HÌ GOOD AFTERNOON. WE'RE GONNA
WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED AS
SUBCOMMITTEE AS A SUBCOMMITTEE.
I DO SEE ONE AUTHOR, AND SO WE
MAY BE ABLE TO GET TO THIS
HEARING THAT BILL, BUT BEFORE
LIKE TO WELCOME EVERYONE. UM AS
WE CONVENE THE ASSEMBLY
COMMITTEE AND UTILITIES. AND
ENERGY HEARING SERGEANTS, WILL
YOU PLEASE CALL SOME OF THE
ABSENT MEMBERS, BUT WE MOVED TO
THE AGENDA WILL HAVE TO
ESTABLISH A QUORUM, BUT WE HAVE
YOUR HOUSEKEEPING ANNOUNCEMENTS
TO MAKE REMEMBER, MATTHEWS WILL
NOT BE IN COMMITTEE TODAY AND
WILL BE ABSTAINING. FROM ALL
THOSE VOTES. TODAY WE HAVE SEVEN
MEASURES ON THE AGENDA. ONE IS
ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
MAINTAIN A QUORUM DURING THE
HEARING, AS IS CUSTOMARY ANY
INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS DISRUPTED MAY
BE REMOVED FROM THE ROOM. WE
WANT TO BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM
EVERYONE DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS
AS WELL AS THE TESTIMONY. THE
TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO FOUR
MINUTES AND BEING TOLD TO PAUSE.
AWAY FROM MR PATTERSON TO
COMMAND. BUT IN THE MEANWHILE
STILL READ OFF THE HOUSEKEEPING.
MATTERS. HEAR TESTIMONY IS
LIMITED TO FOUR MINUTES TOTAL
TWO MINUTES SUPPORT TWO MINUTES
OPPOSITION FOR ANY ADDITIONAL
WITNESSES ON THE MEASURE. ONLY
STATE YOUR NAME, POSITION AND
AFFILIATION, IF ANY WE EXCEED
THIS TIME. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR
TESTIMONY THROUGH THE EMAIL
ADDRESS ON OUR WEBSITE. SO WE'LL
HAVE TO WAIT TO ONE STAB LIST A
QUORUM AND Tð. WAIT FOR THE VICE
CHAIR. FOR PURPOSES OF HEARING A
BILL. AS A COMMITTEE.
SUBCOMMITTEE THAT IS.
ALL RIGHT. WE WILL BEGIN AS A
SUBCOMMITTEE, AND WE HAVE ONE
AUTHOR HERE TO PRESENT ITEM
THREE. MAYBE 463 REMEMBER HEART.
YOU WANT TO BRING YOUR KEY
WITNESSES UP? YOU MAY DO SO AT
THIS TIME. LARA IS YOURS. THANK
YOU, CHAIR GARCIA AND MEMBERS.
I'M PLEASED TO BE PRESENTING A B
4 63 TO THE COMMITTEE TODAY. I'D
LIKE TO THANK STAFF FOR WORKING
WITH MY TEAM ON THE BILL 84 63
WILL HELP CALIFORNIA BUILDING
MORE RESILIENT PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE BILL ADDS TRANSIT AGENCIES
TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSIONS. ESSENTIAL USE
CUSTOMERS LIST IN ORDER TO
PROVIDE CRITICAL TRANSPORTATION
SERVICES TO MEET THE STATE'S
CLIMATE GOALS. THE CALIFORNIA
AIR RESOURCES BOARD HAS MANDATED
THAT ALL PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCIES
TRANSITION THEIR ENTIRE FLEET TO
ZERO MISSION BUSSES BY 2040.
WHEN FLEX ALERTS ARE IN PLACE OR
DURING PUBLIC SAFETY POWER
SHUTOFFS PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCIES
STILL NEED ELECTRICITY, THE
POWER OF THEIR FLEETS AND SAFETY
RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE. MEMBERS
OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO RELY ON
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEED THE
REASSURANCE THAT SERVICES WILL
REMAIN STABLE DURING FLEX ALERTS
OR PS PS EVENTS DURING
EMERGENCIES. PUBLIC SAFETY
OFFICIALS NEED TO KNOW TRANSIT
BUSSES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO
SUPPORT, DISASTER RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY. ADDING TRANSIT
AGENCIES TO THE ESSENTIAL USE
CUSTOMERS LIST IS CRITICAL TO
PROTECT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF
OUR COMMUNITIES THAT RELY ON
THESE SERVICES. SPEAKING HAS
SUPPORTED THE BILL WITH ME TODAY
ARE STEPHEN JONES REPRESENTING
ALAMEDA CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT.
HE'LL SPEAK TO THE BENEFITS OF
BASIC TRANSIT SERVICE, AND
MICHAEL PIMENTAL, REPRESENTING
THE CALIFORNIA TRANSIT
ASSOCIATION WILL SPEAK TO THE
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PORTIONS
OF THE BILL. GOOD AFTERNOON
CHAIR. GARCIA AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE STEPHEN JONES,
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS REPRESENTATIVE
AT THE ALAMEDA CONTRA COSTA
TRANSIT DISTRICT, BASED IN
OAKLAND, SPEAKING IN SUPPORT OF
MAYBE 463 APPRECIATE THE
COMMITTEE CONSIDERING THIS BILL
AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S HEART FOR
INTRODUCING IT. TRANSIT IS THE
LARGEST BUS ONLY PUBLIC TRANSIT
SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA EVERY DAY.
WE LIKE OTHER TRANSIT OPERATORS
ACROSS THE STATE. PROVIDE AN
ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICE SOME OF
THE MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS IN
OUR COMMUNITIES. ALL WRITERS
INCLUDE SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES. WHO MAY HAVE NO
OTHER OPTION THAN TO TAKE PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION. STUDENTS WHO
RELY ON TRANSIT TO GET THEM TO
AND FROM SCHOOL. ESSENTIAL
WORKERS WHO OFTEN DON'T HAVE THE
OPTION TO WORK REMOTELY. AND
PEOPLE FROM LOW INCOME
HOUSEHOLDS WHO MAY NOT EVEN OWN
A CAR. NOT DELIVERING RELIABLE
TRANSIT SERVICE FOR THOSE WHO
DEPEND ON IT COULD HAVE
DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES.
SENIORS COULD MISS IMPORTANT
MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS TO THE
DETRIMENT OF THEIR HEALTH.
STUDENTS COULD MISS SCHOOL AND
LOSE OUT ON AN EDUCATION.
WORKERS COULD LOSE THEIR JOBS.
TRANSIT IS THE LEADER IN THE
INDUSTRY WHEN IT COMES TO
MEETING THE STATES ZERO MISSION
MANDATE WERE RAPIDLY PUTTING
POLLUTION FREE BUSSES ON THE
ROAD. BUT NOT HAVING
UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS TO
ELECTRICITY ALREADY IMPACTS OUR
ABILITY TO DELIVER SERVICE. WHEN
THE POWER GOES OUT OUR BACKUP
GENERATORS GO ON, BUT THESE
EMERGENCY GENERATORS CAN'T
CHARGE EVEN A SINGLE ELECTRIC
BATTERY BUS. SIMPLY PUT. WE
CAN'T SERVE OUR WRITERS WE CAN'T
KEEP OUR BUS IS CHARGED. WITHOUT
POWER. WE COULD LOSE. THE
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR
DRIVERS AND TRACK OUR BUSSES.
THIS PUTS OUR DRIVERS AND OUR
CUSTOMERS AT RISK. EVEN OUR
MAINTENANCE DIVISION, WHICH
KEEPS OUR BUSSES ON THE ROAD IS
AFFECTED WITHOUT POWER. OUR
CREWS HAVE TO USE HAND OR
BATTERY POWERED TOOLS.
DISRUPTIONS LIKE THESE THREATEN
OUR ABILITY TO GET PEOPLE TO
SCHOOL JOBS AND MORE. AS WE MOVE
TOWARDS 100% 0 EMISSIONS,
TRANSIT AND OTHER TRANSIT
AGENCIES MUST HAVE UNINTERRUPTED
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY SO WE CAN
CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR
COMMUNITIES TRANSIT. APPRECIATE
YOUR TIME URGES YOUR SUPPORT FOR
A B 4 63. THANK YOU. HMM GOOD
AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS
. I'M MICHAEL PIMENTEL,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
CALIFORNIA TRANSIT ASSOCIATION
AND ON BEHALF OF OUR MORE THAN
220 MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS,
INCLUDING 85 TRANSIT IN REAL
AGENCIES IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. I'M HERE TODAY TO
VOICE OUR SUPPORT FOR AND ARE
AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PROUD
SPONSORSHIP OF A B 4 63 HEART.
NOW IN RECENT YEARS, AS YOU KNOW
, WHILE CALIFORNIA HAS
EXPERIENCED EXTREME WEATHER
PATTERNS AND EVENTS THAT IT
PRESENTED SOME CHALLENGES FOR
CALIFORNIA'S ACROSS THE STATE,
AND THAT OUR CLEAR FOR TRANSIT
AGENCIES AS A TRANSITION TO ZERO
MISSION TECHNOLOGIES IN HERE. I
JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
EXTREME HEAT AND ATMOSPHERIC
RIVERS OFTEN LEAD TO PLAN POWER
OUTAGES THAT WHEN MIXED WITH
INCREASINGLY ZERO MISSION
TRANSIT FLEETS UNDERMINE A
CRITICAL FUNCTION FOR TRANSIT
AGENCIES, AND THAT IS EMERGENCY
RESPONSE. NOW DURING THESE
EVENTS, TRANSIT AGENCIES WORKING
WITH RESPECTIVE COUNTY OFFICES
OF EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE OFTEN
ACTIVATED TO HELP RIDERS ESCAPED
HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. WHETHER THAT
MEANS THROUGH ORDERED
EVACUATIONS OR SIMPLY
TRANSPORTATION TO WARMING OR
COOLING STATIONS. NOW IN THE
FUTURE, THIS FUNCTION AS WELL AS
THE BASIC SERVICE THAT TRANSIT
AGENCIES PROVIDERS, MR JONES
NOTED, MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE WHEN
TRANSIT FLEETS ARE 100% 0
MISSION AND AGENCIES ARE SUBJECT
TO PLANNED OUTAGES FOR CONTEXT.
CARB HAS ENACTED SEVERAL
MANDATES, INCLUDING THE
INNOVATIVE CLEAN TRANSIT
REGULATION AND IS CONTEMPLATING
THE PROPOSED IN USE LOCOMOTIVE
REGULATION, WHICH WILL REQUIRE
AGENCIES TO TRANSITION FULLY 20
MISSION TECHNOLOGIES. BY 2040
AND 2047, RESPECTIVELY. AS AN
ASSOCIATION. WE HAVE A LONG
TRACK RECORD OF SUPPORTING A
BROAD RANGE OF POLICIES TO
ADDRESS BARRIERS, WHETHER THEIR
CURRENT OR FUTURE THAT WOULD
IMPEDE COMPLIANCE WITH THESE
MANDATES, AND ULTIMATELY, THE
FULFILLMENT OF OUR CORE
FUNCTIONS. AND WE HAVE LONG
BROADCAST AND TRIED TO ADDRESS
THE CHALLENGE OF GRID RESILIENCY
, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL TO
SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO 100% 0
MISSION TECHNOLOGIES. NOW HERE,
I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CPC
DOES MAINTAIN POLICIES IN COURT
INCORPORATE TRANSIT WHEN
CONSIDERING RESILIENCY
INVESTMENTS IN ZERO MACHINE
TECHNOLOGIES. AND GRANT TRANSIT
AGENCIES CRITICAL FACILITY
STATUS, WHICH QUALIFIES THEM TO
RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM BACKUP
GENERATION. HOWEVER THESE
POLICIES FALL SHORT AND
PROVIDING AGENCIES WITH THAT
DEDICATED UNINTERRUPTED ACCESS
TO ELECTRICITY THAT IS AFFORDED
TO VARIOUS CUSTOMERS THAT HOLD
THE ESSENTIAL USE CUSTOMER
STATUS. AND SO THE REMEDY REMEDY
. THIS IS BILL AIMED TO GRANT
TRANSIT AGENCIES THAT STATUS OF
ESSENTIAL USE CUSTOMER. WHICH
WOULD HELP CREATE SOME PARODY
AND ELECTRICITY PRIORITIZATION
DURING PLANNED OUTAGES WITH
OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS AND
PROACTIVELY ADDRESS WHAT WE SEE
AS A LOOMING CONCERN ABOUT
ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY IN THIS
TRANSITION. WE RESPECTFULLY ASK
FOR YOUR I VOTE. THANK YOU. AT
THIS TIME, I'LL ASK IF THERE ARE
ANY KEY WITNESSES THAT WILL BE
SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION TO THIS
BILL. SEEING NO ONE COMING
FORWARD. WE WILL OPEN IT UP FOR
PUBLIC COMMENT. I WAS WANTING TO
SPEAK VERY PUBLIC COMMENT.
PLEASE AGAIN NAME AFFILIATION IN
YOUR POSITION. GOOD AFTERNOON,
MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS ALCHEMY
GRAHAM ON BEHALF OF THE SAN
JOAQUIN REGIONAL TRANSIT
DISTRICT, SAN FRANCISCO WATER
EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY IN MONTEREY SALINAS
TRANSIT IN SUPPORT. TAMARA EAGER
ON BEHALF OF CAL STARTING
SUPPORT. STEVE WALLACE CAN BE
OUT OF THE ANIMATED CHARACTER
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, THE
GUN GATE BRIDGE DISTRICT IN THE
NAPA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY AND SUPPORT THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. I'LL BRING THE ITEM
BACK TO THE DIOCESE. THIS HAS A
DO AS RECORD NATION. ANY
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS. OF EMOTION
ONLY. SECOND MR. SHORT LIKE TO
CLOSE. GARCIA, YOU RESPECTFULLY
RISK OR CUSTODY VOTE ESTABLISHED
QUORUM WILL COME BACK AND TAKE
THE ACTUAL ITEM BACK UP FOR A
VOTE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
MEMBER OF THE VALLAPUDUA.
YOU MAY BEGIN. ALL RIGHT. THE
CHAIR. MEMBERS. THANK YOU. CHAIR
MEMBERS WANT TO START OFF BY
ACCEPTING THE COMMITTEE'S
AMENDMENTS. MAYBE 9 82. THE RATE
REDUCTION MEASURE. A B 9 82 WILL
ENSURE MORE. FUNDING FOR THE
PROGRAMS UNDER THE PUBLIC
PURPOSE PROGRAM. BY ESTABLISHING
THE PUBLIC UTILITIES PUBLIC
PURPOSE PROGRAM FUND. THIS BILL
INSURES CALIFORNIA DO NOT
SHOULDER THE COSTS OF THESE
PUBLIC BENEFIT PROGRAMS.
CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN HIT HARD BY
THE PANDEMIC AND THE END
INFLATION. THE PAST COUPLE OF
YEARS HAVE BEEN ESPECIALLY
CHALLENGING FOR LOW INCOME
CUSTOMERS. THE COST FOR ALL
GOODS AND SERVICES INCLUDES AH
ESSENTIALS UTILITIES IS
SKYROCKETING. ON TOP OF THESE
CURRENT DAY ISSUES, UTILITY
BILLS ARE ARE SADDLED WITH A
SERIES OF ADD ON COST THROUGH
THE P P P THE THESE COSTS
INCLUDE LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM AS WELL AS PROGRAMS THAT
ADVANCED STATE CLIMATE GOALS.
THESE PROGRAMS ARE ALL IMPORTANT
BECAUSE THEY SUPPORT THE
ENVIRONMENT AND THOSE AMONG
AMONG US WHO WE NEED THE MOST.
TO SUPPORT. HOWEVER THESE COSTS
ARE ARE NOT ALL RELATED TO THE
COST OF PROVIDING ELECTRICITY
AND THE BENEFITS EXTENDING
BEYOND THOSE WHO FUND IT TO THE
ENTIRE STATE. A B 982 WILL
ENSURE MORE EQUITABLE FUNDING
FOR THE PROGRAMS UNDER THE P P P
THE BILL WILL THE BILL IS WELL
TIMED, GIVEN THE STATE OF OUR
ECONOMY. AH CHANGING THE FUNDING
SOURCE KEEPS ALS VULNERABLE
PROGRAMS INTACT. WELL EASING THE
BURDEN ON ELECTRICITY UTILITY
CUSTOMERS. THIS IS CRITICAL,
IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. ON
OUR ON OUR, UM BECK CHUA SINCE
2045 CLIMATE GOALS. WITH ME
TODAY TO TESTIFY AND TO ANSWER
ANY QUESTIONS IS SCOTT CRIDER,
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE
EXTERNAL AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT
AT SENOR GAS AND ELECTRIC.
