Energy: transmission infrastructure accelerator: financing.

Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the electrical transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council.

This bill would require the accelerator to evaluate the draft results of the ISO's transmission planning process. The bill would authorize the accelerator to select, upon the release of the approved transmission planning process, one or more eligible transmission projects that may have the opportunity to receive public financing, as described. The bill would instead require that the accelerator ensure that selected transmission projects eligible for public financing meet specified criteria, and that the project sponsors seeking funding for the selected transmission project meet specified criteria. The bill would require the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank's (I-Bank), at the direction of the accelerator, to confer with project sponsors and develop financial proposals to finance the project or projects, as described. The bill would make conforming changes.

Existing law sets forth the criteria transmission projects must satisfy to be eligible to receive public financing.

This bill would require the developer and owner of an eligible transmission project to certify, under penalty of perjury, certain information about contractors working on the project to continue to be eligible to receive public financing. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. The act provides that it does not prevent specified state entities from holding closed sessions for specified purposes, including the Department of Resources Recycling and Recover from holding closed sessions for the purpose of discussing confidential tax returns, discussing trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information in its possession, or discussing other data, the public disclosure of which is prohibited by law.

This bill would provide that the act does not prevent the board of I-Bank from holding closed sessions when considering an accelerator financing plan pursuant to the provisions described above or discussing trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information in its possession.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

(2) Existing law authorizes the I-Bank to provide financial assistance under the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund Program (program) to any eligible participating party in connection with the financing or refinancing of an accelerator project, as specified. Existing law confers final authority to provide financial support to an accelerator project, as defined, to the accelerator. Existing law provides that these provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2031, repeals these provisions as of that date, and requires that any project approved for financing by the bank pursuant to these provisions before that date to have its financing terms remain in force for the duration of the contract.

This bill would instead assign final authority to provide financial assistance to the I-Bank, consistent with specified objectives and requirements of the accelerator. The bill would require the I-Bank to consider the credit and financial aspects of a project before approving and financing the project. The bill would also modify certain definitions applicable to the program. The bill would require the accelerator to develop program guidelines by December 31, 2027, as specified. The bill would extend the repeal date described above to January 1, 2036.

Existing law creates the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund (revolving fund) for purposes of providing financial assistance under the program and continuously appropriates those moneys. Existing law also makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (bank fund) for purposes of funding the program.

This bill would require the revolving fund to be separate from any other fund or account under the I-Bank and would authorize certain additional investments and deposits to be made, among other things. The bill would require the revolving fund to be organized as a public enterprise fund. The bill would also remove limitation on moneys in the bank fund being made available for expenditure for program financing only upon appropriation by the Legislature.

By expanding the revenue sources of a continuously appropriated fund, and by expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation.

(3) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law allows a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2036, in an amount equal to 20% of the qualified expenditures paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer during the taxable year, not to exceed $20,000,000 per qualified taxpayer per taxable year. Under that law, a qualified expenditure means costs paid or incurred for planning, design, engineering, permitting, construction, and equipment directly related to the eligible transmission project or qualified wages paid or incurred to employees of a qualified taxpayer that perform services directly related to the eligible transmission project. Existing law defines the term "eligible transmission project" for these purposes.

This bill would revise the definition of eligible transmission project to require that the project meet the criteria for accelerator projects and the conditions for complying with the above-described certification requirements relating to contractors working on the project, as added by the bill.

This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.