requires the ARB to adopt these standards by January 1, 2003  
            and allows the board to update them periodically to reflect  
            evolving technologies.

          2)Prohibits a local air district, after the ARB standards have  
            been adopted, from permitting the siting or operation of any  
            electrical generation technology unless the technology  
            complies with these standards or a stricter set of standards  
            required by the district.

          3)Requires the ARB to develop a certification program for  
            electrical generators that meet its standards and requires  
            these technologies to be either certified or locally permitted  
            before they can operate in California.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Moderate costs, about $300,000 primarily in FY 2001-02, to the  
            ARB to adopt regulation for the emission standards and the  
            certification program. These costs would eventually be  
            reimbursed by revenue generated from fees the ARB is  
            authorized to impose on distributed generators once a  
            certification program is put in place.  Moderate costs, about  
            $500,000 annually starting in FY 2002-03, to the ARB to  
            administer the certification program. These costs are also  






                                                                  SB 1298
                                                                  Page  2

            potentially covered by fee revenue.  (Air Pollution Control  
            Fund.)

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  .  The author argues that, while technologies that  
          generate electricity for use at a site located close to the  
          source are likely to generate a significant portion of the  
          state's electricity for the next four years, uniform emission  
          control standards have not been developed for them.  While  
          large, central power plants must comply with emissions control  
          performance standards, there are no consistent standards for  
          these decentralized facilities.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)319-2081