GREAT. CHAIRMAN GARCIA AND
COMMITTEE MEMBERS AGAINST SCOTT
CRIDER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT
SDG AND E. AND I'M HERE TO SPEAK
STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF A B 9 82.
AS YOU HEARD, YOU KNOW,
CALIFORNIA'S TRANSITIONING TO A
CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY AND AS WE
INVEST IN CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENSURE CLIMATE
RESILIENCY AND SAFETY CUSTOMERS
ACROSS THE STATE OR EXPERIENCING
HIGHER ELECTRICITY BILLS, AND AT
SCG ANY, WE'VE BEEN LASER
FOCUSED ON IDENTIFYING
OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVIDE RELIEF
TO CUSTOMERS, ESPECIALLY LOWER
AND MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES. WHO
ARE ALSO STRUGGLING FROM HIGHER
PRICES ON WATER, FOOD AND
HOUSING. 89 82 IS A COMMON SENSE
MEASURE THAT WHEN COMBINED WITH
EQUITABLE RATE REFORM THAT THE
LEGISLATURE APPROVED LAST YEAR
WILL ALLEVIATE RATE PRESSURE AND
PROVIDE BILLS STABILITY BY
REQUIRING THAT MAN STATE
MANDATED PUBLIC PURPOSE PROGRAMS
BE PAID THROUGH THE STATE'S
GENERAL FUND, RATHER THAN
THROUGH CUSTOMERS. ELECTRICITY
BILLS. LET ME PUT THIS IN
PERSPECTIVE SINCE 2012 PUBLIC
PER PURPOSE PROGRAM COSTS, AT
LEAST FOR SDG AND E HAVE
INCREASED MORE THAN 230% OR 10%
PER YEAR, ON AVERAGE, AND IN
2023 SD JENNY WILL COLLECT
NEARLY $500 MILLION FROM
CUSTOMERS TO FUND 15 STATE
MANDATED PROGRAMS. BY MOVING ALL
THESE PROGRAMS TO THE STATE'S
GENERAL FUND REPAIRS COULD SEE
AN IMMEDIATE REDUCTION RATE
REDUCTION OF UP TO 7% THAT'S A
SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS TO CUSTOMERS
AT SUCH A CRITICAL TIME. UM WITH
THE WITH THE AMENDMENT THAT HAS
BEEN AGREED TO THE REDUCTION
DROPS TO ABOUT 3% THAT'S STILL A
SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS FOR
CUSTOMERS, AND WE NEED TO
CONTINUE TO FIND OPPORTUNITIES
TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE THAT.
BUT IN THE END, THE TPP REALLY
SHOULD BE PART OF CALIFORNIA'S
PROGRESSIVE TAX SYSTEM, WHERE
THE WORD TAX BURDEN INCREASES
WITH INCOME. THIS IS A MORE FAIR
AND EQUITABLE APPROACH TO
FUNDING THESE IMPORTANT PROGRAMS
BECAUSE CURRENTLY P P P HAS PAID
VOLUMETRIC LI, MEANING, THE MORE
YOU USE, THE MORE YOU PAY AND
HIGHER USAGE DOES NOT MEAN
HIGHER INCOMES, AND IT REALLY
HAS IT DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT,
ESPECIALLY ON LOWER AND MIDDLE
INCOME FAMILIES SO BUT THAT I
WOULD RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR
SUPPORT ON A B 9 82. THANK YOU.
NEXT WITNESS TWO MINUTES. YEAH.
GREAT THANKS. ADAM SMITH,
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON
STRONGLY SUPPORTING A B 982. 89
82 WOULD FUND PUBLIC PURPOSE
PROGRAMS AS YOU'VE HEARD MORE
EQUITABLY AMONG TAXPAYERS. THIS
WOULD EASE THE PRESSURE ON
ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS MOST IN NEED.
FUNDING PROGRAMS TO ELECTRIC
RATES, AS YOU'VE HEARD HAS BEEN
BROADLY DOCUMENTED, IS ACTUALLY
IN THE ANALYSIS AS WELL. CITING
SOME OF THE PAPERS FROM, YOU
KNOW BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL THAT
YOU KNOW, FUNDING THESE PROGRAMS
THROUGH ELECTRIC RATES IS
REGRESSIVE. IT IMPACTS LOWER
INCOME RATE PAIRS MORE
PROFOUNDLY, IN CONTRAST,
CALIFORNIA'S PROGRESSIVE TAX
STRUCTURE, AS WE JUST HEARD IS
BASED ON TAXPAYERS ABILITY TO
PAY TAXES INCREASE AS INCOME
CREASES. WE THINK THAT'S MORE
EQUITABLE WAY TO PAY FOR THESE
PROGRAMS. BY SHIFTING P P P COST
TO THE GENERAL FUND. THE STATE
CAN ENSURE ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS,
MOST BURDENED BY THE COST OF
ELECTRICITY ARE SUPPORTED MORE
EQUITABLY. FUNDING PUBLIC
PURPOSE PROGRAMS THROUGH THE
GENERAL FUND WOULD RESULT IN THE
MEANINGFUL RATE REDUCTION FOR
ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS, WHICH WOULD
IMPROVE THE AFFORDABILITY OF
ELECTRIC BILLS. FOR ALL. I THINK
OUR STATS ARE VERY SIMILAR TO
THE STATS. YOU JUST HEARD FROM
SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC. BUT
THE REDUCTIONS OUR CUSTOMERS
WOULD SEE IF THESE WERE MOVED TO
THE GENERAL FUND. I'D ALSO JUST
ADD, AND I THINK IT WAS BRIEFLY
MENTIONED THAT THE BILL WOULD
MAKE THE FUNDING SOURCE MORE
EQUITABLE WHILE LEAVING PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION WITH THE
UTILITIES TO AVOID ANY
INTERRUPTION IN SERVICE. THIS
ALLOWS THE BENEFITS OF THESE
PROGRAMS TO BE DELIVERED JUST
HOW THEY ALWAYS HAVE JUST HOW
CUSTOMERS ARE USED TO ACHIEVING
THEM, WHICH MINIMIZES ANY
POTENTIAL CUSTOMER CONFUSION AS
ELECTRIC RATES CONTINUE TO
INCREASE DUE TO A NUMBER OF
FACTORS, WHICH I KNOW THIS
COMMITTEE IS SPENT A LOT OF TIME
DISCUSSING IT'S TIME TO REMOVE
THESE COSTS FROM ELECTRIC RATE
PAIRS. FOR THESE REASONS. SC
SUPPORTS THIS AUTHOR IN THIS
BILL, AND RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR
YOUR VOTE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'LL ASK. YOU SEE TO SEE IF
THERE'S ANYONE TESTIFYING IN
OPPOSITION. TESTIFYING IN
OPPOSITION. NO ONE COMES FORWARD
WILL MOVE ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
HE'S UM, STEP FORWARD NAME
AFFILIATION POSITION. GOOD
AFTERNOON. BRANDON BECKWITH,
PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC IN
SUPPORT. THANK YOU. OKAY, SO NO
ONE ELSE WILL BRING THIS BACK TO
DICE AND QUESTIONS. COMMENTS.
APPRECIATE YOU ACCEPTING THE
AMENDMENTS. UH, EMOTION. HER
SECOND. WHICH WAS CALDERON MR
CONNELLY. LIKE TO CLOSE. THANK
YOU, MR CHAIRMAN. MEMBERS, UM AS
LEGISLATOR. YOU KNOW, WE JUST
NEED TO DO MORE. AND I
RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR A NIGHT,
BUT THANK YOU. WE'LL BE TAKING
THAT ITEM BACK UP. ONCE WE
ESTABLISH A QUORUM, FOREIGN
ACCENT. THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. REMEMBER
PACHECO.
OR YOU MAY BEGIN TO REMIND
WITNESSES THAT TWO MINUTES GOOD
AFTERNOON. I HOPE YOU'RE DOING
WELL. MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF
THE COMMITTEE. UH TODAY I
PRESENT BEFORE YOU ASSEMBLY BILL
3 TO 4. I WANT TO START BY
THANKING THE COMMITTEE STAFF FOR
ALL THEIR WORK ON THIS BILL, AND
WE'LL BE ACCEPTING THE COMMITTEE
AMENDMENTS THE STATES RECENTLY
ADOPTED SCOPING PLAN AS WELL.
HAS A LITANY OF ACADEMIC AND
SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS, WHICH
HAVE CONCLUDED THAT RENEWABLE
HYDROGEN IS CRUCIAL FOR US TO
MEET OUR CLIMATE GOALS. THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PASSED
LEGISLATION SUPPORTING THIS
CONCLUSION THROUGH BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS IN FUNDING FOR GRANTS TO
STATES WITH THE SUPPORTIVE
RENEWABLE HYDROGEN POLICY
FRAMEWORK LIKE THE ONE PROPOSED
IN THIS CURRENT BILL. A B 3 24
WILL HELP US TAKE A SMALL STEP
FORWARD IN ESTABLISHING STATE
UTILITY POLICY ON RENEWABLE
HYDROGEN BY SIMPLY REQUIRING THE
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION TO CONSIDER ADOPTING
RENEWABLE HYDROGEN PROCUREMENT
GOALS FOR GAS UTILITIES. BECAUSE
THE BILL'S LANGUAGE ONLY
AUTHORIZES THE CPUC TO CONSIDER
NO NEW MANDATE IS BEING
ESTABLISHED. A 3 83 24 WOULD
ALSO REQUIRE THE CPUC TO WEIGH
COSTS. COST EFFECTIVENESS.
SAFETY. AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS BEFORE ADOPTING GOALS
OR TARGETS. FOR SAFETY. THIS
BILL EVEN GOES FURTHER AND
SPECIFICALLY REQUIRES THE CPUC
TO ESTABLISH A PIPELINE SAFETY
AND MONITORING PROGRAM FOR
RENEWABLE HYDROGEN. A B 3 24
EXPANDS SB 14 40 BY SENATOR
WESSEL TO ALSO INCLUDE RENEWABLE
HYDROGEN WITH ME TODAY I HAVE
TWO WITNESSES AND SUPPORT WE
HAVE NEIL NAVAN, CHIEF, CLEAN
FUELS OFFICER AND CLEAN ENERGY
INNOVATIONS THAT SO CALLED GAS
AND SCOTT WITCH FROM THE
CALIFORNIA STATE PIPE TRADES
COUNCIL, WHO WILL BE TESTIFYING
AND ALSO WILL BE ANSWERING ANY
QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE CHAIR.
GARCIA AND MEMBERS. UH IN 2018
SP 14 40. WHICH AUTHORIZED THE
COMMISSION TO CONSIDER ADOPTING
BIO METHANE PROCUREMENT TARGETS
FOR GAS CORPORATIONS WAS PASSED
BY THE LEGISLATURE AND SIGNED BY
THE GOVERNOR. A B 3 24 SIMPLY
MAKES A MINOR BUT IMPORTANT
ADJUSTMENT. SP 14 40. BY
AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION TO
CONSIDER RENEWABLE HYDROGEN
PROCUREMENT TARGETS FOR GAS
UTILITIES. A B 3 24 MAINTAINS
ALL THE BENEFITS AND SAFETY
PROVISIONS INITIALLY ENVISIONED
AN SP 14 40. AND SIMPLY ADDS TO
THE PROGRAM BY ENSURING THE
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSIONS IS
EMPOWERED TO CONSIDER RENEWABLE
HYDROGEN AS A RESOURCE FOR
DECARBONIZATION AND TO HELP
CALIFORNIA REACH OUR AMBITIOUS
CLIMATE NEUTRALITY GOALS. SINCE
SIGNING SB 14 40 ALMOST FIVE
YEARS AGO. HYDROGEN HAS
INCREASINGLY BECOME RECOGNIZED
FOR ITS POTENTIAL TO REDUCE GHG
EMISSIONS AND PROVIDE A SOURCE
FOR HARD TO ELECTRIFY SECTORS OF
THE ECONOMY. ADDITIONALLY
THROUGH PREVIOUS LEGISLATION AND
BUDGETARY ACTION, THE
LEGISLATURE HAS RECOGNIZED THE
RELEVANCE AND POTENTIAL OF
HYDROGEN AS A DECARBONIZATION
TOOL. A B 3 24 SIMPLY ADDS
RENEWABLE HYDROGEN AS ANOTHER
CLEAN FUEL THAT CAN BE
CONSIDERED IN MEETING THE GOALS
OF THE RENEWABLE GAS STANDARD.
THIS IS A VERY SIMILAR, IT SAYS,
VERY SIMILAR TO CALIFORNIA'S
LEADERSHIP. WITH THE RENEWABLE
PORTFOLIO STANDARD FOR FRAMEWORK
, WHICH HAS IT BEEN A RESOUNDING
SUCCESS IN LOWERING PRICES FOR
RENEWABLE POWER. CLEAN
ELECTRONS. NOW IT IS TIME TO
APPLY THIS APPROACH TO CLEAN
MOLECULES. UH WE RESPECTFULLY
ASK FOR YOUR VOTE. MR CHAIRMAN,
REMEMBER SCOTT, WHICH ON BEHALF
OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE PIPE
TRADES COUNCIL, AS WELL AS THE
CALIFORNIA COALITION OF UTILITY
EMPLOYEES? I'M HERE TODAY TO ASK
THIS COMMITTEE TO WORK WITH US
COLLABORATIVELY. BECAUSE MY
CLIENTS HAVE WORKED
COLLABORATIVELY WITH THIS BODY
ON DECARBONIZATION, EVEN THOUGH
IT ULTIMATELY IS GOING TO MEAN
UH, THE END TO THOUSANDS OF JOBS
FOR MY PLUMBERS AND PIPEFITTERS
AND FOR MY UTILITY GAS WORKERS.
WHEN YOU DE CARBONIZED BUILDING
YOU REMOVE ABOUT 15% OF THE
PLUMBING THAT GOES INTO A
BUILDING, WHICH TRANSLATES INTO
THOUSANDS OF LOST JOBS. WE'RE
LOOKING ON THE UTILITY SIDE.
WE'RE GOING TO LOSE THOUSANDS OF
UTILITY GAS JOBS. WE HAVE TO
MOVE THE BALL FORWARD ON
HYDROGEN. THERE'S BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS AT STAKE. IT'S FROM THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND
CALIFORNIA HAVE TO SHOW A SIGNAL
THAT WE'RE SERIOUS. FOLKS WHO
ARE GOING TO TESTIFY IN
OPPOSITION ARE GOING TO TALK
ABOUT THAT UTILITY SHOULDN'T BE
IN THE HYDROGEN GAME. THAT IS
COMPLETELY IN EARLY, RIDICULOUS.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE UTILITIES
ACCESSING EXISTING PIPELINES.
ACCESSING EXISTING RIGHT OF WAYS
. WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE IF WE
WANT TO BUILD OUT HYDROGEN IT'S
TRUCKING. IT IT'S LIKE
DELIVERING IT LIKE PROPANE. HOW
WAS TAKING HYDROGEN AND CREATING
ALL THOSE TRUCKS, TRIPS AND
MILES TRAVELED TO DELIVER IT VIA
TRUCKS GOOD AND CONSISTENT WITH
OUR CLIMATE POLICY. YOU KNOW,
THE OPPOSITION IS ALSO GOING TO
SAY THAT HYDROGEN IS TOO
EXPENSIVE. WELL YOU KNOW WHAT
SOLAR WAS TOO EXPENSIVE 20 YEARS
AGO, AND WE SAT. I SAT RIGHT
HERE IN THIS COMMITTEE AND HEARD
PEOPLE RAIL AGAINST WHY WE
SHOULDN'T INVEST IN THE SOLAR
INDUSTRY AND LOOK WHERE THAT HAS
TAKEN US TODAY. YOU KNOW? MR
BACA. DARYL WILL COME UP AND SAY
THAT RATES ARE TOO HIGH. BUT YOU
KNOW WHAT ELSE IS MORE EXPENSIVE
THAN SOLAR TODAY? BIOMASS AND
WHEN HE COMES UP HERE ON BEHALF
OF HIS EGG CLIENTS AND BIOMASS
CLIENTS, HE DOESN'T TALK ABOUT
RATES. THIS IS NASCENT INDUSTRY.
