SB 870: Recharging our clean energy effort, part two

SB 870 (Steinberg, Padilla) was the Senate part of the two-bill Public Goods Charge (PGC) reauthorization package. It would have re-established the clean energy research program (formerly PIER) that is funded by the PGC and would have allocated $75 million annually to R&D projects for technological advancement and breakthroughs aimed at overcoming the barriers that prevent the state from achieving its energy policy goals. The bill also contains provisions to protect natural gas surcharge funds collected by utilities from being raided and deposited into the General Fund.