Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop contingency plans to deal with possible shortages of electrical energy or fuel supplies to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Existing law establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program for purposes of funding projects for energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, on public schools. Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to be allocated to local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adjust the funding allocation to local educational agencies and requires the commission, in allocating grants to local educational agencies, to give priority to certain local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would require, if an appropriation is made for this purpose, the commission to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools on or before March 31, 2025, or 15 months after the appropriation is made, whichever is later. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified state agencies and engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and experts regarding the development of the master plan, as provided. The bill would require the master plan to include specified elements, including, but not limited to, assessments of a representative sample of the states public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds, as provided, and a set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop contingency plans to deal with possible shortages of electrical energy or fuel supplies to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Existing law establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program for purposes of funding projects for energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, in public schools. Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to be allocated to local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adjust the funding allocation to local educational agencies and requires the commission, in allocating grants to local educational agencies, to give priority to certain local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would require require, if an appropriation is made for this purpose, the commission to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools on or before March 31, 2025, if an appropriation is made for that purpose. 2025, or 15 months after the appropriation is made, whichever is later. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified state agencies and engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and experts regarding the development of the master plan, as provided. The bill would require the master plan to include specified elements, including, but not limited to, assessments of a representative sample of the states public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds, as provided, and a set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop contingency plans to deal with possible shortages of electrical energy or fuel supplies to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Existing law establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program for purposes of funding projects for energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, in public schools. Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to be allocated to local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adjust the funding allocation to local educational agencies and requires the commission, in allocating grants to local educational agencies, to give priority to certain local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would require the commission to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools on or before March 31, 2025, if an appropriation is made for that purpose. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified state agencies and engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and experts regarding the development of the master plan, as provided. The bill would require the master plan to include specified elements, including, but not limited to, assessments of a representative sample of the states public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds, as provided, and a set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop contingency plans to deal with possible shortages of electrical energy or fuel supplies to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Existing law establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program for purposes of funding projects for energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, in public schools. Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to be allocated to local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adjust the funding allocation to local educational agencies and requires the commission, in allocating grants to local educational agencies, to give priority to certain local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would require the commission to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools on or before March 31, 2025, if an appropriation is made for that purpose. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified state agencies and engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and experts regarding the development of the master plan, as provided. The bill would require the master plan to include specified elements, including, but not limited to, assessments of a representative sample of the states public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds, as provided, and a set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop contingency plans to deal with possible shortages of electrical energy or fuel supplies to protect public health, safety, and welfare. Existing law establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program for purposes of funding projects for energy efficiency retrofits and clean energy installations, along with related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and improved health and safety conditions, in public schools. Existing law requires certain moneys appropriated for purposes of the program to be allocated to local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commission to adjust the funding allocation to local educational agencies and requires the commission, in allocating grants to local educational agencies, to give priority to certain local educational agencies, as provided.

This bill would require the commission to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools on or before November 1, 2024, March 31, 2025, if an appropriation is made for that purpose. The bill would require the commission to consult with specified state agencies and engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and experts regarding the development of the master plan, as provided. The bill would require the master plan to include specified elements, including, but not limited to, an inventory assessments of a representative sample of the states public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds grounds, as provided, and a set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities.

The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would require the creation of a master plan for achieving sustainable and climate-resilient school facilities.

 VETO  

Bill No: SB 394

Author: Gonzalez (D), et al.

Amended: 9/1/23

Vote: 27

SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 16-0, 4/18/23

AYES: Bradford, Dahle, Ashby, Becker, Caballero, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Grove, McGuire, Min, Newman, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner

NO VOTE RECORDED: Stern, Wilk

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/26/23

AYES: Newman, Ochoa Bogh, Cortese, Glazer, McGuire, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wilk

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 5/22/23

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

SENATE FLOOR: 39-0, 9/13/23

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-1, 9/12/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SOURCE: California Federation of Teachers

California Labor for Climate Jobs

Generation Up

UndauntedK12

DIGEST:

This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal. (Public Resources Code §25310)
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027. (Public Utilities Code §§1610 – 1618)
3. Established the Clean Energy Job Creation Program to and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. (Public Resources Code §26200 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. Under this bill, development of this master plan is contingent upon the CEC receiving a legislative appropriation.
2. Specifies groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan, including, but not limited to a selection of stakeholders from different geographic locations prone to climate hazards, stakeholders from diverse demographic backgrounds, and stakeholders from communities with high populations of K-12 students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged, English learners, pupils of color, and students with disabilities.
3. Specifies the contents that must be included in the master plan, including, the following:
   1. Recommendations and strategies for how to align investments in public school buildings, including any potential school bond moneys and federal decarbonization funding, with state building decarbonization goals and climate adaptation needs.

• 1. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s existing K-12 buildings and grounds that includes a variety of features, including age and fuel source for all building systems and recommendations for systems to track and analyze inventory data for planning and investments. This bill requires the master plan steering team to use existing data on school building performance to inform the plan.
  2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for emissions reductions potential, climate hazards, grid reliability, and climate adaptation potential.
  3. Recommendations on how LEAs can leverage building decarbonization and climate resilience investments to support high-road job opportunities, including labor agreements with unionized workforces and workforce development for the local community and students.

1. Requires the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
2. Requires the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

Background

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek moneys and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) moneys to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 841 (Ting, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2020) among other provisions, established the CalSHAPE program to provide stimulus grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. The bill also designated the CEC as the third-party administrator of the CalSHAPE program.

SB 110 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2017) and AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 250, Statutes of 2017) among other requirements, extended the operation of the Proposition 39 program, re-appropriated funds for the purpose of the program, and revised the allocation of Proposition 39 funds for LEAs to establish a competitive grant program for the remainder of the program’s operation.

AB 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) required the CEC to establish an energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program for buildings to increase access to energy consumption information.

SB 350 (De León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015), the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, established new clean energy, clean air and GHG reduction goals. Specifically, the bill established a goal to double energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1) CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account (ERPA) or General Fund) for 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor, given that there are over 10,000 schools throughout the state that may need information and data gathered, researched, and analyzed.

2) DSA estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $1.9 million for seven positions to implement this bill (Public School Planning, Design and Construction Review Revolving Fund). DSA contends that conducting any type of school inventory, even with a representative sample, is an intensive process. DSA notes its tasks include participating in the interagency process and steering committee, conducting the necessary inventory, conducting research in support of the master plan, and developing any materials necessary to turn the master plan into a series of actionable items, including green building standards and technical assistance to help district implement recommendations.  

3) OPSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $434,000 for two positions and $1.4 million ongoing for additional expenditure authority for existing positions to implement this bill (General Fund).

Department of Finance (DOF) notes, for both DSA and OPSC, the costs to participate in the development of the master plan pursuant to this bill are likely minor and absorbable. However, DOF contends the ongoing cost estimates provided by DSA and OPSC “will likely be applicable if a master plan is developed and if the recommendations of the master plan become enacted law.” This analysis notes, based on DOF’s analysis, the estimates provided by DSA and OPSC, above, are likely future cost pressures should the recommendations of the master plan be required or mandated, and are likely not direct costs of fulfilling the requirements of this bill.

4) The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $190,000 (General Fund) for one new position to coordinate with CEC and provide input regarding the various public health and health equity recommendations for ensuring healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

5) CDE estimates one-time state operations costs of approximately $50,000 (General Fund) to implement this bill.

6) Costs of an unknown, but likely minor, amount for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

SUPPORT: (Verified 10/13/23)

California Federation of Teachers (co-source)
California Labor for Climate Jobs (co-source)
Generation Up (co-source)
UndauntedK12 (co-source)

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
2035 Initiative

Alliance for a Better Community
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
California Climate Voters
California Environmental Voters

California Federation of Teachers

California Green New Deal Coalition

California Labor for Climate Jobs

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
California School Employees Association

California State PTA
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Center for Cities and Schools, UC Berkeley

Center for Ecoliteracy

Children Now
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Action Pathways for Schools

Climate Health Now
CMTA Engineers

Collective Resilience
Education Justice Academy
Fossil Free California
GENup

Green Schools National Network

Green Schoolyards America
Greenpeace USA
Jobs With Justice San Francisco
Labor Network for Sustainability
Let's Green Ca!
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Buildings Institute
NextGen California
Oil & Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Our Turn
PODER
Rewiring America
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility

Santa Clara County Office of Education
School Energy Coalition
Schools for Climate Action

SEIU California

Service Employees International Union California

Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 104

Sierra Club California
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
Strategic Energy Innovations
Ten Strands
TerraVerde Energy
The Climate Center
The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley
Tree People
UFCW Western States Council

UPTE-CWA 9119

Two Individuals

OPPOSITION: (Verified 10/13/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office showed that, as climate change continues to drive extreme weather events and other disruptions, students will face learning loss, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health impacts that are likely to affect their ability to learn and result in diminished academic outcomes.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act.

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

This bill would require the California Energy Commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene more than ten state agencies, departments and commissions, as well as numerous stakeholders, to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan would be due on or before March 31, 2025, or 15 months after the appropriation is made for this purpose, whichever is later.

While I support the author's goal of making our schools more climate friendly and climate prepared, the development of this Master Plan will cost up to $10 million that was not considered through the annual budget process. Additionally, the Master Plan would create significant long-term cost pressures that are not accounted for in the state budget plan.
In partnership with the Legislature, we enacted a budget that closed a shortfall of more than $30 billion through balanced solutions that avoided deep program cuts and protected education, health care, climate, public safety, and social service programs that are relied on by millions of Californians. This year, however, the Legislature approved bills outside of this budget process that, if all enacted, would add nearly $19 billion of unaccounted costs in the budget, of which $11 billion would be ongoing.
With our state facing continuing economic risk and revenue uncertainty, it is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications, such as this measure.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-1, 9/12/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Gallagher

NO VOTE RECORDED: Essayli, Jones-Sawyer, Wood

Prepared by: Sarah Smith / E., U. & C. / (916) 651-4107

10/19/23 10:40:48

**** END ****

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 394

Author: Gonzalez (D), et al.

