California Assembly committee will consider controversial solar energy bill
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert! Legislative Reporter Kate Wolffe here, taking over the Alert for today.
SOLAR WARS
As a new legislative reporter diving into the Capitol’s most pressing issues, I quickly realized few topics are more heated in California politics than solar energy (no pun intended).
As a longtime renter, I had no plans to learn about solar, but as a politics reporter in the Golden State, I have become a de facto energy interpreter. What I’ve found is an issue with a long history, and very little common ground.
The debate around this polarizing topic will play out on Wednesday, when the arguably most contentious bill in the Solar Wars gets its first day in committee.
This afternoon, the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy will hear AB 942.
I’ll try to bring you up to speed:
In 1996, California wanted to incentivize people to install solar panels, so they created a program called Net Energy Metering, or NEM 1.0, whereby people could sell their power back to the grid for 20 years
In 2017, new solar panel owners had to join NEM 2.0, a less-generous version of the 20-year program
In 2023, a further-scaled-back version of the program was put into place — the net billing tariff, or NEM 3.0
Chiefly, AB 942 would move people on NEM 1.0 and 2.0 to NEM 3.0 after 10 years, and if someone sold their house before the 10 years were up, the new owners would join NEM 3.0
Supporters of the bill say it’s necessary because longtime solar owners aren’t burdened with the costs of improving and maintaining the electricity grid, including wildfire mitigation efforts, causing non-solar owners to pay more. Opponents say the state lured people into solar ownership and shouldn’t renege on its promise.
The twist:
The bill’s author is Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier. A recent series of Los Angeles Times stories highlighted Calderon’s experience working for Edison International, the parent of utility company SoCal Edison, for 25 years, identifying her as a former executive who takes contributions from utility companies that are for the bill.
Calderon says she wasn’t an executive — instead, she led their political action committee for 19 years — and told The Bee that campaign contributions from SoCal Edison and Edison International “never have a bearing” on her bills. She’s one of about a dozen lawmakers who received the same level of campaign contribution last year.
“If I didn’t think that the NEM subsidy was part of the reason my constituents’ bills are high, or a piece of that puzzle, I wouldn’t be carrying the bill,” Calderon said. “And I wouldn’t have put a target on my back.”
BARBARELLA VS. BIG OIL
Actress Jane Fonda made a low-key appearance at the Capitol yesterday to lend her support for AB 1243 & SB 684, the “Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act,” which would identify the biggest contributors of carbon to the atmosphere, calculate the damages incurred by climate change, and collect a fee to be used in the aftermath of climate disaster.
The longtime activist and actress stood next to AB 1243 author Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, and often linked arms with the lawmaker.
“A major piece of solving this crisis is paying for it, and not with more taxpayers money,” Fonda said. “Big Oil has made trillions of dollars in profits. They don’t need any more free passes.”
The opposition, including various business, taxpayer, and petroleum associations, say the additional regulation will “hinder the economic growth of California.” They say polluters have already paid via California’s Cap-and-Trade program.
According to committee staff, Addis pulled her bill before it was heard in the Committee on Judiciary Tuesday.
CALIFORNIA IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Via Nicole Nixon ...
California’s election processes were once again the focus of scrutiny and criticism by Congressional Republicans, who took aim at the state’s drawn-out ballot count and broad use of mail-in voting.
The Golden State was the subject of a one-hour congressional hearing Tuesday titled “Why the Wait? Unpacking California’s Untimely Election Counting Process.”
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chair of the Committee on House Administration, accused the state of having “lax election laws” and said it has “continued to move the goal post in their election policies.”
“California’s election administration highlights why Congress must conduct oversight of states’ federal elections and determine whether it might be necessary to enforce baseline standards on election integrity” such as voter ID laws, Steil said.
The state uses mail ballots as the default voting method and is often home to some of the last tight congressional races to be called. This year, lawmakers of both parties at the state and federal levels have introduced bills to speed up the counting process.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., one of three Democrats on the committee, seethed at the topic of the hearing and criticized Republicans, including Steil, for visiting the Los Angeles County elections center “to look for problems” days after the 2024 election.
“Not a single Republican or political observer contested the outcome of any House race or provided any evidence that California suffered from fraud or any other issues,” she said. “Our election infrastructure is sound.”
The hearing came days after the House passed the SAVE Act, a law that aims to require proof of citizenship for voting. Democrats largely oppose the measure, arguing it would disenfranchise millions of voters who don’t have ready access to documents like a passport or birth certificate, or people who have changed their name after marrying.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When your state rises to the level of California, then let’s talk about fixing California.” - Rep. Norma Torres to congressional Republicans targeting California election laws
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