BILL NUMBER: AB 1110 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 4115 Sections
398.1, 398.2, and 398.4 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code, Public Utilities Code, relating to
taxation. energy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1110, as amended, Ting. Property taxation: redemption
deficiency. Emissions of greenhouse gases reporting:
retail electricity suppliers.
Under existing law, entities offering electric services in
California are required to disclose information on the sources of
energy that are used to provide electric services. Existing law
requires every retail supplier, as defined, that makes an offer to
sell electricity that is consumed in California to disclose its
electricity sources for the previous calendar year. These disclosures
are required to be made to end-use customers and potential end-use
customers. Existing law requires a retail supplier to disclose its
electricity sources as a percentage of annual sales that is derived
from specified sources of energy, including eligible renewable energy
resources.
This bill would require a retail supplier, including an electrical
corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, electric service
provider, and community choice aggregator to also disclose the
emissions of greenhouse gases associated with its electricity
sources. The bill would prohibit an adjustment in the calculation of
emissions of greenhouse gases through the application of renewable
energy credits, carbon offset credits, or other attributes acquired
from any facility not providing the actual delivered electricity used
to serve a retail customer.
The Public Utilities Act makes any public utility and any
corporation other than a public utility, that violates the act, or
that fails to comply with any part of any order, decision, rule,
direction, demand, or requirement of the commission, guilty of a
crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and
because a violation of an order or decision of the commission
implementing its requirements by an electrical corporation or
electric service provider would be a crime, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program by expanding what is a crime. By placing
additional reporting duties upon local publicly owned electric
utilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for specified reasons.
Under existing property tax law, unpaid property taxes are
declared delinquent and subject to penalties and costs, and, if the
taxes remain unpaid, the property is declared tax-defaulted and
subject to sale. Existing law authorizes the tax collector to provide
notification of the tax-defaulted status of the property to the
property owner, as specified, and authorizes the property to be
redeemed until the right of redemption is terminated. Existing law
requires the tax collector to issue a certification of redemption
when tax-defaulted property is redeemed, as specified. Existing law
authorizes a tax collector, if that tax collector has erroneously
computed the amount necessary to redeem a parcel of property as to
which a redemption certificate has been issued and that error
resulted in an underpayment of the amount required to redeem the
property, to collect the amount of the redemption deficiency if the
tax collector sends notice of, or a bill for, the underpayment, as
specified. Existing law requires the redemption deficiency to be
collected, as provided, if payment of the redemption deficiency is
not made by the property owner within 30 days following the mailing
of the notice or bill.
This bill would instead extend the time available to make a
redemption deficiency from 30 days to 45 days following the mailing
of the notice or bill.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 398.1 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there is a
need for reliable, accurate, and timely information regarding fuel
sources for electric generation offered for retail sale in
California.
(b) The purpose of this article is to establish a program under
which entities offering electric services in California disclose
accurate, reliable, and simple to understand information on the
sources of energy energy, and the associated
emissions of greenhouse gases, that are used to provide
electric services.
SEC. 2. Section 398.2 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.2. The definitions set forth in this section shall govern the
construction of this article.
(a) "Retail supplier" means an entity that offers an electricity
product for sale to retail consumers in California.
California, including an electrical corporation, local
publicly owned electric utility, electric service provider, and
community choice aggregator.
(b) "System operator" means the Independent System Operator with
responsibility for the efficient use and reliable operation of the
transmission grid, as provided by Section 345, or a local publicly
owned electric utility that does not utilize the Independent System
Operator.
(c) "Specific purchases" means electricity transactions
which that are traceable to specific generation
sources by any auditable contract trail or equivalent, such as a
tradable commodity system, that provides commercial verification that
the electricity source claimed has been sold once and only once to a
retail consumer. Retail suppliers may rely on annual data to meet
this requirement, rather than hour-by-hour matching of loads and
resources.
(d) "Unspecified sources of power" means electricity that is not
traceable to specific generation sources by any auditable contract
trail or equivalent, including a tradable commodity system, that
provides commercial verification that the electricity source claimed
has been sold once, and only once, to a retail consumer.
SEC. 3. Section 398.4 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
398.4. (a) Every retail supplier that makes an offering to sell
electricity that is consumed in California shall disclose its
electricity sources and the associated emissions of greenhouse
gases for the previous calendar year.