Amended: 9/1/23

Vote: 21

SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 16-0, 4/18/23

AYES: Bradford, Dahle, Ashby, Becker, Caballero, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Grove, McGuire, Min, Newman, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner

NO VOTE RECORDED: Stern, Wilk

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/26/23

AYES: Newman, Ochoa Bogh, Cortese, Glazer, McGuire, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wilk

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 5/22/23

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-1, 9/12/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SOURCE: California Federation of Teachers

California Labor for Climate Jobs

Generation Up

UndauntedK12

DIGEST:

This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools

Assembly Amendments

make technical changes, add additional stakeholders for the master plan required by this bill, and clarify that, upon appropriation, the CEC must convene a master plan steering committee by March 1, 2024, or 90 days after the appropriation is made, depending on whichever is later. Amendments also specify that, upon appropriation, the CEC must establish a stakeholder engagement process for the development of the master plan by March 31, 2025, or 15 months after the appropriation is made, depending on which date occurs later.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal. (Public Resources Code §25310)
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027. (Public Utilities Code §§1610 – 1618)
3. Established the Clean Energy Job Creation Program to and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. (Public Resources Code §26200 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. Under this bill, development of this master plan is contingent upon the CEC receiving a legislative appropriation.
2. Specifies groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan, including, but not limited to a selection of stakeholders from different geographic locations prone to climate hazards, stakeholders from diverse demographic backgrounds, and stakeholders from communities with high populations of K-12 students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged, English learners, pupils of color, and students with disabilities.
3. Specifies the contents that must be included in the master plan, including, the following:
   1. Recommendations and strategies for how to align investments in public school buildings, including any potential school bond moneys and federal decarbonization funding, with state building decarbonization goals and climate adaptation needs.

• 1. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s existing K-12 buildings and grounds that includes a variety of features, including age and fuel source for all building systems and recommendations for systems to track and analyze inventory data for planning and investments. This bill requires the master plan steering team to use existing data on school building performance to inform the plan.
  2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for emissions reductions potential, climate hazards, grid reliability, and climate adaptation potential.
  3. Recommendations on how LEAs can leverage building decarbonization and climate resilience investments to support high-road job opportunities, including labor agreements with unionized workforces and workforce development for the local community and students.

1. Requires the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
2. Requires the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

Background

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek moneys and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) moneys to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 841 (Ting, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2020) among other provisions, established the CalSHAPE program to provide stimulus grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. The bill also designated the CEC as the third-party administrator of the CalSHAPE program.

SB 110 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2017) and AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 250, Statutes of 2017) among other requirements, extended the operation of the Proposition 39 program, re-appropriated funds for the purpose of the program, and revised the allocation of Proposition 39 funds for LEAs to establish a competitive grant program for the remainder of the program’s operation.

AB 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) required the CEC to establish an energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program for buildings to increase access to energy consumption information.

SB 350 (De León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015), the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, established new clean energy, clean air and GHG reduction goals. Specifically, the bill established a goal to double energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1) CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account (ERPA) or General Fund) for 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor, given that there are over 10,000 schools throughout the state that may need information and data gathered, researched, and analyzed.

2) DSA estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $1.9 million for seven positions to implement this bill (Public School Planning, Design and Construction Review Revolving Fund). DSA contends that conducting any type of school inventory, even with a representative sample, is an intensive process. DSA notes its tasks include participating in the interagency process and steering committee, conducting the necessary inventory, conducting research in support of the master plan, and developing any materials necessary to turn the master plan into a series of actionable items, including green building standards and technical assistance to help district implement recommendations.  

3) OPSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $434,000 for two positions and $1.4 million ongoing for additional expenditure authority for existing positions to implement this bill (General Fund).

Department of Finance (DOF) notes, for both DSA and OPSC, the costs to participate in the development of the master plan pursuant to this bill are likely minor and absorbable. However, DOF contends the ongoing cost estimates provided by DSA and OPSC “will likely be applicable if a master plan is developed and if the recommendations of the master plan become enacted law.” This analysis notes, based on DOF’s analysis, the estimates provided by DSA and OPSC, above, are likely future cost pressures should the recommendations of the master plan be required or mandated, and are likely not direct costs of fulfilling the requirements of this bill.

4) The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $190,000 (General Fund) for one new position to coordinate with CEC and provide input regarding the various public health and health equity recommendations for ensuring healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

5) CDE estimates one-time state operations costs of approximately $50,000 (General Fund) to implement this bill.

6) Costs of an unknown, but likely minor, amount for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/8/23)

California Federation of Teachers (co-source)
California Labor for Climate Jobs (co-source)
Generation Up (co-source)
UndauntedK12 (co-source)

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
2035 Initiative

Alliance for a Better Community
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
California Climate Voters
California Environmental Voters

California Federation of Teachers

California Green New Deal Coalition

California Labor for Climate Jobs

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
California School Employees Association

California State PTA
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Center for Cities and Schools, UC Berkeley

Center for Ecoliteracy

Children Now
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Action Pathways for Schools

Climate Health Now
CMTA Engineers

Collective Resilience
Education Justice Academy
Fossil Free California
GENup

Green Schools National Network

Green Schoolyards America
Greenpeace USA
Jobs With Justice San Francisco
Labor Network for Sustainability
Let's Green Ca!
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Buildings Institute
NextGen California
Oil & Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Our Turn
PODER
Rewiring America
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility

Santa Clara County Office of Education
School Energy Coalition
Schools for Climate Action

SEIU California

Service Employees International Union California

Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 104

Sierra Club California
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
Strategic Energy Innovations
Ten Strands
TerraVerde Energy
The Climate Center
The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley
Tree People
UFCW Western States Council

UPTE-CWA 9119

Two Individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/8/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office showed that, as climate change continues to drive extreme weather events and other disruptions, students will face learning loss, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health impacts that are likely to affect their ability to learn and result in diminished academic outcomes.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-1, 9/12/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NOES: Gallagher

NO VOTE RECORDED: Essayli, Jones-Sawyer, Wood

Prepared by: Sarah Smith / E., U. & C. / (916) 651-4107

9/12/23 19:10:58

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 394

Author:(Gonzalez)

As Amended Ver:September 1, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

This bill requires, upon appropriation, the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools (master plan).

Major Provisions

1. Requires, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, by March 31, 2025, or 15 months after an appropriation is made, CEC, in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and Natural Resources Agency (NRA), to facilitate an interagency process and stakeholder engagement to develop the master plan.

2) Requires CEC to organize and lead a steering team made up of representatives from specified state agencies to facilitate the planning process and stakeholder engagement, and requires the steering committee to begin to meet at least monthly by March 1, 2024.

2) Requires the process to create the master plan to include input from additional specified state agencies that provide funding, guidance, and oversight for school buildings and grounds, and requires the process to engage a specified group of stakeholders and experts to inform the recommendations.

3) Specifies a number of requirements for what the master plan must include.

4) Requires CEC to enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities to review existing research and data, support and coordinate the master plan development process, and conduct research on priority areas of study.

COMMENTS

California's K-12 facilities include over 10,000 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making local education agencies (LEAs) the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings are generally not able to use energy savings to reinvest in capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some districts may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the federal government, such as the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings' climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation (EACC) Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Education program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

In July 2023, the Newsom Administration announced the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is providing $47 million in grants to help schools convert asphalt to green spaces and plant trees and other vegetation – adding cooler spaces essential to protecting kids from dangerous extreme heat. This is the first round of the state's $117 million Green Schoolyard Grant program, which helps schools convert pavement to green spaces, create drought-tolerant natural areas on school grounds, and other activities to help children connect to nature. The program is part of the Governor's Extreme Heat Action Plan.

This bill seeks to establish a master plan to help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. The diversity of size, condition, and location of California's LEAs create challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA's needs. While some LEAs may seek to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulty taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

According to the author's office, a one-time investment in a master plan can give agencies, counties, and local school districts greater leverage and a competitive edge to capitalize on billions of dollars in available federal funding. For example, the IIJA appropriated $5.7 billion specifically for schools. This includes $5 billion for clean school buses, $500 million to improve energy efficiency and install renewable energy at public school facilities, and $200 million to address lead in school drinking water. The author contends that, under the IRA, the renewable electricity investment tax credit can help schools reduce the costs of installing renewable energy, like solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and energy storage systems.

According to the Author

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California's students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities' sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of supporters:

With a master plan, California will stop treating climate as an overlay on the budget or a niche within it. Instead, our state will recognize climate-readiness for what it is: an imperative. An essential part of our schools' 21st-century mission.

Arguments in Opposition

Western Electrical Contractors Association writes, "[project labor agreements] are wasteful and discriminatory and mandating their inclusion in an otherwise laudable bill is misguided."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:

1. CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account (ERPA) or General Fund) for 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor, given that there are over 10,000 schools throughout the state that may need information and data gathered, researched, and analyzed.

2) DSA estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $1.9 million for seven positions to implement this bill (Public School Planning, Design and Construction Review Revolving Fund). DSA contends that conducting any type of school inventory, even with a representative sample, is an intensive process. DSA notes its tasks include participating in the interagency process and steering committee, conducting the necessary inventory, conducting research in support of the master plan, and developing any materials necessary to turn the master plan into a series of actionable items, including green building standards and technical assistance to help district implement recommendations.

3) OPSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $434,000 for two positions and $1.4 million ongoing for additional expenditure authority for existing positions to implement this bill (General Fund).

