SECTIONS 25620-25620.15 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 25620-25620.15

25620. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) It is in the best interests of the people of this state that
the quality of life of its citizens be improved by providing
environmentally sound, safe, reliable, and affordable energy services
and products.
(b) To improve the quality of life of this state's citizens, it is
proper and appropriate for the state to undertake public interest
energy research, development, and demonstration projects that are not
adequately provided for by competitive and regulated energy markets.
(c) Public interest energy research, demonstration, and
development projects should advance energy science or technologies of
value to California citizens and should be consistent with the
policies of this chapter.
(d) It is in the best interest of the people of California for the
commission to positively contribute to the overall economic climate
of the state within the roles and responsibilities of the commission
as defined by statute, regulation, and other official government
authority, including, but not limited to, providing economic benefits
to California-based entities.

25620.1. (a) The commission shall develop, implement, and
administer the Public Interest Research, Development, and
Demonstration Program that is hereby created. The program shall
include a full range of research, development, and demonstration
activities that, as determined by the commission, are not adequately
provided for by competitive and regulated markets. The commission
shall administer the program consistent with the policies of this
chapter.
(b) The general goal of the program is to develop, and help bring
to market, energy technologies that provide increased environmental
benefits, greater system reliability, and lower system costs, and
that provide tangible benefits to electric utility customers through
the following investments:
(1) Advanced transportation technologies that reduce air pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions beyond applicable standards, and that
benefit electricity and natural gas ratepayers.
(2) Increased energy efficiency in buildings, appliances,
lighting, and other applications beyond applicable standards, and
that benefit electric utility customers.
(3) Advanced electricity generation technologies that exceed
applicable standards to increase reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions from electricity generation, and that benefit electric
utility customers.
(4) Advanced electricity technologies that reduce or eliminate
consumption of water or other finite resources, increase use of
renewable energy resources, or improve transmission or distribution
of electricity generated from renewable energy resources.
(c) To achieve the goals established in subdivision (b), the
commission shall adopt a portfolio approach for the program that does
all of the following:
(1) Effectively balances the risks, benefits, and time horizons
for various activities and investments that will provide tangible
energy or environmental benefits for California electricity
customers.
(2) Emphasizes innovative energy supply and end use technologies,
focusing on their reliability, affordability, and environmental
attributes.
(3) Includes projects that have the potential to enhance
transmission and distribution capabilities.
(4) Includes projects that have the potential to enhance the
reliability, peaking power, and storage capabilities of renewable
energy.
(5) Demonstrates a balance of benefits to all sectors that
contribute to the funding under Section 399.8 of the Public Utilities
Code.
(6) Addresses key technical and scientific barriers.
(7) Demonstrates a balance between short-term, mid-term, and
long-term potential.
(8) Ensures that prior, current, and future research not be
unnecessarily duplicated.
(9) Provides for the future market utilization of projects funded
through the program.
(10) Ensures an open project selection process and encourages the
awarding of research funding for a diverse type of research as well
as a diverse award recipient base and equally considers research
proposals from the public and private sectors.
(11) Coordinates with other related research programs.
(d) The term "award," as used in this chapter, may include, but is
not limited to, contracts, grants, interagency agreements, loans,
and other financial agreements designed to fund public interest
research, demonstration, and development projects or programs.

25620.2. (a) To ensure the efficient implementation and
administration of the Public Interest Research, Development, and
Demonstration Program, the commission shall do both of the following:
(1) Develop procedures for the solicitation of award applications
for project or program funding, and to ensure efficient program
management.
(2) Evaluate and select programs and projects, based on merit,
that will be funded under the program.
(b) The commission shall adopt regulations to implement the
program, in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) Prepare a preliminary text of the proposed regulation and
provide a copy of the preliminary text to any person requesting a
copy.
(2) Provide public notice of the proposed regulation to any person
who has requested notice of the regulations prepared by the
commission. The notice shall contain all of the following:
(A) A clear overview explaining the proposed regulation.
(B) Instructions on how to obtain a copy of the proposed
regulations.
(C) A statement that if a public hearing is not scheduled for the
purpose of reviewing a proposed regulation, any person may request,
not later than 15 days prior to the close of the written comment
period, a public hearing conducted in accordance with commission
procedures.
(3) Accept written public comments for 30 calendar days after
providing the notice required in paragraph (2).
(4) Certify that all written comments were read and considered by
the commission.
(5) Place all written comments in a record that includes copies of
any written factual support used in developing the proposed
regulation, including written reports and copies of any transcripts
or minutes in connection with any public hearings on the adoption of
the regulation. The record shall be open to public inspection and
available to the courts.
(6) Provide public notice of any substantial revision of the
proposed regulation at least 15 days prior to the expiration of the
deadline for public comments and comment period using the procedures
provided in paragraph (2).
(7) Conduct public hearings, if a hearing is requested by an
interested party, that shall be conducted in accordance with
commission procedures.
(8) Adopt any proposed regulation at a regularly scheduled and
noticed meeting of the commission. The regulation shall become
effective immediately unless otherwise provided by the commission.
(9) Publish any adopted regulation in a manner that makes copies
of the regulation easily available to the public. Any adopted
regulation shall also be made available on the Internet. The
commission shall transmit a copy of an adopted regulation to the
Office of Administrative Law for publication, or, if the commission
determines that printing the regulation is impractical, an
appropriate reference as to where a copy of the regulation may be
obtained.
(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this subdivision
provides an interim exception from the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code for regulations required to implement Sections
25620.1 and 25620.2 that are adopted under the procedures specified
in this subdivision.
(11) This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2012,
unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends that date.
However, after January 1, 2012, the commission is not required to
repeat any procedural step in adopting a regulation that has been
completed before January 1, 2012, using the procedures specified in
this subdivision.

