SB 651

This bill authorizes the Department of Commerce (department) to make loans

to manufacturing businesses for any of the following activities: 1) implementing

energy efficiency measures in their facilities, 2) retooling to manufacture products

that support the green economy, 3) expanding or establishing domestic clean energy

manufacturing, or 4) creating or retaining workers engaged in the preceding

activities.

The bill requires the department to promulgate rules that set clear job-creation

standards for loan recipients, establish minimum energy savings requirements, give

priority to existing manufacturing businesses, and ensure that loans will be

distributed throughout the state. Under the bill, work paid for with loan proceeds

must be performed by contractors and subcontractors who agree to pay employees

who perform the work not less than the prevailing wage, as defined under current

law applicable to certain municipal public works projects.

Funding for loans under the bill comes from current appropriations that fund

a variety of economic development programs, including appropriations that receive

repayments of loans made by the department under other economic development

programs and under the program created in the bill, and from certain federal moneys

received by the state. Under the bill, the governor must deposit federal moneys that

could be used to assist manufacturing businesses in the state retool for, or expand,

production of clean energy in an appropriation account that funds loans under the

program created by the bill, unless the moneys are otherwise appropriated and

subject to applicable federal restrictions.

Current law requires investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities (energy

utilities) to spend a specified percentage of their operating revenues on certain

energy efficiency and renewable resource programs (energy utility programs).

Current law also requires the energy utilities to contract with one or more persons

to administer the energy utility programs. The Public Service Commission (PSC)

has certain oversight duties regarding the energy utility programs, including

approving contracts for administration of the energy utility programs. This bill

requires the energy utility programs to include components for implementing energy

efficiency or renewable resource measures in manufacturing business facilities that

are consistent with the objectives under the loan program described above. The bill

requires a person with whom the energy utilities contract for administering the

energy utility programs to ensure coordination between the loan program and the

energy utility programs that are directed towards industrial and manufacturing

customers of energy utilities. The bill also requires such a person to submit annual

reports to the PSC and the department regarding the energy utility programs that

are directed towards such customers. In addition, the bill requires the PSC to

cooperate with the department to ensure coordination between the energy utility

programs and the loan program.