Enrolled  September 03, 2024
Passed  IN  Senate  August 28, 2024
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 29, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  August 23, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  August 15, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  July 01, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  June 12, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 29, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 10, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2537

Introduced by Assembly Member Addis
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Pellerin)
(Coauthor: Senator Min)

February 13, 2024

An act to amend Sections 25992.5, 25992.10, 25992.20, 25992.21, and 25992.22 of the Public Resources Code, relating to offshore wind energy development, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2537, Addis. Energy: Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program: community capacity funding activities and grants.
Existing law establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program, which is administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities. Existing law creates, and continuously appropriates moneys in, the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund for purposes of the program and the Private Donations Account, which is created in the fund. Existing law authorizes the commission to accept federal and private sector moneys for purposes of the program and requires the private sector moneys to be deposited into the donations account and the federal moneys to be deposited into the fund. Existing law requires the commission to post a report on its internet website, within 30 days of receiving a donation, about specified information regarding each donation received. Existing law authorizes the commission to allocate moneys in the fund or donations account for specified purposes, including workforce development grants.
This bill would additionally authorize the commission to allocate moneys in the fund or donations account for capacity funding activities and grants within local communities and tribal communities to engage in the process of offshore wind energy development. By expanding the purposes for which continuously appropriated moneys may be allocated, the bill would make an appropriation.
This bill would create the Offshore Wind Community Capacity Funding Grant Account in the fund, and would continuously appropriate the moneys in this account to the commission to fund capacity funding activities and award capacity funding grants, thereby making an appropriation, as specified. The bill would require an offshore wind entity, as defined, to provide financial assistance to fund those activities and grants for the 3-year period after the offshore wind entity executes an offshore wind lease, as provided. The bill would make that financial assistance subject to the reporting requirement described above. The bill would authorize the commission to use up to 5% of the total amount deposited into the grant account, if needed, to administer the grant account. The bill would require the commission to annually prepare and submit a report, on or before March 1 of each year, to the Legislature on the implementation and effectiveness of those activities and grants. The bill would require the commission to develop guidelines, as provided, for the use of those moneys, and would require the guidelines to be subject to review and revision every 3 years.
This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 25992.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25992.5.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Bureau” means the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
(b) “Donations account” means the Private Donations Account created pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 25992.20.
(c) “Fund” means the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25992.20.
(d) “Grant account” means the Offshore Wind Community Capacity Funding Grant Account created pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 25992.20.
(e) “Offshore wind entity” means any entity engaged in offshore wind energy development that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Has a planned generation capacity of 50 megawatts or more.
(2) Involves development activities expected to impact the coastal environment, marine environment, or human environment, as those terms are defined by Section 1331 of Title 43 of the United States Code, of the California coast or submerged lands within its jurisdiction.
(3) Will require the entity to obtain a lease, permit, or other authorization from the State Lands Commission, the California Coastal Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Water Resources Control Board, a California regional water quality control board, the State Air Resources Board, the Public Utilities Commission, the Independent System Operator, or another state agency or local government, in connection with its development activities.
(f) “Program” means the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program established pursuant to Section 25992.10.

SEC. 2.

 Section 25992.10 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25992.10.
 (a) (1) The Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program is hereby established to be administered by the commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities, including federal laws providing for offshore wind lease conditions of the bureau. The program shall award moneys to public and private entities, including, but not limited to, state agencies, tribal entities, local governmental agencies, research institutions, and nonprofit entities, through various mechanisms, including, but not limited to, grants.
(2) Moneys from the fund and donations account shall be available for allocation by the commission for purposes of this chapter.
(b) The commission may allocate moneys for any of the following:
(1) Increasing the ability of state agencies to engage in postlease assessments and studies of impacts, including surveys and plans, and ongoing review of project compliance and monitoring, including administrative costs.
(2) Research facilitation and coordination, including, but not limited to, funding to support state agencies to work collaboratively with the bureau and other federal, state, and tribal entities to ensure that lessees’ construction and operations plans incorporate strategies and specific plans for comprehensive monitoring and adaptive management, and to ensure that the strategies and plans are implemented appropriately, including funding to contract with technical experts to be retained by state agencies to consult and collaborate on strategies and specific plans for comprehensive monitoring and adaptive management.
(3) (A) Contracts with technical experts to assist the bureau and the state in their review of survey and sampling and analysis plans, survey data and analysis, construction and operation plans, and other planning, project development, and project implementation activities and documents.
(B) The purpose of the technical experts is to review current research on survey methodologies, monitoring approaches and technologies, adaptive management strategies, and other relevant topics for floating offshore wind, to provide the bureau and the state with recommendations, suggested guidelines, and best practices, and to fulfill additional research needs, during all phases of floating offshore wind development and implementation with the overall goal of avoiding and minimizing impacts to coastal resources.
(4) Environmental impacts monitoring, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Collecting, analyzing, and reporting baseline and postdevelopment environmental data to assess large-scale changes and cumulative impacts to marine species, habitats, and uses from floating offshore wind development and related activities with a goal of enabling the bureau and the state to accurately assess, mitigate, and adaptively manage those impacts.
(B) Data collection at a regional scale that integrates data with information and data provided by lessees or the bureau and other relevant data to provide a comprehensive understanding of how floating offshore wind development is affecting the marine environment and coastal uses.
(5) Infrastructure readiness commitments, including, but not limited to, activities associated with the bureau’s lease requirements for lessees to support infrastructure readiness, such as ports, waterfront facilities, and transmission for floating offshore wind generation facilities.
(6) Workforce development grants consistent with subdivisions (r) to (t), inclusive, of Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code and in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board.
(7) Capacity funding activities and grants within local communities and tribal communities pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 25992.21.
(c) Moneys in the fund, donation account, and grant account shall not be allocated by the commission to another state or local agency for that agency’s costs that are otherwise recoverable from project proponents in administering a regulatory or entitlement program.