WE HAVE TO HELP IT. GET OFF THE
GROUND. WE HAVE TO SIGNAL SIGNAL
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO ELIMINATE
JOBS IN THE IN IN THE CARBON
BASED ECONOMY, YOU'VE GOT TO
STEP UP AND WORK WITH US TO HELP
CREATE JOBS IN THE NEW GREEN
ECONOMY, SO WE WOULD I
RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE.
THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
WE'LL ASK TO SEE IF THERE ARE
ANY CUTE WITNESSES SPEAKING IN
OPPOSITION. HE WITNESSES
SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION. AND THEN
I WILL TAKE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS
AFTER THAT. THANK YOU, MR
CHAIRMAN MEMBERS. MICHAEL BROKE
ADORO. UM SCOTT'S ALREADY GIVEN
ME A GREAT INTRODUCTION IN TERMS
OF WHAT SOME OF MY CONCERNS
MIGHT BE TODAY. UM WHICH IS
ALWAYS, UM, INTERESTING. LET ME
JUST SAY A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS
BILL. IT'S HIGHLY PREMATURE.
HIGHLY UNNECESSARY. IT IS VERY
COSTLY, NOT COMPARABLE TO SAHAR
AND THERE ARE ALREADY COMPANIES
WITH HYDROGEN PIPELINES IN THIS
SPACE TODAY, WE DON'T NEED TO
AUTHORIZE THE GAS COMPANY TO DO
THIS. PREMATURE THERE IS ALREADY
A PROCEEDING AT THE PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION THAT HAS
BEEN OPEN ON PUTTING HYDROGEN
INTO THE PIPELINES. IT WAS
OPENED UNDER THE SAME PROCEEDING
AS SENATE BILL 14 40 THAT YOU
HEARD REFERENCE. THIS IS NOT A
SIMPLE LITTLE EDITION AS YOU
HEARD SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. THIS
IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT GAS.
THAT WHEN PUT INTO AN EXISTING
PIPELINE NOT DESIGNED FOR
HYDROGEN CAN GO BOOM. IT'S VERY
DANGEROUS, WHICH IS WHY THE
COMMISSION AS PART OF THEIR DUE
DILIGENCE, CONDUCTED A STUDY AND
UNTIL SEVERAL PILOT PROJECTS
HAVE BEEN COMPLETED AND SHOW
THAT IT CAN BE SAFE. THEY HAVE
NOT MOVED FORWARD WITH
PROCUREMENT TARGETS, WHICH THEY
COULD DO TODAY. THEY'VE DONE
THAT. FROM A SAFETY STANDPOINT,
THOSE PILOT PROJECTS HAVE NOT
BEEN INITIATED, LET ALONE
COMPLETED. SECOND UM, SO
PREMATURE, UNNECESSARY, COSTLY.
VERY EXPENSIVE HYDROGEN 5 TO 10
OR MORE TIMES EXPENSIVE THAN
CONVENTIONAL GAS. WE ALL SAT
HERE TWO WEEKS AGO AND TALKED
ABOUT ENERGY AFFORDABILITY. THIS
WILL DRIVE NATURAL GAS RATES FOR
CUSTOMERS IN CALIFORNIA ARE
HIGHER THAN THE 3 TO 4 TIMES.
THAT WE ALREADY PAY MORE THAN
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY. SO FOR
THESE REASONS, AND THEN FINALLY
THERE ARE ALREADY COMPANIES IN
THIS SPACE. WE CAN SHOW MR WEST
A HYDROGEN PIPELINE THEY EXIST.
AIR PRODUCTS, AIR, LIQUID AND
OTHER COMPANIES BUILD PRIVATE
HYDROGEN PIPELINES FOR CUSTOMERS
WHO WANT THEM. WE EXPECT THAT
WILL CONTINUE IF SEMPRA WANTS TO
GET INTO THE HYDROGEN BUSINESS,
THEY SHOULD DO THAT WITH
SHAREHOLDER DOLLARS. SO CAL GAS
WANTS TO GET IN BECAUSE GUESS
WHY THEY CAN USE RAPE PARA
DOLLARS TO MAKE THEIR
INVESTMENTS FOR THEM REDUCE
THEIR RISK WHILE MAXIMIZING
THEIR PROFIT FOR THEIR PARENT
COMPANY. LET'S SEMPRA DO THIS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE SO COW GAS
DO THIS, AND LET'S SEMPRA
COMPETE WITH THE PRIVATE
COMPANIES THAT ARE ALREADY IN
THIS SPACE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU
. DO WE HAVE ANOTHER WITNESS IN
OPPOSITION? IS THAT WHAT IT IS?
YES THANK YOU, MR CHAIR, ARC
FINSTER MAKER ON BEHALF OF EARTH
JUSTICE IN OPPOSITION,
RESPECTFULLY AGREE WITH MANY OF
THE POINTS BY MY COLLEAGUE, MR
BOCA DERO ON THE FACT THAT THIS
IS PREMATURE, JUST ADD TO THE
PROCEEDINGS HAPPENING AT THE PUC
ALSO, YOU KNOW THIS BODY LAST
YEAR PASSED SB 10 75 BY SENATOR
SKINNER DIRECTING CARB AND CLOSE
CONSULTATION WITH THE PUC AS
WELL AS THE C E C. TO STUDY
GREEN HYDROGEN. AND THE COSTS
ASSOCIATED WITH IT AND THE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE USE OF GREEN HYDROGEN.
WE NEED TO LET THAT PLAY OUT.
JUST LIKE WE NEED TO SEE THE
CPUC PROCESS PLAY OUT SO THAT WE
CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF NOT JUST THE COST, BUT ALSO
THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS HYDROGEN%
USE. YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT
PUTTING HYDROGEN INTO THE
PIPELINE THEIR STUDIES OUT THERE
THAT SHOW THAT THE GAS BLEND IS
ONLY GOING TO BE ABOUT 5 TO 20%
HYDROGEN, SO WE'RE STILL GOING
TO SEE A LOT OF METHANE GAS
MIXED IN THE PIPELINE. SO EVEN
AT A 20% RENEWABLE, HYDROGEN,
GREEN HYDROGEN. WHICHEVER TERM
YOU WANT TO USE BLEND. WE'RE
ONLY GOING TO SEE A 7% GHG
EMISSION REDUCTION ASSOCIATED
WITH THAT USE, SO WE REALLY NEED
TO ASK OURSELVES IF PUTTING
HYDROGEN INTO THE GAS PIPELINE
IS THE BEST. UTILIZATION OF THIS
FUEL GOING FORWARD FROM AN
EMISSIONS STANDPOINT. I'LL
CONCLUDE RIGHT THERE. THANK YOU,
MR CHAIR. THANK THANK YOU. I'M
GOING TO OPEN UP TO PUBLIC
COMMENTS. I WAS WANTING TO STATE
THEIR POSITION FOR THE RECORD
AND SUPPORT UH, PROPOSING,
PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME
AFFILIATION. THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN
GARCIA THERESA COOK ON BEHALF OF
THE CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN
COALITION. VERY EXCITED ABOUT
THIS BILL. THANK YOU FOR
BRINGING IT FORWARD AGAIN. WE'VE
BEEN SAFELY WORKING WITH
HYDROGEN AND CALIFORNIA FOR THE
LAST 100 YEARS AND LOOK FORWARD
TO CONTINUE DOING SO. CHAIR
MEMBERS JOHN WINGER ON BEHALF OF
THE COALITION FOR RENEWABLE
NATURAL GAS AND SUPPORT. 11
BIOENERGY ASSOCIATION OF
CALIFORNIA AND STRONG SUPPORT.
GOING NUMEROUS ON BEHALF OF THE
RINCON, BANDA LUCIANO INDIANS
AND SUPPORT MELANIE MORALES WITH
THE GREENLINING INSTITUTE WITH
THE LATE OPPOSITION. DEAN TALLY
WITH THE CALIFORNIA
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
ASSOCIATION. WOULD YOU EVER
RESPECTABLE OPPOSITION POSITION
BUT LOOKING TO WORK WITH THE
AUTHOR ON THIS? HELLO SECURE.
CARTER WAS SIERRA CLUB,
CALIFORNIA AND OPPOSITION. MARK
EAST KING MASON WITH CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL VOTERS WERE
RESPECTIVELY OPPOSED, AND WE
LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED
CONVERSATIONS. THANKS. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. WE'LL BRING BACK TO
DIESS ASKING QUESTIONS. START TO
MY LEFT. CHANGE SHE DID ACCEPT
THE AMENDMENTS AND DO PAST
RECORD, PLEASE. THANK YOU CHAIR
AND I APPRECIATE THE AUTHOR
BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND DULY
NOTED THAT THE AMENDMENTS HAVE
BEEN ACCEPTED. I THINK THAT'S A
STEP. IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I
DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS AROUND
KIND OF A POINT THAT WAS RAISED.
BY ONE OF THE WITNESSES, AND
MAYBE I'LL JUST ASK THE
QUESTION. UM HOW DOES THIS SPILL
INTERSECT WITH THE GOVERNOR'S
BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR PERMANENT
POSITIONS AT CARB? UH TO DEVELOP
AND PUBLISHED AND EVALUATION AND
PROVIDE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
ON THE ISSUE OF HYDROGEN,
SPECIFICALLY GREEN HYDROGEN. I'M
ON BUDGET SUB COM THREE. SO WE
ACTUALLY HAD THIS COME BEFORE
US. IT'S BY VIRTUE OF S B 10 75
BY SENATOR SKINNER. SO WHY DON'T
WE START WITH THAT? THE IDEA
BEING IS THIS PUTTING THE CART
BEFORE THE HORSE GIVEN THAT THAT
BASELINE WORK IS IN PROCESS AND
THAT MONEY HAS BEEN ALLOCATED
FOR POSITIONS IN THAT REGARD. I
KNOW I WILL HAVE NEIL AND EVEN
RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION. YOU
KNOW WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST? IS
THAT THIS THIS BILL, INCLUDING
LOOKING AT THE ISSUE OF GREEN
HYDROGEN, ALSO LOOKS AT THE
ISSUE OF RENEWABLE HYDROGEN. UH
HUH. AND WHAT SUGGEST THAT THE
CPU SEE, LOOK AT THE
OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK AT ONCE
SAFE, BLENDING. UM, TARGETS HAVE
BEEN ESTABLISHED. TO UNDERSTAND
WHETHER OR NOT UM THE TARGETS
COULD BE ESTABLISHED. SO I'LL
HAVE TO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND
WHETHER OR NOT IT'S TRULY
DUPLICATIVE. I DON'T THINK IT IS
. YEAH, I MEAN, ANOTHER WAY TO
PUT IT IS, YOU KNOW, SHOULD WE
ACTUALLY, SHOULDN'T WE WAIT
UNTIL THE GREEN HYDROGEN REPORT
FROM CARB IS RELEASED? BEFORE
SETTING PROCUREMENT TARGETS. UH
I MY GUESS MY WOULD CONSIDER
THAT THIS ALLOWS THE CPUC TO
CONSIDER THAT, UH UM THOSE
TARGETS AND IT COULD RUN IN
PARALLEL AND ALL THOSE, UH,
EVERYTHING. THAT'S THE C P U C.
WILL BE CONSIDERING IS ACTUALLY
OUTLINED WITHIN THE BILL ITSELF.
SO EVERYTHING THEY'RE SUPPOSED
TO LOOK AT IS WITHIN THE BILL.
AND THEN FINALLY, AS I MENTIONED
, I THINK, UM THE ACCEPTANCE OF
THE AMENDMENTS IS A STEP IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION. HOW DO THE
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS TAKEN
ENSURE THAT THE GENERATION OF
RENEWABLE HYDROGEN WILL NOT
INCREASE EMISSIONS OR SET THE
STATE BACK IN MEETING ITS
CLIMATE GOES AGAIN. THIS THIS IS
ALWAYS OF ASKING. HEY WHY DON'T
WE WAIT FOR THIS PRELIMINARY
WORK TO BE DONE? BUT IF YOU HAVE
AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, IT
WOULD BE GREAT. SO CERTAINLY IN
THE CURRENT LANGUAGE THEY CPUC
DOES NEED TO CONSIDER THE
CLIMATE ATTRIBUTES OF THIS
PROCUREMENT. SO I AGAIN I WOULD
SUGGEST THAT THAT AND OPERATE IN
PARALLEL. GREAT SO AS YOU CAN
TELL, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS. I
THINK YOU KNOW IS THIS BILL
BAKED AT THIS POINT I'M GOING TO
BE LOOKING FOR SOME ADDITIONAL
CONVERSATIONS, SOME ADDITIONAL
WORK. HARMONIZING WITH
PARTICULARLY SP 10 75. THANK YOU
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE
CONVERSATIONS GOING TO JUST
PAUSE IT FOR A MINUTE
ESTABLISHED A QUORUM. UP THE
RULES REAL QUICK, AND WE'VE GOT
ABOUT THREE OTHER FOLKS THAT
HAVE QUESTIONS. SO, SECRETARY
PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. EDUARDO
GARCIA. EDUARDO GARCIA HERE,
PATTERSON. PATERSON HERE,
BARRICADE KHN BAUER-KAHAN HERE
! CALDERON CALDERON HERE. KOREA.
CHEN. FINALLY FINALLY HERE,
HOLDEN. HOLDING HERE MADE THIS
MURATSUCHI BRAISE. SANTIAGO
CALVO CALVO HERE, TING. WALLACE.
WALLACE HERE. CORN MAKE A MOTION
TO ADOPT THE COMMITTEE RULES OR
SECOND SECOND MISSION. GARCIA
GARCIA, I, PATERSON PATERSON. I
BARRICADE KHN. BAUER-KAHAN.
AYE, CALDERON. CALDERON. AYE,
CARILLO. CHEN CONNOLLY.
CONNELLY. AYE. HOLDEN. ALL DENY.
MURATSUCHI. PHRASE SANTIAGO
SZABO. SHOW VÚI TING. FLAWLESS.
WALLACE. AYE. THANK YOU NEXT
QUESTION FROM SOME MEMBER
SHOWER. I KNOW THERE WAS A
CONCERN RAISED AROUND SAFETY AND
EXISTING PIPELINES. AND SO I
WONDER IF YOU HAVE A RESPONSE TO
THAT, UM YEAH. THANK YOU AGAIN,
SCOTT. WEDGE. UM SO THE
OPPOSITION MENTIONED OR GAVE THE
IMPRESSION THAT WE HAVE VAST
AMOUNTS OF PRIVATELY OWNED
HYDROGEN PIPELINES IN
CALIFORNIA, AND HE MENTIONED AIR
PRODUCTS. THERE ARE A FEW LIKE
ENCOUNTER ON ONE HAND, VERY
SMALL, ONE MILE, TWO MILE
HYDROGEN PIPELINES IN
CALIFORNIA. WHAT WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT IN THIS BILL POTENTIALLY
IS IF WE REALLY WANT TO BUILD
OUT THE HYDROGEN, UM,
INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT
CALIFORNIA IS TAKING ADVANTAGE
OF THE EXISTING NATURAL GAS
PIPELINE SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE
THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. AND I THINK IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMITTEE TO
KNOW THAT LAST WEEK THE CEO OF
AIR PRODUCTS WHO THE COMPANY WAS
MENTIONED HERE UH, AT A ENERGY
CONFERENCE IN HOUSTON STATED AND
ANNOUNCED THAT THEY HAD ENTERED
INTO A JOINT PARTNERSHIP WITH
THE GOVERNMENT OF SAUDI ARABIA
TO BUILD THE WORLD'S LARGEST
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FACILITY.