(b) The disclosures required by this section shall be made to
potential end-use consumers in all product-specific written
promotional materials that are distributed to consumers by either
printed or electronic means, including the retail supplier's Internet
Web site, if one exists, except that advertisements and notices in
general circulation media shall not be subject to this requirement.
(c) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
annually to end-use consumers of the offered electricity. The annual
disclosure shall be made by the end of the first complete billing
cycle for the third quarter of the year, and shall be consistent with
information provided to the Energy Commission pursuant to Section
398.5.
(d) The disclosures required by this section shall be made
separately for each offering made by the retail supplier.
(e) On or before January 1, 1998, the Energy Commission shall
specify guidelines for the format and means for disclosure required
by Section 398.3 and this section, based on the requirements of this
article and subject to public hearing.
(f) The costs of making the disclosures required by this section
shall be considered to be generation related.
(g) The disclosures required by this section shall comply with the
following:
(1) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall be expressed as a percentage of annual sales derived from each
of the following categories:
(A) Unspecified sources of electricity.
(B) Specific purchases.
(2) A retail supplier's disclosure of its electricity sources
shall also separately identify total California system electricity,
which is the sum of all in-state generation and net electricity
imports by fuel type.
(h) Each of the categories specified in subdivision (g) shall be
additionally identified as a percentage of annual sales that is
derived from the following fuels or sources of energy:
(1) Coal.
(2) Large hydroelectric (greater than 30 megawatts).
(3) Natural gas.
(4) Nuclear.
(5) Eligible renewable energy resources pursuant to the California
Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with
Section 399.11)), identified by the corresponding categories
described in subdivision (b) of Section 399.16,
including any of the following:
(A) Biomass and biowaste.
(B) Geothermal.
(C) Eligible hydroelectric.
(D) Solar.
(E) Wind.
(6) Other categories as determined by the Energy Commission.
(i) All electricity sources disclosed as specific purchases shall
meet the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 398.2.
(j) Specific purchases identified pursuant to this section shall
be from sources connected to the Western Electricity Coordinating
Council interconnected grid.
(k) Compliance with this section by a local publicly owned
electric utility shall constitute compliance with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 387.
(k) The emissions of greenhouse gases associated with a retail
supplier's electricity sources shall be reported as the sum of all
annual emissions of greenhouse gases divided by annual retail
electric sales. Emissions of greenhouse gases shall be calculated
using the emissions reported for electricity supplied by entities
required to report emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to Article
2 (commencing with Section 95100) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of
Division 3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.
Emissions of greenhouse gases shall include any emissions otherwise
attributable to any first deliverer, as defined in paragraph (178) of
subdivision (a) of Section 95102 of Title 17 of the California Code
of Regulations, supplying electricity directly or indirectly to the
retail supplier. For purposes of this calculation, no adjustment
shall be made to the calculation of emissions of greenhouse gases
assigned to any retail supplier through the application of the
following:
(1) Renewable energy credits, as defined in subdivision (h) of
Section 399.12.
(2) Offset credits issued pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with
Section 95801) of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title
17 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3) Other attributes acquired from any facility not providing the
actual delivered electricity used to serve a retail customer.
(l) The provisions of this section shall not apply to generators
providing electric service onsite, under an over-the-fence
transaction as described in Section 218, or to an affiliate or
affiliates, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 372.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act or
because costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 4115 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code is amended to read:
4115. If payment of the redemption deficiency is not made within
45 days following the mailing of the notice or bill required by
Section 4114, the deficiency shall be transferred to the secured roll
prepared or being prepared for the assessment year in which such
notice or bill is mailed to the assessee, and shall thereafter be
treated and collected like other taxes on such roll; provided,
however, that if before the date of transfer to the secured roll,
with the date of entry specified thereon, the real property on which
such redemption deficiency constitutes a lien has been transferred or
conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value or becomes subject to a
bona fide encumbrance for value, such redemption deficiency shall not
create, impose or constitute a lien on such real property but shall
be transferred to the unsecured roll in the name of the assessee at
the time the original insufficient payment was made and shall
thereafter be treated and collected like other taxes on said roll.
The entry on the roll shall be followed with "Deficiency in
Redemption of Parcel Number ____ on __________, 20_." The foregoing
entry may be made on a document separate from the roll if reference
is made on the roll to the document wherein the entry is made. The
delinquent tax abstract from which the redemption deficiency is
transferred may, at the option of the county, serve as the separate
document.