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SB 1 , the "Million Solar Roofs" bill which died on Thursday, September 8, 2005, in the California Assembly, would have greatly expanded the deployment of electricity-generating solar roof panels on homes and businesses throughout California, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, dependency on unstable energy markets, and reduced pollution, while increasing employment and decentralizing energy production in a way that could blunt the impact of terrorism and natural disasters.

The bill had received enthusiastic bi-partisan support, including that of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but, apparently, the opposition of two labor unions (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the State Building Trades Council (SBTC) to the passage of the bill unless it contained provisions requiring that "prevailing wages be paid on all commercial solar installations" and eliminating "half of all existing solar contractors by requiring only certified electricians do the bulk of the installations" was enough to schuttle the bill.

You can read about the introduction of this bill in 2004 and listen to a recorded audio interview with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief energy advisor, Joe Desmond, by clicking on the title of this August 20, 2004, Solar World article, "Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's unveils plan for 1 million solar homes in California; his chief energy advisor provides some details."

According to an article entitled "Million Solar Roofs Bill Dies in California Assembly: Three-year long effort to establish the nation's biggest solar power initiative fails on last day of legislative session," published on September 9, 2005, on the Renewable Energy Access web site:

"The Million Solar Roofs bill, authored by State Senator Kevin Murray (D-Culver City) and supported by Governor Schwarzenegger as well as more than 200 cities, businesses and organizations throughout the state, aimed to build 3,000 MW of solar panels on a million roofs, including half of all new homes, and in ten years growing the market by 30-fold - enough to make the industry self-sustaining.

"The Million Solar Roofs bill would have achieved its goals in three main ways:

1) Provided $2.5 billion in consumer rebates to homeowners and businesses over ten years.
2) Required that solar panels become a standard offer for new homebuyers just like marble countertops.
3) Allowed homeowners and businesses to receive a credit on their monthly electric bill for excess power generated by their solar system."

In an article published on September 9, 2005, entitled "Where Does California's Million Solar Roofs Initiative Go From Here," by David Hochschild, Director of Policy at The Vote Solar Initiative, the author writes:

"The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which created the state's current large-scale solar incentive program ($125 million per year), is moving to implement the Million Solar Roofs program. The CPUC has wide authority to implement the key provisions of the Million Solar Roofs bill, the most important of which is the funding. CPUC President Michael Peevey, a strong supporter of solar energy, has been leading this effort. It is critical that his efforts receive broad support. In June, the CPUC issued its implementation proposal and the final ruling to establish the Million Solar Roofs program is expected in the next 2-3 months.

"One thing that will not be possible for the CPUC to change is the state's net metering cap, which limits the amount of grid-connected solar energy that can be installed. However, increasing the net metering cap this year is no longer a pressing issue with the passage of SB 816 (Kehoe), which raises the net metering cap to 50 MW in the region where it most needed to be raised - the San Diego Gas and Electric territory. There will be time for the legislature to increase the net metering in the next session and this is widely expected to happen."

Some commentators believe that putting a solar energy initiative on the California ballot and passing it might be a good way to promote this renewable technology in the largest state in the U.S.

Bernadette Del Chiaro, clean energy advocate for Environment California, a statewide nonprofit nonpartisan environmental organization with more than 80,000 citizen members and the leading advocate for the Million Solar Roofs bill the past three years, writing in "Million Solar Roofs Bill Dies In California Assembly: Three-year long effort to establish the nation’s biggest solar power initiative fails on last day of legislative session," says:

“In the wake of Sacramento’s inaction, establishing a consumer rebate program through the administrative process is our next best bet. But ultimately, California needs a more comprehensive solar policy and so long as the sun still shines we’ll continue to fight for this commonsense solution.”

Ms. Del Chiaro continues:

"Other policy venue options include returning again to the legislature in January or taking the solar initiative straight to the voters through the statewide initiative process."

The Los Angeles Times, generally skeptical about the initiative process in California, thinks that the need to encourage solar energy in California is so great that it would not be out of line to organize an initiative campaign to put a "California Electric Sunshine Initiative" on the California ballot.

In a September 9, 2005 editorial entitled "A solar fade-out," the newspaper concludes by saying:

"The governor says he will try to enact a similar incentive plan through regulatory changes. If that plan stalls, the best option — and we can't believe we're saying this — may be for the matter to go straight to the voters as a proposition. When lawmakers show themselves unequal to the task, the initiative process starts looking pretty good."

Given the on-going and escalating political stalemate between Republican Governor Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled legislature in Sacramento, which was the underlying reason the "1 million solar roofs" plan died, it might be useful to consider instituting "Smart Initiatives" as a way to put the "California Electric Sunshine Initiative" and other appropriate measures on the California ballot, now and in the future.

To take a look at the original "Smart Initiatives Initiative," which received an official "Title and Summary" from the California Attorney General's office in 2000 but was never circulated, click here.