(a) The commission shall enter into a memorandum of agreement by April 1, 2012, with the United States Secretary of the Interior to facilitate land exchanges that consolidate school land parcels into contiguous holdings that are suitable for large-scale renewable energy-related projects. The memorandum of agreement shall be tailored, to the extent feasible, to prioritize land exchanges that are best suited for large-scale renewable energy project development, including for the purposes of mitigation of the impacts of that development.
(b) After the memorandum of agreement is entered into, the commission shall make best efforts to consolidate all school land parcels in the California desert into contiguous holdings for large-scale renewable energy-related projects.
(c) The commission shall report to the Legislature by January 1 of each year on the status of the memorandum of agreement and school land consolidation efforts in the California desert.
(d) The requirements of this section are contingent on the cooperation of the United States Secretary of the Interior.
(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 485, Sec. 2. (AB 982) Effective January 1, 2012.)