SEC. 3.

 Section 25992.20 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25992.20.
 (a) The Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the fund are hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to the commission for purposes of this chapter.
(b) The Private Donations Account is hereby created in the fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the donations account are hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to the commission for purposes of this chapter.
(c) (1) The Offshore Wind Community Capacity Funding Grant Account is hereby created in the fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the moneys in the grant account are hereby continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to the commission to fund capacity funding activities and award capacity funding grants, as described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 25992.10. The commission may use up to 5 percent of the total amount deposited into the grant account, if needed, to administer the grant account.
(2) Moneys appropriated pursuant to this subdivision shall be awarded in an equitable manner, as determined by the commission, that takes into account the needs and capacities of the communities, tribes, and organizations that apply for the funding for capacity funding activities and the capacity funding grants. The commission, in consultation with local communities, tribes, and other relevant stakeholders, shall develop, through a public process that includes holding public workshops, guidelines for the use of those moneys. The guidelines may include categories of eligible activities, application requirements, and criteria for evaluating applicants. The guidelines shall be subject to review and revision every three years.

SEC. 4.

 Section 25992.21 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25992.21.
 (a) (1) The commission may accept federal and private sector moneys, including for purposes of financial commitments made to fulfill a lessee’s bidding credits in a bureau lease sale auction, for purposes of this chapter. The private sector moneys shall be deposited into the donations account. The federal moneys shall be deposited into the fund.
(2) (A) Offshore wind entities shall provide financial assistance to fund capacity funding activities and grants, as described in subparagraph (B). The financial assistance may be provided directly to an eligible entity, as described in subparagraph (C), or deposited into the grant account for allocation pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 25992.20. The requirement on an offshore wind entity to provide this financial assistance shall apply to the leaseholder for the three-year period after the offshore wind entity executes an offshore wind lease and may be satisfied through one or more payments.
(B) Financial assistance provided by offshore wind entities pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be used for any of the following purposes:
(i) Activities related to consultation for purposes of, and participation in, project planning and development.
(ii) Activities related to the development of local and tribal benefit agreements.
(iii) Capacity funding grants.
(C) Entities eligible for the capacity funding activities and grants, as described in subparagraph (B), shall include local communities, California tribes, or a nonprofit organization selected by California tribes, to represent their interest. A coalition of multiple of these eligible entities may also apply as a single entity, if each coalition member is also an eligible entity. For purposes of this subparagraph, “California tribes” means California Native American tribes identified on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission or a federally recognized tribe, as defined in Section 11019.81 of the Government Code.
(D) Financial assistance provided by offshore wind entities pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not be used to satisfy financial commitments made to fulfill bidding credits it received in a bureau lease sale auction.
(E) Financial assistance provided by offshore wind entities pursuant to subparagraph (A) is subject to the reporting requirements of this section.
(b) Records of the donations received and allocations made pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to public disclosure.
(c) For each donation received pursuant to this section, the commission shall post a report on its internet website within 30 days of receiving that donation. The report shall contain all of the following information:
(1) The name and address of the donor.
(2) The amount of the donation.
(3) The date the donation was made.
(4) A brief description of the goods or services donated or purchased, if any.
(5) A description of the specific purpose or event for which the donation was made, if any.
(d) The commission may enter into an agreement with a donor for the purposes for which the donation may be used consistent with this chapter.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 11005 of the Government Code, the Director of Finance’s approval of the donations accepted by the commission under this section is not required.

SEC. 5.

 Section 25992.22 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

25992.22.
 (a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before March 15, 2024, and each January thereafter concurrent with the submission of the Governor’s Budget, the commission shall submit a report to the Legislature and the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on the moneys received and allocated pursuant to this chapter. The report shall include, but not be limited to, a description and information on the use of funds, geographic distribution of allocated funds, program activities, and awardees.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the commission shall annually prepare and submit, on or before March 1 of each year, a report to the Legislature on the implementation and effectiveness of the capacity funding activities and grants described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 25992.10, including the amount of activity and grant moneys and direct financial assistance provided by offshore wind entities, using information provided by offshore wind entities, local communities, and tribes. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the total amount of capacity funding activity and grant moneys and direct financial assistance awarded for purposes of those activities and grants, a description of the activities and grants funded, and an assessment of the impact of the funding.
(c) The report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.