CHAPTER 2. Clean Energy Job Creation Fund [26205 - 26208]
( Chapter 2 added November 6, 2012, by initiative Proposition 39, Sec. 2. )
The Clean Energy Job Creation Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. Except as provided in Section 26208, the sum of five hundred fifty million dollars ($550,000,000) shall be transferred from the General Fund to the Job Creation Fund in fiscal years 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18. Moneys in the fund shall be available for appropriation for the purpose of funding projects that create jobs in California improving energy efficiency and expanding clean energy generation, including all of the following:
(a) Schools and public facilities:
(1) Public schools: Energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to
reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, on public schools.
(2) Universities and colleges: Energy efficiency retrofits, clean energy installations, and other energy system improvements to reduce costs and achieve energy and environmental benefits.
(3) Other public buildings and facilities: Financial and technical assistance including revolving loan funds, reduced interest loans, or other financial assistance for cost-effective energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations on public facilities.
(b) Job training and workforce development: Funding to the California Conservation Corps, Certified Community Conservation Corps, YouthBuild, and other existing workforce development programs to train and employ disadvantaged youth, veterans, and others on energy efficiency and clean
energy projects.
(c) Public-private partnerships: Assistance to local governments in establishing and implementing Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs or similar financial and technical assistance for cost-effective retrofits that include repayment requirements. Funding shall be prioritized to maximize job creation, energy savings, and geographical and economic equity. Where feasible, repayment revenues shall be used to create revolving loan funds or similar ongoing financial assistance programs to continue job creation benefits.
(Added November 6, 2012, by initiative Proposition 39, Sec. 2.)
(a) Of the moneys provided to the Job Creation Fund for purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 26205, the available remaining funds, which are the funds allocated to a local educational agency that has not submitted an energy expenditure plan, as determined by the Energy Commission as of March 1, 2018, shall be appropriated as follows:
(1) The first seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000) shall be provided to school districts, county offices of education, and joint power authorities currently operating home-to-school transportation programs on behalf of local educational agencies for grants or loans for schoolbus retrofit or replacement through a program administered by the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board.
(A) Priority shall be given to school districts, county offices of education, and joint power authorities currently operating home-to-school transportation programs on behalf of local educational agencies operating the oldest schoolbuses or schoolbuses operating in disadvantaged communities, as identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, as determined by the State Air Resources Board, and to school districts, county offices of education, or joint power authorities currently operating home-to-school transportation programs on behalf of local educational agencies with a majority of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the prior year.
(B) Any schoolbuses that have been replaced pursuant to this paragraph shall be scrapped.
(C) A local air district may administer funding provided pursuant to this paragraph, if authorized by the Energy Commission.
(2) The next one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be deposited into the Education Subaccount, created pursuant to Section 26227, for the purpose of low-interest and no-interest revolving loans and loan
loss reserves for eligible projects and technical assistance on a competitive basis. Priority shall be given to local educational agencies based on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the prior year, energy savings, geographic diversity, and diversity in the size of the local educational agencies’ student populations. If a local educational agency has a project eligible for a loan under this paragraph, the maximum loan amount for the project shall be the project cost reduced by both of the following, as applicable:
(A) The amount of any grant awarded for the project pursuant to paragraph (3).
(B) Any state, federal, or local incentives that have been provided for the project.
(3) (A) (i) The remaining moneys, if any, shall be provided to
local educational agencies in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 26227.2, as implemented by the Energy Commission, in consultation with the State Department of Education, as follows:
(I) Ten percent shall be for local educational agencies with an average daily attendance of not more than 1,000.
(II) Ten percent shall be for local educational agencies with an average daily attendance of more than 1,000 and not more than 2,000.
(III) Eighty percent shall be for local educational agencies with an average daily attendance of more than 2,000.
(ii) The Energy Commission may adjust the funding allocations specified in clause (i) and may add additional categories based on average daily attendance to further the purposes of Section 26227.2.
(B) The Energy Commission shall facilitate local educational agency pursuit of funding under this paragraph and from the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account through coordinated information, documentation, and review processes regarding the project.
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, average daily attendance shall be those numbers as reported in the prior year, as determined by the State Department of Education.
(b) A local educational agency that receives moneys pursuant to this section shall encumber those moneys within nine months of allocation.
(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Energy Commission” means the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 32, Sec. 127. (AB 1808) Effective June 27, 2018.)
The following criteria apply to all expenditures from the Job Creation Fund:
(a) Project selection and oversight shall be managed by existing state and local government agencies with expertise in managing energy projects and programs.
(b) All projects shall be selected based on in-state job creation and energy benefits for each project type.
(c) All projects shall be cost effective: total benefits shall be greater than project costs over time. Project selection may include consideration of non-energy benefits, such as health and safety, in addition to energy benefits.
(d) All projects shall require contracts that identify the project specifications, costs, and projected energy savings.
(e) All projects shall be subject to audit.
(f) Program overhead costs shall not exceed 4 percent of total funding.
(g) Funds shall be appropriated only to agencies with established expertise in managing energy projects and programs.
(h) All programs shall be coordinated with the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission to avoid duplication and maximize leverage of existing energy efficiency and clean energy efforts.
(i) Eligible expenditures include costs associated with technical assistance, and with reducing project costs
and delays, such as development and implementation of processes that reduce the costs of design, permitting or financing, or other barriers to project completion and job creation.
(Added November 6, 2012, by initiative Proposition 39, Sec. 2.)
If the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst jointly determine that the estimated annual increase in revenues as a result of the amendment, addition, or repeal of Sections 25128, 25128.5, 25128.7, and 25136 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is less than one billion one hundred million dollars ($1,100,000,000), the amount transferred to the Job Creation Fund shall be decreased to an amount equal to one-half of the estimated annual increase in revenues.
(Added November 6, 2012, by initiative Proposition 39, Sec. 2.)