25620.3. (a) The commission may, consistent with the requirements
of this chapter, provide awards to any individual or entity for
planning, implementation, and administration of projects or programs
selected pursuant to Section 25620.5.
(b) The commission may provide an award to a project or program
that includes a group of related projects, or to a party who
aggregates projects that directly benefit from the award.
(c) The commission may establish multiparty agreements. In a
multiparty agreement, the commission may be a signatory to a common
agreement among two or more parties. These agreements include, but
are not limited to, cofunding, leveraged research, collaborations,
and membership arrangements. If the commission enters into these
agreements, it shall be a party to these agreements and may share in
the roles, responsibilities, risks, investments, and results.
(d) The commission may issue awards that include the ability to
make advance payments to prime contractors, to enable them to make
advance payments to a subcontractor that is a federal agency,
national laboratory, or state entity, on the condition that the
subcontract is binding and enforceable and includes specific
performance milestones.
(e) The commission may issue awards that include the ability to
assign tasks on a work authorization basis.
(f) Prior to making any award pursuant to this chapter for a
research, development, or demonstration program or project, the
commission shall identify the expected costs and any qualitative or
quantitative benefits of the proposed program or project.

25620.4. (a) To the extent that intellectual property is developed
under this chapter, an equitable share of rights in the intellectual
property or in the benefits derived therefrom shall accrue to the
State of California.
(b) The commission may determine what share, if any, of the
intellectual property, or the benefits derived therefrom, shall
accrue to the state. The commission may negotiate sharing mechanisms
for intellectual property or benefits with award recipients.

25620.5. (a) The commission may solicit applications for awards,
using a sealed competitive bid, competitive negotiation process,
commission-issued intradepartmental master agreement, the methods for
selection of professional services firms set forth in Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the
Government Code, interagency agreement, single source, or sole source
method. When scoring teams are convened to review and score
proposals, the scoring teams may include persons not employed by the
commission, as long as employees of the state constitute no less than
50 percent of the membership of the scoring team. A person
participating on a scoring team may not have any conflict of interest
with respect to the proposal before the scoring team.
(b) A sealed bid method may be used when goods and services to be
acquired can be described with sufficient specificity so that bids
can be evaluated against specifications and criteria set forth in the
solicitation for bids.
(c) The commission may use a competitive negotiation process in
any of the following circumstances:
(1) Whenever the desired award is not for a fixed price.
(2) Whenever project specifications cannot be drafted in
sufficient detail so as to be applicable to a sealed competitive bid.
(3) Whenever there is a need to compare the different price,
quality, and structural factors of the bids submitted.
(4) Whenever there is a need to afford bidders an opportunity to
revise their proposals.
(5) Whenever oral or written discussions with bidders concerning
the technical and price aspects of their proposals will provide
better results to the state.
(6) Whenever the price of the award is not the determining factor.
(d) The commission may establish interagency agreements.
(e) The commission may provide awards on a single source basis by
choosing from among two or more parties or by soliciting multiple
applications from parties capable of supplying or providing similar
goods or services. The cost to the state shall be reasonable and the
commission may only enter into a single source agreement with a
particular party if the commission determines that it is in the state'
s best interests.
(f) The commission, in accordance with subdivision (g) and in
consultation with the Department of General Services, may provide
awards on a sole source basis when the cost to the state is
reasonable and the commission makes any of the following
determinations:
(1) The proposal was unsolicited and meets the evaluation criteria
of this chapter.
(2) The expertise, service, or product is unique.
(3) A competitive solicitation would frustrate obtaining necessary
information, goods, or services in a timely manner.
(4) The award funds the next phase of a multiphased proposal and
the existing agreement is being satisfactorily performed.
(5) When it is determined by the commission to be in the best
interests of the state.
(g) The commission may not use a sole source basis for an award
pursuant to subdivision (f), unless both of the following conditions
are met:
(1) The commission, at least 60 days prior to taking an action
pursuant to subdivision (f), notifies the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee and the relevant policy committees in both houses of the
Legislature, in writing, of its intent to take the proposed action.
(2) The Joint Legislative Budget Committee either approves or does
not disapprove the proposed action within 60 days from the date of
notification required by paragraph (1).
(h) The commission shall give priority to California-based
entities in making awards pursuant to this chapter.
(i) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this section or its application is held to be invalid, that
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
For purposes of this Section and Section 25620, "California-based
entity" means either of the following:
A corporation or other business form organized for the transaction
of business that has its headquarters in California and manufactures
in California the product that qualifies for the incentive or award,
or a corporation or other business form organized for the
transaction of business that has an office for the transaction of
business in California and substantially manufactures in California
the product that qualifies for the incentive or award, or
substantially develops within California the research that qualifies
for the incentive or award, as determined by the agency issuing the
incentive or award.

