Lawmakers review jobs, projects in California energy measure

(AP) — California officials have approved $1.1 billion in spending so far from a voter-approved initiative that closed a corporate tax loophole to generate billions of dollars for energy efficiency projects at California schools and community colleges, but most of the work is not completed, senators learned at a hearing Wednesday.

The vast majority of spending from Proposition 39, about $973 million, has been allocated for K-12 schools, which have more than 9,000 projects in the works that are projected to save $38 million annually in energy costs, according to the California Energy Commission.

A detailed accounting of how many jobs have been created is also many months away, as the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency prepares a comprehensive report on how many jobs were created at each jobsite.

[...] a University of California, Berkeley, forecast given to lawmakers Wednesday shows fewer jobs than voters were promised — from 2.5 to 8.9 jobs for every $1 million spent, compared with the 20 construction jobs per $1 million that proponents touted.

Lawmakers on Wednesday also voted not to request a state audit of Proposition 39 spending, as was requested by a Republican lawmaker in response to the AP's report.