Department of Finance (DOF) notes, for both DSA and OPSC, the costs to participate in the development of the master plan pursuant to this bill are likely minor and absorbable. However, DOF contends the ongoing cost estimates provided by DSA and OPSC "will likely be applicable if a master plan is developed and if the recommendations of the master plan become enacted law." This analysis notes, based on DOF's analysis, the estimates provided by DSA and OPSC, above, are likely future cost pressures should the recommendations of the master plan be required or mandated, and are likely not direct costs of fulfilling the requirements of this bill.

4) The California Department of Public Health estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $190,000 (General Fund) for one new position to coordinate with CEC and provide input regarding the various public health and health equity recommendations for ensuring healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

5) CDE estimates one-time state operations costs of approximately $50,000 (General Fund) to implement this bill.

6) Costs of an unknown, but likely minor, amount for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ASM NATURAL RESOURCES: 11-0-0

YES: Luz Rivas, Flora, Addis, Friedman, Hoover, Mathis, Muratsuchi, Pellerin, Ward, Wood, Zbur

ASM EDUCATION: 7-0-0

YES: Muratsuchi, Megan Dahle, Juan Carrillo, Hoover, Lee, McCarty, Quirk-Silva

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-5

YES: Holden, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Papan, Pellerin, Weber, Wilson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Megan Dahle, Dixon, Mathis, Sanchez, Soria

UPDATED

VERSION: September 1, 2023

CONSULTANT: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0001733

Date of Hearing: August 23, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 394

Author:(Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:June 30, 2023

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires, upon appropriation, the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools (master plan).

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1) Requires, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, by March 31, 2025, CEC, in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), to facilitate an interagency process and stakeholder engagement to develop the master plan.

2) Requires CEC to organize and lead a steering team made up of representatives from specified state agencies to facilitate the planning process and stakeholder engagement, and requires the steering committee to begin to meet at least monthly by March 1, 2024.

2) Requires the process to create the master plan to include input from additional specified state agencies that provide funding, guidance, and oversight for school buildings and grounds, and requires the process to engage a specified group of stakeholders and experts to inform the recommendations.

3) Specifies a number of requirements for what the master plan must include.

4) Requires CEC to enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities to review existing research and data, support and coordinate the master plan development process, and conduct research on priority areas of study.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1) CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account (ERPA) or General Fund) for 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor, given that there are over 10,000 schools throughout the state that may need information and data gathered, researched, and analyzed.

2) DSA estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $1.9 million for seven positions to implement this bill (Public School Planning, Design and Construction Review Revolving Fund). DSA contends that conducting any type of school inventory, even with a representative sample, is an intensive process. DSA notes its tasks include participating in the interagency process and steering committee, conducting the necessary inventory, conducting research in support of the master plan, and developing any materials necessary to turn the master plan into a series of actionable items, including green building standards and technical assistance to help district implement recommendations.  

3) OPSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $434,000 for two positions and $1.4 million ongoing for additional expenditure authority for existing positions to implement this bill (General Fund).

Department of Finance (DOF) notes, for both DSA and OPSC, the costs to participate in the development of the master plan pursuant to this bill are likely minor and absorbable. However, DOF contends the ongoing cost estimates provided by DSA and OPSC “will likely be applicable if a master plan is developed and if the recommendations of the master plan become enacted law.” This analysis notes, based on DOF’s analysis, the estimates provided by DSA and OPSC, above, are likely future cost pressures should the recommendations of the master plan be required or mandated, and are likely not direct costs of fulfilling the requirements of this bill.

4) The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $190,000 (General Fund) for one new position to coordinate with CEC and provide input regarding the various public health and health equity recommendations for ensuring healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

5) CDE estimates one-time state operations costs of approximately $50,000 (General Fund) to implement this bill.

6) Costs of an unknown, but likely minor, amount for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

2) Background.

Diverse Needs. California’s K-12 facilities include over 10,000 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making local education agencies (LEAs) the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally are not able to use energy savings to reinvest in capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some districts may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the federal government, such as the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may seek to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulty taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

Incentives for LEAs. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

In July 2023, the Newsom Administration announced the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is providing $47 million in grants to help schools convert asphalt to green spaces and plant trees and other vegetation – adding cooler spaces essential to protecting kids from dangerous extreme heat. This is the first round of the state’s $117 million Green Schoolyard Grant program, which helps schools convert pavement to green spaces, create drought-tolerant natural areas on school grounds, and other activities to help children connect to nature. The program is part of the Governor’s Extreme Heat Action Plan.

Federal Funding. The author’s office argues the one-time investment in a master plan can give agencies, counties, and local school districts greater leverage and a competitive edge to capitalize on billions of dollars in available federal funding. For example, the IIJA appropriated $5.7 billion specifically for schools. This includes $5 billion for clean school buses, $500 million to improve energy efficiency and install renewable energy at public school facilities, and $200 million to address lead in school drinking water. The author contends that, under the IRA, the renewable electricity investment tax credit can help schools reduce the costs of installing renewable energy, like solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and energy storage systems. The author notes the program includes a direct pay option. For example, if a school district wants to purchase and install a 500 kilowatt solar system at a cost of $1 million, it could receive a direct payment of between $300,000 and $500,000 back under the IRA.

3) DOF Position. DOF has an oppose position on this bill for the following reasons:

1. The bill could create significant general obligation bond cost pressures that would result in downstream General Fund debt service costs that are not reflected in the state's current fiscal plan, as LEAs adapt their school infrastructure to improve schools’ resilience to shifting climate conditions.
2. It will result in additional cost pressure on ERPA, which is currently operating at a structural deficit, and this bill will exacerbate the fund’s structural imbalance.
3. The timeline to develop the master plan, given the broad scope of stakeholder engagement as well as the data collection, research, and analysis needed to develop this comprehensive document, will likely be infeasible to accomplish the deliverables outlined in this bill.
4. Given the required extensive engagement with stakeholders, this bill does not provide guidance for resolving conflict “if stakeholders are diametrically opposed in their approach to aspects of the master plan.”
5. Several departments also express concerns about the bill’s required timeframe to produce the master plan and recommend providing additional time for the master plan steering team to develop the master plan.

4) Related Legislation. AB 499 (Menjivar) requires every school in the state, contingent on appropriation, to develop and implement an extreme heat action plan. The bill also requires every school to replace outdoor surfaces with more heat-resistant materials the next time the school replaces an outdoor surface. AB 499 is pending on this committee’s suspense file.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 28, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Al Muratsuchi, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 394

Author:(Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:June 12, 2023

[Note: This bill is double referred to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and was heard by that Committee as it relates to issues under its jurisdiction.]

