CaLEAP: California Local Energy Assurance Planning

The California Energy Commission (CEC) is reaching out to cities and counties to offer assistance to local governments with generating plans to become more energy resilient; ensuring the energy supply to important infrastructure and “key assets” during emergency situations.The CaLEAP program considers all aspects of Emergency Management (prepare for, respond to, recover from, mitigate against). CEC is currently looking to partner with interested cities and counties and is providing technical assistance. For more information, visit the CaLEAP website, or contact Davie Michel, CaLEAP Program Lead at 916-651-3747,ordavid.michel@energy.ca.gov.

Solar Energy- Permits

SB 1222 (Leno) – Oppose
As Amended June 19, 2012

SB 1222, by Senator Leno, was put over to next week’s Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing on August 16, 2012. As previously reported, this bill would cap the permit fee that local agencies are allowed to charge on rooftop solar installations for residential solar at $400 and $1000 for commercial solar. CSAC, along with the League of California Cities, the Regional Council of Rural Counties, the American Planning Association-California Chapter, the California Building Officials and the Urban Counties Caucus all oppose this bill because we do not believe it is the role of the state to undermine local decisions by setting the level of the fee in statue without regard to individual city or county costs. 

Flood Protection/Land Use

SB 1278 (Wolk) – Support
As Amended June 12, 2012

SB 1278, by Senate Lois Wolk, was moved to the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File this week. As previously reported, this is the legislative vehicle for proposed changes to SB 5 (Machado, Chapter 364, Statutes of 2007), one of a six-bill flood protection package signed into law in 2007. SB 5 requires each city and county in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to comprehensively address flood management and flood risk issues within their general plans and zoning ordinances following the adoption of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP). The law also prohibits, after the CVFPP takes effect, a city or county in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley from entering into a development agreement, approving any permit, entitlement or subdivision map in a flood zone unless the city or county makes a finding that ensures the attainment of, or progress towards, a 200-year level of flood protection.

Climate Change

AB 1532 (Perez) – Support in Concept
As Amended June 18, 2012

AB 1532, by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, was moved to the Senate Appropriations Suspense file this week. As you recall, this bill would create the framework for how the California Air Resources Board would allocate revenues from the Cap and Trade program. Specifically, this bill would require CARB and other relevant state agencies to adopt guidelines for funding criteria and would require CARB to adopt an investment plan every three years which identifies and prioritizes the expenditure of Cap and Trade revenues. CSAC has taken a support in concept position on the bill. We are advocating for a local government funding component to be included in the bill, recognizing the contributions that local governments can make, and have already made towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the local level. 

Fish and Game

AB 2402 (Huffman) – Oppose
As Amended July 3, 2012

AB 2402, by Assembly Member Jared Huffman, was put on the Senate Appropriations Suspense File this week. As you recall, this bill would transfer from the Commission to the Department various responsibilities related to the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). These responsibilities include listing of threatened and endangered species, the guidelines that pertain to petitioning for a listing, and the public process that accompanies a listing decision, among others. CSAC believes that the current process, in which the Commission provides an independent review of the petition for listing, as well as the Department’s evaluation of the petition, provides the balance needed to make unbiased listing decisions.