AND WHEN HE WAS ASKED BY
REPORTERS, THIS IS WIDELY
REPORTED. HE STATED. THEY ASKED
. WHERE IS THE MARKET? AND HE
SAID, WELL, WE'RE GONNA WE'RE
GONNA SHIP A LITTLE BIT OF IT TO
EUROPE. BUT BECAUSE CALIFORNIA
HAS A LOW CARBON FUEL STANDARD,
AND THEY POTENTIALLY ARE GOING
TO BECOME A HYDROGEN HUB. THE
PLAN IS TO SHIP THIS TANKER IT
TO LOS ANGELES AND USE IT IN
CALIFORNIA. SO. THE FOLKS WHO
ARE OPPONENTS TO HAVING
UTILITIES INVOLVED IN
DISTRIBUTION OF HYDROGEN. THEIR
GAME PLAN. JUST SO WE'RE
TRANSPARENT IS PRODUCE IT. IN
SAUDI ARABIA. TANKER IT TO
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND THEN
TRUCK IT OUT OF THE PORTS. NOT
SURE THAT. SO I THINK THE
QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF
THE PIPELINES. SO THAT IS
ACTUALLY ONE OF THE
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE ASKING
FOR THE CPUC TO LOOK AT, UH, THE
SAFETY AS WELL. SO IT'S ACTUALLY
LINED IN THE END IF I CAN, SINCE
I MADE THE POINT ON SAFETY AND
EXISTING PIPELINES, WHICH I
THINK WAS THE QUESTION THAT WAS
ASKED EXISTING PIPELINES ARE OLD
BRITTLE AND THIS GAS CAN FURTHER
AND BRITTLE PIPELINES. IT'S A
SMALLER MOLECULE, IT IS MORE
PRONE TO LEAKAGE. AND WE ALL
KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. UNFORTUNATELY
WHEN PIPES LEAK UNDER
RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES, WE ONLY
HAVE TO LOOK AS FAR BACK AS SAN
BRUNO AND PG KNEES. CATASTROPHE
THAT KILLED I BELIEVED NINE
INDIVIDUALS, SO IT'S THAT'S THE
ISSUE. IT'S PUTTING IT INTO
EXISTING PIPELINES. HYDROGEN HAS
A ROLE TO PLAY IN THE CALIFORNIA
ECONOMY. THIS ISN'T IT. LET ME
BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE AND
AS A MEMBER OF SHE HAS ANY
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS. I'D LOVE TO
HEAR. IT BROKE HADERA WEST BACK
AND FORTH ALL DAY. BUT LET ME
SEE IF THE MEMBERS HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS HERE. YEAH, I MEAN, I
GUESS THAT'S THE QUESTION IS, IS
THERE BECAUSE I'VE HEARD THIS
SAME ISSUE BEFORE THAT? IT'S A
SMALLER MOLECULE THAT YOU CAN'T
USE EXISTING, UM, PIPELINE OR
IT'S CHALLENGING TO DO THAT. SO
IS THERE A PLAN ON HOW THAT CAN
BE DONE? OR THAT THE SOURCES ARE
ALSO DIFFERENT? RIGHT IF YOU'RE
TALKING ABOUT NATURAL GAS, AND
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HYDROGEN
DIFFERENT. SO UH, THAT'S
ACTUALLY EMBEDDED IN THE
LEGISLATION. THAT IS ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT THE PUC WITH THEIR
SAFETY DIVISION WILL HAVE TO GO
IN AND ASSESS. IN REGARDS TO SAN
BRUNO. I'M GLAD HE BROUGHT IT UP
BECAUSE AFTER SAN BRUNO PGD WAS
REQUIRED TO SPEND BILLIONS OF
DOLLARS AND WE WENT IN AND
RETOOLED ALMOST THE ENTIRE
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK OF PGS AND
COMPLETE GAS DISTRIBUTION
NETWORK. THAT'S BRAND NEW PIPE.
UM AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT PC OR LOOKING AT. IF YOU
LOOK AT SO CAL GAS, NEIL CAN
SPEAK TO THIS. THEY HAVE
INVESTED, UH A CONSIDERABLE
MONEY ALREADY INTO THE
ENGINEERING AND LOOKING AT THEIR
EXISTING PIPELINE SYSTEM AND
EXACTLY WHAT IT WOULD ENTAIL TO
GO IN AND ENSURE THAT IT WOULD
BE SAFETY. THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT REGULATES. THIS BèC
REGULATES IT. UM THE STATE FIRE
MARSHAL. I MEAN, THERE'S A
THERE'S A THERE'S A WHOLE SET OF
REGULATIONS OUT THERE THERE AND
THERE ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO
ENSURE THAT IF WE DO THIS, THEN
IT WILL BE SAFE. AND THEN I JUST
WANT TO ADD UPON THAT THAT THE
BILL ACTUALLY SAYS, AND I'LL
READ IT, UH, IN VERBATIM
HYDROGEN SHALL NOT BE
TRANSPORTED IN PIPELINES UNTIL
THE COMMISSION ACTS TO SET
SAFETY STANDARDS IN THE
PIPELINES MEET THOSE STANDARDS.
THANK YOU. REMEMBER CALDERON.
THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. I THINK MR
WEDGE ANSWERED MY QUESTION. JUST
SAY MOVE THE BILL. WE HAVE A
MOTION, MR HOLDEN. YOU DID HAVE
QUESTIONS. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE
SURE I'M CLEAR AND I'M NOT 100%
CLEAR JUST YET BECAUSE I KNOW
THAT THERE'S ALREADY. YOU SEE
OPENING PROCEEDING. TO LOOK AT.
THIS ISSUE OF HYDROGEN AND ITS
APPLICABILITY. AND I JUST WANT
TO UNDERSTAND. WHAT IS IT THAT
YOUR BILL IS LOOKING TO DO THAT.
THE PROCEEDING IS NOT ALREADY
COVERING. SO THE CURRENT PUC
PROCEEDING LOOKS AT ESTABLISHING
BLENDING TARGETS. A SPECIFIC
FROM SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, BUT NOT
FROM A PROCUREMENT PERSPECTIVE.
UH THE U. C RIVERSIDE RECENTLY
UC RIVERSIDE, UH, STUDY, WHICH
WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE CPUC
ESTABLISHED ESTABLISHED THAT THE
CURRENT PIPING SYSTEM WITHIN
CALIFORNIA FOR NATURAL GAS CAN
ACCEPT UP TO 5% BLEND TODAY AND
CALLED FOR A TEST TO ESTABLISH A
HIGHER BLENDING STANDARD IN REAL
WORLD TESTS, BUT IT DIDN'T
ESTABLISH ACTUALLY THE EFFORT TO
CONSIDER A PROCUREMENT TARGET
ITSELF. UNDER THIS PROCEEDING OR
ANY OTHER UM. LEGISLATION THAT'S
BEFORE THE PUC THAT ADDRESSES
THE ISSUE OF HYDROGEN AND HOW IT
WOULD BE USED ADDRESSING SAFETY
AND HOW WOULD BE APPLIED AND
WHETHER OR NOT HOW IT WOULD BE
USED IN EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE
AND ALL THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF
THE SCIENCE. THIS IS NOT
SOMETHING THAT THIS BILL IS
GOING BEYOND. WHAT THE P U. C S
ALREADY EXISTING PROCEEDINGS IS
GOVERNED TO EVALUATE AND SO IT'S
NECESSARY. TO MOVE THIS IN ORDER
TO EXPAND THE CONVERSATION TO
ADDRESS SAFETY AND OTHER ISSUES
THAT IS NOT ALREADY UNDER THEIR
PURVIEW. WELL, THE CURRENT CPUC
EFFORTS LOOK AT THE SAFE
BLENDING STANDARDS. THIS, UH
THIS BILL INCLUDES THOSE SAFETY
PROVISIONS. BUT ALSO ASKED THE
CPUC TO CONSIDER A PROCUREMENT
TARGET. OKAY, SO IT'S THE
PROCUREMENT TARGET THAT'S GOING
TO STEP FURTHER. ANY OTHER
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS THAT'S
RACE. I APPRECIATE THE
CONVERSATION ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S
YOU AND I WERE ABLE TO HAVE AND
I M COMING IN ON THE TAIL END.
THE UH IT MAY HAVE ALREADY BEEN
MENTIONED ABOUT THE FACT THAT
THE FEDS ARE PUTTING TOGETHER
THEIR DEFINITION. OF CLEAN.
HYDROGEN OR GREEN HYDROGEN. PUC
IS IN PROCEEDINGS NOW, AND
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE A PILOT
PROJECT TO TEST AND, UM, UH,
CARB ALSO IS WAITING FOR THE
FEDS TO COME UP WITH THE
DEFINITION. UM ONE OF THE THINGS
THE QUESTION THAT I WOULD ASK IS
IF THE FEDS COME IN WITH A
DEFINITION IS IT SOMETHING THAT
YOU WILL CONSIDER, UM FOR, UH,
TO BE THE DEFINITION FOR GREEN
HYDROGEN. I WOULD DEFINITELY
LOOK INTO IT AND CONSIDER IT.
THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS,
PLEASE. THANK YOU. AND I GUESS
THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A
PIGGYBACK ON MR HOLDEN'S
QUESTION. I NOTICED THAT ONE OF
THE THINGS NOT LISTED IN THE
CONSIDERATIONS FROM THE PUC IS
THE IMPACT TO RATEPAYERS. IS
THAT BECAUSE THAT'S CURRENTLY
PART OF THE CONVERSATION OR IS
THAT SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO
ADD? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, THE
IMPACT RATEPAYERS IS SOMETHING I
THINK WE SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE THE
PUC ANALYZING AND MAKING THESE
DECISIONS. YEAH, WE COULD
CERTAINLY SUPPORT THAT. IS THAT
SOMETHING? YOU'RE OPEN TO? YES.
PERFECT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
QUESTIONS QUESTIONS. THERE IS A
MOTION ON THE FLOOR. WE NEED A
SECOND THAT DOES HAVE A DO PASS
RECORD NATURAL RESOURCES AGAIN.
I WAS GONNA ASK THE OPPOSITION
AND THE KEY WITNESS IF THEY HAD
ANY CLOSING COMMENTS. I TOLD
YOU, I COME BACK AND ENTERTAIN.
ALRIGHT TO THE TO THE AUTHOR.
THANK YOU, AND I APPRECIATE THE
TIME AND OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT
THIS BILL. I ALSO APPRECIATE ALL
THE QUESTIONS AND THE DIALOGUE.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPOSITION WHO
WILL BE WORKING WITH, BUT JUST
AS A REMINDER, A B 3 24 SIMPLY
REQUIRES CONSIDERATION OF THE
USE OF RENEWABLE HYDROGEN IN THE
UTILITY PIPELINE SYSTEM, IF
AGAIN APPROPRIATE BY THE PC UH,
AGAIN, I'LL REITERATE. I LOOK
FORWARD TO FURTHER CONVERSATIONS
. I LOOK FORWARD TO FURTHER
DIALOGUE WITH OPPOSITION. UH AND
PERFECTING THIS BILL, I
RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOUR I VOTE
AND THANK YOU. OKAY THERE IS
AGAIN DO PASS RECORD, THERE'S
EMOTION. I'LL SECOND, UH BILL
AND WE'LL ASK FOR ROCA. ITEM
NUMBER ONE A. B 3 TO 4. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
NATURAL RESOURCES. GARCIA
GARCIA, I PATERSON PATERSON, NOT
VOTING. BAUER-KAHAN BAUER-KAHAN.
I CALLED AROUND. CALDERON I.
KOREA, CHAN CONNOLLY. FINALLY
NOT VOTING, HOLDEN. HOLDEN. AYE.
MURATSUCHI REYES. RAISE I
SANTIAGO. BROUGH. VÚI KING.
WALLACE. SALAS? AYE. OKAY WE'LL
KEEP THAT OPEN FOR OTHER MEMBERS
TO ADD ON. THANK YOU. MEMBER
ALVAREZ COME FORWARD. AS HE SETS
UP WITH HIS KEY WITNESSES WILL
GO TO THE TOP OF THE AGENDA AND
DO A ROLL CALL ON THE BILLS
THAT, UH WE TOOK UP IN
SUBCOMMITTEE WITH MOTIONS AND
SECOND SO, SECRETARY, PLEASE.
OKAY, THIS IS. THIS IS TO ADOPT
THE COMMITTEE RULES. CARILLO
CHEN. MURATSUCHI RAISE. RAISE I
SANTIAGO TING. OKAY, THAT'S
NINE.
THIS IS BACK TO THE RULES. TO
ADOPT THE COMMITTEE RULES. CHEN
CHENNAI. ITEM NUMBER TWO. MAYBE
344 DO PASS TO APPROPRIATIONS
RECOMMENDED CONSENT. GARCIA.
GARCIA, I PATERSON. PATERSON. I
BARRICADE KHN. BAUER-KAHAN I
CALLED AROUND. CALLED AROUND I
CARILLO CHEN. CHENNAI, CONNOLLY.
CONNOLLY, I HOLDEN. HOLD AN EYE
MURATSUCHI RAISE. REYES I
SANTIAGO. BROUGH. VÚI TING.
WALLACE. WALLACE. AYE. ITEM
NUMBER THREE. 84 63. THE MOTION
IS DUE PAST APPROPRIATIONS.
GARCIA I PATERSON. PATERSON. I
BAUER-KAHAN BARRICADE HANAI
CALDERON. CALDERON AYE, CARILLO
CHEN CHENNAI, CONNOLLY.
CONNOLLY, I HOLDEN. HOLDEN I
MASUCCI RAISE. RAISE I SANTIAGO
BROUGH. SHUT VÚI TING WALLACE.
WALLACE. AYE. ONE MORE. ITEM
NUMBER SIX. A B 98 TO THE MOTION
IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. GARCIA GARCIA, I
PATERSON PATERSON. I BARRICADE
KHN. BARRICADE KHN I CALLED
AROUND CALLED AROUND I. KOREA.
CHEN. CHENNAI, CONNOLLY.
FINALLY, I HOLDEN. HOLDEN I
MURATSUCHI RAISE REYES EYES.
SANTIAGO SHIAVO. VÚI TING.
WALLACE. WALLACE. AYE. THANK
YOU. WE WILL LEAVE THE ROBE AND
TO THOSE BILLS FOR OTHER MEMBERS
WHO HAD ON WILL NOW MOVE ON ITEM
FIVE. SOME MEMBER ALVAREZ ROGERS
. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR AND THANK
YOU COLLEAGUES. IT'S REALLY AN
HONOR TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT SB
67 H TO YOU TODAY. I WANNA START
BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE WORK DONE
BY THE COMMITTEE AND LET YOU ALL
KNOW THAT WE'RE HAPPY AND
APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE'S
AMENDMENTS IN WHICH WE ARE
TAKING TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR
THE STAFF'S WORK ON THIS WITH
US. FIRST, A LITTLE BIT OF
HISTORY, WHICH I HAD TO LEARN
AND MAY BE USEFUL TO YOU. BUT IN
2018, THE LEGISLATURE AUTHORIZED
THE PUC TO CONSIDER ADOPTING BIO
METHANE PROCUREMENT TARGETS OR
GOALS FOR UTILITY COMPANIES.
THIS IS IN RECOGNITION OF THE
IMPORTANCE THAT BIO METHANE CAN
PLAY IN R ZERO EMISSION GOALS.
UH THOSE PROCUREMENT STANDARDS
AND TARGETS HAVE BEEN SET BY THE
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION, AND IT WILL HELP
DISPLACE FOSSIL FUEL NATURAL GAS
THAT UTILITIES SUPPLY TO THEIR
CUSTOMERS. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW.
BIO METHANE IS A BIOGAS THAT IS
PRODUCED BY WASTE, SUCH AS
DECAYING ORGANIC MATTER LIKE
WASTEWATER TREATMENT SLUDGE,
FOOD WASTE, ANIMAL MANURE,
LANDFILL, GAS AND OTHER ITEMS
THAT CAN BE USED TO CREATE
RENEWABLE ENERGY. IMPORTANTLY
BIO METHANE CAN BE USED
INTERCHANGEABLY WITH
CONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS WITHOUT
THE NEED FOR ANY CHANGES IN
TRANSMISSION. AND DISTRIBUTION
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT EXISTS.
HOWEVER THE PROCUREMENT
REQUIREMENTS FROM 2018 DO NOT
EXTEND TO CORE TRANSPORT AGENTS.