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SUMMARY: Requires, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, the California Energy Commission (CEC), in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and Natural Resources Agency (NRA), to facilitate an interagency process and stakeholder engagement to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools (master plan). Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, the CEC, in consultation with the CDE, DSA, OPSC, and NRA, to facilitate an interagency process and stakeholder engagement to develop a master plan on or before March 31, 2025.
2. Requires a master plan steering team to be organized and led by the CEC to facilitate the planning process and stakeholder engagement to develop the master plan. Requires the steering team to include representatives from the CDE, DSA, OPSC, and NRA and to begin meeting at least monthly on or before March 1, 2024, to coordinate and advance the master planning process. Requires the process to create the master plan to include input from additional state agencies that provide funding, guidance, and oversight for school buildings and grounds.
3. Requires the master plan development process to engage a diverse group of stakeholders and experts that reflect the geographic and climate diversity of the state to inform the master plan’s recommendations, including all of the following:
   1. Representatives of local educational agencies (LEAs) or their designees, including school administrators, members of governing boards of school districts, including small school districts, and members of county boards of education;
   2. Private sector design professionals, including, but not limited to, building and landscape architects and engineers;
   3. School facility advocacy organizations;
   4. Educators;
   5. Representatives of classified school employee unions and building trades councils;
   6. Pupil leaders;
   7. Parent advocates; and
   8. Subject matter and technical experts from higher education and nonprofit sectors.
4. Requires, to ensure that all objectives, provisions, and recommendations expressed in the master plan also express and enact the state’s commitment to educational equity, the master plan steering team to undertake or solicit and be informed by analysis employing geographic cross-referencing among areas where climate-related hazards, such as heat indices and air pollution, are elevated and where there are concentrated populations of pupils who may be especially vulnerable to stresses and disruptions, including socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, pupils of color, English learners, and pupils with disabilities.
5. Requires the completed master plan to be provided electronically to the Governor, the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the CEC, the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), the State Architect, the OPSC, the Secretary of the NRA, and others as specified. Requires the CDE, DSA, OPSC, and NRA to make the master plan publicly available on their respective websites.
6. Requires the master plan to include all of the following:
   1. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds that includes building and site sizes and location, building age, whether and when the building and building systems such as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning were last modernized, age and fuel source for all building systems and major appliances, scores under the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR system, and energy and water expenditures in the three most recent school years. Requires the plan to also include recommendations for building ongoing capacity and systems to track and analyze this data to inform planning and investment decisions. Requires the steering team to catalog and use existing and previously collected data on the condition and performance of school infrastructure to inform the plan;
   2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for both of the following: the school and surrounding community’s vulnerability to climate hazards, such as heat, wildfire, landslide, sea level rise, flood risk, and electrical grid reliability, and adaptation potential; and emissions of greenhouse gases, sustainability, and mitigation potential;
   3. A set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of California’s public school campuses and support facilities in alignment with the state’s climate and equity goals. Requires these priorities, benchmarks, and milestones to do all of the following: encompass recommendations for school buildings, school grounds, and support facilities, account for the need for LEAs to maintain fiscal sustainability and responsibly invest local and state funding, and prioritize schools and communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate-related hazards and by structural inequities in the state’s economy and education system;
   4. Actionable steps and state agency roles within each priority area and an estimate of the costs to implement and achieve the benchmarks and milestones over a multiyear period, and the fiscal, health, and learning costs of inaction;
   5. Guidance for the Legislature and Governor to inform the development of infrastructure-related programs and the identification of the financial resources for LEAs to implement the recommendations and achieve the goals of the master plan. Requires this guidance to be informed by policy and institutional analyses to understand state and local climate adaptation capacities, limitations, including existing demand for available financial resources, and opportunities within California’s public school system;
   6. Recommendations on future school infrastructure spending, including guidance on infrastructure-related budget proposals and state bond measures;
   7. Guidance for local school infrastructure funding measures that align with state decarbonization and climate adaptation goals;
   8. Guidance on the roles of state and county agencies and other partners in providing technical assistance to LEAs to support sustainable and climate-resilient school infrastructure;
   9. Recommendations to ensure that LEAs have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate-resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements with unionized workforces, workforce development, and training opportunities for current LEA employees who construct, operate, and maintain school infrastructure. Requires the recommendations and guidelines to be consistent with existing law for LEAs regarding the roles of current employees and staff in the implementation of the plan;
   10. Recommendations for state and local leaders from the public and private sectors to connect sustainable and climate-resilient school buildings and grounds to learning opportunities for pupils, green career and technical education, and pathways to green economy careers that support and advance statewide sustainability and resilience;
   11. Recommendations for county and city governments to more effectively include LEAs in their decarbonization and climate adaptation efforts; and
   12. Requires the sample of school buildings and grounds to be representative of geographic and climate zones, the size of the LEA’s pupil population, building age, urban and rural communities, and pupil demographics. Requires through study of the representative sample of schools, the assessment to identify the aspects of a school that indicate high-priority status for intervention and investment. Authorizes the representative sample to be provided by LEAs that agree to participate in the master plan’s development.
7. Requires, to guide the implementation of well-aligned state investments in healthy, sustainable, climate-resilient school infrastructure, the CEC, or the CEC’s designee, to enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities to review existing research and data, support and coordinate the master plan development process, and conduct research on priority areas of study.
8. Defines the following:
   1. “LEA” to mean a school district, county office of education (COE), charter school, or special education local plan area (SELPA); and
   2. “Master plan” to mean the Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal.
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027.
3. Establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
4. Establishes the School Facility Program (SFP) under which the state provides general obligation bond funding for various school construction projects, including new construction, modernization, joint-use facilities, and programs to specifically address the construction needs of charter schools, career technical education facilities, and seismic mitigation.
5. Defines “good repair” to mean a school facility that is maintained in a manner that ensures that it is clean, safe, and functional as determined pursuant to a school facility inspection and evaluation instrument developed by the OPSC and approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) or a local evaluation instrument that meets the same criteria, and requires the evaluation instrument to include mechanical systems, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems, that are functional and unobstructed, appear to supply adequate amount of air to all classrooms, work spaces, and facilities, and maintain interior temperatures within normally acceptable ranges. (Education Code (EC) 17002(d))
6. Requires the CDE to establish standards for use by school districts to ensure that the design and construction of school facilities is educationally appropriate, promotes school safety, and provides school districts with flexibility in designing instructional facilities. (EC 17251(c))
7. Requires, the Department of General Services (DGS), under the police power of the state, to supervise the design and construction of any school building or the reconstruction or alteration of or addition to any school building to ensure that plans and specifications comply with the specified rules and regulations, and to ensure that the work of construction has been performed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications, for the protection of life and property. (EC 17280)
8. Requires the governing board of any school district to meet with appropriate local government recreation and park authorities to review all possible methods of coordinating planning, design, and construction of new school facilities and schoolsites or major additions to existing school facilities and recreation and park facilities in the community. (EC 35275)
9. Makes findings and declarations that school gardens provide an interactive, hands-on learning environment in which pupils learn composting and waste management techniques, fundamental concepts about nutrition and obesity prevention, and the cultural and historical aspects of our food supply. School gardens also foster a better understanding and appreciation of where food comes from, how food travels from the farm to the table, and the important role of agriculture in the state, national, and global economy. (EC 51795)
10. Establishes the Instructional School Gardens Program, administered by the CDE for the promotion, creation, and support of instructional school gardens through the allocation of grants, and through technical assistance provided, to school districts, charter schools, or COEs. (EC 51796)
11. Prohibits a local governing board from siting a school located on land that was previously a hazardous waste disposal site, that contains pipelines that carry hazardous substances, or that is near an airport runway or freeway, other busy traffic corridors and railyards that have the potential to expose students and school staff to hazardous air emissions. (EC 17213 and 17215)
12. Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to identify disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities. Requires these communities to be identified based on geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental hazard criteria, and may include, but are not limited to, either of the following:
    1. Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation; or
    2. Areas with concentrations of people that are of low income, high unemployment, low levels of homeownership, high rent burden, sensitive populations, or low levels of educational attainment. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) 39711)

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,

• The CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account [ERPA] or General Fund) and 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor.
• Unknown, likely minor costs (various funds) for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.
  

COMMENTS:

Need for the bill. According to the author, “California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.”

Climate change impacts in California. California’s climate is generally expected to become hotter, drier, and more variable over the coming decades, increasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires, droughts, floods, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and sea level rise. California’s Fourth Climate Assessment estimates the economic cost to California for these losses by 2050 will be over $100 billion annually. Average global temperatures have increased since 1895, with the fastest relative increase beginning in the 1980s. Nine of the ten hottest years recorded have occurred in the last decade. In California, the statewide average temperature is predicted to increase 1.9°F by 2025 and 4.6°F by 2050. Populations in cooler parts of the state, particularly along the coast, are generally at a greater risk for health-related illness because they are less acclimatized to heat, people may be less aware of behaviors to reduce exposure, and the built environment is not designed for warmer temperatures.

Urban areas have higher temperatures than in surrounding areas due to pavement and building materials that absorb sunlight and heat. This phenomenon is referred to as the urban heat island effect. Average daytime temperatures in urban areas are 1-6°F warmer than surrounding areas, but at night that increases to as much as 22°F as the heat is gradually released from buildings and paved surfaces. The urban heat island effect increases the health risks associated with extreme heat for populations living in those areas. A number of strategies can be used to mitigate the urban heat island effect, such as shading, green spaces, and the use of cool building and paving materials.

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. Public K-12 facilities in California include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally are not able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some school districts may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other school districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. The Committee may wish to consider that the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may seek to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

Greener schools. The majority of the state’s urban schools are covered in hard surfaces, particularly in neighborhoods that are already suffering from park scarcity. Play spaces are covered in asphalt and concrete, which contribute to the urban heat island effect. Green space, such as grass, trees, and shrubs, which have been shown to lower temperatures is linked to improved child development outcomes. In addition to reducing heat, spending time in green spaces has been shown to improve student’s academic achievement, improve concentration, and reduce stress. Greenery near schools has also been shown to improve air quality. Existing law also requires a local governing board to evaluate methods for coordinating and planning new schoolsites and parks in the community. Many new schools are now constructed adjacent to a city park.

The impact of heat on student health and academic performance. As climate change intensifies, students are increasingly burdened by worsening heat waves, wildfires, drought, and other extreme weather-related events that hinder their well-being and academic development, according to a 2023 report from the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and other partners, Climate Resilient California Schools: Safeguarding Children’s Health and Opportunity to Learn in TK-12. Children are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions because their bodies are more sensitive and less capable of self-regulating temperature. According to a 2023 UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation policy brief, Protecting California with Heat-Resilient Schools, “Children also face a heightened risk of some health conditions, including asthma, when they experience extremely high temperatures. Overheating at schools can lead to hospital emergency department room visits and missed school days. Socially, children have less agency to take care of their needs by retreating to a cool area. And when considering the effects of hot protective sports equipment, heat-absorbing blacktops, and other intensifying factors, children often face particularly heightened heat exposures, and thus risk, at school.”

According to a 2022 Legislative Analyst’s Office report, Climate Change Impacts Across California K-12 Education, climate change has led to students experiencing greater learning loss, poorer academic outcomes, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health problems. Moreover, minority children who live in high-poverty neighborhoods are often exposed to more heat, which contributes to racial disparities in health outcomes. School facilities located in low-income neighborhoods have historically had fewer financial resources to invest in efficient HVAC systems, and may have play areas covered in asphalt without shade, thereby compounding student health risks from worsening climate change.

According to a 2020 Journal of Human Resources article, Hot Temperature and High Stakes Performance, hot temperature reduces performance by up to 13% of a standard deviation and leads to persistent impacts on high school graduation status, despite compensatory responses by teachers who selectively upward manipulate grades after hotter exams. According to a 2020 American Economic Journal: Economic Policy article, Heat and Learning, students of color and students in lower-income areas are the most affected by heat-driven learning losses, exacerbating racial and income-based achievement gaps. It is estimated that 5% of the nationwide gap in academic achievement between white and Black students is due to heat and air conditioning disparities.

California lacks an inventory of public school facilities, including heating and cooling devices. While the state has general information on the number of K-12 schools (approximately 10,000 schools), there is not an inventory on the number of school buildings within a schoolsite or the types of facilities in those buildings (e.g., gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms, etc.). Beginning in 2008, school districts applying for state bond funds must complete an informational worksheet on the project. Data on the number of new facilities and the types of facilities constructed since 2008 is available, but is not comprehensive. California does not maintain a statewide database for tracking which schools have air conditioning, appropriately shaded schoolyards, and other heat interventions, according to the 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for California’s Infrastructure. According to a 2020 Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, Improving K-12 School Facilities in California, not every California school has adequate access to indoor cooling, making it impossible to universally maintain temperatures ideal for teachers to educate and students to learn. And with limited statewide school facility data, the Committee may wish to consider it is difficult to know how widespread the problem is, or what the cost of interventions will be.

Existing CEC energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total of $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) monies to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

California’s Extreme Heat Action Plan. Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to update the state’s climate adaptation strategy every three years. In updating the strategy, the need for an interagency approach to extreme heat was identified, and therefore the state updated its extreme heat guidance and recommendations to create California’s Extreme Heat Action Plan.

