Staff Report Item 4
To: Ava Community Energy Authority
From: Sam Sadle, Principal Legislative Manager
Subject: Updating the Board on the status of California priority legislation and the state budget
Date: July 21, 2025
__________________________________________________________________ Summary/Recommendation
This memo updates the Board on the status of priority legislation and the state budget roughly 60% of the way through of the 2025 legislative session to ensure that members have the most up-to-date information.
Financial Impact
Unclear at this time.
Analysis and Context
Since staff last updated the MRL (5/9) and the full Board (5/21) developments in Sacramento have continued apace as the results of the first round of “suspense” were released (5/23) and the deadline for bills to be approved by their chamber of origin passed (6/6).
Please see below for an update of bills on Ava’s “short list”:
Support (3 of 10 bills still moving forward in 2025):
• AB 39 Zbur (D) Municipal and County electrification plan requirement – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
• AB 44 Schultz (D) Load modification protocols standardization – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
• AB 259 Rubio (D) Brown Act teleconferencing regulations – AB 259 is no longer moving forward. However, the language was incorporated into SB 707 Durazo (D), which passed the Senate and moved to the Assembly.
• AB 729 Zbur (D) Climate credit scheduling – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. AB 729 is no longer moving forward. However, the language was incorporated into AB 745 Irwin (D), which passed the Assembly and moved to the Senate. • SB 239 Arreguín (D) Brown Act subsidiary body teleconferencing extension – SB 239 is no longer moving forward. However, the language was incorporated into SB 707 Durazo (D), which passed the Senate and moved to the Assembly with Sen. Arreguín as principal coauthor.
• (Previously Support if Amended) SB 283 Laird (D) Utility-scale battery safety requirements – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. Ava staff was able to secure amendments to ensure the bill will not impact battery sites currently under construction. • SB 254 Becker (D) Senate affordability package – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. • SB 282 Wiener (D) Heat pump permitting streamlining – Did not make it out of suspense, on hold until 2026.
• SB 314 Padilla (D) Vehicle charger self-certification – Did not make it out of suspense, on hold until 2026.
• SB 698 McNerney (D) DER equipment lists – Did not make it out of suspense, on hold until 2026.
Support if Amended (2 of 2 bills still moving forward in 2025):
• AB 222 Bauer-Kahan (D) Data center energy use reporting – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. Ava team working via a variety of channels to advance the time of notification of forthcoming data center load.
• SB 541 Becker (D) Excess distribution capacity metric development and utilization – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. Ava staff working on amendments related to ensuring continued CCA autonomy, defining excess capacity, and confirming CCAs are eligible for any subsequent programs.
Monitor (13 of 23 bills still moving forward in 2025):
• AB 13 Ransom (D) CPUC membership and reporting – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. Note: CPUC geographic representation amended out of the bill. • AB 34 Patterson (R) Legislative oversight for LCFS changes – Did not make it out of policy committee, on hold until 2026.
• AB 99 Ta (R) IOU rate increase restrictions – Did not make it out of policy committee, on hold until 2026.
• AB 303 Addis (D) Utility-scale battery siting regulations – Did not make it out of policy committee, unlikely to advance this session.
• AB 306 Schultz (D), Rivas (D) (co: Wicks-D) Building code update pause – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. No longer moving forward. Language signed into law as part of HR1, the state’s 2025/26 budget.
• AB 434 DeMaio (R) Utility-scale battery construction restrictions – Did not make it out of policy committee, on hold until 2026.
• AB 740 Harabedian (D) Require IOUs to integrate load shifting into IPER – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
• AB 884 Essayli (R) IOU campaign contribution restrictions – Did not make it out of policy committee, not advancing this session.
• (Previously Support) AB 915 Petrie-Norris (D) Project citing and permitting support from CEC – Amended: Dam Safety – Passed the Assembly in an amended form, moved to Senate. Bill gut-and-amended and no longer relevant to Ava. • AB 942 Calderon (D) Net metering update – Amended: Climate Credit Changes – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. Note: Changes to NEM 1 and NEM 2 rates were amended out of the bill.
• AB 1117 Schultz (D) IOU dynamic rate requirement – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
• AB 1167 Berman (D), Addis (D) IOU political spending restrictions – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
• AB 1174 Alanis (R) Public charging facilities security technology – Did not make it out of policy committee, on hold until 2026.
• AB 1260 Ward (D) Community solar – Did not make it out of suspense, on hold until 2026.
• AB 1347 Carillo (D) IOU microgrid priority areas – Did not make it out of policy committee, on hold until 2026.
• AB 1423 Irwin (D) Vehicle charging station uptime regulations – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate. Amendments adopted removing all concerning sections. • SB 24 McNerney (D) IOU advertising and political restrictions – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly.
• SB 57 Padilla (D) IOU data center requirements – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. • SB 332 Wahab (D) IOU accountability and analysis – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly.
• (Previously Support) SB 453 Stern (D) Microgrid incentives – All SGIP language was removed from the bill in the suspense process before the bill passed the Senate and moved to the Assembly.
• SB 500 Stern (D) IOU performance metrics – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. • SB 540 Becker (D) Pathways – Passed Senate in an amended form, moved to Assembly.
• SB 842 Stern (D) Firm zero carbon IPER consideration – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly.
Additional legislative updates:
• AB 745 Irwin (D) Climate credit scheduling – Passed Assembly, moved to Senate.
Incorporates text from AB 729, which Ava supported.
• AB 825 Petrie-Norris (D) Assembly affordability package and public transmission financing mechanism – Passed Assembly moved to Senate. Ava team is working with CalCCA on amendments to remove a proposed Statewide Demand Side Management Program Review Task Force within the Energy Commission. • SB 237 Grayson (D) and others Gasoline makeup and standards – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. Ava team (via CalETC) was successful in removing challenging LCFS cap.
• SB 707 Durazo (D) and Arreguin (D) Brown Act Modifications – Passed Senate, moved to Assembly. Incorporates text from SB 239 and AB 259, Ava supported.
State Budget:
• On June 27, the Governor signed a final FY2025/26 budget agreement. The budget agreement, however, did not include reauthorization of the state’s cap-and-trade program as proposed by the Governor.
• Notably, it did include $3.7 million this budget year and next as well as $2.9 million per year in ongoing spending and 12 positions to support compliance and enforcement of safety standards for battery energy storage systems.
• It also included $1.9 million and nine positions to support CEC’s opt-in clean energy and advanced manufacturing permitting program.
• Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in incorporating language clarifying CCA customer eligibility for state SGIP funds is included in the trailer legislation. • The budget bill (HR 1) incorporated unamended language from AB 306, freezing state and local building codes for five years.
Committee Recommendation (if applicable)
N/A
Attachments (if applicable)
None