(a) The Energy Commission, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the Public Utilities Commission, shall establish guidelines for the following:

(1) Standard methods for estimating energy benefits, including reasonable assumptions for current and future costs of energy, and guidelines to compute the cost of energy saved as a result of implementing eligible projects funded by this chapter.

(2) Contractor qualifications, licensing, and certifications appropriate for the work to be performed, provided that the Energy Commission shall not create any new qualification, license, or certification pursuant to this subparagraph.

(3) Project evaluation, including the following:

(A) Benchmarks or energy rating systems to select best candidate facilities.

(B) Use of energy surveys or audits to inform project opportunities, costs, and savings.

(C) Sequencing of facility improvements.

(D) Methodologies for cost-effectiveness determination.

(4) To ensure that adequate energy audit, measurement, and verification procedures are employed to ensure that energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions occur as a result of any funding provided pursuant to this section. The Energy Commission shall develop a simple preinstallation verification form that includes project description, estimated energy savings, expected number of jobs created, current energy usage, and costs. The Energy Commission may develop benchmarking and other innovative facility evaluation systems in coordination with the University of California.

(5) Achievement of the maximum feasible energy efficiency or clean energy benefits, as well as job creation benefits for Californians, resulting from projects implemented pursuant to this chapter.

(6) Where applicable, ensuring LEAs assist classified school employees with training and information to better understand how they can support and maximize the achievement of energy savings envisioned by the funded project.

(b) The Energy Commission shall allow the use of data analytics of energy usage data, where possible, in the energy auditing, evaluation, inventorying, measuring, and verification of projects. To ensure quality of results, data analytics providers shall have received prior technical validation by the Energy Commission, a local utility, or the Public Utilities Commission.

(c) A community college district or LEA shall not use a sole source process to award funds pursuant to this chapter. A community college district or LEA may use the best value criteria as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 20133 of the Public Contract Code to award funds pursuant to this chapter.

(d) The Energy Commission shall adopt the guidelines in accordance with this section at a publicly noticed meeting and provide an opportunity for public comment. The Energy Commission shall provide written public notice of a meeting at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

(1) For substantive revision of the guidelines, the Energy Commission shall provide written notice of a meeting at least 15 days prior to the meeting at which the revision is to be considered or adopted.

(2) The adoption or revision of guidelines pursuant to this division is exempt from Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(e) Each participating LEA shall prioritize the eligible projects within its jurisdiction taking into consideration, as applicable, at least the following factors:

(1) The age of the school facilities, as well as any plans to close or demolish the facilities.

(2) The proportion of pupils eligible for funds under Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) at particular schoolsites.

(3) Whether the facilities have been recently modernized.

(4) The facilities’ hours of operation, including whether the facilities are operated on a year-round basis.

(5) The school’s energy intensity as determined from an energy rating or benchmark system such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star system or other acceptable benchmarking approach that may be available from local utilities, the American Society for Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., or reputable building analysis software as is appropriate to the size, budget, and expertise available to the school.

(6) The estimated financial return of each project’s investment over the expected lifecycle of the project, in terms of net present value and return on investment.

(7) Each project’s potential for energy demand reduction.

(8) The anticipated health and safety improvements or other nonenergy benefits for each project.

(9) The individual or collective project’s ability to facilitate matriculation of local residents into state-certified apprenticeship programs.

(10) The expected number of trainees and direct full-time employees likely to be engaged for each LEA’s annual funding commitments based upon a formula to be made available by the Energy Commission or California Workforce Investment Board. The formula shall be stated as labor-intensities per total project dollar expended, and may differentiate by type of improvement, equipment, or building trade involved.

(11) The ability of the project to enhance workforce development and employment opportunities, utilize members of the California Conservation Corps, certified local conservation corps, Youth Build, veterans, Green Partnership Academies, nonprofit organizations, high school career technical academies, high school regional occupational programs, or state-certified apprenticeship programs, or to accommodate learning opportunities for school pupils or at-risk youth in the community.

(f) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall not distribute funds to an LEA unless the LEA has submitted to the Energy Commission, and the Energy Commission has approved, an expenditure plan that outlines the energy projects to be funded. An LEA shall utilize a simple form expenditure plan developed by the Energy Commission. The Energy Commission shall promptly review the plan to ensure that it meets the criteria specified in this section and in the guidelines developed by the Energy Commission. A portion of the funds may be distributed to an LEA upon request for energy audits and other plan development activities prior to submission of the plan.

(g) This section shall not affect the eligibility of any eligible entity awarded a grant pursuant to this section to receive other incentives available from federal, state, and local government, or from public utilities or other sources, or to leverage the grant from this section with any other incentive.

(h) Any limitation of funds awarded to individual projects pursuant to this chapter shall not preclude or otherwise limit the total amount of funds that a recipient LEA or community college may otherwise be eligible to receive as a result of identifying multiple projects that meet the overall objectives and criteria described in this chapter.

(i) For a school facility that is not publicly owned, an LEA receiving moneys pursuant to this chapter for a project for that facility shall require that the school repay to the state all moneys received from the Job Creation Fund for the project if the school voluntarily vacates the facility within five years of project completion. The facility owner shall repay to the state all moneys received from the Job Creation Fund for the project if the school was forced to vacate the facility within the life of the project completion. All benefits of these public funds should be received by the school utilizing the facility.

(j) It is the intent of the Legislature that monetary savings at eligible institutions from retrofit and installation projects pursuant to this section be used to benefit students and learning at those institutions.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 250, Sec. 19. (AB 129) Effective September 16, 2017.)