SB192 - Energy: transmission infrastructure accelerator: financing.

Amended IN Assembly August 28, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 192 Introduced by Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review January 23, 2025 An act relating to the Budget Act of 2025. to amend Sections 11126, 12100.111, 63049.71, 63049.72, 63049.73, 63049.74, and 63050 of, and to add Section 12100.111.5 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 17053.40 and 23640 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to energy, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 192, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Budget Act of 2025. Energy: transmission infrastructure accelerator: financing. (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. This bill would provide that the act does not prevent the board of I-Bank from holding closed sessions when considering an accelerator financing plan pursuant to the provisions described above or discussing trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information in its possession. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (2) Existing law authorizes the I-Bank to provide financial assistance under the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund Program (program) to any eligible participating party in connection with the financing or refinancing of an accelerator project, as specified. Existing law confers final authority to provide financial support to an accelerator project, as defined, to the accelerator. Existing law provides that these provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2031, repeals these provisions as of that date, and requires that any project approved for financing by the bank pursuant to these provisions before that date to have its financing terms remain in force for the duration of the contract. This bill would instead assign final authority to provide financial assistance to the I-Bank, consistent with specified objectives and requirements of the accelerator. The bill would require the I-Bank to consider the credit and financial aspects of a project before approving and financing the project. The bill would also modify certain definitions applicable to the program. The bill would require the accelerator to develop program guidelines by December 31, 2027, as specified. The bill would extend the repeal date described above to January 1, 2036. Existing law creates the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund (revolving fund) for purposes of providing financial assistance under the program and continuously appropriates those moneys. Existing law also makes available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (bank fund) for purposes of funding the program. This bill would require the revolving fund to be separate from any other fund or account under the I-Bank and would authorize certain additional investments and deposits to be made, among other things. The bill would require the revolving fund to be organized as a public enterprise fund. The bill would also remove limitation on moneys in the bank fund being made available for expenditure for program financing only upon appropriation by the Legislature. By expanding the revenue sources of a continuously appropriated fund, and by expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. (3) The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law allows a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2036, in an amount equal to 20% of the qualified expenditures paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer during the taxable year, not to exceed $20,000,000 per qualified taxpayer per taxable year. Under that law, a qualified expenditure means costs paid or incurred for planning, design, engineering, permitting, construction, and equipment directly related to the eligible transmission project or qualified wages paid or incurred to employees of a qualified taxpayer that perform services directly related to the eligible transmission project. Existing law defines the term “eligible transmission project” for these purposes. This bill would revise the definition of eligible transmission project to require that the project meet the criteria for accelerator projects and the conditions for complying with the above-described certification requirements relating to contractors working on the project, as added by the bill. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2 / 3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2025. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY 2/3 Appropriation: NO YES Fiscal Committee: NO YES Local Program: NO YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 11126 of the Government Code is amended to read: 11126. (a) (1) Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent a state body from holding closed sessions during a regular or special meeting to consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, or dismissal of a public employee or to hear complaints or charges brought against that employee by another person or employee unless the employee requests a public hearing. (2) As a condition to holding a closed session on the complaints or charges to consider disciplinary action or to consider dismissal, the employee shall be given written notice of their right to have a public hearing, rather than a closed session, and that notice shall be delivered to the employee personally or by mail at least 24 hours before the time for holding a regular or special meeting. If notice is not given, any disciplinary or other action taken against any employee at the closed session shall be null and void. (3) The state body also may exclude from any public or closed session, during the examination of a witness, any or all other witnesses in the matter being investigated by the state body. (4) Following the public hearing or closed session, the body may deliberate on the decision to be reached in a closed session. (b) For the purposes of this section, “employee” does not include any person who is elected to, or appointed to a public office by, any state body. However, officers of the California State University who receive compensation for their services, other than per diem and ordinary and necessary expenses, shall, when engaged in that capacity, be considered employees. Furthermore, for purposes of this section, the term employee includes a person exempt from civil service pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 4 of Article VII of the California Constitution. (c) Nothing in this article shall be construed to do any of the following: (1) Prevent state bodies that administer the licensing of persons engaging in businesses or professions from holding closed sessions to prepare, approve, grade, or administer examinations. (2) Prevent an advisory body of a state body that administers the licensing of persons engaged in businesses or professions from conducting a closed session to discuss matters that the advisory body has found would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual licensee or applicant if discussed in an open meeting, provided the advisory body does not include a quorum of the members of the state body it advises. Those matters may include review of an applicant’s qualifications for licensure and an inquiry specifically related to the state body’s enforcement program concerning an individual licensee or applicant where the inquiry occurs prior to the filing of a civil, criminal, or administrative disciplinary action against the licensee or applicant by the state body. (3) Prohibit a state body from holding a closed session to deliberate on a decision to be reached in a proceeding required to be conducted pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) or similar provisions of law. (4) Grant a right to enter any correctional institution or the grounds of a correctional institution where that right is not otherwise granted by law, nor shall anything in this article be construed to prevent a state body from holding a closed session when considering and acting upon the determination of a term, parole, or release of any individual or other disposition of an individual case, or if public disclosure of the subjects under discussion or consideration is expressly prohibited by statute. (5) Prevent any closed session to consider the conferring of honorary degrees, or gifts, donations, and bequests that the donor or proposed donor has requested in writing to be kept confidential. (6) Prevent the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board or the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel from holding a closed session for the purpose of holding a deliberative conference as provided in Section 11125. (7) (A) Prevent a state body from holding closed sessions with its negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the state body to give instructions to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease. (B) However, prior to the closed session, the state body shall hold an open and public session in which it identifies the real property or real properties that the negotiations may concern and the person or persons with whom its negotiator may negotiate. (C) For purposes of this paragraph, the negotiator may be a member of the state body. (D) For purposes of this paragraph, “lease” includes renewal or renegotiation of a lease. (E) Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude a state body from holding a closed session for discussions regarding eminent domain proceedings pursuant to subdivision (e). (8) Prevent the California Postsecondary Education Commission from holding closed sessions to consider matters pertaining to the appointment or termination of the Director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission. (9) Prevent the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education from holding closed sessions to consider matters pertaining to the appointment or termination of the Executive Director of the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. (10) Prevent the Franchise Tax Board from holding closed sessions for the purpose of discussion of confidential tax returns or information the public disclosure of which is prohibited by law, or from considering matters pertaining to the appointment or removal of the Executive Officer of the Franchise Tax Board. (11) Require the Franchise Tax Board to notice or disclose any confidential tax information considered in closed sessions, or documents executed in connection therewith, the public disclosure of which is prohibited pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 19542) of Chapter 7 of Part 10.2 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. (12) Prevent the Board of State and Community Corrections from holding closed sessions when considering reports of crime con [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]