California’s Extreme Heat Action Plan was released by the Natural Resources Agency in April 2022. The plan provides a strategic and comprehensive set of state actions to adapt and build resilience to extreme heat, including exploring the implementation of indoor and outdoor heat exposure rules for schools, supporting climate-smart planning in heat-vulnerable schools, promoting climate-appropriate shade tree cover and schools, and promoting increased use of green barriers between agricultural fields and schools.

Recommended Committee Amendments. Staff recommend that this bill be amended as follows:

• Add members of charter school governing bodies to the list of entities that must be consulted when developing a master plan.
• Remove SELPA from definition of LEA, and add state special schools.
• Add, to the assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public elementary and secondary school grounds, information related to available shade, and outdoor ground surface materials.
• Add, to the actionable steps required of state agencies by the master plan: 1) that the master plan provide actionable steps and recommendations, and 2) include actionable steps and recommendations for school and LEAs.
• Add cost estimates to the recommendations on future school infrastructure spending.

Arguments in support. The California Federation of Teachers writes, “A master plan will also remedy an unintentional and consequential gap in State policy, whereby mandates and incentives that are prompting local governments and other actors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions do not expressly apply to public school districts. Lacking clear guidance and support, school districts continue to invest in antiquated, inefficient equipment that produces emissions and environmental hazards rather than safeguarding against them. Once installed, such equipment – heating and air conditioning systems, for example – can run for 30 years. As a result, decisions local districts make in the 2020s will largely determine whether the State’s 11,000 public schools will play a part in fulfilling California’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

A master plan process will provide a critical opportunity for communication and coordination across State, County, and local agencies to clarify goals, identify approaches that meet the unique needs of school facilities, and reduce barriers that could otherwise slow or misdirect implementation of State climate programs. A master plan will also help position California schools to fully leverage funding opportunities under the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act – which could bring billions to California over the next 10 years – an especially important aim in light of the State’s budget challenges.”

Arguments in opposition. The Western Electrical Contractors Association writes, “WECA does not oppose the Master Plan but opposes requirements in the bill that mandate the plan includes ‘recommendations to ensure that LEAs have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements with unionized workforces…’ WECA believes project labor agreements are discriminatory and increases the cost of construction.”

Related legislation. AB 247 (Muratsuchi) of the 2023-24 Session would place the Kindergarten-Community Colleges Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2024 on the 2024 statewide ballot, to be operative only if approved by voters at that election.

AB 384 (Calderon) of the 2023-24 Session would require the CDE to conduct a research study on recommended indoor air temperature ranges and temperature control standards for public schools, to compile a statewide inventory of heating and cooling systems and interventions in all public schools, and to develop policy recommendations for safe indoor air temperature standards for public school facilities.

AB 527 (Calderon) of the 2023-24 Session would require the CAL FIRE to provide grants to qualified entities to support school greening.

AB 1642 (Gipson) of the 2023-24 Session would require the CDE and the NRA, in consultation with the DSA, the OPSC, and any other appropriate state entities to facilitate an interagency and stakeholder engagement process to develop, on or before December 1, 2024, recommendations for a master plan for green schoolyards. Requires a report of the recommendations for a master plan for green schoolyards to be sent to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before December 1, 2024.

SB 28 (Glazer) of the 2023-24 Session would place the Public Preschool, K-12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act on the ballot for the March 2024 statewide primary election.

SB 499 (Menjivar) of the 2023-24 Session would require 1) all schoolsites and child care facilities to develop and implement an extreme heat action plan to plant shade trees, install a school garden, and plant a coniferous tree barrier; 2) the CDE, in consultation with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to develop a template for an extreme heat action plan, make available a model program guidebook; and, 3) the CDSS to identify a liaison for child care facilities.

SB 515 (Stern) of the 2023-24 Session would exempt the installation of shade structures on the DSA’s approved pre-check design list from requiring LEAs to also provide an accessible path of travel under the California Building Standards Code.

AB 544 (O’Donnell) of the 2021-22 Session would have required LEAs to provide the CDE information related to each school facility, schoolsite, or school property owned or leased by the LEA. This bill was held in the Senate Education Committee.

AB 2232 (McCarty), Chapter 777, Statutes of 2022, requires a covered school (school district, COE, charter school, private school, the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and requests the University of California (UC), to ensure that facilities, including classrooms for students, have HVAC systems that meet minimum ventilation rate requirements, as specified, and to install filtration that achieves minimum efficiency reporting values (MERV) levels of 13 or higher. Requires the California Building Standards Commission and the DSA to propose for adoption mandatory standards for carbon dioxide monitors in classrooms of a covered school and the UC.

AB 2597 (Bloom) of the 2021-22 Session would have required the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop, propose, and submit to the California Building Standards Commission standards for adequate residential cooling for both new and existing units. This bill was held in the Senate Housing Committee.

SB 1167 (Mendoza), Chapter 839, Statutes of 2016, requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to propose to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for review and adoption, a standard that minimizes heat-related illness and injury among workers working in indoor places of employment by January 1, 2019.

AB 1292 (Evans) of the 2005-06 Session would have required school districts to ensure that facilities, including, but not limited to, classrooms, have HVAC systems that meet minimum requirements of indoor air quality, as adopted by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2863 (Pavley) of the 2003-04 Session would have required a school district applying for state school facilities funds to include in its plans for new construction and modernization of a school building an indoor air quality management plan, and authorizes the use of certain funds to prevent indoor air problems in school facilities. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations

Alliance for A Better Community

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

American Academy of Pediatrics, California

Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education

California Climate Voters

California Federation of Teachers

California Green New Deal Coalition

California Labor for Climate Jobs

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice

California School Employees Association

California State Council of Service Employees International Union (SEIU California)

California State PTA

Center for Cities+Schools, UC Berkeley

Center for Ecoliteracy

Central California Asthma Collaborative

Children Now

Climate Action Campaign

Climate Action Pathways for Schools

Climate Health Now

Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter

Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley

CMTA Engineers

Coalition for A California Green New Deal

Collective Resilience

Education Justice Academy

Fossil Free California

Generation Up

GenUp (generation Up)

Green Schools National Network

Green Schoolyards America

Greenpeace USA

Jobs With Justice

Jobs With Justice San Francisco

Labor Network for Sustainability

Let's Green Ca!

Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy

Los Angeles Unified School District

Menlo Spark

Natural Resources Defense Council

New Buildings Institute

NextGen California

NRDC

Oil & Gas Action Network

Oil Change International

Our Turn

Poder

Rewiring America

Santa Clara County Office of Education

School Energy Coalition

Schools for Climate Action

SEI

Sierra Club California

State Building and Construction Trades Council of Ca

Strategic Energy Innovations

Ten Strands

Terraverde Energy

The Climate Center

Tree People

UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools

UFCW - Western States Council

Undauntedk12

UPTE-CWA

Opposition

Western Electrical Contractors Association

Analysis Prepared by: Marguerite Ries / ED. / (916) 319-2087

Date of Hearing: June 19, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES

Luz Rivas, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 394

Author:(Gonzalez) – As Amended Ver:June 12, 2023

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SUMMARY: Requires, upon appropriation, the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools (Master Plan) by March 31, 2025.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB), pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006], to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and adopt regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. AB 32 authorizes ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance mechanisms to comply with GHG reduction regulations once specified conditions are met. Requires ARB to approve a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent to 85% below the 1990 level by 2045. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) 38500-38599.11)
2. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing buildings by January 1, 2030. Requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal. (Public Resources Code (PRC) 25310)
   
3. Requires ARB to develop by July 1, 2025, a framework for measuring and reducing the carbon intensity of new building construction. Requires the framework to include a comprehensive strategy to achieve a 40% net reduction in the carbon intensity of construction and materials used in new construction as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2035. Establishes an interim target of reducing the carbon intensity of construction materials 20% by December 31, 2030, and requires ARB to assess the feasibility and cost impact of meeting the 2030 interim goal. (HSC 38561.3)
4. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027. (Public Utilities Code 1610 et seq.)
5. Establishes the Clean Energy Job Creation Program, and allocates Proposition 39 revenues, to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. Allocates funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. (PRC 26200 et seq.)
6. Authorizes schools or school districts located in communities with high cumulative exposure burdens, as specified, to work with districts to identify school sites in need of air quality improvements. Specifies that these schools and districts may be eligible for grants as part of a community emissions program to implement air quality mitigation efforts, including air filter installations and upgrades and vegetation buffer planting. (PRC 44391.3)

THIS BILL:

1. Requires the CEC, upon appropriation, to develop the Master Plan in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect (Division), Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), and the Natural Resources Agency (NRA) by March 31, 2025.
2. Requires CEC to organize and lead a steering team to facilitate the planning process and stakeholder engagement. Specifies that the steering team include representatives from CDE, the Division, the Office, and the NRA and meet monthly beginning March 1, 2024.
3. Requires that the process to create the Master Plan include input from additional state agencies that provide funding, guidance, and oversight for school buildings and grounds, including the Board of Education, State Allocation Board, California School Finance Authority, California Health and Human Services Agency, Department of Public Health, Strategic Growth Council, Office of Planning and Research, ARB, Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, Public Utilities Commission, California Environmental Protection Agency, and State Water Resources Control Board.
4. Requires that the process to develop the Master Plan engage a diverse group of stakeholders and experts to inform the recommendations, as specified.
5. Requires the steering team to undertake or solicit and be informed by analysis employing geographic cross-referencing among areas where climate-related hazards, such as heat indices and air pollution, and elevated and where there are concentrated populations of pupils who may be especially vulnerable to stresses and disruptions, including socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, pupils of color, English learners, and pupils with disabilities.
6. Requires that the completed Master Plan be provided electronically to the Governor, the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, CEC, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Secretary of the NRA, and leadership of the state agencies involved in developing the Master Plan. Requires CDE, the Division of the State Architect, OPSC, and NRA to make the Master Plan publicly available on their websites.
7. Requires the Master Plan to include:
   1. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public elementary and secondary school buildings and grounds, as specified, and recommendations for building ongoing capacity and systems to track and analyze the data to inform planning and investment decisions, including for vulnerability to climate hazards and GHG emissions, sustainability, and mitigation potential. Specifies that the sample may be provided by LEAs that agree to participate.
   2. A set of priorities, benchmarks, and milestones for health, resilience, and decarbonization of public school campuses and support facilities in alignment with the state’s climate and equity goals, as specified.
   3. Actionable steps and state agency roles within each priority area and an estimate of the costs to implement and achieve the benchmarks and milestones over a multiyear period, and the fiscal health and learning costs of inaction.
   4. Guidance for the Legislature and the Governor to inform the development of infrastructure-related programs and the identification of the financial resources for LEAs to implement the recommendations and achieve the goals of the Master Plan, informed by policy and institutional analyses to understand state and local climate adaptation capacities, limitations, and opportunities.
   5. Recommendations on future school infrastructure spending, including guidance on infrastructure-related budget proposals and state bond measures to:
      1. Align spending with the state’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 and action plans for climate adaptation and extreme heat;
      2. Position California schools to take full advantage of incentives and funding for decarbonization and climate adaptation within relevant federal legislation; and,
      3. Equitably identify climate-vulnerable communities for priority investment.
   6. Guidance for local school infrastructure funding measures that align with state decarbonization and climate adaptation goals.
   7. Guidance on the roles of state and county agencies and other partners in providing technical assistance to LEAs to support sustainable and climate-resilient school infrastructure.
   8. Recommendations to ensure that LEAs have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate-resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and climate adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements, workforce development, and training opportunities for current LEA employees.
   9. Recommendations for state and local leaders from public and private sectors to connect sustainable and climate-resilient school buildings and grounds to learning opportunities for pupils, green career and technical education, and pathways to green economy careers that support and advance statewide sustainability and resilience.
   10. Recommendations for county and city governments to more effectively include LEAs in their decarbonization and climate adaptation efforts.
8. Requires CEC to enter into a contract with one or more nongovernmental entities to review existing research and data, support and coordinate the Master Plan development process, and conduct research on priority areas of study to guide the implementation of well-aligned state investments in healthy, sustainable, climate-resilient school infrastructure
9. States related legislative findings and declarations.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. The CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account [ERPA] or General Fund) and 10 limited-term positions to develop the Master Plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor.
2. Unknown, likely minor costs (various funds) for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the Master Plan.

COMMENTS:

1. Reducing building emissions. Achieving net zero GHG emissions – when GHG emissions are either zero or are offset by equivalent atmospheric GHG removal – is an important part of reducing GHG emissions and minimizing the effects of climate change. Net zero GHG emissions is also often used interchangeably with carbon neutrality; however, net zero GHG emissions includes GHGs other than those that contain carbon, such as nitrous oxide. Constructing buildings to be net zero will substantially reduce the state’s GHG emissions.
2. Children’s health and air pollution. Air pollution, particularly ozone and particulate pollution, poses significant risks to human health including premature death, reproductive harm, asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and more. Eighty percent of a child’s alveoli, where the transfer of oxygen to blood occurs, develop after birth, and lungs and alveoli aren’t fully developed until adulthood. Children are also generally more active than adults and are outside for more hours per day on average, increasing their exposure to air pollution. The Southern California Children’s Health study tracked 1,759 children between the ages of 10 and 18 from 1993 to 2001 and found that the decrease in lung function associated with growing up in polluted areas was similar to that of children raised in households with parents who smoked. A follow-up study of 863 children in the same area between the years of 2007 and 2011, when air quality had significantly improved compared to the period from 1993 to 2001, found that the population studied had significantly greater lung function than the first study cohort, demonstrating the positive impact that air quality improvements can have on human health. Pollution exposure also increases the probability that children will develop other respiratory symptoms or suffer from impaired development of their nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. These health risks are often disproportionately concentrated in low-income areas and communities of color. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), the highest-poverty school districts experienced higher air pollution levels, with approximately 15% higher concentrations of unhealthy particulate matter than in the lowest-poverty school districts. This average does not adequately demonstrate the larger, but infrequent, spikes in poor air quality in these districts.
   
3. Road proximity and air pollution exposure. Proximity to freeways and busy roads increases exposure to hazardous particulate air pollution, subsequently increasing health risks. SB 352 (Escutia), Chapter 668, Statutes of 2003, prohibited the construction of new schools within 500 feet of freeways or other major roadways, but did not outline plans to address schools located in this area prior to 2003. Further, recent research shows that air pollution can still be present at hazardous levels far outside the 500 foot buffer, and that pollution levels also depend on air circulation patterns, geography, time of day and other factors. Additionally, the increase in severity and frequency of wildfires has increased children’s exposure to dangerous levels of particulate matter throughout the state, even in areas that have historically had good air quality.
4. Heat. Average temperatures have increased since 1895, with the fastest relative increase beginning in the 1980s. Every decade since 1980 has been warmer than the previous decade. Globally, the seven warmest years on record were the last seven years. Areas of the state that have not historically faced extreme temperatures have been hit with heat waves resulting in increased emergency room visits and deaths. Children are vulnerable to extreme heat, which can quickly cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke. Moreover, heat contributes to irritability and affects children’s ability to learn.
   
   In 2022, the Governor’s office released Protecting Californians from Extreme Heat: A State Action Plan to Build Community Resilience (Action Plan), which includes “near-term areas of focus,” including:

• Implement a statewide public health monitoring system to identify heat illness events early, monitor trends, and track illnesses to intervene and prevent further harm.
• Accelerate readiness and protection of communities most impacted by extreme heat, including through cooling schools and homes, supporting community resilience centers, and expanding nature-based solutions.
• Protect vulnerable populations through codes, standards, and regulations.
• Expand economic opportunity and build a climate smart workforce that can operate under and address extreme heat.
• Increase public awareness to reduce risks posed by extreme heat.
• Protect natural and working lands, ecosystems, and biodiversity from the impacts of extreme heat
  

1. California schools. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use the financial savings from energy improvements to reinvest in additional capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
2. CEC programs. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs to provide incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.
3. Author’s statement:

California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.

1. This bill. This bill seeks to establish a Master Plan to provide guidance to LEAs’ building decarbonization and climate resilience investments. The diversity of California’s school districts may make the development of the Master Plan challenging, given the vast differences in size, location, resources, and needs of LEAs. Smaller LEAs may require technical assistance to identify and implement the guidance.
2. Double referral. This bill has also been referred to the Assembly Education Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Federation of Teachers

California School Employees Association

Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter

Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley

Los Angeles Unified School District

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. /

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 394

Author: Gonzalez (D), et al.

Amended: 4/27/23

Vote: 21

SENATE ENERGY, U. & C. COMMITTEE: 16-0, 4/18/23

AYES: Bradford, Dahle, Ashby, Becker, Caballero, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Gonzalez, Grove, McGuire, Min, Newman, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner

NO VOTE RECORDED: Stern, Wilk

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/26/23

AYES: Newman, Ochoa Bogh, Cortese, Glazer, McGuire, Smallwood-Cuevas, Wilk

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SOURCE: California Federation of Teachers

California Labor for Climate Jobs

Generation Up

UndauntedK12

DIGEST:

This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal. (Public Resources Code §25310)
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027. (Public Utilities Code §§1610 – 1618)
3. Established the Clean Energy Job Creation Program to and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. (Public Resources Code §26200 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect, Office of Public School Construction, and Natural Resources Agency to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. This bill specifies that development of this master plan must be completed by March 31, 2025, and its development will be contingent upon receipt of an appropriation by the Legislature.
2. Specifies groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan, including, but not limited to a selection of stakeholders from different geographic locations prone to climate hazards, stakeholders from diverse demographic backgrounds, and stakeholders from communities with high populations of K-12 students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged, English learners, pupils of color, and students with disabilities.
3. Specifies the contents that must be included in the master plan, including, the following:
   1. Recommendations and strategies for how to align investments in public school buildings, including any potential school bond moneys and federal decarbonization funding, with state building decarbonization goals and climate adaptation needs.

• 1. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s existing K-12 buildings and grounds that includes a variety of features, including age and fuel source for all building systems and recommendations for systems to track and analyze inventory data for planning and investments. This bill requires the master plan steering team to use existing data on school building performance to inform the plan.
  2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for emissions reductions potential, climate hazards, grid reliability, and climate adaptation potential.
  3. Recommendations on how LEAs can leverage building decarbonization and climate resilience investments to support high-road job opportunities, including labor agreements with unionized workforces and workforce development for the local community and students.

1. Requires the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
2. Requires the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

Background

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek moneys and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) moneys to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 841 (Ting, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2020) among other provisions, established the CalSHAPE program to provide stimulus grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. The bill also designated the CEC as the third-party administrator of the CalSHAPE program.

SB 110 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2017) and AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 250, Statutes of 2017) among other requirements, extended the operation of the Proposition 39 program, re-appropriated funds for the purpose of the program, and revised the allocation of Proposition 39 funds for LEAs to establish a competitive grant program for the remainder of the program’s operation.

AB 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) required the CEC to establish an energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program for buildings to increase access to energy consumption information.