25620.6. The commission, in consultation with the Department of
General Services, may purchase insurance coverage necessary to
implement an award. Funding for the purchase of insurance may be made
from money in the Public Interest Research, Development, and
Demonstration Fund created pursuant to Section 384 of the Public
Utilities Code.

25620.7. (a) The commission may contract for, or through
interagency agreement obtain, technical, scientific, or
administrative services or expertise from one or more entities, to
support the program. Funding for this purpose shall be made from
money in the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration
Fund.
(b) The commission may select the services or expertise described
in subdivision (a), pursuant to Section 25620.5. In the event that
contracts or interagency agreements have been made to multiple
entities and their subcontractors for similar purposes, the
commission may select from among those entities the particular
expertise needed for a specified type of work. Selection of the
particular expertise may be based solely on a review of
qualifications, including the specific expertise required,
availability of the expertise, or access to a resource of special
relevance to the work, including, but not limited to, a database,
model, technical facility, or a collaborative or institutional
affiliation that will expedite the quality and performance of the
work.

25620.8. The commission shall prepare and submit to the Legislature
an annual report, not later than March 31 of each year, on awards
made pursuant to this chapter and progress toward achieving the goals
set forth in Section 25620.1. The report shall include information
on the names of award recipients, the amount of awards, and the types
of projects funded, an evaluation of the success of funded projects,
and recommendations for improvements in the program. The report
shall set forth the actual costs of programs or projects funded by
the commission, the results achieved, and how the actual costs and
results compare to the expected costs and benefits. The commission
shall establish procedures for protecting confidential or proprietary
information and shall consult with all interested parties in the
preparation of the annual report.

25620.11. (a) The commission shall regularly convene an advisory
board that shall make recommendations to guide the commission's
selection of programs and projects to be funded under this chapter.
The advisory board shall include as appropriate, but not be limited
to, representatives from the Public Utilities Commission, consumer
organizations, environmental organizations, and electrical
corporations subject to the funding requirements of Section 381 of
the Public Utilities Code.
(b) Three members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate President
Pro Tempore, and three members of the Assembly, appointed by the
Speaker of the Assembly, may meet with the advisory board and
participate in its activities to the extent that such participation
is not incompatible with their respective positions as Members of the
Legislature.

25620.15. (a) In order to ensure that prudent investments in
research, development, and demonstration of energy efficient
technologies continue to produce substantial economic, environmental,
public health, and reliability benefits, it is the policy of the
state and the intent of the Legislature that funds made available,
upon appropriation, for energy related public interest research,
development, and demonstration programs shall be used to advance
science or technology that is not adequately provided by competitive
and regulated markets.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money collected
for public interest research, development, and demonstration pursuant
to Section 399.8 of the Public Utilities Code shall be transferred
to the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund.
Money collected between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2012, shall
be used for the purposes specified in this chapter.
(c) In lieu of the Public Utilities Commission retaining funds
authorized pursuant to Section 381 of the Public Utilities Code for
investments made by electrical corporations in public interest
research, development, and demonstration projects for transmission
and distribution functions, up to 10 percent of the funds transferred
to the commission pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be awarded to
electrical corporations for public interest research, development,
and demonstration projects for transmission and distribution
functions consistent with the policies and subject to the
requirements of this chapter.