A COURT TRANSPORT AGENTS, WHICH
ARE NON UTILITY GAS SUPPLIERS
THAT PURCHASED GAS ON BEHALF OF
SOME RESIDENTIAL AND SMALL
COMMERCIAL AND USE CUSTOMERS.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT ANALOGOUS TO
THOSE OF US WHO KNOW THE
COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATORS FOR
ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION OF
ELECTRICITY. AT ITS CORE 6 78
SUPPORTS THE STATE'S NET ZERO
EMISSION GOALS AND LEVELS THE
PLAYING FIELD BY REQUIRING THAT
THE CALIFORNIA PUC ALSO CONSIDER
BIO METHANE METHANE PROCUREMENT
TARGETS AND STANDARDS FOR CORE
TRANSPORT AGENTS. UM I WOULD
LIKE TO NOW TURN IT OVER TO OUR
WITNESSES WHO ARE GOING TO SHARE
MORE FIRST. I THINK WE'RE GOING
TO START WITH JULIE 11 AND THEN
LURE THIS. THIS ALL WILL GO
FIRST. HIGH CHAIR MEMBERS. GOOD
AFTERNOON. I'M LOURDES IONA. I'M
THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER
FOR SAMUEL GAS AND ELECTRIC. I
WANT TO THANK THE COMMITTEE
STAFF IN PARTICULAR FOR ALL THE
HARD WORK THAT THEY PUT INTO NOT
JUST THIS BILL BURKE, BUT A LOT
OF BILLS. I WAS CONVERSING VERY
LATE AT NIGHT WITH SOME OF YOUR
STAFF. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND
I APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO FOR
THIS COMMITTEE. UM. AS I SAID,
I'M HERE IN SUPPORT OF SB 6 78,
THE COURT TRANSPORT AGENT, BILL
AGENTS, BILL AND WHAT THIS BILL
AND THIS IN ESSENCE, WHAT IT
DOES IS JUST SIMPLY CLOSES THE
LOOPHOLE IN CURRENT LAW, UM,
RELATED TO THE RENEWABLE GAS
STANDARD THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN
SB 14 40 WEST, SO I THINK THAT
THE SPIRIT OF WEST LIVES ON WE
HAVE A COUPLE OF BILLS HERE THAT
CAME OUT OF THIS PARTICULAR
PIECE OF LEGISLATION. AND SO, UM
. THE BILL. UH SUPPORTS THE
CARBON IS DECARBONIZATION FOR
EFFORTS AND LEVELS AND LEVELS.
THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL GAS
CUSTOMERS BY REQUIRES THAT CTS
ALSO COMPLY WITH THE RENEWABLE
GAS STANDARDS WHEN THIS BILL WAS
WHEN SB 14 40 WAS, UM, ENACTED
AS THE ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S
MENTIONED CTS WAR INADVERTENTLY
LEFT OUT OF THE BILL. AND WE
HOPE THAT WITH THIS BILL, WE
COULD, UM WITH SB 6 78, WE CAN
LEVEL THAT PLAYING FIELD TO FIX
THAT LOOPHOLE TO ENSURE THAT GAS
GAS CUT COSTS ARE NOT
DISPROPORTIONATELY SHIFTED TO
GAS CORPORATIONS AND CUSTOMERS
THAT ARE SERVICED BY THOSE
GUESTS. COMPANIES UM, ALSO THE C
P C. P U C HAS AGREED, AND THEY
NOTED IN A RECENT DECISION THAT
CTA'S SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET
OR EXCEED BIO METHANE
PROCUREMENT TARGETS SET FOR A
USE AND THAT LESS LEGISLATION
SHOULD BE ENACTED TO, UM MAKE
THAT HAPPEN. SO A B 6 78 IS THAT
BILL AND WE ASKED FOR YOUR EYE
BOAT. GOOD AFTERNOON, JULIA 11
WITH A BIOENERGY ASSOCIATION OF
CALIFORNIA. WE REPRESENT MORE
THAN 100, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS,
PUBLIC AGENCIES, PRIVATE
COMPANIES AND OTHERS THAT ARE
WORKING TO CONVERT ORGANIC WASTE
TO ENERGY TO MEET THE STATE'S
CLEAN ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
GOALS. WE STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS
BILL. THE CLIMATE CLIMATE
SCIENCE IS VERY CLEAR THAT THE
MOST URGENT THING WE CAN DO TO
ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE IS TO
REDUCE SHORT LIVED CLIMATE
POLLUTANTS, PRIMARILY METHANE
AND BLACK CARBON, WHICH ARE
OVERWHELMINGLY EMITTED BY
ORGANIC WASTE THAT ORGANIC WASTE
CAN BE CONVERTED INSTEAD TO BIO
METHANE. MORE THAN 80% OF
CALIFORNIA'S METHANE AND BLACK
CARBON COMES FROM LANDFILLS,
COMPOST FACILITIES, DAIRIES AND
THE OPEN BURNING OF AGRICULTURAL
AND FOREST WASTE. ALL OF THOSE
SOURCES CAN BE REDUCED OR
ELIMINATED WHEN THAT ORGANIC
WASTE IS CONVERTED TO BIO
METHANE. ACCORDING TO THE AIR
BOARD AND THE LEGISLATIVE
ANALYST'S OFFICE, THE STATE'S
INVESTMENTS IN ORGANIC WASTE TO
ENERGY PROJECTS ARE BY FAR THE
MOST COST EFFECTIVE INVESTMENTS
THE STATE HAS MADE IN TACKLING
CLIMATE CHANGE. THAT'S BOTH A
LEGISLATIVE ANALYSTS AND THEIR
BOARD AND THIS RELATES TO THE
PREVIOUS BILL AS WELL IN THE
CONVERSATION ABOUT COST
EFFECTIVENESS, SP 14 40 REQUIRED
THE BIO METHANE PROCUREMENT BE A
COST THAT THE PUC FIND THE BIO
METHANE PROCUREMENT IS A COST
EFFECTIVE WAY TO REDUCE
GREENHOUSE GAS AND SHORT LIVED
CLIMATE POLLUTANTS, AND THE PUC
DID FIND THAT WHEN IT ADOPTED
THE PROCUREMENT TARGETS UNDER SB
14 40. THIS WOULD FURTHER THOSE
COST EFFECTIVE PROCUREMENT
GOALS. BOTH THE AIRPORT AND
ENERGY COMMISSIONER ALSO CAUGHT
CALLED FOR INCREASED BIO METHANE
PRODUCTION AND USE FOR ENERGY
RELIABILITY BECAUSE IT CAN
PROVIDE FIRM RENEWABLE POWER. IT
ALSO CAN BE THE TRANSPORT AGENT
FOR HYDROGEN. YOU CAN TRANSMIT
BIO METHANE IN THE PIPELINE, AND
THEN IT CONVERTED TO HYDROGEN
ONCE IT COMES OUT OF THE
PIPELINE. UM WE NEED RENEWABLE
GAS THAT IS VERY, VERY CLEAR
FROM THE CLIMATE CHANGE SCOPING
PLAN TO MEET OUR ENERGY,
RELIABILITY AND CARBON REDUCTION
GOALS. SO WE RESPECTFULLY ASK
THIS COMMITTEE FOR YOUR I VOTE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I'LL ASK.
ARE THERE ANY PRIMARY WITNESSES
SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION? ALL
RIGHT. I LIKE LORD. IN ANY OF
THAT AS A COMPLIMENT. MICHAEL
BROKE ADORO ON BEHALF OF THE
ENERGY CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION.
AND LET ME BE VERY CLEAR. WE ARE
STRONGLY SUPPORTIVE OF SB 14 40
WHEN IT PASSED AND ITS FINAL
FORM. WE HAD A LOT OF CONCERNS
WHEN IT WENT THROUGH THOSE
CONCERNS GOT ADDRESSED. AND I
VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE STAFF
ANALYSIS BECAUSE IT POINTED OUT
A MASSIVE LOOPHOLE THAT THE GAS
COMPANY WAS TRYING TO BLOW INTO
BIO METHANE PROCUREMENT, WHICH
WAS ALLOWING OUT OF STATE BIO
METHANE TO BE PROCURED RATHER
THAN FOCUS ON IN STATE WHERE WE
GET THE METHANE REDUCTIONS HERE,
SO THAT ALLEVIATES ONE OF OUR
CONCERNS ARE SECOND CONCERN CAN
EASILY BE ALLEVIATED AS WELL,
AND THAT'S A COST ISSUE. IT'S
NOT ABOUT COST EFFECTIVENESS. IT
IS ABOUT COST TO RATEPAYERS
RATHER THAN SETTING ADDITIONAL
PROCUREMENT STANDARDS. THERE'S
ALREADY A PROCEEDING GOING ON AT
THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
TO SIMPLY SHARE THE COSTS OF THE
PROCUREMENT THAT'S ALREADY BEEN
ORDERED BY THE COMMISSION UNDER
14 40. AMONGST A BROADER ARRAY
OF CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING COURT
TRANSPORT AGENTS, THAT WOULD BE
A MUCH BETTER OUTCOME. THEN IT
WOULD LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
FOR THE GAS COMPANY AND OTHERS.
MUCH BETTER OUTCOME. THEN DOING
ADDITIONAL PROCUREMENT, WHICH IS
SIMPLY GOING TO INCREASE THE
COST FOR ALL CUSTOMERS.
ADDITIONAL PROCUREMENT OF BIO
METHANE IN A SUPPLY MARKET THAT
IS VERY SHORT, MY CLIENTS
PRODUCE MORE BIO METHANE THAN
ANY OTHER GROUP OF CLIENTS IN
CALIFORNIA, MY DAIRIES PRODUCE A
LOT OF BIO METHANE, BUT WE'RE
GOING TO BE SHORT IN STATE BIO
METHANE FOR THE PROCUREMENT
TARGETS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN
SET. THIS BILL ESTABLISHED WOULD
ESTABLISH ADDITIONAL TARGETS,
LEADING TO HIGHER PRICES FOR
EVERYONE. SO THERE'S A SIMPLE
SOLUTION EITHER JUST SPREAD THE
COSTS AS THE COMMISSION'S
PROPOSING TO DO OR JUST REQUIRE
THE COMMISSION TO SPREAD THE
EXISTING PROCUREMENT
REQUIREMENTS TO A INCLUDE COURT
TRANSPORT AGENTS AND REDUCING
THE BURDEN ON SOCAL GAS AND PG
AND E TO PROCURE FOR THEIR
CUSTOMERS WHICH STILL ACCOMPLISH
THE SAME THING, WHICH IS
ACHIEVING THE STATE'S METHANE
REDUCTION GOALS. BUT WE DO SO IN
A WAY THAT DOESN'T IMPACT
RATEPAYERS AS MUCH. THANK YOU.
AND ASK IF THERE ARE ANY
INDIVIDUALS IN THE AUDIENCE
WANTING TO SPEAK PUBLIC COMMENTS
IN SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION. OF
THIS ITEM. HE'S COME FORWARD.
NAME, AFFILIATION AND POSITION.
DEAN TALLY WITH THE CALIFORNIA
MANUFACTURERS AND TECHNOLOGY
ASSOCIATION RESPECTFULLY
OPPOSED. THANK YOU SEE, NO ONE
ELSE WILL BRING IT. BACK TO THE
DICE ANY QUESTIONS? REST SOME OF
THE REST. THANK YOU. YOU GO.
SOMEONE WANTS TO ADD ON REAL
QUICK. SORRY JOHN WINGER ON
BEHALF OF THE COALITION FOR
RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS AND
SUPPORT. THANK YOU, SHERIFF,
PLEASE. CHRISTINA SYRINGE FOR
THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY AND OPPOSITION. THANK
YOU REMEMBER RACE. THANK YOU
KNOW, AS I UNDERSTAND. THIS IS I
THINK AS A LOAD OF THIS SAID
IT'S CLOSING A LOOPHOLE. UM AND
IN THE ANALYSIS, UM CPUC HAD
NOTED SAID. IDEALLY LEGISLATION
SHOULD BE ENACTED, REQUIRING TO
PROCURE BIO METHANE AT THE SAME
RATE AS A JOINT UTILITIES
SIMILAR TO LEGISLATION ENACTED
IN 2005 THAT REQUIRES COMMUNITY
CHOICE AGGREGATORS TO COMPLY
WITH THE RPS COMPLIANCE
OBLIGATIONS ESTABLISHED BY THE
COMMISSION. SO BASICALLY AS I
UNDERSTAND IT IT HAS TO BE
SHARED BY ALL AND THEY WERE LEFT
OUT. ARE THE CTS WERE LEFT OUT?
UM IN ERROR. AM I CORRECT IN MY
READING OF THIS? GUESS
DEMONSTRATES. THAT IS MY
UNDERSTANDING AS WELL THAT THEY
WERE LEFT OUT OF THE 2018
LEGISLATION. THANK YOU. THANK
YOU WITH THAT I WOULD MOVE THE
BILL MOTION. HEARD SECOND
CALDERON QUESTIONS TO MY RIGHT.
I JUST WONDER IF YOU COULD
RESPOND TO THE COMMENTS ABOUT
THE EFFECT TO RATE PAIRS. USING
THE PSC PROCESS VERSUS THE
IMPACTS OF THE BILL. I DON'T
KNOW WHO WANTS TO DO THAT, BUT I
OPENED THE FLOOR. UM WITHOUT
FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE COMMENT
AND HAVING HEARD IT BEFORE. UM I
WOULD SAY THAT, UM THE GOAL HERE
IS TO ENSURE THAT PROCUREMENT OF
, UM BIO METHANE IS, UM, IS
SOMETHING THAT IS A SHARED GOAL
AND CERTAINLY ANY TIME THAT YOU
ADD PROCUREMENT OR THAT YOU ARE
LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING WITH UM
, THIS IS THE SOURCE OF ENERGY.
THERE'S UM THERE'S A COST
ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SO THERE'S
ALSO A COST NOT TO NOT MAKING
THEM DO THIS. WHICH IS A
COSTUME. UM TO OUR GOALS AND OUR
CLIMATE GOALS. SO UM, THOSE ARE
THE COSTS THAT ARE AGAINST EACH
OTHER AT THIS POINT, BUT WE
THINK THAT IT MAKES SENSE THAT,
UM ALL OF ALL OF THE, UM
PROCUREMENT OF BIO METHANE. UM
ARE TREATED EQUALLY, AND THAT'S
THE ATTEMPT WITH THIS. WE'LL
CONTINUE WORKING WITH THE AUTHOR
ON THAT POINT, BUT IT IS A MUCH
EASIER PATH TO JUST SHARE THAT
EXISTING COSTS RATHER THAN PUT
ADDITIONAL COSTS ON ALL
RATEPAYERS PRETTY
STRAIGHTFORWARD IF HE UNDERSTOOD
THE PROCEEDINGS. SURE HE
UNDERSTANDS. HE'S A VERY
INTELLIGENT MEMBER OF THIS
ESTEEMED BODY. UM BUT, UH, I
MEAN, THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE
MOST INTERESTING YOU KNOW, AS AN
ENVIRONMENTALIST MYSELF
CONVERSATIONS TO BE INVOLVED IN
BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A CLEAR SIDE
. I DON'T THINK RIGHT. I MEAN,
THIS WASTE IS PRODUCED AND WE
HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO
WITH IT, AND CREATING ENERGY OUT
OF IT SEEMS LIKE SORT OF MAYBE
THE BEST CASE DESPITE THE FACT
THAT IT HAS ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS BECAUSE NOT CREATING
ENERGY ALSO HAS ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS. RIGHT? SO UM, BUT I
THINK IT IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT I
HAVE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THIS
CONVERSATION TO BE IS THAT WE
NEED TO CREATE THE MARKET FOR
THIS IN ORDER TO PRODUCE A
SYSTEM WHERE WE WILL USE THESE
WASTES IN ORDER TO PRODUCE
ENERGY, AND THAT'S PART OF
WHAT'S TRYING TO BE ACHIEVED
THROUGH THESE PIECES OF
LEGISLATION. ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY
THAT OVERALL, I THINK WE ALL
WIN. THE PUC COMES IN FOR THEIR
OVERSIGHT HEARING. IT'S OUR
FAULT NOW THAT THEY CAN'T GET
EVERYTHING DONE. WE JUST KEEP
PUTTING MORE ON THE CPC. UM AND
I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY'RE GOING
TO ACHIEVE IT ALL. THEY CAN'T DO
THEIR JOB TODAY, BUT, UH, YOU
KNOW WITH THAT I DO THINK THAT
THIS IS WORTHY BECAUSE WE DO
HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF HOW
WE'RE USING THESE MATERIALS AND
DISPOSING OF THEM AND CREATING
ENERGY IS WISE. REMEMBER SHOWER?
YOU ALSO, UM RESPOND TO THE TO
THE OPPOSITION'S POINT ABOUT YOU
WOULD HAVE TO CREATE MORE.
BASICALLY BIOMASS TO BE ABLE TO
. TO MEET THE DEMAND. IF YOU'RE
IF YOU'RE CREATING ADDITIONAL
DEMANDS, OR ADDITIONAL, UM,
LEVELS AND TARGETS, THEN YOU
WOULD HAVE TO CREATE MORE TO
MEET THOSE YEAH, YEAH, WE'RE
SETTING, UH, PROCUREMENT GOALS.
SO YES, THAT WOULD BE THE CASE.
OKAY, JUST SO I'M CLEAR. DOES
THAT IS YOUR POINT THAT YOU'RE
GOING TO BE CREATING. MORE
METHANE EMITTING SOURCES SO THAT
YOU CAN PRODUCE THIS FUEL. NO.