SB 350 (De León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015), the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, established new clean energy, clean air and GHG reduction goals. Specifically, the bill established a goal to double energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account [ERPA] or General Fund) and 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor.
• Unknown, likely minor costs (various funds) for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/18/23)

California Federation of Teachers (co-source)
California Labor for Climate Jobs (co-source)
Generation Up (co-source)
UndauntedK12 (co-source)

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
2035 Initiative

Alliance for a Better Community
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
California Climate Voters
California Green New Deal Coalition

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
California School Employees Association

California State PTA
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Center for Cities and Schools, UC Berkeley

Children Now
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Action Pathways for Schools

Climate Health Now
CMTA Engineers

Collective Resilience
Education Justice Academy
Fossil Free California
Green Schools National Network

Green Schoolyards America
Greenpeace USA
Jobs With Justice San Francisco
Labor Network for Sustainability
Let's Green Ca!
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Buildings Institute
NextGen California
Oil & Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Our Turn
PODER
Rewiring America
Santa Clara County Office of Education
School Energy Coalition
Schools for Climate Action

Service Employees International Union California

Strategic Energy Innovations
Sierra Club California
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
Ten Strands
TerraVerde Energy
The Climate Center
The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley
Tree People
UFCW Western States Council

UPTE-CWA 9119

Two Individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/18/23)

Western Electrical Contractors Association

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office showed that, as climate change continues to drive extreme weather events and other disruptions, students will face learning loss, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health impacts that are likely to affect their ability to learn and result in diminished academic outcomes.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA) opposes this bill because it requires the CEC to make recommendations regarding implementation of decarbonization plans using high road labor standards, including project labor agreements. In opposition, WECA states:

WECA does not oppose the Mater Plan but opposes requirements in the bill that mandate the plan includes “recommendations to ensure that local educational agencies have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements with unionized workforces…” WECA believes project labor agreements are discriminatory and increases the cost of construction.

Prepared by: Sarah Smith / E., U. & C. / (916) 651-4107

5/20/23 12:44:46

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 394 (Gonzalez) - Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

Bill Summary:

This bill would require the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

Fiscal Impact:

• The CEC estimates one-time costs of $1.5 million (Energy Resources Programs Account [ERPA] or General Fund) and 10 limited-term positions to develop the master plan. In addition, the CEC estimates one-time costs of up to $5 million (ERPA or General Fund) to fund the work of the nongovernmental agency contractor.
• Unknown, likely minor costs (various funds) for other departments and state entities to participate in development of the master plan.

Background:

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

Proposed Law:

This bill would require the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. Specifically, this bill would:

1. Require the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect, Office of Public School Construction, and Natural Resources Agency to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. This bill specifies that development of this master plan must be completed by March 31, 2025, and its development will be contingent upon receipt of an appropriation by the Legislature.
2. Specify groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan as well as the contents of the master plan.
3. Require the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
4. Require the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

Related Legislation:

AB 841 (Ting, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2020) among other provisions, established the CalSHAPE program to provide stimulus grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. The bill also designated the CEC as the third-party administrator of the CalSHAPE program.

SB 110 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2017) and AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 250, Statutes of 2017) among other requirements, extended the operation of the Proposition 39 program, re-appropriated funds for the purpose of the program, and revised the allocation of Proposition 39 funds for LEAs to establish a competitive grant program for the remainder of the program’s operation.

AB 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) required the CEC to establish an energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program for buildings to increase access to energy consumption information.

SB 350 (De León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015) the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, established new clean energy, clean air and GHG reduction goals. Specifically, the bill established a goal to double energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030.

Staff Comments:

The CEC’s main funding source, the Energy Resources Program Account (ERPA), has a significant structural deficit. The ERPA was established to provide funds for ongoing energy programs and energy projects, including the operations of the CEC. The ERPA fund is supported by a statutory surcharge on electricity consumption. The surcharge was increased to its statutory maximum - from $0.00029 to $0.0003 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) - by the CEC effective January 1, 2019. The surcharge generated approximately $67.5 million in 2017-18 and costs the average household $2.01 annually.

ERPA is in a structural deficit that has overspent revenues by more than $17.4 million since 2014-15. The structural deficit results from the CEC’s growing role in implementing aggressive climate policies that reduce electricity consumption thereby reducing ERPA revenues. California has the lowest per capita electricity usage in the nation - 44 percent lower than the average - due in part to the Energy Commission's efficiency and behind-the-meter solar programs. Even as revenues drop, ERPA is repeatedly tapped to support new programs and must cover increases in employee compensation and benefit contributions

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Josh Newman, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 394 Hearing Date: April 26, 2023

Subject: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

SUMMARY

This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal.
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027.
3. Established the Clean Energy Job Creation Program and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
4. Establishes the School Facility Program (SFP) under which the state provides general obligation bond funding for various school construction projects, including new construction, modernization, joint-use facilities, and programs to specifically address the construction needs of overcrowded schools, charter schools, career technical education facilities, and seismic mitigation.

ANALYSIS

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect, Office of Public School Construction, and Natural Resources Agency to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. This bill specifies that development of this master plan must be completed by November 1, 2024, and its development will be contingent upon receipt of an appropriation by the Legislature.
2. Specifies groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan, including, but not limited to a selection of stakeholders from different geographic locations prone to climate hazards, stakeholders from diverse demographic backgrounds, and stakeholders from communities with high populations of K-12 students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged, English learners, pupils of color, and students with disabilities.
3. Specifies the contents that must be included in the master plan, including, the following:
   1. Recommendations and strategies for how to align investments in public school buildings, including any potential school bond monies and federal decarbonization funding, with state building decarbonization goals and climate adaptation needs.

• 1. An inventory of the state’s existing K-12 buildings and grounds that includes a variety of features, including age and fuel source for all building systems and recommendations for systems to track and analyze inventory data for planning and investments.
  2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for emissions reductions potential, climate hazards, grid reliability, and climate adaptation potential.
  3. Recommendations on how LEAs can leverage building decarbonization and climate resilience investments to support high-road job opportunities, including labor agreements with unionized workforces and workforce development for the local community and students.

1. Requires the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
2. Requires the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, “California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office showed that, as climate change continues to drive extreme weather events and other disruptions, students will face learning loss, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health impacts that are likely to affect their ability to learn and result in diminished academic outcomes.

“While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

“SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.”

1. LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some districts may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

1. CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) monies to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

1. Arguments in support. The California Federation of Teachers writes, “A master plan process will provide a critical opportunity for communication and coordination across State, County, and local agencies to clarify goals, identify approaches that meet the unique needs of school facilities, and reduce barriers that could otherwise slow or misdirect implementation of State climate programs. A master plan will also help position California schools to fully leverage funding opportunities under the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act – which could bring billions to California over the next 10 years – an especially important aim in light of the State’s budget challenges.”
2. Arguments in opposition. The Western Electrical Contractors Association writes, “WECA does not oppose the Mater Plan but opposes requirements in the bill that mandate the plan includes ‘recommendations to ensure that local educational agencies have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements with unionized workforces…’ WECA believes project labor agreements are discriminatory and increases the cost of construction.”
3. Committee amendments from the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications to be taken in this Committee. As currently written, this bill requires the CEC to start meetings to develop the master plan within a month of the bill’s enactment, and the bill requires the CEC to complete the master plan within nine months. It may not be feasible for the CEC to complete the scope of stakeholder consultations and data analysis required by this bill within that time frame. Additionally, this bill requires the CEC to develop an inventory of all K-12 buildings and grounds in the state and an analysis of data based on specified samples of LEA buildings. These analyses appear to be duplicative and may result in overly burdensome reporting and collection duties for the CEC and LEAs.

The author accepted the following amendments when this bill was heard in the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications which, due to time constraints, will be taken in this Committee:

• 1. Extend this bill’s deadlines for the start of stakeholder meetings and completion of the master plan to March 2024 and March 2025, respectively.
  2. Delete the requirement that the CEC establish an inventory of K-12 buildings and instead require a representative assessment based on existing data and voluntarily reported data.

SUPPORT

California Federation of Teachers (co-sponsor)
Generation Up (co-sponsor)
Undauntedk12 (co-sponsor)
1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
Alliance for A Better Community
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
California Climate Voters
California Green New Deal Coalition
California Labor for Climate Jobs
California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
California State Council of Service Employees International Union
California State PTA
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Children Now
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Health Now
Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley
Collective Resilience
Education Justice Academy
Fossil Free California
Green Schoolyards America
Greenpeace USA
Jobs With Justice
Jobs With Justice San Francisco
Labor Network for Sustainability
Let's Green Ca!
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Buildings Institute
NextGen California
Oil & Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Our Turn
PODER
Rewiring America
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Schools for Climate Action
Sierra Club California
Strategic Energy Innovations
Ten Strands
Terraverde Energy
The Climate Center
Tree People
UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools
UFCW Western States Council

UPTE-CWA 9119

OPPOSITION

Western Electrical Contractors Association

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS

Senator Steven Bradford, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 394 Hearing Date: 4/18/2023

SUBJECT: Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools

DIGEST: This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to convene a group of agencies and stakeholders to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes a goal of doubling energy efficiency savings from existing building end uses by January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the CEC to establish annual targets for statewide energy efficiency savings and demand reduction to achieve this goal. (Public Resources Code §25310)
2. Establishes the School Energy Efficiency Stimulus Program (also known as the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency Program – CalSHAPE), which provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. Existing law designates the CEC as the third-party administrator of CalSHAPE grants and sunsets the program on January 1, 2027. (Public Utilities Code §§1610 – 1618)
3. Established the Clean Energy Job Creation Program to and allocates Proposition 39 revenues to fund energy efficient retrofits and clean energy installations as well as related improvements and repairs that contribute to reduced operating costs and provide certain non-energy benefits, including improved health and safety conditions in public schools. The program also allocated funds to the State Energy Conservation Assistance Account Education Subaccount (ECAA-Ed) to provide LEAs with no-interest revolving loans to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. (Public Resources Code §26200 et seq.)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to work with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to the California Department of Education (CDE), Division of the State Architect, Office of Public School Construction, and Natural Resources Agency to develop a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient schools. This bill specifies that development of this master plan must be completed by November 1, 2024, and its development will be contingent upon receipt of an appropriation by the Legislature.
2. Specifies groups and entities with whom state agencies must engage to develop the master plan, including, but not limited to a selection of stakeholders from different geographic locations prone to climate hazards, stakeholders from diverse demographic backgrounds, and stakeholders from communities with high populations of K-12 students that are socioeconomically disadvantaged, English learners, pupils of color, and students with disabilities.
3. Specifies the contents that must be included in the master plan, including, the following:
   1. Recommendations and strategies for how to align investments in public school buildings, including any potential school bond monies and federal decarbonization funding, with state building decarbonization goals and climate adaptation needs.

