Energy Commission: penalties.

Existing law creates the California renewables portfolio standard program (RPS program) and the Renewable Energy Resources Program to increase the amount of electricity generated per year from eligible renewable resources, as defined. Effective on the 91st day after the adjournment of the 2011–12 First Extraordinary Session, the Energy Commission is required to refer a local publicly owned electric utility to the State Air Resources Board if the utility fails to comply with these programs and authorizes the state board to impose penalties. This bill would delete these provisions and instead authorize the Energy Commission to impose certain civil penalties on a local publicly owned utility that fails to comply with these programs. The bill would require the Energy Commission to establish, by regulation, a prescribed penalty structure. The bill would subject any order imposing penalties to judicial review and enforcement. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to deposit any penalties it collects to enforce these programs into the Air Pollution Control Fund. This bill would delete this requirement and instead require the Energy Commission to deposit any civil penalties imposed on a local publicly owned utility in the Energy Resources Programs Account of the General Fund, to be available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of the program. The bill would make conforming changes. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 399.30 of the Public Utilities Code, proposed by SB 23, to be operative only if SB 23 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2012, and this bill is chaptered last.