MY POINT IS THAT THE YOU KNOW IT
MAKES TOTAL SENSE AS YOU JUST
HEARD FROM YOUR COLLEAGUE ON THE
DAIS TO CAPTURE AND PUT TO
BENEFICIAL USE METHANE THAT IS
IN OUR ENVIRONMENT FROM DAIRIES
FROM WASTEWATER AGENCY. SOME
LANDFILLS THAT METHANE IS
LIMITED WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT FROM
AN IN STATE PERSPECTIVE. AND
THIS BILL WILL ADD ADDITIONAL
DEMAND THROUGH ADDITIONAL
PROCUREMENT TARGETS FOR ANOTHER
GROUP OF SUPPLIERS. THAT WILL
STRAIN THAT EXISTING SUPPLY THAT
WE HAVE IN CALIFORNIA AND WE ALL
KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN DEMAND
OR GAS OUTSTRIPS THE SUPPLY OF
GAS PRICE SPIKES, SO THE CONCERN
IS LET'S JUST SHARE THE
PROCUREMENT THAT WE'VE ALREADY
ESTABLISHED RATHER THAN TRYING
TO ADD EVEN MORE, MOST OF US WHO
WORK IN THIS SPACE WHO ARE
HONEST, DO NOT BELIEVE WE CAN
ACHIEVE THE GOALS THAT THE
COMMISSION HAS ALREADY SET
WITHIN STATE BIO METHANE, AND
THAT'S THE ONLY BIO METHANE THAT
MAKES SENSE IN THIS PROCESS, SO
ADDING MORE PROCUREMENT IS GOING
TO PUT US IN A SUPPLY SHORT
SITUATION. UM AS WE'RE ALL
GETTING EDUCATED ON THIS ISSUE,
UM I WOULD JUST ADD THAT THE
GOAL IS THE GOAL IS ABOUT, UH,
OUR CLIMATE POLICY IN TRYING TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE CAPTURE AND
USE, UM, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. TO
THE EXTENT THAT, UH WHAT THAT
DOES TO OUR OUR SUPPLY.
HOPEFULLY THERE'S MORE CLEAN
SUPPLY COMING THROUGH THIS.
THAT'S THAT'S THE INTENT, AND
THAT'S WHY THE TARGETS WERE SET.
UM AND THAT'S WHERE WE HOPE THE
CONVERSATION GOES WITH THE PUC.
OKAY. THANK YOU. I MEAN, I HAVE
SOMEONE ELSE HAS TO COMMENT. MR
BOOK, ADORO IS CORRECT THAT
CURRENTLY IN STATE PRODUCTION IS
MUCH LOWER THAN WE NEED IT TO
BE. BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE
REASONS WHY A PROCUREMENT
PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT. THE
POTENTIAL FOR IN STATE BIO
METHANE PRODUCTION. FROM
LANDFILLS FROM DAIRIES FROM
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES
FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE AND THE
BIGGEST CATEGORY THAT HE
NEGLECTED TO MENTION HIS FOREST
WASTE. WE HAVE A WILDFIRE CRISIS
IN CALIFORNIA WE HAVE AN
AGREEMENT WITH THE U. S FOREST
SERVICE TO DO THINNING ON A
MILLION ACRES A YEAR. YOU'LL
HEAR ABOUT THIS MORE WITH
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S AGUIAR-CURRY IS
BILL. WE HAVE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL
FOR BIO METHANE OR RENEWABLE
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION. FROM FROM
ORGANIC WASTE, AND WE NEED TO
GET TO THAT POTENTIAL BECAUSE
THE ALTERNATIVE IS WHAT I WAS
TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS
EMISSIONS OF METHANE AND BLACK
CARBON INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. THIS
IS INFINITELY BETTER FROM A
CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY AND
SUSTAINABILITY STANDPOINT. SO I
I'M NOT EXPRESSING AN OPINION ON
WHETHER BRINGING SITA'S INTO
THIS PROGRAM SHOULD BE DONE
WITHIN THE EXISTING PROCUREMENT
TARGET, OR IT SHOULD BE AN
ADDITIONAL PROCUREMENT TARGET. I
THINK THAT THE PUC CAN FIGURE
THAT OUT WITHIN ITS DIRECTION
ALREADY ONLY TO DO IT IF IT'S
COST EFFECTIVE, SO I THINK THE
CONCERN FOR RATEPAYERS. HAS BEEN
CONSIDERED BY THE PUC WOULD BE
CONSIDERED AGAIN IF THIS
LEGISLATION BECOMES LAW, WHICH
THE PUC HAS RECOMMENDED. IT
SHOULD BECOME LAW, SO THERE'S AN
ONGOING PROCESS REALLY, TO BE
ABLE TO EVALUATE THIS AND
PREVENT THE KIND OF SITUATION
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHERE YOU
KNOW PRICES ARE GOING TO SPIKE
OR THERE'S YOU KNOW, NOT ENOUGH
SUPPLY FOR DEMAND. UM THAT'S BUT
BUILT INTO THE PUC PROCESS, THE
PUC HAS TO FIND THAT PROCUREMENT
TARGETS ARE COST A COST
EFFECTIVE WAY. TO REDUCE SHORT
LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS, THEIR
VARIOUS RATEPAYER PROTECTIONS IN
SP 14 40, WHICH IS WHY MR BOOK
ADORO SUPPORTED THAT LEGISLATION
. UM AND THE PUC WILL REVISIT
THIS, SO I DON'T THINK WE'RE
FACING A RISK OF THE PUC
ADOPTING A PROGRAM THAT'S GOING
TO CAUSE SPIKES IN GAS PRICES. I
MEAN, IF THERE'S I GUESS I WOULD
JUST SAY IF THERE'S CLARITY THAT
SEEMS LIKE IT NEEDS TO BE
INCLUDED IN THE BILL TO ENSURE
THAT THESE KINDS OF REVIEWS ARE
HAPPENING AND THEN HOPEFULLY
FOLKS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO
FIGURE THOSE OUT AS WELL. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU. I SEE NO OTHER
QUESTIONS. THERE. IT DOES HAVE A
DO PASS RECOMMENDATION WITH
AMENDMENTS WOULD BE GOING TO THE
NATURAL RESOURCE COMMITTEE.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CLOSE BACK TO
ADD ADDITIONAL COMMENT? I JUST
WANTED TO MAKE A CORRECTION FOR
THE RECORD. I'M HERE ON BEHALF
OF SOCAL GAS, NOT SD. JEANNIE. I
WORK WITH BOTH BUT SOCAL GAS FOR
TODAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I
APPRECIATE YOUR RECOMMENDATION
AND YOUR IVO THANK YOU. THANK
YOU. WE DO HAVE A MOTION AND A
SECOND ROCA. ITEM NUMBER FIVE A
B 678. THE MOTION IS DUE PASS AS
AMENDED TO NATURAL RESOURCES
GARCIA TÔI. PATTERSON. PATERSON
NOT VOTING BAUER-KAHAN.
BAUER-KAHAN. AYE, CALDERON. HOLD
AROUND I KOREA CHEN. CHEN NOT
VOTING. CONNELLY. CONNOLLY, I
HOLDEN. HOLDEN I MURATSUCHI
RAISE REYES I SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO
EYE SHADOW. SHE HAD VÚI TING.
WALLACE. WALLACE. AYE. THANK
YOU. WE'LL LEAVE THE ROLE FOR
THE MEMBERS WHO HAD ON WELL
THINK ON ITEM FOUR. REMEMBER
AGUIAR-CURRY. IT DOES HAVE A DO
PASS. WITH AMENDMENTS.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALRIGHT IT HELPS WHEN YOU TAKE
THESE PEOPLE OUT TO YOUR AREA TO
SEE THE FIRES. GOOD AFTERNOON,
MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS. FIRST I'D
LIKE TO THANK THE COMMITTEE
STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK ON THIS
BILL. I WILL BE ACCEPTING THE
COMMITTEE'S AMENDMENTS AND LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTINUING
DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHAIR TO
MAKE SURE THAT THE CCS HAVE
ENOUGH TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN
THE BIO MAP PROGRAM. THIS BILL
ADDRESSES A GROWING PROBLEM THAT
YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN WORKING ON
SINCE I STARTED IN 2016. BECAUSE
YOU JOINED ME IN MY EFFORT ON
THIS MY VERY FIRST YEAR. WE MUST
FIGURE OUT WHAT WE DO WITH THE
FOREST BIOMASS WASTE THAT WE
CREATE DURING WILDFIRE FIRE
MITIGATION PROJECTS. AND YOU
ALSO KNOW THAT'S JUST A START.
MEMBERS. THE AIR BOARD'S 2022
CLIMATE CHANGE. SCOPING PLAN
CALLS FOR THE FOREST THINNING
AND MANAGEMENT ON 2.3 MILLION
ACRES OF FOREST A YEAR TO REDUCE
WILDFIRE RISK AND RESTORE
HEALTHIER, MORE RESILIENT FOR
US. SOME OF THAT FOREST THINNING
WILL BE DONE WITH PRESCRIBED
FIRE. BUT A LOT WILL HAVE TO BE
DONE MECHANICALLY AND WILL
GENERATE TONS OF MILLIONS.
MILLIONS OF TONS OF FOREST
BIOMASS WASTE. WE'RE NOT TALKING
ABOUT HEALTHY TREES. WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT DEAD AND DYING
TREES AND SMALL UNDERBRUSH THAT
ACCELERATES WILDFIRE AND LEADS
TO A MUCH MORE CATASTROPHIC
FIRES. 1 70 REAL IS MECHANICALLY
THINNED. WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING
WITH IT. WITHOUT THE CAPACITY TO
USE THIS WASTE PRODUCTIVELY. IT
WILL BE PILED AND BURNED OR LEFT
IT TO CUT DECAY, BOTH OF WHICH
RELEASE GREENHOUSE GASSES. THIS
BILL IS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT
FOREST BIOMASS WASTE IS USED IN
A WAY THAT IS BENEFICIAL TO THE
ENVIRONMENT AND THE COMMUNITIES
THAT ARE IMPACTED BY THE
WILDFIRES. THIS BILL DOES NOT
REQUIRE SPECIFIC ALTERNATIVES TO
PILE AND BURN, IT ASKED THE
EXPERTS AT STATE AGENCIES TO
FIGURE IT OUT. IN A
COLLABORATIVE INSTEAD OF SILOED
WAY WHAT CALIFORNIA SHOULD DO
AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BACK
TO THE LEGISLATURE. IT WOULD
ESTABLISH A FOREST BIOMASS
UTILIZATION PROGRAM AT THE
BORDER FORESTRY TO COORDINATE
EFFORTS AND ASKED MULTIPLE STATE
AGENCIES TO EXAMINE WAYS TO USE
THIS THIS WAY AND INCORPORATE
THE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO ONGOING
EFFORTS. THIS BILL WILL HELP
REDUCE FUTURE EMISSIONS RELATED
TO THE OPEN BURNING OR NATURAL
DECOMPOSITION OF FOREST WASTE,
AND IT WILL HELP INCREASE ENERGY
, RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY AND
THOSE COMMUNITIES AT GREATEST
RISK OF LOSING POWER AT A TIME
WHEN WE HOPE NOT TO REPEAT THE
BLACKOUT THREATS OF THE PAST
SUMMER. WITH ME TO TESTIFY IN
SUPPORT OF THE BILL, OR JULIE 11
, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
BIOENERGY ASSOCIATION OF
CALIFORNIA, AND CRISTIANA
DARLINGTON, AN ATTORNEY WITH THE
CALIFORNIA LAW EMPOWERING
RENEWABLE ENERGY. THANK YOU.
GOOD AFTERNOON MEMBERS. THANK
YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY. I'M
CHRISTIANA DARLINGTON AND I'M
REPRESENTING THE PLASTER COUNTY
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT.
OUR DISTRICT HAS BEEN WORKING
WITH THESE ISSUES SINCE 2010 AND
WE HAVE PRODUCED A STUDY THAT
SHOWS THAT IN COMPARISON TO OPEN
PILE BURNING OF FOREST BIOMASS
BIOENERGY IS 98% CLEANER WHEN IT
COMES TO PARTICULATE MATTER AND
TWO THIRDS CLEANER IN TERMS OF
NOX POLLUTION. NEWER BIOENERGY
TECHNOLOGIES THAT AVOID EARLY
COMBUSTION PROCESSES AND APPLY
ADVANCED EMISSION CONTROL
TECHNOLOGY ARE EVEN MORE
IMPRESSIVE IN PROVIDING PUBLIC
BENEFITS, ESPECIALLY THE PUBLIC
HEALTH BENEFITS. WHEN FOREST
BIOMASS IS LEFT ON THE GROUND,
AS THE MEMBER MENTIONED IT ALSO
CONTRIBUTES TO THE POLLUTION BY
TWO POLLUTION BY RELEASING
METHANE, WHICH IS A CLIMATE
FORCING AGENT THAT'S 24 TIMES
MORE POTENT THAN COATUE ALONE.
ANOTHER EFFECTIVE LEAVING FOREST
. BIOMASS WASTE ON THE FLOOR OF
THE FOREST IS THAT IT
CONTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT
WILDFIRE. WILDFIRE NOT ONLY
AMIDST THE KINDS OF POLLUTION
THAT OPEN PILE BURNING DOES THAT
WE JUST MENTIONED LIKE
PARTICULATE, BUT IT ALSO
RELEASES TOXIC AIR CONTAMINANTS
WHEN YOU BURN THINGS LIKE HOMES
AND CARS. SO REMEMBER WHEN
CONSIDERING BIO, AND WHEN WE
TALK ABOUT BIOENERGY, WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT A WASTE DISPOSAL
PROCESS FOR ORGANIC WASTE FROM
THE FOREST THAT MUST BE DEALT
WITH, AND IT ALSO BRINGS MANY
ANCILLARY BENEFITS THAT I'M SURE
JULIA WILL TALK ABOUT LIKE
ENERGY PRODUCTION, AND THIS IS
VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN DIGGING UP
FOSSILIZED NATURAL MATERIALS
FROM UNDER THE GROUND AND USING
IT FOR ENERGY. IT'S QUITE
DIFFERENT. SO FOREST BIOMASS
WASTE IS SUPPOSED TO BE AND TO
INCREASE DRASTICALLY, AS ALWAYS
ALSO MENTIONED THROUGH THE ARAB
SCOPING PLAN, AND THIS WILL
BRING OUT FROM THAT 2.3 MILLION
ACRES. I WAS MENTIONED AT LEAST
8.5 TO 9 MILLION BONE DRY TONS
OF ORGANIC FOREST WASTE MATERIAL
THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW
TO HOW TO DEAL WITH I THINK YOU
HEARD ABOUT THE PURPOSES OF THE
BILL, BUT I JUST WANT TO
EMPHASIZE THE DISTRICT IS REALLY
INTERESTED IN SEEING A CENTRAL
HUB OF RESEARCH AND WORK DONE
THROUGH THE JOINT INSTITUTE FOR
WOOD PRODUCTS AT THE BORDER
FORESTRY SO THAT THE STATE
AGENCIES CAN BE COORDINATED IN
THIS EFFORT. THANK YOU, AND
WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANY
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. AGAIN
GOOD AFTERNOON. JULIA 11 WITH
THE BIOENERGY ASSOCIATION OF
CALIFORNIA. 86 25 PROVIDES A
VERY BADLY NEEDED FRAMEWORK TO
CONVERT FOREST BIOMASS WASTE TO
BENEFICIAL USES. IT DOESN'T
MANDATE SPECIFIC USES, BUT IT
DOES PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK TO
COORDINATE AND TO ENSURE THAT WE
ARE ACHIEVING THE GREATEST
ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, ENERGY
AND OTHER BENEFITS FROM FOREST
WASTE BIOMASS. ON THE BIO BIO
ENERGY SIDE, A B 6 25 WILL HELP
TO INCREASE THE PRODUCTION OF
FIRM RENEWABLE POWER. THE CHAIR
KNOWS WELL FROM AUTHORING
SEVERAL BOOKS, BILLS BOOKS, NOT
BILL'S. NOT BOOKS. CONFIRM
INAUDIBLE POWER. I THINK ALL OF
YOU AS COMMITTEE MEMBERS KNOW
THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED MORE
FIRM POWER FOR ENERGY
RELIABILITY AND CONVERTING
FOREST WASTE BIOMASS TO ENERGY
CAN PROVIDE THAT FIRM RENEWABLE
POWER. THE PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION HAS MANDATED
ADDITIONAL PROCUREMENT OF CLEAN
FIRM POWER, CLEAN FIRM POWER
FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES LIKE
FOREST WASTE AND THE CALIFORNIA
ENERGY COMMISSION. IN ITS SB 100
MODELING FOUND THAT WE MAY NEED
AS MUCH AS 15,000 MEGAWATTS OF
NEW CLEAN FIRM POWER, WHICH
AGAIN THIS IS A GREAT RESOURCE
TO CONVERT TO THAT POWER. 86 25
WOULD ALSO EXTEND THE BIO MAP
PROGRAM, WHICH REQUIRES ONLY 50
MEGAWATTS. FROM THREE MEGAWATT
AND SMALLER FACILITIES THAT 50
MEGAWATTS USING THE BYPRODUCTS
OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY. THE C
P. U. C IN 2014 ADOPTED 23 PAGE
GUIDELINES TO DEFINE WHAT THE
TERM BYPRODUCTS OF SUSTAINABLE
FOREST MEAN AND THEY LIMITED IT
REALLY TO TWO CATEGORIES. FOREST
WASTE MATERIALS THAT ARE REMOVED
FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND
FOREST WASTE MATERIALS THAT ARE
REMOVED FOR WILD FOREST
RESTORATION PROJECTS. THAT'S IT
THAT IS THE ONLY MATERIAL THAT
IS ELIGIBLE UNDER THE BIO MAP
PROGRAM. A B 65 IS A SENSIBLE
APPROACH TO CALIFORNIA'S FOREST
BIOMASS WAYS THAT WILL ENSURE IT
IS USED TO MEET THE STATE'S
CLIMATE CHANGE, AIR QUALITY AND
CLEAN ENERGY GOALS, AND WE URGE
THE COMMITTEE TO PASS THIS
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION. THANK
YOU. OKAY. WE'LL ASK FOR KEY
WITNESSES AND OPPOSITION. PLEASE
COME FORWARD. SEE NO. ONE DAY WE
WILL OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC
COMMENTS. GOOD AFTERNOON, MR
CHAIR AND MEMBERS CHRISTMAS
KEIGHLEY ON BEHALF OF PIONEER
COMMUNITY ENERGY AND IN STRONG
SUPPORT OF THE EXTENSION OF THE
BIO MAP PROGRAM. TWO CCS. THANK
YOU, MR CHAIR. GOOD AFTERNOON.
