SACRAMENTO - California would increase its targets for using renewable energy under a measure that cleared the state Senate on Thursday, a bill that prompted debate over the state's energy future.

The bill would require public utilities to get 33 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. It expands on two state initiatives: the state's landmark greenhouse gas reduction law that took effect this year; and a state law requiring that 20 percent of electricity come from environmentally friendly sources by 2010.

"This is about smart energy policy," said Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who authored the bill with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland.

But even as the state requires greater use of renewable energy sources, it has been adding regulations that make it more difficult and costly to produce, said Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert.

"We're going to end up with a very expensive way to produce power," Battin said. "While it's meant well, I don't believe it is achievable under the (regulatory) environment that we have. ... We need to make sure (regulations) are not hindering them."

On that, Battin and Simitian agreed.

"There are too many impediments to renewable energy," Simitian said.

His bill, SB411, passed the Senate 21-15, with no votes to spare, and now goes to the Assembly.

Simitian said he plans to use a second bill, SB410, to remove some of the state's regulatory restrictions.

Some other bills advanced Thursday:

Victims of domestic violence could ask judges to grant protective orders for their pets under SB353, which passed the Senate on a 31-7 vote en route to the Assembly. The author, Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said some pets have been injured or killed, while some victims avoid seeking help if they fear their pets could be harmed.

Homeowner associations would have to issue a public agenda and stick to it, like other public governing bodies, under SB528. The bill by Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, cleared the Senate on a 38-0 vote and goes to the Assembly. Aanestad said his bill would make homeowner associations more accountable to their members.

Suspects could not be convicted solely based on the testimony of jailhouse informants, under SB609. The measure by Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, requires that such testimony be corroborated by at least one other source, for fear that witnesses who are in custody have too much incentive to lie. The Senate bill was sent to the Assembly on a 25-10 vote.

The Assembly, by a 70-0 vote, approved a bill by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, that would allow spouses of military members to take up to 10 days of unpaid leave from their jobs when their husbands or wives return from Iraq or another war zone. The measure, which moves to the Senate, would cover employers with at least 25 workers.