SB 931 Legislative Update - 06/25/2026
Before we get into the details, thanks to everyone who wrote letters to Sacramento in support of our community. The response to our latest letter-writing campaign was really incredible, and is a testament to what we can do when working together.
What Happened?
Yesterday, SB 931 was heard in the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy. The committee voted to move the bill forward, but only if amended.
You can view the committee’s full SB 931 discussion here. It is only about 5 minutes long. If you have 30 seconds, we also encourage you to see local parent Maeve Holden (who traveled all the way to Sacramento) speak in support of the bill. In the legislature, extended public comment is not permitted, but Maeve did wonderfully and showed how much the community cares about this issue.
What changes were required?
1. The new bill would provide mitigation fund payments for two years, instead of five.
2. The source of the payments would come from “Volumetric Performance” fees (VPFs) that PG&E already collects to operate Diablo Canyon.
You can see a quick animated visual of the proposed changes at the end of this email.
Note that the bill text itself has not been amended yet, but the committee’s requirements were spelled out in its staff report.
What does that mean for SLCUSD?
The most impactful change is the reduced number of payments; under the new legislation SLCUSD would receive approximately $8M over two years, rather than $20M over five.
Why were the changes required?
The stated reasons for the changes were as follows:
1. The amended bill would have no ratepayer impact.
This is true. Because VPFs were authorized in 2022 and are already collected by PG&E, payments to SLO County would be neutral for ratepayers.
Parents and community members floated VPFs as a potential source for community funding as far back as last summer, but were repeatedly told it was not feasible. It appears someone with more political power authorized this change before the committee meeting.
2. DCPP’s future is uncertain.
This is also true…. but we believe the arguments for limiting mitigation fund payments to two years are weaker, particularly when DCPP operations and VPFs have both already been authorized until 2030.
What happens next?
It depends. Once any amendments are made, the bill will likely go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Publicly, PG&E had been staying neutral on SB 931. The new version of the bill might impact their bottom line, so the company may decide to change their position on the amended legislation.
Will SLC-PIN support an amended bill?
It depends! Our biggest concern is the specific details that appear in any amendments. While we are grateful for any funding, we need to see final language to understand what we are supporting.
The way VPFs are currently structured, there’s a risk our community will face unnecessary administrative hurdles unless the bill clearly directs both PG&E and CPUC to make the disbursement. We shouldn’t need to convince an Administrative Law Judge in Sacramento that SLO County deserves this money.
What does this mean for the long-term support our community should receive?
IT DEPENDS! The big question now is what DCPP looks like beyond 2030, and how our community will be included. Operations at Diablo are very uniquely structured and will have to be retooled if operations are extended long term.
On Wednesday Sen. Laird made special note that he will fight for our community to be made whole as long as Diablo is operating.
As SLC-PIN’s Sunday opinion piece argued, our community must remain engaged in any negotiations and needs leaders that are willing to fight for us, even if it means standing up to PG&E.