SHARON MEMBERS, MARA ANGER ON
BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA COMPOST
COALITION AND STRONG SUPPORT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, JULIA HALL WITH
THE ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA
WATER AGENCIES HERE IN SUPPORT.
THANK YOU. HELLO AGAIN. LORDS
ALIEN WITH SAN DIEGO GAS AND
ELECTRIC THIS TIME WERE IN
OPPOSITION. BUT WORKING WITH THE
AUTHORS, UM, OFFICE AND
AMENDMENTS AND HOPE TO BE ABLE
TO SUPPORT SOON. HELLO SECURE
CARTER WITH SIERRA CLUB,
CALIFORNIA AND OPPOSITION. HELLO
CHRISTINA SURRENDER AT THE
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
AND OPPOSITION. CHRIS ROSA ON
BEHALF OF CALIFORNIA IN SUPPORT.
THANK YOU. WE WILL BRING THE
BILL UP TO THE DIOCESE
QUESTIONS. WE HAVE EMOTION. HAVE
EMOTION, A SECOND ON THE BILL
ALREADY. WOULD YOU LIKE TO
CLOSE? I RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR
YOUR VOTE. OKAY, SECRETARY. ITEM
NUMBER FOUR, MAYBE 6 25. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
NATURAL RESOURCES. GARCIA GARCIA
, I, PATERSON PATERSON, I
BARRICADE KHN. BAUER-KAHAN I
CALLED AROUND. HOLD AROUND I
KOREA CARILLO I CHEN CHENNAI,
CONNOLLY. CONNOLLY, I HOLD IN.
HOLD ON, I'M OR SUKI. RAISE.
REYES I SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO I SHE
HAS TO VÚI TING. WALLACE. OKAY
THANK YOU. WE WILL KEEP THAT
OPEN FOR OTHER MEMBERS TO ADD
ON. WE ARE NOW. ITEM. 7 70
MEMBER. COME FORWARD. VALENCIA.
IT DOES ENJOY DO PASS
RECOMMENDATION. MOTION IN A
SECOND. THANK YOU. OKAY WE WANT
TO START THIS. GOOD AFTERNOON,
EVERYONE. MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS,
UH, PROUDLY HERE ADVOCATING ON
BEHALF OF A B 10 68. I WANT TO
START OFF BY THINKING YOUR
COMMITTEE TEAM FOR THE DILIGENT
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TEAM THAT
WE'VE PUT TOGETHER ON THIS BILL
. I'LL BE ACCEPTING THE
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS, AS
DESCRIBED ON PAGE EIGHT. OF THE
ANALYSIS AND I WILL CONTINUE TO
WELCOME FURTHER DIALOGUE AND
COLLABORATION AS THIS BILL,
HOPEFULLY MOVES FORWARD AND ALSO
LIKE TO QUICKLY INTRODUCE OUR
TEAMS LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
NATALIE THERON, WHO HAS BEEN
TAKING THE LEAD ON THIS BILL ON
BEHALF OF OUR OFFICE, AND THEN
ALSO NICOLINA HERNANDEZ, WHO IS
THE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MANAGER
OF S, D, G AND E AND SO CALLED
GAS WILL BE TESTIFYING ON
BEHALF. OF THE BILL IN A BIT.
MAYBE 10 68 AIMS TO PROVIDE
GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY AND
TRANSPARENCY OF THE C P. U. C S
DECISION MAKING PROCESS BY
ENSURING ALL INTERESTED
STAKEHOLDERS ARE ABLE TO
PARTICIPATE. OR DEMOCRACY RESTS
ON TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY. ANYONE WHO HAS
COMMENTS, QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOICE THOSE
POINTS TO THE CPUC. MAYBE 10 68
STREAMLINES COMMUNICATION ACCESS
BY ALLOWING WRITTEN EX PARTE
COMMUNICATIONS AT ALL TIMES. THE
CPUC REGULARLY MAKES CHANGES TO
PROPOSED DECISIONS WHICH AFFECT
ALL OF OUR CONSTITUENCIES,
REGARDLESS OF GEOGRAPHIC
LOCATION. IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR
PROPOSED DECISIONS TO BE
MODIFIED AS CLOSE TO AS UP TO
THREE DAYS LEADING TO THE VOTING
MEETING. IN THESE INSTANCES WHEN
WRITTEN EXPERT IS PROHIBITED,
THERE IS NO OPPORTUNITY FOR AN
INTERESTED PERSON OR ENTITY TO
COMMENT PROHIBITING
COMMUNICATION IS A DISSERVICE TO
ALL AFFECTED RATE TAXPAYERS
RATEPAYERS AND GOES AGAINST OUR
DEMOCRATIC VALUES. THE CPUC AND
THEIR STEPS SHOULD BE ABLE TO
TAKE INTO COMMON IN COMMENTS AND
CONCERNS FROM THE PUBLIC AND
INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS AND
CONSIDER THOSE POINTS. LEADING
TO A VOTING MEETING. THE CPUC IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING A
GROWING NUMBER OF STATE
PRIORITIES RELATED TO RATE
SETTING WILDFIRES OR TRANSITION
OF CLEAN ENERGY SOURCES AND MUCH
MORE. WE NEED THOSE WHO ARE
MAKING DECISIONS IN THE
REGULATORY PROCESS TO HEAR FROM
ALL INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS
PRIOR TO MAKING A FINAL DECISION
, AND I WOULD LIKE TO HAND THE
MIC OVER TO NICOLINA HERNANDEZ.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
NICOLE HERNANDEZ, GOVERNMENT
AFFAIRS MANAGER FOR SAN DIEGO
GAS AND ELECTRIC AND SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY HERE IN
SUPPORT OF A B 10 68 ALSO WANT
TO THANK THE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR
WORK ON THE SPILL AND THE OTHER
FROM BRINGING THIS MEASURE
FORWARD. LAST YEAR, YOU MAY
RECALL SB 599 BY SENATOR WEST,
SO THIS WAS GENERALLY A CLEAN UP
BILL. IT AMENDED SEVERAL
DIFFERENT CODE SECTIONS, ONE OF
THE THINGS THAT AIMED TO DEAL
WITH RECAST THE QUIET PERIOD
SECTION OF LAW. AND DOING SO WE
BELIEVE IT INADVERTENTLY MADE A
DRASTIC CHANGE, WHICH WAS TO
REMOVE THE ABILITY FOR ALL
PARTIES TO BE ABLE TO TRANSMIT
WRITTEN EXPERT COMMUNICATIONS
DURING THE QUIET PERIOD. UM, AND
IN AND WITH THAT WE NOW ARE
COMING BACK TO THE COMMITTEE
AFTER THAT DISCUSSION LAST YEAR.
AND HOPING TO FIX THAT AND BRING
BACK OUR ABILITY TO DO THAT. AND
AGAIN. THIS FIXES WHAT SB 599
DID ON WRITTEN EXPERT COMMUNITY
COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS
SPECIFICALLY, AND IT'S A PROCESS
WHEREBY ALL INTERESTED PARTIES
WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT. NOT
JUST INVESTOR OWNED UTILITIES.
UM AS THE ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S SAID
THAT THE MAIN REASON WHY THIS IS
SO IMPORTANT TO DO IS BECAUSE
THERE ARE INSTANCES IN CASES
WHERE. THE CPUC WILL ISSUE
MODIFICATIONS TO PROPOSED
DECISION ON A TUESDAY DURING A
QUIET PERIOD RIGHT BEFORE THE
THURSDAY VOTE, AND SO WITH THE
LAW THAT WE HAVE TODAY, ANY
PARTY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO, EVEN
AT A MINIMUM, TRANSMIT WRITTEN
COMMENTS. PERHAPS THERE'S NEW
DATA THAT WOULD HELP IN THIS
DECISION, WHETHER IT'S SUPPORT
OR AN OPPOSITION OR CONCERNS.
THAT AGAIN ARE SPECIFIC TO THOSE
MODIFICATIONS. WE AS SDG KNEE
JUST EXERCISED THIS PROCESS THAT
WE HAD LAST YEAR IN 2022. BUT AS
OF JANUARY, 1 2023 WE DON'T HAVE
THAT OPPORTUNITY ANYMORE. AND
THIS IS WHY WE NEED THIS BILL.
SO, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CPC
DOES VERY IMPORTANT WORK, AND IT
AFFECTS ALL RATEPAYERS. AND
EQUALLY IMPORTANT ARE THE VOICES
OF CONSTITUENCIES AND REPAIRS AS
WELL. SO WITH THAT, AND WE
APPRECIATE AGAIN, YOUR ATTENTION
AND CLEAR REQUEST TONIGHT VOTE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BEFORE I
PROCEED. I THEY'RE TOO MAY BE
DECLARED TODAY, SENATOR WESSEL
DAY, AND WE'RE DOING A LOT OF
HOMAGE TO HIM EITHER CLEAN UP
BILLS AND FIX HIS BILLS OR
BUILDING ON HIS BILLS. BUT
NEVERTHELESS, TODAY IS, I GUESS.
SENATOR WEST ALL DAY IN THIS
COMMITTEE. UH I'M GOING TO ASK
IF WE HAVE ANY, UM HE WITNESSES,
PRIMARY WITNESSES AND OPPOSITION
TO THIS MATTER HAS COME FORWARD.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR MEMBERS
, IGNACIO HERNANDEZ ON BEHALF OF
THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK OR
TURN. WE ARE UNFORTUNATELY
OPPOSED TO THIS BILL. UM COUPLE
OF THINGS. THE PROHIBITION ON
WRITTEN EX PARTE COMMUNICATION
IS LONGSTANDING. S P 599 FROM
LAST YEAR DID NOT CHANGE THAT
THE PROHIBITIONS EXISTED BEFORE
599 AND THEY EXIST TODAY. WHAT
HAPPENED IN 599 LAST YEAR IS
THAT THE BILL GAVE THE CPUC
CHANGED THE AUTHORITY CPUC TO
ESTABLISH QUIET PERIODS INSTEAD
OF IT BEING DISCRETIONARY
MANDATED THAT QUIET PERIODS BE
IMPOSED. AS A RESULT. ANYTIME.
THERE'S A QUIET PERIOD BEFORE
599. AND THERE WAS A STRICT
PROHIBITION ON ORAL AND WRITTEN
EXPORT A COMMUNICATION NOW THAT
THERE'S AN EXPANDED QUIET PERIOD
FOR MORE PROCEEDINGS MANDATED BY
599. THOSE PROHIBITIONS ON
EXPERT COMMUNICATIONS CONTINUE
STILL ATTACHED TO QUIET PERIODS,
SO NOTHING CHANGED. AS FAR AS
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A QUIET
PERIOD. THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT
A QUIET PERIOD. THERE'S NO EX
PARTE COMMUNICATION. WITH THIS
BILL WOULD DO WOULD UNDO WHAT
THE LAW HAD BEEN FOR MANY, MANY
YEARS, WHICH IS THERE'S NO X
PARTY COMMUNICATION DURING THE
QUIET PERIOD. SO LET ME BE VERY
CLEAR. IT'S NOT A FIX. IT'S NOT
A CLEANUP. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF
GOOD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE
AUTHOR'S OFFICE AND ALSO THE
SPONSOR. BUT AS WE REVIEWED IT
THIS IS DEFINITELY A ROLLBACK ON
WHAT WAS ALREADY IN PLACE. WE DO
UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS MORE
QUIET PERIODS NOW THAN THERE
WERE BEFORE 599, BUT THE BUT THE
PROTECTIONS THAT CONNECT TO A
QUIET PERIOD REMAIN. EXACTLY THE
SAME TURN HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN
THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE AND IN EX
PARTE COMMUNICATION AND
TRANSPARENCY GOING BACK TO THE
LENO, BILL AND HILL BILLS IN
2015 2016. I WAS INVOLVED IN
THOSE PERSONALLY AS WELL AS THE
TURN LAWYERS. SO THIS IS A LONG
STANDING PROVISIONS. I DID
REVIEW OR LETTER FROM 599 LAST
YEAR, AND THERE WAS A LINE IN
THERE FROM TURN THAT SAYS WE
SUPPORT THE BILL. IN PART
BECAUSE IT QUOTE PRESERVES THE
PROHIBITION ON X PARTY
COMMUNICATIONS. AND THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT 599 DID. AND WE
ASKED YOU TO DO THE SAME TODAY
BY VOTING. NO ON THIS, BILL.
THANK YOU. I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER
WITNESSES AND OPPOSITION OPEN IT
UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. THOSE
WISHING TO SPEAK IN FAVOR.
