A new bill is in Sacramento hopes to bridge a funding gap resulting from extended operations at Diablo Canyon Power Plant.
On March 26, State Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) introduced Senate Bill 931, which aims for local governments and public services to receive funding while Diablo Canyon remains open through 2030.
“When the five-year extension of Diablo Canyon was approved in 2022, it left our schools and local governments short tens of millions of dollars in funds that had previously been used to provide services to those most in need,” Addis said in a statement. “I am proud to co-sponsor SB 931 that will begin to right this wrong and ensure our local communities are no longer left behind.”
The bill plans on extending the life of the Community Impact Mitigation Program, which was set up in 2016 through a settlement between San Luis Obispo County, Diablo Canyon owner Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and local government bodies.
The program was meant to offset the impacts of the plant’s anticipated closure and provide more than $9 million to the county and groups like the San Luis Coastal Unified District until Diablo Canyon’s planned closure in 2025.
But the money stopped coming in despite the power plant receiving the go-ahead to keep running.
Laird spokesperson Khalida Sarwari told New Times that the program previously provided $8.3 million annually to the county and the school district, along with a one-time $10 million boost to the Economic Development Fund.
The Economic Development Fund was the result of SB 1090 signed into law in 2018, and it was shared between SLO County and its cities.
According to San Luis Coastal Parent Information Network co-founder Ben Lippert, PG&E has a responsibility not only to the community that hosts Diablo Canyon but also to pay property taxes on the fair market value of its assets.
The San Luis Coastal school district had a tough time from the dwindling amount of Diablo Canyon-related money from PG&E. It’s carried out $10 million in budget cuts over two years to prepare for the 2026-27 school year—the first year without Community Impact Mitigation Program funding.
Since 2024, the district has grappled with debates about potential reductions in school counselors, retaining the transitional kindergarten program, and concerns that a budget-balancing proposal wasn’t equitable to music and choir programs.
“Los Ranchos [Elementary School] does not have a full-time counselor since last year. They just made two more cuts to middle school counselors,” Lippert said. “Support services for elementary took big hits … All the cuts they made in December [2025] could be put back in provided we get the same amount we had gotten last fiscal year, which was $4.6 million.”
Both Lippert’s parent group and school district Superintendent Eric Prater told New Times that they’re grateful for Laird and Addis’ advocacy on the issue.
“However, we would like to ensure that any funding mechanism—such as the reconstitution of the unitary tax or some kind of mitigation agreement—remains in place for as long as the plant continues to operate,” Prater said.
PG&E spokesperson Carin Corral told New Times that the utility company paid more than $185 million to SLO County since 2018, including $85 million for the Community Impact Mitigation Fund [CIMP].
“Any changes to the tax structure for Diablo Canyon, or equivalent CIMP funding continuation, will require further legislative action,” Corral said. “PG&E remains neutral on tax assessments that are fair on evaluations of assets, as well as the extension of the CIMP.” ∆
This article appears in April 2-9, 2026.