Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Prop. 87:

	You can help get Prop. 87 passed by writing a letter of support to your local newspaper. You can get ideas from our two sample letters.

What is the California Clean Alternative Energy Initiative?
The California Clean Alternative Energy Initiative is slated to appear on the November 2006 statewide ballot. The Initiative will fund a $4 billion dollar effort to reduce California's dependence on gasoline and diesel fuel by 25% over 10 years, through 1) incentives to make alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuels more widely available and affordable to consumers and 2) by funding research to bring clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies to the marketplace more quickly. The goal of the Initiative is simple: Cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable energy and fuels.

Why is the Initiative needed? Are we experiencing an energy crisis?
California and the United States are in the midst of an energy crisis. Gasoline and energy costs are skyrocketing. Our increasing energy demands have led to increased dependence on foreign oil. In fact, California currently ranks #1 in the nation in gasoline and petroleum consumption. Our excessive dependence on oil has resulted in increasingly polluted air and increasing health problems for our families. And rolling black outs and wild spikes in the cost of electricity occur frequently and have negative impacts on the state and local economies.

Our state's elected officials, planning groups, technology leaders, environmental organizations, and business sectors have all spoken about the increasing need for clean, renewable technologies. This Initiative offers California a unique opportunity to fund research and get real, workable clean energy solutions to the marketplace by making them accessible and affordable to all Californians.

How do Californians feel about clean energy technology and our rising gas prices?
According to an August 2005 public poll by the California Field Poll, “Greater than seven in ten Californians (71%) say the recent gasoline price increases are a serious matter to them…As a result of having to pay more at the gas pump, four in ten Californians (40%) say that they are now having to make cutbacks in other areas of spending, such as food, clothing or dining out…Most Californians (58%) attribute a lot of the blame for the recent gasoline price increases to U.S. oil companies.”

Who will administer and oversee the program?
The Initiative creates no new bureaucracy, but instead provides a responsible approach to advancing clean energy by reinvigorating an existing state agency into the California Energy Alternatives Program Authority. The Authority will administer and oversee the funding of consumer incentives, the research and development of clean energy technologies and the creation of a statewide jobs program. A non-partisan board including the State Treasurer and eight other appointees with relevant expertise will govern the Authority. The board will include:

• Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency

• Chairperson of the State Energy Resources Conservation & Development Commission

• State Treasurer

• Californian with expertise in economics, energy markets and energy efficiency technologies, appointed by the Governor.

• Californian with expertise and demonstrated leadership in public health, appointed by the Governor.

• Californian with expertise in finance, start-ups, and venture capital, appointed by the Controller.

• Renewable energy or energy efficiency expert from a California university, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

• Dean or a tenured faculty member of major, nationally-recognized California business school, appointed by Senate Rules Committee.

• Californian with expertise in consumer advocacy, appointed by the Attorney General.

How will the program be funded?
The Initiative will impose a minor assessment on the excess profits of California oil producers, creating a $4 billion investment fund, to help advance clean energy technologies. This assessment will be 1.5 to 6.0%, depending on the price per barrel of oil pumped from wells in California. For example, if the price of a barrel of oil is $45, the assessment will be 4.5% of the value of each barrel of oil produced.

Market Price	$10 - $25/bbl	$25.01 - $40/bbl	$40.01 - $60/bbl	$60.01 - $80/bbl
Royalty Rate:	1.5% of gross value	3.0% of gross value	4.5% of gross value	6.0% of gross value

California is the third largest oil-producing state in the country, but the only state where oil companies currently do not pay a comparable extraction fee. Alaska, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico all have such fees.

The price per barrel of California crude oil increased over 150% over the last ten years, while the cost to produce it has remained the same. As the value of California crude goes up, and oil company profits continue to rise, it is only fair that we use a small assessment on the profits of the energy resources of the past to invest in the technology of the future. This investment will protect the people of California from future price spikes and an unreliable fuel supply.

What clean energy technologies will the program fund?
The primary focus of the Initiative will fund efforts to reduce California's dependence on gasoline and diesel fuels by 25% over 10 years.

• It will provide incentives to make alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuels more widely available and affordable to consumers; and

• It will fund research and incentives to bring clean, renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and hydrogen power more quickly to the marketplace; and

• It will provide research grants to universities and non-profit groups to develop innovative energy technologies; and

• It will provide job training and help create new industries, technologies, and tens of thousands of good paying jobs focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean alternative fuels and clean alternative fuel vehicles.

How will the funds be distributed?
The funding grants distributed by the Authority will be made through a competitive and public process. The distribution of funds will be as follows:

• 57.5% to the Gasoline & Diesel Use Reduction Account to fund market-based and production incentives to fleets and individuals to purchase and manufacture clean alternative fuel vehicles in California, plus, production incentives for the construction of publicly accessible clean alternative refueling stations.

• 26.75% to the Research & Innovation Acceleration Account to award grants to California universities for facilities, research and training to improve the viability and accelerate the commercialization of renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and wave technologies and energy efficiency technologies.

• 9.75% to the Commercialization Acceleration Account to provide incentives to fund start-up costs of introducing petroleum reduction and renewable energy technologies, clean alternative fuels and clean alternative fuel vehicles and accelerate introduction of these technologies to the consumer market.

• 2.5% to the Vocational Training Account to issue grants through the California community college system for student training and tuition assistance.

• 3.5% to the Administration and Public Education Account.

Will the Initiative funding focus on any one technology?
No. The goal of the Initiative is to reduce dependence on gasoline and diesel fuel by 25% over ten years and make alternative fuels and alternative fuel technology more accessible and affordable to consumers. The Authority will issue grants and funds via an open and competitive process, with the goal of making commercially self-sustaining market-driven solutions affordable and accessible to all Californians.

