SB 1265: California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority: GoGreen Program.

Under existing law, the purpose of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act is to advance the states goals of reducing the levels of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the deployment of sustainable and renewable energy sources, implementing measures that increase the efficiency of the use of energy, creating high quality employment opportunities, and lessening the states dependence on fossil fuels and to that end to provide an alternative method of financing in providing and promoting the establishment of facilities utilizing alternative methods and sources of energy and facilities needed for the development and commercialization of advanced transportation technologies. Existing law establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to carry out that purpose. Existing Public Utility Commission decisions established the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing program, administered by the authority and funded through charges collected by specified electrical corporations and gas corporations from their ratepayers.

This bill would authorize the authority, for that specified purpose, and with its own moneys or from moneys derived from other sources, to create its own financial assistance programs, financial assistance products, or both, on those terms and conditions the authority deems prudent. require the authority to administer the GoGreen Program, previously known as the California Hub for Energy Efficiency Financing program, and would authorize the authority to use moneys collected from the ratepayers of electrical and gas corporations, as directed by the commission, and other available funding sources, consistent with the programs purposes. The bill would require the program to provide financing assistance to participating lenders to support residents in financing eligible energy efficiency and decarbonization measures at costs that are competitive with or below market rates. The bill would authorize the authority to receive, administer, and deploy additional moneys from federal, state, local, or private sources to support and expand the GoGreen Program, if those moneys are used in a manner consistent with the programs goals and the parameters of the funding source. The bill would create the Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Expansion GoGreen Program Fund in the State Treasury and would continuously appropriate all moneys in the fund to the authority for expenditure, as provided, and to defray the administrative costs of the authority. The bill would require any interest earned or other increment derived from investments made from moneys in the fund to be deposited into the fund. provided.