• 1. An inventory of the state’s existing K-12 buildings and grounds that includes a variety of features, including age and fuel source for all building systems and recommendations for systems to track and analyze inventory data for planning and investments.
  2. An assessment of a representative sample of the state’s public school buildings and grounds for emissions reductions potential, climate hazards, grid reliability, and climate adaptation potential.
  3. Recommendations on how LEAs can leverage building decarbonization and climate resilience investments to support high-road job opportunities, including labor agreements with unionized workforces and workforce development for the local community and students.

1. Requires the CEC to contract with a nongovernmental entity to review research, data and coordinate the development of the master plan.
2. Requires the completed master plan to be published on specified public agency websites and submitted to the governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature electronically.

Background

LEAs have diverse and unique energy and climate challenges. California’s K-12 facilities include approximately 12,800 schools with more than 714 million square feet of space, making LEAs the largest category of building in the public building sector. Unlike other commercial end users, government buildings generally aren’t able to use energy savings to reinvest in more capital improvements, which leads public buildings to require regular cycles of investment to update facilities and replace less efficient appliances. While some district may seek local and state bond or tax funding to make these updates, other districts may seek monies and tax incentives from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

This bill seeks to establish a master plan that may help provide LEAs with guidance about the types of building decarbonization and climate resilience investments that can provide benefits for LEAs. However, the diversity of size, condition, and location of California’s LEAs creates challenges for providing guidance that meaningfully addresses an LEA’s needs. While some LEAs may be seeking to make major investments in fuel switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and on-site clean energy generation, other LEAs may need new HVAC systems and water filtration. LEAs with sufficient resources may have little difficulties in taking advantage of new funding opportunities as they arise; however, smaller LEAs and LEAs with limited support resources may require additional guidance and technical assistance to identify the best opportunities for their specific considerations and submit successful applications.

CEC has administered energy efficiency programs supporting LEAs with goals similar to the master plan required by this bill. While the CEC has not established a master plan addressing K-12 buildings’ climate adaptation needs, the CEC has administered multiple programs aimed at providing incentives to improve energy efficiency, water savings, and non-energy benefits associated with clean energy and appliance installations in LEA facilities. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in 2012, the CEC administered the Clean Energy and Jobs Creation Program. Between 2013 and 2020, the CEC approved 2,108 applications from 1,739 LEAs for a total $1.53 billion in funding. As part of the program, the CEC also approved 42 loans from the ECAA-Ed program totaling $64.6 million. Following an extension and revision of the Proposition 39 program in 2017, the program expanded to include the School Bus Replacement Program. As part of this program, the CEC awarded $74.7 million for replacement electric buses and $14.1 million for electric bus charging infrastructure.

This bill requires the master plan to include various components that are similar to the goals of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program. For example, this bill requires the master plan to include recommendations on how schools can obtain sufficient technical assistance to leverage investments in building decarbonization and climate resilience and encourage workforce development and high-road jobs. During its administration of the Clean Energy and Job Creation Program, the CEC established the Bright Schools Program to provide $3.3 million for technical assistance to help LEAs identify opportunities for energy savings and submit successful funding applications. As part of its administration of the School Bus Replacement Program, the CEC leveraged $1 million in Clean Transportation Program (CTP) monies to develop and implement an automotive instructor training program for school districts to provide instruction on operating, maintaining, and managing electric buses. This training curriculum was created by a local community college and provided to school districts that received electric buses through the School Bus Replacement Program.

Bill may pose cumbersome data collection requirements on the CEC and LEAs. This bill requires the CEC to establish an inventory of K-12 buildings and grounds, and this bill specifies a number of building features that must be included in this inventory. These features include an inventory of HVAC equipment, fuel sources, all major appliances, appliance energy ratings, and at least three years of water and energy billing information. While the CEC may have substantial information about the general building stock of K-12 facilities, it is unlikely that the CEC has the level of detail that this bill would require about all K-12 buildings, particularly historical water and energy billing information. Additionally, this bill does not specify how the CEC will collect information required for this inventory. As a result, the CEC may need LEAs to gather and report this information to the CEC to create the inventory. It is not clear that LEAs are prepared to conduct this data reporting.

Need for amendments. As currently written, this bill requires the CEC to start meetings to develop the master plan within a month of the bill’s enactment, and the bill requires the CEC to complete the master plan within nine months. It may not be feasible for the CEC to complete the scope of stakeholder consultations and data analysis required by this bill within that time frame. Additionally, this bill requires the CEC to develop an inventory of all K-12 buildings and grounds in the state and an analysis of data based on specified samples of LEA buildings. These analyses appear to be duplicative and may result in overly burdensome reporting and collection duties for the CEC and LEAs. As a result, the author and committee may wish to amend this bill to do the following:

• Extend this bill’s deadlines for the start of stakeholder meetings and completion of the master plan to March 2024, and March 2025 respectively.
• Delete the requirement that the CEC establish an inventory of K-12 buildings and instead require a representative assessment based on existing data and voluntarily reported data.

Dual Referral. Should this bill be approved by this committee, it will be re-referred to the Senate Committee on Education.

Prior/Related Legislation

AB 841 (Ting, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2020) among other provisions, established the CalSHAPE program to provide stimulus grants to LEAs to fund appliance, plumbing, and HVAC upgrades at schools using ratepayer energy efficiency incentives. The bill also designated the CEC as the third-party administrator of the CalSHAPE program.

SB 110 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 55, Statutes of 2017) and AB 129 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 250, Statutes of 2017) among other requirements, extended the operation of the Proposition 39 program, re-appropriated funds for the purpose of the program, and revised the allocation of Proposition 39 funds for LEAs to establish a competitive grant program for the remainder of the program’s operation.

AB 802 (Williams, Chapter 590, Statutes of 2015) required the CEC to establish an energy use benchmarking and public disclosure program for buildings to increase access to energy consumption information.

SB 350 (De León, Chapter 547, Statutes of 2015) the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, established new clean energy, clean air and GHG reduction goals. Specifically, the bill established a goal to double energy efficiency in existing buildings by 2030.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT:

California Federation of Teachers, Co-sponsor
California Labor for Climate Jobs, Co-sponsor
Generation Up, Co-sponsor
UndauntedK12, Co-sponsor

1000 Grandmothers for Future Generations
2035 Initiative

Alliance for a Better Community
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education
California Climate Voters
California Green New Deal Coalition

California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
California State PTA
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Center for Cities and Schools, UC Berkeley

Children Now
Climate Action Campaign
Climate Action Pathways for Schools

Climate Health Now
CMTA Engineers

Collective Resilience
Education Justice Academy
Fossil Free California
Green Schools National Network

Green Schoolyards America
Greenpeace USA
Jobs With Justice San Francisco
Labor Network for Sustainability
Let's Green Ca!
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy
Menlo Spark
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Buildings Institute
NextGen California
Oil & Gas Action Network
Oil Change International
Our Turn
PODER
Rewiring America
Santa Clara County Office of Education
School Energy Coalition
Service Employees International Union California

Strategic Energy Innovations
Sierra Club California
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
Ten Strands
TerraVerde Energy
The Climate Center
The Climate Reality Project, Los Angeles Chapter
The Climate Reality Project, San Fernando Valley
Tree People
UPTE-CWA 9119

Two Individuals

OPPOSITION:

Western Electrical Contractors Association

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

California’s K-12 students are served by over 1,000 school districts that utilize more than 10,000 facilities, comprising 125,000 acres of grounds, and 730 million square feet of buildings. The students who attend these schools each day are increasingly burdened by climate-related threats such as extreme heat, flooding, wildfire smoke, and other hazards that can harm their health and hinder their ability to learn. A recent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office showed that, as climate change continues to drive extreme weather events and other disruptions, students will face learning loss, food insecurity, and traumatic mental health impacts that are likely to affect their ability to learn and result in diminished academic outcomes.

While the condition of our school facilities plays an integral part in the mission of educating California’s students, the State currently has no mechanism for assessing its school facilities’ sustainability, and no cohesive strategy to make school buildings and grounds climate-resilient to protect the health and safety of students. It is abundantly clear that for California to meet its climate goals and ensure the educational opportunities of students there must be a comprehensive policy and implementation road map.

SB 394 will address the lack of guidance and planning around school facilities and sustainability by requiring the California Energy Commission to collaborate with various state agencies and education stakeholders to develop a Master Plan for Healthy, Sustainable, and Climate-Resilient Schools. The Master Plan will provide the State and the public with substantive guidance to ensure California’s school facilities will be resilient in the face of continuing climate change and its acute impacts on the health and wellbeing of our students. A cohesive plan will also position California to take full advantage of forthcoming grants and incentives for de-carbonization and climate adaptation under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA) opposes this bill because it requires the CEC to make recommendations regarding implementation of decarbonization plans using high road labor standards, including project labor agreements. In opposition, WECA states:

WECA does not oppose the Mater Plan but opposes requirements in the bill that mandate the plan includes “recommendations to ensure that local educational agencies have access to sufficient technical assistance, professional learning, training programs, and pipelines of sustainability and climate resilience personnel to implement decarbonization and adaptation plans that include high road labor standards, project labor agreements with unionized workforces…” WECA believes project labor agreements are discriminatory and increases the cost of construction.

-- END --