MJP –
Legislators in California probably won’t get their last-ditch effort to reduce residents’ soaring electricity prices passed.
An important Senate committee withdrew Assembly Bill 3121 this afternoon. According to CalMatters’ source, it implies the vote won’t take place before Saturday when the legislature session concludes.
Democrat from Irvine and bill author Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris took it off the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications schedule. When asked for comment, her office did not respond right away.
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A modest, one-time credit ranging from $30 to $70 would have been provided to households under the proposed law. The proposed budget slashes of around $500 million from utility assistance programs for low-income families and schools in Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric service areas would have covered the costs.
A group of bills aimed at reducing electric rates—which are among the highest in the nation—and meeting the state’s standards for clean, carbon-free power has been in the works for weeks by legislative leaders and the staff of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Among a package of energy measures introduced earlier this week, this one was among the most divisive. Reducing electric costs for Californians and speeding up green energy projects were already drastically reduced proposals by the Legislature and Newsom.
A few hours before to Petrie-Norris’s move, Salinas Democrat Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas had expressed uncertainty about whether or not he would permit any of those initiatives to be voted on this year.
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As for the “absolute urgency of getting this done,” Rivas stated, “We’re on the same page with Governor Newsom.” However, he made it clear that he would not “promptly pass legislation that hasn’t been adequately examined with public hearings. The wallets of Californians can suffer unforeseen effects if this is allowed to happen.
Rivas, Robert
Political Party: Democrat, Salisbury State Assembly District 29
Petrie-Norris Cottie
California State Assemblyman representing Irvine’s District 73
Today, a Senate committee adopted a separate energy bill that Petrie-Norris retained in consideration. The purpose of studying ways to lower the costs of increasing transmission capacity and reporting to the Legislature on energy efficiency initiatives supported by utility bills is to be accomplished by the Public Utilities Commission under Assembly Bill 3264.
There were still energy measures that could be considered today that would make renewable energy projects, like solar panels, easier to implement.