OPPOSITION PLEASE STATE YOUR
NAME AFFILIATION POSITION. GOOD
AFTERNOON, ASHLEY JOHNSON ON
BEHALF OF PACIFIC GAS AND
ELECTRIC COMPANY IN LATE
SUPPORT. THANK YOU. MR CHAIRMAN
MEMBERS MADISON DALI PICASSO ON
BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA WATER
ASSOCIATION AND SUPPORT. GOOD
AFTERNOON, MR CHAIR AND MEMBERS
BRADY, EVEN ENGLAND HERE ON
BEHALF OF THE CALIFORNIA CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE HERE IN SUPPORT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH ELSE COMING
TO PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BRING IT
UP TO DIESS. QUESTIONS OR
COMMENTS, PLEASE. THANK YOU, MR
CHAIR. UM SO I'M SENSITIVE TO
THE CONCERNS OF TURN, AND I
THINK I MEAN, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE
SAYING ABOUT CHANGES THAT CAN
COME DAYS BEFORE YOU DO HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW UP AT THE
PUBLIC HEARING AND MAKE
COMMENTS. IT'S NOT AS IF YOU
DON'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO
RESPOND. UM AND IT'S MY
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE
COMMUNICATIONS WILL HAVE TO BE
CIRCULATED TO ALL PARTIES TO THE
HEARING, BUT THEY WILL NOT BE
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. IS THAT
CORRECT. UM I'LL HAVE TO GET
BACK AND CHECK BUT I DO BELIEVE
THAT THEY MAY NOT BE PART OF THE
OFFICIAL, UM, EVER EVIDENTIARY
RECORD, BUT THEY DO ARE
TRANSMITTED TO ALL INTERESTED
PARTIES. SOURCE SIGNED UP TO
YOU. HOW DO WE DEFINE INTERESTED
PARTIES? I GUESS WOULD BE THAT
WOULD BE ALL PARTIES TO THE
HEARING. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO
INTERESTED PARTIES ARE THOSE WHO
HAVE, UM INDICATED. SO IN A
FILING RIGHT, SO THEY BECOME
PART OF A LIST SERVE RIGHT. SO I
GUESS MY CONCERN IS THAT IS THAT
I DON'T THINK THAT THERE SHOULD
BE PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD. I
THINK ANY COMMUNICATIONS AS IT
RELATES TO RAPE PAIRS SHOULD BE
AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE TO SEE AND
KNOW HAPPENED AND THAT'S WHY I
ACTUALLY REALLY APPRECIATE THE
AMENDMENTS THAT WERE ACCEPTED
THAT THAT LIMITED TO WRITTEN
COMMUNICATIONS BECAUSE THEN IT'S
NOT A CLOSED DOOR MEETING WHERE
NOBODY CAN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED
RIGHT. IT IS ACTUALLY IN
WRITING, AND IT IS DISTRIBUTED
TO A LIST. BUT THAT SCOPE SEEMS
COULD BE LIMITED. COULD BE LARGE
DEPENDS. AND SO I THINK THIS
BILL WOULD BE MUCH BETTER IF IT
WAS A PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD
AND THAT WRITTEN COMMUNICATION,
ALTHOUGH EXPERTISE IS SOMETHING
THAT ANYBODY HAD ACCESS TO KNOW
HOW HE GOT TO WHERE WE WERE AT
THE END OF A PROCEEDING. I DON'T
KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT
EVERYONE HERE IS OPEN TO, BUT I
JUST WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE
BECAUSE I THINK IT IS A
LIMITATION OF THE BILL. ANY
DESIRE TO RESPOND. UM IF I MAY,
UM UH, YOU KNOW, X PARTY
COMMUNICATIONS DO HAVE, UM,
RULES. THERE ARE ORAL EXPERT
TAKE COMMUNICATIONS AND THERE
ARE WRITTEN NEXT PARTY
COMMUNICATIONS. AND, UM, BASED
ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WE AGREED
IT. THE BILL IS ABOUT
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESS TO
GOVERNMENT. SO UM, ABSOLUTELY.
WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO
COMMUNICATE IMPACTS AND HAVE
THAT OPEN DOOR POLICY WITH THE
PUC. HAPPY TO CONTINUE HAVING
THAT CONVERSATION AND SEE WHAT
MAKES SENSE AND WITH THE SPIRIT
OF THE BILL. I TOTALLY SEE WHAT
YOU'RE SAYING, UM, WE'RE
OPERATING UNDER. YOU KNOW THE
CURRENT RULES AND IT'S A VERY
COMPLEX. UH PROCESS AT THE PC IN
AND OF ITSELF, BUT, UM I TOTALLY
HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. AND, UM
, WANT TO CONTINUE HAVING THOSE
CONVERSATIONS, BUT WE REALLY
WANT TO GET BACK TO HOW WE WERE
OPERATING AT A MINIMUM LAST
YEAR, WHICH DID ALLOW WRITTEN EX
PARTE COMMUNICATIONS CONFUSED
WHY THAT YOU SIDES DON'T AGREE
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR.
IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S COMPLETE
DISAGREEMENT ABOUT WHAT THE
RULES WERE MIGHT BE CONCERNING
IF YOU WERE OPERATING UNDER
DIFFERENT RULES AT THE PUC A
YEAR AGO. UM, I WANT THAT. YEAH
I MEAN, WE'VE HAD QUITE A BIT OF
COMMUNICATION LAST COUPLE OF
DAYS AND UPON INTENDED, UM AND I
REVIEWED THE STATUTE. THE
STATUTE IS VERY CLEAR. ANYTIME
THERE WAS A QUIET PERIOD.
THERE'S NO WRITTEN OR ORAL SEX
PARTY COMMUNICATION. THAT WAS
BEFORE 599 AND AFTER 599, AND
THAT'S ALSO INCORPORATED INTO
THE RULES OF THE CPUC. SO THE
ONLY THING THAT CHANGED IS THE
NUMBER OF QUIET PERIODS THAT ARE
IMPOSED AND THE TYPES OF
PROCEEDINGS IT'S NOW MANDATED AS
OPPOSED TO BEING DISCRETION, SO
I ALWAYS VERY CAREFUL IN TRYING
TO PARSE WORDS OF ANOTHER
WITNESS, AND FOR A LONG TIME,
BUT WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT THERE
ARE CERTAIN CASES WHERE X PARTY
COMMUNICATION WERE ALLOWED
BEFORE 599 BECAUSE A QUIET
PERIOD WAS NOT INSTITUTED. BUT
NOW THAT ACQUIRED PERIOD IS
INSTITUTED. YOU MUST COMPLY WITH
THAT. WITH THAT PROHIBITION AND
FOR TURN A QUIET PERIOD MEANS A
QUIET PERIOD IN ANYTHING THAT
DOESN'T THAT ALLOWS FOR EX PARTE
COMMUNICATION. WHETHER WE THINK
THERE'S JUSTIFICATION OR NOT,
THEN IT IS NOT A QUIET PERIOD
AND WE ARE OUT RESOURCED AND
OUTNUMBERED AT THE COMMISSION.
SO WE HAVE THESE RESTRICTIONS ON
NEXT PARTY COMMUNICATION FOR A
REASON, AND WE FOUGHT FOR THOSE
IN 2015, 2016 AND 2017, AND WE
DON'T WANT TO SEE THOSE ROLLS
BACK. MAY I RESPOND? PLEASE? I
GUESS. MAY I RESPOND? UM THE
INTRODUCED VERSION OF SP 599.
LAST YEAR, YOU'LL FIND SECTION
PUKE PEE YOU CODE SECTION 17 OH
1.3 H SIX A THROUGH D SO LONG
NGUYEN. UM HERE, IT'S PERMISSIVE
TO ESTABLISH A QUIET PERIOD, THE
CURRENT LAW SAYS. NOW IT'S
REQUIRED. IN. I'M GLAD THAT UH
UM TURN ALSO BROUGHT UP THE
RULES BECAUSE IF THE STATUTE
SAYS WHEN AND UNDER WHAT CASES A
QUIET PERIOD MAY OR SHALL BE
ESTABLISHED, THAT'S ONE THING.
THE CPC RULES IN CODE OF
PROCEDURE, THEN OVERLAY WITH
THAT SPECIFICALLY SAY OF THE
FOUR DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. THIS
IS THE TYPE OF COMMUNICATION
THAT YOU CAN HAVE AND THAT YOU
CANNOT HAVE IF YOU ESTABLISH A
QUIET PERIOD UNDER ONE OF THESE
SCENARIOS SPECIFICALLY WHEN IT
PROPOSED DECISION IS ISSUED,
THEN AT A MINIMUM WRITTEN,
EXPERT TAKE COMMUNICATIONS ARE.
ALLOWED AND THAT'S IN, UM RURAL
8.2 C THREE THROUGH FOUR. THANK
YOU. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TO
CLEAN IT UP. I MUST JOIN WITH MY
COLLEAGUE. UM VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT THE EXCHANGE OF DIALOGUE
AND THE CONFUSION BECAUSE WE
SHOULD HAVE NO CONFUSION IF
WE'RE TRYING TO CHANGE. UM
CHANGE. A STATUTE WE SHOULD KNOW
WHAT IT SAYS ALREADY. AND TO
HAVE TWO COMPLETELY OPPOSING
OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT IT SAYS. FOR
ME IS OF GREAT CONCERN. AND I
WILL BE VOTING I AS A COURTESY
TO MY COLLEAGUE, MR VALENCIA.
BUT THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT BY THE
TIME IT COMES TO THE FLOOR, IT
MUST BE RESOLVED AND WE MUST
KNOW WHETHER IT A QUIET PERIOD.
NOW ALLOWS FOR WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION OR DOESN'T AND IF
IT DOESN'T, THEN IT IS IMPORTANT
THAT I WOULD LIKE TO
CONFIRMATION THAT THAT IT HAS
BEEN CONFIRMED. THAT TURN IS
CORRECT IN THEIR ASSUMPTION OR
TURN. IF YOU ARE INCORRECT. I'D
LIKE TO HEAR THAT THAT THE
INFORMATION INFORMATION
INFORMATION WAS WAS INCORRECT.
AT THIS POINT WHEN WE'RE VOTING
, WE DO WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE
VOTING ON AND WHAT WE ARE
CHANGING. UM SO WITH THAT. UM,
AS I SAID, I WILL BE, UM,
PROVIDING A COURTESY VOTE, BUT
DO WANT TO SEE THIS ISSUE
RESOLVED BEFORE IT COMES TO THE
FLOOR. THANK YOU. SO REMEMBER
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS MEMBERS?
LIKE TO RESPOND. THANK YOU, MR
CHAIR, AND I APPRECIATE THE
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. YOU
HAVE MY COMMITMENT WHEN IT COMES
TO ADDRESSING THE MATTER THAT
THAT WAS PRESENTED THE
INFORMATION THAT WE HAD. WE FELT
COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING IN THIS
DIRECTION BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT
OUR ANALYSIS OF THE STATUTE IS
AND TO COMMITTEE MEMBER. UH OH.
KIND UM, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND
YOUR SENTIMENT ABOUT COMING TO A
CPUC HEARING. HOWEVER THIS
EXPANDS FURTHER THAN JUST
ENTITIES RIGHT? THIS IS ALSO
ABOUT THE AVERAGE RESIDENT WHO
MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND A
HEARING. SO I DO BELIEVE IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO
SUBMIT SOMETHING IN WRITING AS
WELL. SO POINT WELL TAKEN, AND
WITH THAT I DO ASK FOR AND I
DON'T THANK YOU ENJOY IT. PAST
RECORD, AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS
EMOTION FLOOR. WE HAVE A SECOND
HOLDEN. THANK YOU. WE'LL TAKE
THAT AS YOUR CLOTHES. UM ROCA.
ITEM NUMBER SEVEN A B 10 68. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. GARCIA GARCIA, I
, PATERSON PATERSON. I
BAUER-KAHAN BAUER-KAHAN. AYE,
CALDERON. CALDERON I. KOREA
KOREA LIE, CHAN CHENNAI,
CONNOLLY. CONNOLLY, I HOLDEN
HOLD ON. I MURATSUCHI RAISE.
REYES I SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO EYE
SHADOW. TRAVEL WRITING. WALLACE.
RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'RE GOING TO GO UP UPON THE
AGENDA. ITEMS TO HAVE MEMBERS
ADD ON AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE
NOT, UM COME TO COMMITTEE. WE
WILL LEAVE THE ROLE OPEN TILL 4
10. 4 10 FOR THOSE MEMBERS THAT
HAVE NOT ADDED ONTO BILL. SO,
PLEASE, I'M SECRETARY. THIS IS
FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE
COMMITTEE RULES. KOREA. CARILLO?
AYE. MURATSUCHI SANTIAGO
SANTIAGO. AYE. KING. THIS IS THE
CONSENT FILE ITEM NUMBER TWO.
MAYBE 344. THE MOTION IS DUE
PAST APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED
CONSENT. KOREA. CARILLO? AYE.
MURATSUCHI SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO.
AYE. TING. ITEM NUMBER ONE,
MAYBE THREE 24TH. THE MOTION IS
DUE PASSES AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. CARILLO. CARILLO I
CHEN. THIS IS ITEM NUMBER ONE A.
B 3 24. CHEN NOT VOTING.
MURATSUCHI SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO.
AYE. TING. ITEM NUMBER THREE A B
4 63. THE MOTION IS DUE PAST
APPROPRIATIONS. KOREA. CARILLO?
AYE. MURATSUCHI SANTIAGO.
SANTIAGO. I TING. ITEM NUMBER
FOUR A B 6 25. THE MOTION IS DUE
PASS AS AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. MURATSUCHI CHING.
WALLACE. HMM. ITEM NUMBER FIVE.
A B 6 78. THE MOTION IS DUE
PASSES AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. KOREA. CARILLO? AYE
MASUCCI TING. ITEM NUMBER SIX A
B 9 82. THE MOTION IS DUE PASS
AS AMENDED TO APPROPRIATIONS.
KOREA. CARILLO? AYE. MERCY
MURATSUCHI. SANTIAGO. SANTIAGO I
THING. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN A B 10
68. THE MOTION IS DUE PASSES
AMENDED TO APPROPRIATIONS.
MURATSUCHI CHING WALLACE. WE'RE
GOING TO LEAVE IT OPEN FOR A FEW
MINUTES AT SOME MURATSUCHI, MR
TING AND MR WALLACE OF SERGEANTS
COULD PLEASE CALL THEM. IT'S
TIME WITH THE WAITING FOR THOSE
MEMBERS WHO HAD ON WE WILL GAVEL
DOWN. AT 4 10 AND START THE
SPECIAL SESSION AFTER THAT.
MEMBERS WERE GOING TO OPEN THE
ROLE AND ALLOW OTHERS TO ADD ON
VOTES WHO HAVE COME HERE FOR
THAT PURPOSE. PLEASE READ. THIS
IS FOR ADOPTION OF THE COMMITTEE
RULES. TING. THING I. THIS IS
FOR THE CONSENT FILE. ITEM
NUMBER TWO. A B 3 44 OF THE
MOTION IS DUE PAST
APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED
CONSENT. TING KING. I ITEM
NUMBER ONE. A B 3 24. THE MOTION
IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. TING. CHING, NOT
VOTING. ITEM NUMBER THREE. A
BEFORE 63. THE MOTION IS DUE
PAST APPROPRIATIONS THING. I
THINK I. ITEM NUMBER FOUR A B 6
25. THE MOTION IS DUE PASSES
AMENDED TO NATURAL RESOURCES.
CHING. THING I. ITEM NUMBER
FIVE. MAYBE 6 78. THE MOTION IS
DUE PASSES AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. CHENG. THING I ITEM
NUMBER SIX. MAYBE 9 82. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASS AS AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. KING. I ITEM
NUMBER SEVEN OR MAYBE 10 68. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASS AS AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS TING. I'M NOT
VOTING.
ITEM NUMBER FOUR A B 6 25. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
NATURAL RESOURCES. WALLACE
WALLACE. AYE. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.
MAYBE 10 68. THE MOTION IS DO
PASS THE AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. WALLACE WALLACE.
AYE.
OKAY? EVERYTHING. WE'RE GOING TO
OPEN THE ROLE. THIS IS FOR
ADOPTION OF THE COMMITTEE RULES.
MURATSUCHI SOUCI. AYE. 14 0.
THAT BILL GETS OUT. AND THE
RULES LATER. RULES ARE ADOPTED,
OFFICIALLY ADOPTED. ITEM NUMBER
TWO THE CONSENT FILE. A B 3 44.
THE MOTION IS DUE PAST
APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED
CONSENT. MURATSUCHI DIÆN. COME
THROUGH 14 0. THAT BILL GETS
OUT. ITEM NUMBER ONE, MAYBE 3 24
. THE MOTION IS DUE PASSES
AMENDED TO NATURAL RESOURCES.
MURATSUCHI DIÆN. KENDRA AND ZERO
THAT BILL GETS OUT. ITEM NUMBER
THREE. A BEFORE 63. THE MOTION
IS DUE PAST APPROPRIATIONS
MURATSUCHI. ALRIGHT I 14 0 14 0.
THE BILL GETS OUT. ITEM NUMBER 4
86 25. THE MOTION IS DUE PASS AS
AMENDED TO NATURAL RESOURCES
MURATSUCHI VOTING. MURATSUCHI
NHÀ VOTING. THAT'S 13 0 13 0.
THE BILL GETS OUT. ITEM NUMBER
FIVE. MAYBE 6 78. THE MOTION IS
DUE PASSES AMENDED TO NATURAL
RESOURCES. MURATSUCHI I SEE. I
12 00. THE BILL GETS OUT. ITEM
NUMBER 6 89 82. THE MOTION IS
DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. MURATSUCHI GI.
14 0 14 0 BILL GETS OUT. ITEM
NUMBER SEVEN. A B 10 68. THE
MOTION IS DUE PASSES AMENDED TO
APPROPRIATIONS. MASUCCI A. I 13
0. 13 0, BUT GETS OUT AT THIS
TIME WE WILL ADJOURN. REGULAR
HEARING OF THE UTILITIES AND
ENERGY.