A final-minute proposal by California lawmakers to supply some relief for rising electricity bills has probably failed.
Assembly Bill 3121 was pulled from a key Senate committee this afternoon. A source told CalMatters meaning it won't be voted on until the top of the legislative session on Saturday.
The bill's writer, Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris of Irvine, removed it from the agenda of the Senate Permanent Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. Her office didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
The bill would have given households a small one-time credit of between $30 and $70. It would have been funded by controversial cuts totaling about $500 million to utility programs that support low-income residents and schools in areas served by Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric.
For weeks, state leaders and Governor Gavin Newsom's staff have been working on a series of proposals to handle California's dual clean energy problem: meeting requirements for clean, carbon-free electricity and lowering electricity prices, that are amongst the best within the country.
The measure was probably the most controversial in a series of energy measures unveiled earlier this week, with lawmakers and Newsom already significantly scaling back their plans to lower Californians' electricity bills and speed up renewable energy projects.
The Petrie-Norris maneuver got here hours after House Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat from Salinas, expressed doubts about whether he would allow any of the measures to be put to a vote this yr.
Rivas said in an announcement, “We agree with Governor Newsom that it is absolutely urgent to get this done.” However, he said he wouldn’t “pass bills that have not been adequately vetted in public hearings. This could have unintended consequences for Californians' wallets.”
Other energy laws that will streamline solar and other renewable energy projects remain in effect to at the present time.
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