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The longer state legislators remain away from Sacramento, the smaller the list of energy bills expected to be taken up when they return to the state capital. The stack of measures has diminished to roughly a dozen.

The Assembly is scheduled to return May 4. The Utilities and Commerce Committee is set to meet May 20.

The State Senate plans to reconvene May 11. However, Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins stated April 28 that the return date could change and is subject to new health science data coming in daily. A Senate special committee hearing on Covid-19 will be held May 6, with some members participating remotely. A limited number of members of the public will be allowed into the hearing. The Committee is recommending remote participation.

Given the havoc wreaked by the pandemic, lawmakers will focus on addressing its economic fallout and passing a state budget in a shortened session. Bills not considered essential in the current environment have and are being withdrawn.

Energy legislation still in play this week includes bills to create jobs, including measures to establish a green new deal and increase the installation of clean power systems.

The California New Green New holds the potential to bolster the economy, making passage quite attainable. The measure, AB 1839 by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), currently is limited to stating its intent to reduce climate change, and racial, immigration and social injustices. Its wish list also seeks to provide clean energy, transportation, air and water, and affordable housing and education. Advocates argue it can be developed into a solid engine for jobs and a clean and just state economy.

Other active bills would provide public money to fund wildfire protection, microgrids, and energy storage. Others aim to increase electric vehicle chargers and achieve carbon neutrality for the entire state. Pumping money into the economy would help it recover.

SB 45 by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) would issue $5.5 billion in bonds to finance fire prevention, drought preparation, safe drinking water and flood protection. If passed by the legislature, voters would need to approve the bond measure on the November ballot. Their appetite for funding projects is uncertain.

SB 1215 by Sen. Henry Stern (D-Calabasas) would provide grants, paid for out of the general fund, through bond issuance and/or other unspecified sources, to install clean microgrids to keep the power flowing in high fire risk areas during utility shutoffs. It would create a local government program that would provide money and assistance to help local agencies and special districts set up alternative independent power systems.

AB 2145 by Phil Ting (San Francisco) would create a state plan to install 1 million electric vehicle charging ports by the end of 2030 and cut transportation emission by 40 percent.

AB 3021, also by Ting, would provide $300 million from the general fund to the California Energy Commission to pay for the installation of energy storage systems at schools that already have solar rooftops. Many schools and community colleges have solar projects that were installed with Proposition 39 funds. The combination of solar and energy system would enable these schools to act as community resource centers during power outages.

SB 1362 by Stern would require the California Air Resources Board to develop a strategy to ensure California is carbon neutral by 2045. It would have to be updated every five years.

Additionally, remaining on the legislative table as of press time are measures to reduce the impact of power shutoffs during fires including:

SB 431 by Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Santa Rosa) mandating that cell towers have three days of backup generation. SB 1099 by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) allowing safety, water supply and other “critical” facilities to run their own generators, presumably largely diesel-powered, during power shutoffs. AB 2033 by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) requiring private utilities to compensate those blacked out for losses, included for spoiled food and medicines.

Other measures that may be taken up by legislators include AB 2017 that would prevent the extensions of the closure dates of three seawater-cooled power plants in Southern California. Extensions are to be considered by the State Water Resources Board, with public comments on proposed extensions to Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach and Alamitos generating plants due May 11. Another bill by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), AB 3014, would create a nonprofit entity that would buy resources to fill electricity suppliers supply cushion needs via competitive solicitations in place of the private utilities.