Legislative Update

What Happened During The 2015 Legislative Session?

The California Legislature has been busy this session, solidifying the State’s role in climate and clean-energy leadership. But we know local governments are busy implementing critical on-the-ground efforts to take action to achieve the aggressive goals that the State sets forth, so we created a fact sheet to deliver the key points of each law in a concise way – below are highlights from the fact sheet.

[textblock align=”center”]View or download the full 2015 legislative update fact sheet[/textblock]

AB 802 (Williams) – Energy Efficiency

Requires the California Public Utilities Commission to update the rules for the measurement of energy efficiency so that measurement is based on normalized metered energy consumption. Measuring energy savings at the meter, while making adjustments to account for outliers, accounts for true energy efficiency impacts on the grids.

AB 1482 (Gordon) – Climate Adaptation

Requires state agencies to promote the use of the climate adaptation strategy to inform planning decisions and ensures that state investments consider climate change impacts when developing infrastructure to address adaptation. Requires the Strategic Growth Council to review and comment on the State’s Five-Year Infrastructure plan to take current and future climate change impacts into account in all infrastructure projects.

SB 246 (Wieckowski) – Climate Change Adaptation

Establishes the integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program to coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation strategies. Sets up more transparent and consistent mechanisms for local input on state actions and focus on state efforts on supporting local action.

SB 350 (De León and Leno) – Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015

Sets mitigation goals for 2030: 50% increase in efficiency in existing buildings and 50% utility power coming from renewable energy sources.

SB 379 (Jackson) – Land Use: General Plan: Safety Element

Requires cities and counties to include climate adaptation and resiliency strategies in the safety elements of their general plans to ensure safety and protection of their communities in the future. Cities or counties that have an adopted HMP, climate adaptation plan or applicable provisions in their general plans, may use that information to comply.

SB 758 (Block) – Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program

Creates the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program under the Department of Water Resources to research atmospheric river patterns to increase water supply and reliability of water resources and improves flood protection.

What Do CEC Commissioners Think About SB 350 & AB 802?

Join the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC) for SB 350 and AB 802: Impacts and Implications for Local Governments on Thursday, December 3rd from 12:30-1:30. This statewide webinar will feature CEC Commissioners Andrew McAllister and  David Hochschild and dive into how these new laws will impact local governments.

[textblock align=”center”]Register now for the 12/3 SEEC Webinar – SB 350 and AB 802: Impacts and Implications for Local Governments[/textblock]