Energy: energy conservation assistance.

(1) The Energy Conservation Assistance Act of 1979 requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, until January 1, 2013, to administer the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account, a continuously appropriated account, to provide grants and loans to local governments and public institutions to maximize energy use savings. The act defines "energy conservation measures" to include measures primarily intended to reduce energy consumption or allow the use of a more desirable energy source. The act defines "unit of local government" to be a unit of general purpose government below the state or a special district. The act requires entities receiving a loan to repay the loan plus interest in not more than 30 equal semiannual payments with the first semiannual payment made on or before December 22 of the fiscal year following the year in which the project is completed. The act authorizes the commission to borrow moneys from specified entities from proceeds of revenue bonds issued by those entities. The act requires unencumbered funds in the account, on January 1, 2013, to revert back to the General Fund. This bill would extend the act to January 1, 2018. The bill would additionally include measures primarily intended to reduce peak electricity demand as "energy conservation measures" and any combination of units of local government below the state and special districts formed for the joint exercise of power as "units of local government" for the purposes of the act. In regard to the timing of loan repayment under the act, the bill would provide that the loan repayments be made in accordance with a schedule established by the commission. The bill would require the commission to take steps to solicit loan applications to encourage an equitable distribution of loans statewide, to award loans in specified regions, and to place an emphasis on offering these loans in disadvantaged communities. The bill would require any unexpended funds from the proceeds of revenue bonds sold for the purposes of the act remaining in the account on January 1, 2018, to remain in the account until all bond obligations have been satisfied and thereafter revert the remaining unexpended funds to the General Fund. The bill would require unexpended funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 remaining in the account on January 1, 2018, to revert to the Federal Trust Fund. Because this bill would extend the operation of a continuously appropriated account and would expand the purposes of, and entities qualified for, assistance from the account, this bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2016, the Local Jurisdiction Energy Assistance Account to provide funds administrated by the commission for loans to local jurisdictions to reduce energy costs. Existing law requires the commission to periodically set interest rates on the loans based on surveys of existing financial markets and at rates not less than 3% per annum. Existing law requires that unencumbered funds in the account on January 1, 2016, be deposited in the Federal Trust Fund. This bill would require the act to set the interest rates on the loans at not less than 1% per annum. The bill would require the commission to take steps to solicit loan applications to encourage an equitable distribution of loans statewide, to award loans in specified regions, and to place an emphasis on offering these loans in disadvantaged communities. The bill, would require unencumbered funds in the account on January 1, 2016, to be deposited in the Petroleum Violation Escrow Account.