LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 34, as amended, Padilla. Energy: solar thermal and photovoltaic
powerplants: siting: California Endangered Species Act: mitigation
measures.
(1) Existing law vests exclusive power to certify a thermal
powerplant with the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission (Energy Commission). Existing law requires a
person to obtain a certification from the commission prior to
commencing the construction of a thermal powerplant, as defined.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to establish a
process for certain applicants for certification of a solar thermal
powerplant that allows the applicant to elect to pay additional fees
to be used by the Energy Commission to contract with 3rd parties to
assist Energy Commission staff in performing the analysis otherwise
performed by staff in determining whether or not to issue a
certification. The Energy Commission would retain discretion as to
when this option will be offered to qualified applicants.
(2) The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) requires the Fish
and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a
list of threatened species and requires the Department of Fish and
Game to recommend, and the commission to adopt, criteria for
determining if a species is endangered or threatened. CESA states
that state agencies should not approve projects, as defined, that
would jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or
threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse
modification of habitat essential to the continued existence of the
species if there are reasonable and prudent alternatives available
consistent with conserving the species or its habitat that would
prevent jeopardy. CESA further declares that in the event specific
economic, social, or other conditions make infeasible these
alternatives, individual projects may be approved if appropriate
mitigation and enhancement measures are provided. CESA authorizes the
department to authorize the take of threatened species, endangered
species, or candidate species by permit if the take is incidental to
an otherwise lawful activity, the impacts of the authorized take are
minimized and fully mitigated, the permit is consistent with
specified regulations, and the applicant ensures adequate funding to
implement the minimization of mitigation measures and monitors
compliance with, and effectiveness of, those measures.
This bill would authorize the department, in consultation with the
Energy Commission and, to the extent practicable, the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Bureau of Land
Management, to design and implement actions to protect, restore, or
enhance the habitat of plants and wildlife that can be used to fully
mitigate the impacts of the take of endangered, threatened, or
candidate species (mitigation actions) resulting from certain solar
thermal and photovoltaic powerplants in the planning area of the
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, as defined. The bill would
establish the Renewable Energy Resources Development Fee Trust Fund
as a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury to serve,
and be managed, as an optional, voluntary method for developers or
owners of eligible projects, as defined, to deposit fees sufficient
to complete mitigation actions established by the department and
thereby meet their requirements pursuant to CESA or the certification
authority of the Energy Commission. The bill would loan $10,000,000
from the Renewable Resources Trust Fund to the fund, to be repaid no
later than December 31, 2012, to be used by the department to
acquire real property or property rights, as defined,
purchase mitigation lands or conservation easements
and to cover related restoration, monitoring, and transaction
costs incurred in advance of the receipt of fees and to cover the
department's administrative costs for the program.
The bill would require the department to collect, and require the
owner or developer of an eligible project to pay, a one-time permit
application fee of $75,000. The bill would require that fees
collected by the department be deposited in the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund. The bill would require the department to utilize
the permit application fee to pay for all or a portion of the
department's cost of processing incidental take permit applications
pursuant to CESA and would appropriate an unspecified amount
$1,650,000 from the fund for those purposes. If
the permit application fee is insufficient to complete permitting
work due to the complexity of a project or timeline delays, the bill
would authorize the department to collect an additional fee from the
owner or developer to pay for its actual costs, not to exceed an
additional $75,000.
(3) Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, provides for
the conduct of administrative adjudication proceedings of state
agencies. Existing law generally prohibits during a pending
proceeding, communication, regarding any issue in the proceeding,
with the presiding officer from an employee or representative of the
agency without notice and opportunity for all parties to participate,
except as specified.
This bill would except from this general prohibition specified
communications relating to determinations of applications for site
certification that are before the Energy Commission and are made by
employees of another state agency for the purpose of enabling the
presiding officer to effectively manage the proceeding.
(4) Existing law generally requires the Department of Personnel
Administration to establish and adjust salary ranges for each class
of position in the state civil service subject to any constitutional
merit limits. Existing law requires the salary range to be based on
the principle that like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties
and responsibilities. Existing law prohibits the department from
making any adjustments that require expenditures in excess of
existing appropriations that may be used for salary increase
purposes.
This bill , until January 1, 2011, would approve the
recruitment and retention differentials of the Department of
Personnel Administration for specified employees in State Bargaining
Units 1 and 10 employed by the Energy Commission covered by the
October 29, 2009, letter from the Director of the Department of
Personnel Administration to the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee.
The bill would specify that those differentials that require the
expenditure of funds would not take effect unless funds for these
provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature or
already exist within available appropriations. The bill would
authorize either party to reopen negotiations on all or part of the
addendum if the Legislature does not approve or fully fund any
addendum included in this measure.
(5) The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare
a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session
for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a
fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on
January 8, 2010.
This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency
declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on January 8, 2010,
pursuant to the California Constitution.
(6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.

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Comments/questions on SBX8 34 (Padilla): Energy: solar thermal and photovoltaic powerplants: siting: California Endangered Species Act: mitigation measures.