Legislature(2011 - 2012)HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/05/2011 01:30 PM House FINANCE
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
HB197 | |
HCR9 | |
HB173 | |
HB30 || HB31 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | HB 30 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | HB 31 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 197 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 173 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HCR 9 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE BILL NO. 197 "An Act recognizing the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation as the authorizing agency to approve home energy rating systems for the state; and providing for an effective date." 1:41:20 PM Co-Chair Stoltze stated that after the initial presentation, HB 30 and HB 31 would be further discussed in subcommittee. REPRESENTATIVE LANCE PRUITT, SPONSOR, introduced the legislation. Vice-chair Fairclough MOVED to ADOPT work draft CSHB 197(FIN) as a working document before the committee. Co-Chair Stoltze OJBECTED for further discussion. JEREMIAH CAMPBELL, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE LANCE PRUITT, explained that the bill recognized the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) as the home energy rating system authorizing agency for the purpose of approving energy home rating systems used in the state. Currently, non- governmental, third-party, for-profit party companies were attempting to become federally recognized, which would result in the parties controlling state policy on the issue of energy home rating. The bill was crafted to protect the investment of the state (via AHFC) in AkWarm; the software used for energy design, retrofit, and in determining energy ratings. The software was specifically designed for Alaska and was recognized by the Alaska building, real estate, and home loan industries. The software was directly tied to AHFC's weatherization rebate programs, interest rate reductions for home loans, and the Alaska Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The bill would enable the AHFC to insure that home energy rating systems utilized in the state were appropriate for Alaska's climates. Co-Chair Stoltze queried the technical changes in the CS. Mr. Campbell replied that the CS changed "may" to "shall" on page 1 line 9; this was to clearly define AHFC's scope of responsibility. Secondly, the word "any" was removed from page 1 line 9. There had been concern that having "any" in the bill would put homebuilders, who used a system that was not approved, in violation of the law. Thirdly, "system" was changed to "systems" on page 1 line 10 to imply that more than one system may be approved for use in the state. 1:45:04 PM Co-Chair Stoltze REMOVED his OBJECTION. There being NO further OBJECTION CSHB 197(FIN) was ADOPTED as a working document before the committee. Mr. Campbell introduced his support staff available for technical questions. BOB BREAN, DIRECTOR, RESEARCH AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, ALASKA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, testified in support of the legislation. He shared that AHFC had the authority by statute to ensure that any homes that the corporation issued home loans on met a minimum building and energy efficiency standard. The way to measure the standard was through the home energy rating software system, which the AHFC had developed, maintained, upgraded, and trained approximately 100 energy raters to utilize. The software was used for home loans, weatherization, and the energy rebate program. There were approximately 50 thousand home energy ratings in the system based on the software. Mr. Brean stated that industry supported the legislation. The software ensured that appropriate home energy rating systems were utilized in the state. He relayed that the software recognized five different climactic regions statewide, which made the program unique to different programs used in other parts of the country. He believed that it was prudent to link AkWarm with the building industry. Representative Edgmon questioned whether there could be a bill introduced in the future that would speak to the role of AHFC in the commercial property aspect of the energy efficiency revolving loan program. Mr. Brean responded that the AkWarm rating system was used primarily for residential properties. However, the platform was used to build the additional libraries for the revolving loan fund; this would include calculations more relative to the commercial aspect of the system. Representative Edgmon asked if there were any justifiable reason to remove the word "home" from Home Energy Rating System. Mr. Brean replied that he did not think that was necessary at the present time. He added that commercial tables and libraries were being developed for the software. The corporation would clearly differentiate between the two. 1:50:36 PM Representative Edgmon thought that there could be opportunity in the future to add clean-up language. Representative Gara understood that the commercial revolving loan program would be available to the public regardless of which department ended up housing it. Mr. Brean replied in the affirmative. He added that AHFC was confident in the research that had gone into developing the commercial system and that other agencies would benefit from access to the system. Representative Guttenberg understood that the AHFC rating system was not recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an energy efficient home tax credit. Representative Pruitt responded that that was correct. Representative Guttenberg asked whether people who took advantage of the program the previous year would have to apply for an updated rating to receive credits under the program. Mr. Brean said that to receive the tax credit the rating would have to be performed by an approved agency that had been vetted by a national organization. Home energy rebates in the state were done using AkWarm; if a resident wanted to go back retroactively a rating would need to be done by nationally approved software. Representative Guttenberg wondered if the legislation were to pass giving federal recognition to the AHFC program could residents who participated in the program in the past receive tax credits retroactively. Mr. Brean believed that the question would be referred to AHFC's legal tax counsel. Representative Guttenberg hypothesized that if a person wanted to sell their home using a past AHFC rating and the bank required a current rating that the house would need to be rated again. Representative Pruitt responded that the resident should not have to have their house rerated. He shared that one of the most important reasons for the legislation was that AHFC could not purchase homes that did not meet the home energy rating standards. If the house was rated using the AkWarm program the AHFC could purchase the home loan. Representative Costello asked whether HB 197 would address federal recognition of the AkWarm program. 1:56:37 PM Representative Pruitt replied that it would not automatically give recognition, but that it would begin the process. Representative Costello asked what steps would be taken after passage of the bill to ensure that the AkWarm program was federally recognized. Mr. Brean said that the next step would be to approach the IRS and inform them that AHFC was the authorized state agency for a state recognized rating system. On the federal level there were two current methods of approval: one was to approve a rating system that was vetted by another organization in the Lower 48, or a state acknowledged comparable system. The IRS had been approached for the second status and had taken the software and sent it to the third party in the Lower 48 for vetting. He believed that once the legislation was passed Alaska would have equal standing with other states in the country that had in-state recognized systems. The passage of the legislation would give the state firm standing on the federal level to engage in conversations with the federal government on certification of the home energy rating software. Co-Chair Stoltze OPENED public testimony. Co-Chair Stoltze CLOSED public testimony. Vice-chair Fairclough MOVED to report CSHB 197(FIN) out of Committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being NO OBJECTION, it was so ordered. CSHB 197(FIN) was REPORTED out of Committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with previously published fiscal note: FN1, REV. 2:00:05 PM AT EASE 2:00:24 PM RECONVENED