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Agriculture and Natural Resources
For more information, contact Karen Keene at 916/327-7500, ext. 511, or e-mail kkeene@counties.org or Cara Martinson at 915/327-7500, ext. 504, or email cmartinson@counties.org.
Energy
AB 45 (Blakeslee) – Request for Comment
As Amended on June 26, 2009
AB 45, by Assembly Member Sam Blakeslee, intends to facilitate the implementation of consistent statewide standards for the siting of small wind energy systems. The bill sets forth specific requirements for local ordinances and conditional use permits for these systems. AB 45 would specifically exempt ordinances approved prior to July 1, 2010. Counties should review the details of this measure and contact CSAC staff if you have any concerns or comments. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on July 6.
AB 64 (Krekorian) – Oppose
As Amended on June 24, 2009
AB 64, by Assembly Member Paul Krekorian, would increase California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require all retail sellers of electricity and all Publicly Owned Utilities (POUs) to procure at least 33% of electricity delivered to their retail customers from renewable resources by 2020. The bill would also establish the Energy Planning and Infrastructure Coordinating (EPIC) committee to develop a strategic plan to identify and rank renewable energy development zones, along with the needed transmission and distribution necessary to access those zones.
CSAC has joined with the League of California Cities (League) in opposing a provision in the bill that would transfer the responsibility of siting renewable energy facilities between 5 megawatts and 50 megawatts from local governments to the newly created Energy Planning and Infrastructure Coordinating committee. CSAC and the League have indicated to the author that this siting authority has long been the purview of local governments and we do not believe this authority should be taken away.
AB 64 is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee on June 30.
AB 222 (Adams) – Support
As Amended on May 28, 2009
AB 222, by Assembly Member Anthony Adams, would update the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 to incorporate changes that will enable and expedite the production of advanced, non-food derived biofuels, green power and other biobased products from biomass. CSAC supports this bill because it will help California achieve the goals of its Renewable Portfolio Standard, Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Bioenergy Action Plan and aid local governments in achieving higher solid waste diversion rates. The bill is set for hearing on June 20 in the Senate Energy and Utilities Committee.
SB 279 (Hancock) – Support
As Amended on April 21, 2009
SB 279, by Senator Loni Hancock, would enable cities and counties to establish a voluntary community facility district to help finance the acquisition, installation, and improvement of energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements and water conservation. Similar to AB 811 (Ch. 159, 2008), this bill would help local governments achieve these goals by providing a tool, allowing for the formation of a Community Facilities District regardless of whether the buildings or property are privately or public owned. This bill is set for hearing on July 1 in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
AB 262 (Bass) – Support
As Amended on April 14, 2009
AB 262, by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, would conform the statute governing the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) guidelines, and provide a necessary fix to an eligibility issue that currently excludes 13 counties from the EECBG Program. When statutes were passed governing EECBG, ARRA had not yet been enacted and an eligibility criterion that does not conform to ARRA was put into law. AB 262 takes the eligibility language out of statute and instead requires the EECBG program to conform to federal guidelines. This bill is necessary to allow the 13 counties, including: Alameda, Butte, Marin, Merced, Placer, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura, to be able to participate in the EECBG program. CSAC strongly encourages those counties listed above to express their support for this measure and contact their legislative delegation. This bill has been set for hearing on June 30, in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Commerce Committee.
Williamson Act
SB 715 (Wolk) – Support
As Amended on May 28, 2009
SB 715, by Senator Lois Wolk, would make needed changes to the Williamson Act. This bill would enact reforms to the Williamson Act by strengthening local enforcement authority over contract compliance, requiring landowners to furnish local officials with information that directly relates to the landowners' compliance with the Williamson Act, and allowing local agencies to have more control over the subdivision of contracted lands to ensure compliance with the Act. CSAC supports legislative changes to the Williamson Act that preserve the integrity of the Act and aids local governments in enforcement efforts. This bill is set for hearing on July 1, 2009 in the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
Fire
SB 505 (Kehoe) – Oppose
As Amended on June 1, 2009
SB 505, by Senator Christine Kehoe, would amend the general plan safety element requirements for state responsibility areas (SRA) and very high fire hazard severity zones. It would also attempt to strengthen the development review process under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by expanding the initial study checklist to address fire hazard impacts of projects. CSAC, along with the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC), is opposed to this bill because of the potential implementation costs, which will be in the thousands of dollars depending on the amount of public outreach, controversy, and environmental review. The bill indicates that the local agency may levy a fee to pay for the program mandated by this measure. We believe that it is unrealistic to expect cities and counties to recover all of these costs through the imposition of charges, fees, or assessments. This bill is set for hearing on July 1 in the Assembly Local Government Committee.
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION
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