SB 192: Energy: transmission infrastructure accelerator: financing.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

(1)Existing law creates the Energy Unit within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and requires the unit to establish a Transmission Infrastructure Accelerator (accelerator), in coordination with certain entities, for purposes of developing a financing and development strategy for eligible transmission projects receiving financing pursuant to specified provisions of the act. As part of its duties, existing law requires the accelerator to select accelerator projects that have the opportunity to receive public financing.

Existing law provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (ISO) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to ensure efficient use and reliable operation of the electrical transmission grid consistent with achieving planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council.

This bill would require the accelerator to evaluate the draft results of the ISO’s transmission planning process. The bill would authorize the accelerator to select, upon the release of the approved transmission planning process, one or more eligible transmission projects that may have the opportunity to receive public financing, as described. The bill would instead require that the accelerator ensure that selected transmission projects eligible for public financing meet specified criteria, and that the project sponsors seeking funding for the selected transmission project meet specified criteria. The bill would require the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank’s (I-Bank), at the direction of the accelerator, to confer with project sponsors and develop financial proposals to finance the project or projects, as described. The bill would make conforming changes.

Existing law sets forth the criteria transmission projects must satisfy to be eligible to receive public financing.

This bill would require the developer and owner of an eligible transmission project to certify, under penalty of perjury, certain information about contractors working on the project to continue to be eligible to receive public financing. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. The act provides that it does not prevent specified state entities from holding closed sessions for specified purposes, including the Department of Resources Recycling and Recover from holding closed sessions for the purpose of discussing confidential tax returns, discussing trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information in its possession, or discussing other data, the public disclosure of which is prohibited by law.

Sponsors

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. August 30, 2026Ordered to third reading.
2. August 30, 2026(Ayes 56. Noes 19. Page 6855.)
3. August 30, 2026Withdrawn from committee pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
4. August 28, 2026From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.
5. March 24, 2025Referred to Com. on BUDGET.
6. March 20, 2025In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
7. March 20, 2025Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 28. Noes 10. Page 461.) Ordered to the Assembly.
8. March 18, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
9. March 17, 2025Ordered to second reading.
10. March 17, 2025Withdrawn from committee. (Ayes 27. Noes 10. Page 384.)
11. February 5, 2025Referred to Com. on B. & F. R.
12. January 24, 2025From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 23.