How will we ensure that funds are spent appropriately?
The Initiative calls for the establishment of a Citizens' Financial Accountability Oversight Committee to review the Authority's financial practices and performance. Administrative costs are limited, and the Authority is required to conduct mandatory independent audits, open meetings, public hearings, and annual reports to public.

Is this a tax on consumers?
No, consumers and California taxpayers will pay no costs for this Initiative. The Initiative will impose a minor assessment on the excess profits of California oil producers to create a $4 billion investment fund.

The Initiative language specifically prohibits oil companies from passing this cost along to consumers. In fact, California's Attorney General stated in the Title and Summary prepared on the Initiative that the measure, “Prohibits producers from passing tax on to consumers.” In Exxon vs. The State of Alabama in 1983, the Supreme Court specifically upheld consumer protection provisions similar to the ones in this Initiative.

What are clean alternative fuels?
Clean alternative fuels are being used today in place of gasoline and diesel fuel. Alternative fuels include biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, methanol, natural gas, propane, and "P-series" fuels.

What are alternative fuel vehicles?
Alternative fuel vehicles, or AFVs, use alternative fuels instead of gasoline or diesel fuel. These include Flex-Fuel Vehicles, bi-fuel vehicles, dedicated vehicles, electric cars and hybrids. While there are currently more than 260,000 flex-fuel vehicles on California's roadways today, there is only one publicly accessible refueling station in the state, clearly illustrating the need for this Initiative.

Will this impact the state's General Fund?
No. Since the assessment fee on oil company profits will create a dedicated funding stream, the Initiative will have no effect on California's General Fund. The Initiative will also have no effect on the state's bond rating, and will not generate any cost to California taxpayers.

How will this Initiative benefit California's economy?
Economists from UC Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy estimate the Initiative will help create new industries, technologies, and tens of thousands of good paying jobs focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean alternative fuels and clean alternative fuel vehicles. The Initiative will also fund a new vocational training program through California's community college system that will help train new workers and provide tuition grants for low-income students as well as for fossil-fuel energy workers who want to transition to clean alternative energy jobs.

Will this Initiative have a negative impact on property tax values of oil producing properties?
No. Property taxes on oil fields are fixed under Proposition 13, which imposes an automatic 2% assessment per annum for inflation. These taxes are based on the base year value of each property, many of which were set decades ago, as base year assessments are only triggered by sale, construction or new findings. Many oil properties in the state are vastly under-valued. Given that oil prices have risen dramatically in last several years, if oil properties were reassessed under the rules of Proposition 13, it's estimated there would be a substantial increase in property tax values.

Will this Initiative create a new state bureaucracy?
No. The Initiative will simply reinvigorate an existing state agency and make it work better for the people of California, providing a dedicated funding source for advancing new clean, renewable energy technologies. The Initiative limits administrative expenses and contains strict accountability measures.

Why should the oil companies pay for this program?
California is the third largest oil-producing state in the country, but the only state where oil companies currently do not pay a comparable extraction fee. Alaska, Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico all have such fees. After 100 years of oil extraction, it's time for California's big oil companies to pay their fair share. Big oil companies have seen their profits triple over the last three years, and gas prices now hover around the threedollar per gallon mark. This Initiative makes big oil companies give back some of their excess profits generated off a public, natural resource so we can invest more in alternative energy sources, creating a new clean energy industry even as California's oil nears it's inevitable depletion. These new energy alternatives will protect Californians from future fuel price-spikes and unreliability, while at the same time making California the worldwide hub of a new Clean Tech industry just as it was in Silicon Valley.

How does this Initiative fit into President Bush's call to reduce our dependence on foreign oil?
In this year's State of the Union address, President Bush said American's are addicted to oil and that, “the best way to break this addiction is through technology.” The President's comments clearly illustrated the overwhelming need for implementation of new clean energy technologies. It is a non-partisan goal shared by Republicans and Democrats, scientists and environmentalists, business and public health interests. Given California's intellectual horsepower and history of innovation, it makes perfect sense that this Initiative is launched in our state. Passage of this Initiative will make California a leader in the clean energy technology industry and a model for the entire nation.

Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators have called for legislation to fund clean energy. How will this Initiative affect that effort?
California has a long and proud history of environmental stewardship and energy innovation. This Initiative will build upon and complement the work that the Governor, state legislature and other groups have been calling for to date. This Initiative will create a dedicated funding source for a variety of clean energy sources.

Why not accomplish this goal via the legislative process?
Californians have tried to enact an assessment on excess profits of oil companies before. Governor Pat Brown tried and was unsuccessful in 1959. In 1995, then Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa proposed an oil severance tax and was also unsuccessful. If the legislature can't find enough votes to take on Big Oil, the people of California will.

How does the Initiative benefit public health?
The Initiative will benefit public health by reducing air and diesel pollution that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of cases of asthma and lung disease every year. It will reduce particulate airborne matter that we not only breathe but that gets rained into our oceans and rivers. And, in accordance with Governor Schwarzenegger's goals, it will reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Who supports the Initiative?
The Initiative is supported by a broad coalition of scientists, economists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, public health professionals and community leaders.

Where can I get more info on clean energy?
Below are some helpful links where you may find more information on clean energy.

United States Department of Energy

California Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Energy Fuels

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Group

How can I help? You can help by becoming a member of our growing coalition and by making a donation to our campaign. Please contact us at (323) 782-1045 for information on other ways that you can help.

For more information, visit the Californians for Clean Energy website.