Section 2099.10.

(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the interest of the state that incidental take permit applications submitted by renewable energy developers be processed by the department in a timely, efficient, and thorough manner and the department be funded adequately to review and process the applications. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the department work in a transparent and consultative manner with renewable energy developers who apply for incidental take permits, including as described in this section and Section 2099.20.

(2) For purposes of this section and Section 2099.20, the following terms have the following meanings:

(A) "Eligible project" means an eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program (Article 16 (commencing with Section 399.11) of Chapter 2.3 of Part 1 of Division 1 of the Public Utilities Code).

(B) "Energy Commission" means the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.

(b)  The department shall collect the following permit application fee from the owner or developer of an eligible project that is not subject to the Energy Commission's certification requirements to support the permitting of eligible projects pursuant to this chapter:

(1) Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for projects, regardless of size, that are subject only to Section 2080.1.

(2) Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for projects that are less than 50 megawatts.

(3) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for projects that are not less than 50 megawatts and not more than 250 megawatts.

(4) Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for projects that are more than 250 megawatts.

(c) (1) For applications submitted to the department on or after the effective date of this act, the department shall collect the permit application fee at the time the owner or developer submits its permit application. For applications submitted after June 30, 2011, but before the effective date of the act, the department shall collect the permit application fee upon the effective date of the act and shall not deem the application complete until it has collected the permit application fee. Permit applications submitted prior to June 30, 2011, or deemed complete prior to the effective date of the act shall not be subject to fees established pursuant to this section.

(2) If an owner or developer withdraws a project within 30 days after paying the permit application fee, the department shall refund any unused portion of the fee to the owner or developer.

(3) The department shall utilize the permit application fee only to pay for all or a portion of the department's cost of processing incidental take permit applications pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2081 and Section 2080.1 and of the department's cost of complying with the requirements of subdivision (f).

(d) (1) If the permit application fee paid pursuant to subdivision (b) is determined by the department to be insufficient to complete permitting work due to the complexity of a project, the department shall collect an additional fee from the owner or developer to pay for its estimated costs. Upon its determination, the department shall notify the applicant of the reasons why an additional fee is necessary and the estimated amount of the additional fee.

(2) The additional fee shall not exceed an amount that, when added to the fee paid pursuant to subdivision (b), equals two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000). The department shall collect the additional fee before a final decision on the application by the department.

(e) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department participate in the Energy Commission's site certification process for eligible projects as the state's trustee for natural resources.

(2) The department and the Energy Commission shall enter into a cost-sharing agreement governing all eligible projects that are subject to the Energy Commission's certification requirements. The agreement shall ensure that all or a portion of the department's costs of participating in the Energy Commission's site certification process for eligible projects for the purpose of advising the Energy Commission with regard to the Energy Commission's issuance of incidental take authorization, pursuant to Section 2080.1 and subdivision (b) of Section 2081, shall be paid to the department by the Energy Commission from the fees received by the Energy Commission pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 25806 of the Public Resources Code.

(3) Funds identified by the Energy Commission for transfer to the department pursuant to the cost-sharing agreement required in paragraph (2) are exempt from the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section 25806 of the Public Resources Code.

(f) (1) In order to meet the intent of the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the department shall carry out both of the following:

(A) By January 1, 2012, and every six months thereafter, until January 1, 2014, the department shall submit a report to the Legislature that provides information related to the department's fee collections, expenditures, and workload pursuant to this section, including, as feasible, the information required in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 2099.20.

(B) By January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the department shall review the permit application fees paid pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (d) and shall recommend adjustments to the Legislature in an amount necessary to pay the full costs of processing the project's incidental take permit.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee shall, during the 2014 calendar year, determine whether to approve an audit of the department's activities pursuant to this section. In making its determination, the committee shall consider information submitted by the department to the Legislature pursuant to this section and Section 2099.20.

(g) The fees paid to the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Renewable Resources Permitting Account, which is hereby established in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and shall be eligible for expenditure by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2081 and Section 2080.1.

(h) For purposes of this section, the Legislature hereby appropriates six million dollars ($6,000,000) from the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.

(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date.

(Added by Stats. 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 10, Sec. 3. Effective December 10, 2011. Repealed as of January 1, 2016, by its own provisions.)