CAPITOL UPDATE #35 September 15, 2022

What did the Governor do to us this week? All bills approved by the Governor are new laws that affect us in some way. Not a good thought.

SB 1020 – Clean Energy, Jobs and Affordability Act of 2022 – In 2006 the State enacted the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designating the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years.

The act requires the state board to conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan and requires a portion of those workshops to be conducted in regions of the state that have the most significant exposure to pollutants. The act specifically includes as regions for these workshops in communities with minority populations, communities with low-income populations, or both.

This bill would instead include as regions or these workshops federal extreme non-attainment areas that have communities with minority populations, communities with low-income populations or both. It sounds like this was already covered. Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2045.

This bill would revise that policy to instead provide that eligible renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2035, 95% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2040, 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by December 31, 2045 and 100% of electricity procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035.
* SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR NEWSOM HYPOCRISY

SB 846, Diablo Canyon powerplant: extension of operations (1) Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over electrical corporations. The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, composed of Reactor Units 1 and 2, is operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, an electrical corporation, in the County of San Luis Obispo. On January 11, 2018, the PUC approved the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s proposal to retire Unit 1 in 2024 and Unit 2 in 2025.

This bill would invalidate the PUC’s approval of that proposal and would require the PUC to set new retirement dates for the Diablo Canyon powerplant, as provided, conditioned upon the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission extending the powerplant’s operating licenses, as specified. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to make available to the Department of Water Resources a total principal amount not to exceed $1.4 billion for the purpose of being loaned out to facilitate the extension of the operating period of the Diablo Canyon powerplant, as provided.

This bill would specify that the final compliance date of the once-through cooling policy for the Diablo Canyon powerplant is October 31, 2030.
* SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR

SB 57, Controlled substances: overdose prevention program. Existing law makes it a crime to possess specified
controlled substances or paraphernalia. Existing law makes it a crime to use or be under the influence of specified controlled substances. Existing law additionally makes it a crime to visit or be in any room where specified controlled substances are being unlawfully used with knowledge that the activity is occurring, or to open or maintain a place for the purpose of giving away or using specified controlled substances.

This bill would, until January 1, 2028, authorize the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to approve entities to operate overdose prevention programs for persons that satisfy specified requirements, including, among other things, providing a hygienic space supervised by trained staff where people who use drugs can consume pre-obtained drugs, providing sterile consumption supplies, providing access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment, and that program staff be authorized and trained to provide emergency administration of an opioid antagonist, as defined by existing law.
* VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR