Could Californians get electric bill refunds?

Scheduling note: WhatMatters will be resting for Labor Day weekend and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday.

Update: The Assembly bill to provide rebates to utility customers was pulled from consideration today and appears dead.

In early August, there were rumblings that Gov. Gavin Newsom was working with legislators on a proposal to reduce electricity bills. Details were scant, but the need was clear: Californians pay more than twice the national average, with bills nearly doubling within the last decade.

After weeks of closed-door negotiations, legislators unveiled six bills Wednesday night, which are dividing experts. Some say the measures take a meaningful, albeit small, step toward solving the state’s energy problems, while others argue they don’t do enough, write CalMatters reporters Alejandro Lazo, Julie Cart and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.

Assembly Bill 3121 includes a rebate program, which would reportedly amount to one-time payments of $30 to $70 per household. But there’s a rub: The money would come from programs that help reduce energy bills for low-income residents and provide upgrades to heating and air conditioning systems at schools.

• Loretta Lynch, an environmental consultant and former president of the California Public Utilities Commission: “The last minute, gut-and-amend backroom deals do not attack the root causes of California’s incredibly high energy bills. Instead, they rob Peter to pay Paul — taking away key funds from programs that work to create a sham bill reduction.”

The measure is led by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, an Irvine Democrat who is carrying another bill in the package that would require the utilities commission to study how to reduce the cost of expanding the state’s electric grid for ratepayers.

Two bills would speed up clean energy projects. One would allow the energy commission to adopt a broader environmental impact report for common elements in projects, saving developers time and money. The other would streamline environmental reviews for hydrogen-producing facilities, which is opposed by one environmental group for its potential to fast-track facilities powered by fossil fuels.

The initial proposals were far more sweeping, boosting projects for solar, offshore wind and battery storage. Still, Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, says the current bills are “an important first step towards affordable energy for all California residents.”

With only two days left before the Legislature adjourns, it’s unclear whether any of the bills will cross the finish line in time. But they could get addressed in a special session that Newsom is considering calling to address energy issues, including a proposal to require oil refineries to keep a minimum stock of fuel. 

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas of Salinas said today his chamber will not take up that bill before adjourning, but said he would be fine with a special session. “The Assembly has been ready to stop skyrocketing prices at the gas pump and deliver significant relief to Californians to lower their monthly energy bills,” he said in a statement. “We shared our affordability legislative proposals in June, and we’re on the same page with Governor Newsom about the absolute urgency of getting this done.”

But Senate leader Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa publicly objected Thursday to a special session.

• McGuire: “The Senate will not support convening a special session this fall. Californians shouldn’t have to wait for relief at the pump and on their utility bills. … We’re ready — right now — to get the bills passed, sent to the Governor, and signed into law.”

Read more about the energy legislation in the story.

A measure that would ban California private nonprofit colleges from giving admissions preferences to students whose family members donated money to or attended the school cleared the Legislature and is now before Gov. Newsom.

As CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn explains, the bill was born out of a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions. Its author, Democratic Assemblymember Philip Ting of San Francisco said he wanted to ensure students were getting into colleges based on merit and “not because of their pocketbooks, of their parents or their family members.”

If signed into law, the bill would impact about a half-dozen private institutions (none of California’s public universities consider legacies). Last fall, six colleges admitted about 2,100 students based in part because of legacy or donor ties. The Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities opposed the bill, citing concerns over the state imposing admission standards for private universities. 

Learn more about the legacy admissions bill in Mikhail’s story.

In other legislative news:

Reviewing prison sentences: Thursday, CalMatters reported on hot-button bills and the impact they could have in an election year. One of those proposals, by Campbell Democratic Sen. Dave Cortese, would allow those serving life sentences in a narrow set of circumstances to appeal for early release. Assembly Democrats did not take up the amended bill, reports CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal. 

• Cortese, in an interview: “This was a bill to actually make a significant change in a law that’s been around and has caused some problems over the last 20 years. But when you’re going to change the justice system, you know it’s always going to be a tough decision for people. … My view is, I didn’t come up here to duck the tough decisions.” 

Republicans celebrated the bill’s demise, however. 

• Assembly GOP leader James Gallagher, in a statement: “I’m proud we were able to amplify the voices of victims demanding justice, and grateful for the unwavering support from members of law enforcement and district attorneys who helped kill this harmful bill.”

Bill tracker: More bills are headed to the governor and CalMatters is keeping tabs on them. The latest: 

• Exclude medical debt from credit reports.
• Regulate pharmacy benefit managers.
• Give tenants more time to respond to an eviction notice.
• Help streamline applications for homeowners to divide their properties.
• Expand reporting requirements for state-licensed facilities treating youths.
• Limit book bans in California public libraries.
• Make it easier for farmworkers to file workers’ comp claims for heat illness.
• Stop local voter identification requirements, in response to Huntington Beach.

To warn residents of earthquakes, the state sends out notifications through the MyShake app, which blares out warnings on phones moments in advance. California’s early warning system, the first in the country at the time, launched in 2019 on the 30th anniversary of the devastating 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

In January MyShake received a significant upgrade that integrated GPS sensors for more accurate and timely warnings. While the alert system still uses seismic sensors in its initial earthquake reading, the upgrade uses GPS technology to measure how far land masses move, according to the Los Angeles Times.

After a string of earthquakes rattled Southern California earlier this month, KNX News reported that the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said more than 225,000 people downloaded the MyShake app. To enroll, you can download the MyShake app for your iPhone or Android device. 

Statistical journalist Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett of The Markup, which is part of CalMatters, has a guide on emergency alert systems that also warn California residents of fires and extreme weather. The guide includes step-by-step instructions on how to sign up, and information about your specific county’s primary emergency alert system. Check it out.

The University of California’s student government is advocating for collegiate recovery programs on every campus for students battling addiction. CalMatters producer Robert Meeks has a video segment on higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn’s story on this effort to secure funding for more resources as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.