Today's Law As Amended


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SB-1090 Diablo Canyon nuclear powerplant.(2017-2018)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) The joint proposal entered into between PG&E and interested parties governing the retirement of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant at the expiration of its current operating license period, the replacement of electrical generation capacity lost due to the closure with a portfolio of greenhouse-gas-free resources, the retention of highly skilled nuclear powerplant workers prior to the retirement, and the mitigation of the impacts of the closure on local communities, as modified by the community impact mitigation settlement, is in the interest of utility customers.
(b) The Public Utilities Commission has invited guidance from the Legislature on the question of whether it has the legal authority to approve the community impact mitigation settlement proposed by the parties in Application 16-08-006.
(c) Operation of the powerplant through the planned retirement date of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 in a safe and reliable manner requires retaining existing members of the trained workforce and for this reason the employee retention program as agreed upon in the joint proposal in Application 16-08-006 should be approved by the Public Utilities Commission without modification.

SEC. 2.

 Section 712.7 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

712.7.
 (a) The commission shall approve both of the following:
(1) The full funding for the community impact mitigation settlement proposed in Application 16-08-006.
(2) The full funding for the employee retention program proposed in Application 16-08-006.
(b) The commission shall ensure that integrated resource plans are designed to avoid any increase in emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of the retirement of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant.
(c) The commission shall establish an expedited advice letter process for the approval and implementation pursuant to subdivision (a) of the community impact mitigation settlement and the employee retention program.
SEC. 3.
 The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because, currently, the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant, owned and operated by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is the last operating nuclear powerplant in California, and, on June 21, 2016, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced a joint proposal governing the retirement of Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2, which included an orderly replacement of electricity from generating resources that do not emit greenhouse gases and an employee retention severance program, and which was signed by interested parties. Local communities were ill-prepared and given no notice after the sudden closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was announced on June 7, 2013, and the state is still responding, at significant cost, to the sudden, permanent, and unexpected loss of greenhouse-gas-free electricity. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure: (a) that the replacement electricity for the electricity lost due to the retirement of the Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 powerplant does not result in an increase in the emissions of greenhouse gases and (b) that a community impact mitigation settlement and an employee retention program are approved by the Public Utilities Commission and implemented expeditiously to ensure sustainable levels of host community support, emergency preparedness, and skilled employee retention necessary to the safe operation of the powerplant through the planned retirement date.
SEC. 4.
 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only 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.