Bill Text: CA SB968 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-26 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 674, Statutes of 2016. [SB968 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB968-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 968	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 1, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 28, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 31, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 31, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 14, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Monning
   (Coauthor: Senator Jackson)
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Achadjian)

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2016

   An act to add Section 712.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to  electricity.   electricity, and making an
appropriation therefor   . 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 968, as amended, Monning. Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2
powerplant.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant, composed of reactor Units 1 and
2, is operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in the County
of San Luis Obispo. Existing law requires the commission to convene,
or continue, until August 26, 2025, an independent peer review panel
to conduct an independent review of enhanced seismic studies and
surveys of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, including the
surrounding areas of the facility and areas of nuclear waste storage.
 Existing law establishes the Public Utilities Commission
Utilities Reimbursement Account and authorizes the commission to
annually determine a fee to be paid by every public utility providing
service   directly to customers or   subscribers
and subject to the jurisdiction of the commission, except for a
railroad corporation. 
   This bill would require the commission to cause an assessment to
be completed by no later than July 1, 2018, conducted by an
independent 3rd party, selected as specified, of the adverse and
beneficial economic impacts, and net economic effects, that could
occur, and of potential ways for the state and local jurisdictions to
mitigate the adverse economic impact, if the Diablo Canyon Units 1
and 2 powerplant were to temporarily or permanently shut down before
the powerplant's current operating licenses expire or  if
  when the Pacific Gas and Electric Company
 were to decide not to pursue license renewal.  
closes the powerplant upon the expiration of its current licenses.
The bill would appropriate $400,000 from the account to the
commission for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the third
party assessment. 
   This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation:  no   yes
 . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 712.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   712.5.  (a) (1) The commission shall cause an assessment to be
completed by no later than July 1, 2018, of the adverse and
beneficial economic impacts, and the net economic effects, for the
County of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding regions, that could
occur if the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant were to
temporarily or permanently shut down before the powerplant's current
operating licenses from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expire or
 if   when  the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company  were to decide not to pursue license renewal.
  closes the powerplant upon the expiration of its
current licenses.  The assessment shall include a review, as
described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b), of potential actions
for the state and local jurisdictions to consider in order to
mitigate the adverse economic impact of a shutdown.
   (2) The assessment shall be conducted by an independent third
party, selected in accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
   (b) The assessment shall consist of, but not be limited to, all of
the following:
   (1) Estimates of any changes in local tax revenues, changes in
workforce populations, changes in indirect or induced economies, and
potential impacts to ratepayers from a shutdown.
   (2) A review of the economic impacts that affected the region
surrounding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station after it was
decommissioned by the Southern California Edison Company and of the
relevant decommissioning plans of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating
Station.
   (3) A review of regions in the United States similar to the County
of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding regions that have experienced
the decommissioning of a nuclear powerplant and of the resulting
economic impacts of the decommissioning on those regions.
   (4) Identification of any contingency plans that could mitigate
the adverse economic impact of a shutdown to state and local
jurisdictions, the local workforce, and entities receiving enhanced
tax revenue.
   (c) (1) The commission shall issue a request for proposal for the
independent third party that will ensure that the selected party is
able to make an independent review and analysis of the data described
in subdivision (b).
   (2) The independent third party shall consult with the Board of
Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo, the governing board of
the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, the Center for Labor
Research and Education at the University of California at Berkeley,
the regional economic development group of the County of San Luis
Obispo, and other relevant governmental entities or community-based
organizations to assist in an accurate assessment of the economic and
workforce impacts of a shutdown.
   (d) The commission shall make the assessment publicly available on
its Internet Web  site and place it as an item on the agenda
at the next commission meeting after the assessment is made publicly
available for purposes of collecting and recording public comment.
  site, distribute copies to relevant state and local
jurisdictions, and convene a public forum in the County of San Luis
Obispo on the findings and recommendations of the assessment. 
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because, currently, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, owned
and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is the last
operating nuclear powerplant in  California and its continued
operation is uncertain as Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 are only
authorized to operate until   California, and, on June
21, 2016, the Pacific Gas and Electric   Company announced
that it would not renew its licenses for Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2,
which are set to expire in  2024 and 2025, respectively. 
In addition, a joint proposal governing the closure of the Diablo
Canyon Units 1 and 2, which included an orderly replacement of
electricity from generating resources that do not emit greenhouse
gases and an   employee retention severance program, was
signed by interested parties.  Local communities were
ill-prepared and given no notice after the sudden closure of the San
Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was announced on June 7, 2013, and
the state is still responding, at significant cost, to the sudden,
permanent, and unexpected loss of baseline electricity. Therefore, an
assessment is needed on the economic impact specific to a shutdown
of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant to provide the state,
and local communities, with valuable and necessary information to
plan and prepare for that circumstance.  The findings and
recommendations made are not intended to interfere with or invalidate
the joint proposal and can be used by local communities and parties
to the joint proposal to provide further information and
recommendations to minimize the local economic and other impacts that
the planned closure may cause. 
   SEC. 3.    The sum of four hundred thousand dollars
($400,000) is hereby appropriated from the Public Utilities
Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account to the Public Utilities
Commission for additional staffing to urgently effectuate the
third-party assessment pursuant to Section 712.5 of the Public
Utilities Code.