Vampires do exist. They must because on Tuesday the Assembly approved the Vampire Slayer Act of 2006.

The vampires lawmakers voted to slay are electronic devices that continue to suck electricity even when they aren’t in use.

Cable boxes, stereos, televisions and chargers for laptops and cell phones are among the household appliances that keep using energy even when plugged in but not in use.

"This is the bill with the funny name and the serious subject matter," the bill’s author Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys. "It’s an attempt to draw attention to an unknown problem."

Levine’s bill, which now goes to the Senate after its 44-33 vote in the Assembly, would require electronic devices be labeled to tell consumers how much energy is used when the device is in standby mode. Although the amount of energy consumed by the devices can be small, cumulatively it can ratchet up household energy bills.

At a press conference before the Assembly vote, Levine had a large table festooned with electronic devices — cell phones, Play Station controls, a toothbrush, Tivo, a stereo system. Cloves of garlic were scattered among the devices.

The stereo system consumed 46 watts just plugged in but the amount of energy electronic devices use in standby varies sharply.

"An extravagant amount of energy is wasted," said J.P. Ross, the author of a 2000 study on standby power consumption.

Ross said a charger for a laptop computer that consumes 20 watts would add $60 a year to an energy bill. A laptop charger that draws 1 watt in standby would add $3.

Supporters of his bill, AB1970, say that vampire appliances cost the average household about $200 annually and consumers should make an informed choice when they purchase one.

Opponents, led by the Consumer Electronics Association, the American Electronic Association and the Electronic Industries Alliance counter that the labels would confuse consumers and stigmatize popular high tech products.

California-only labeling requirements also create a "huge and costly logistical problem for manufacturers and retailers," the three trade associations wrote in a letter opposing the bill. "We are opposed to the approach taken in AB1970, which neither saves energy nor supports the successful and national consumer education programs already in place."

Levine’s bill does not go as far as the California Energy Commission has in regulating standby power.

In 2004, the commission passed standards to decrease the use of power by smaller household electronic devices. When fully phased in, the rules will affect everything from television sets to microwave ovens and stereo systems.

Last week, the commission adopted regulations setting minimum efficiency standards for power adapters that convert AC power to DC and charge batteries used to power cordless tools, digital cameras, cell phones, iPods, Blackberries and laptop computers, among other things.

Starting Jan. 1, 2007, smaller adapters could draw no more than a half watt when in standby mode. Larger ones, like those that power laptops, could consume no more than three-quarters of a watt.

Regulations restricting the amount of power televisions, DVDs and VCRs can use in standby took effect in January.

The Energy Commission is neutral on Levine’s bill.

"The bill, as it now stands, only requires a label that explains how much energy the appliance uses, it doesn’t require more efficiency," said Rob Schlichting, a commission spokesman.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to take a position on the bill.