SCS CSHB 152(FIN): "An Act establishing a renewable energy grant fund and describing its uses and purposes; establishing a renewable energy grant recommendation program; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, authorizing the Alaska Energy Authority to distribute renewable energy grants and setting out the procedures to be followed to award those grants; establishing a state heating assistance program in addition to the federal heating assistance program; establishing an Alaska Renewable Energy Task Force; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 152(FIN) 01 "An Act establishing a renewable energy grant fund and describing its uses and 02 purposes; establishing a renewable energy grant recommendation program; for the 03 fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, authorizing the Alaska Energy Authority to distribute 04 renewable energy grants and setting out the procedures to be followed to award those 05 grants; establishing a state heating assistance program in addition to the federal heating 06 assistance program; establishing an Alaska Renewable Energy Task Force; and 07 providing for an effective date." 08 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 09 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 10 to read: 11 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) For secs. 3 and 6 of this Act, the 12 legislature finds that 13 (1) an adequate, reliable, reasonably priced, and safe supply of energy is
01 necessary for Alaska's basic infrastructure, and economic and technological development; 02 (2) Alaska possesses vast amounts of renewable energy resources in the form 03 of wind, solar, geothermal, hydrothermal, wave, tidal, biomass, river in-stream, and 04 hydropower; 05 (3) the legislature established the Alaska Energy Policy Task Force in 2003 to 06 review and analyze the state's current and long-term energy needs; 07 (4) the task force found that one of Alaska's long-term energy needs is to 08 identify and evaluate long-term fuel resources, and recommended that the state should 09 increase the proportion of renewables in long term-fuel sources; 10 (5) the cost of fuels such as natural gas and diesel that Alaskans rely on in 11 large part to generate electric power is steadily rising; 12 (6) residents of rural Alaska pay far more for electricity than residents who 13 live on the Railbelt energy grid; 14 (7) there is virtually no fuel cost associated with renewable energy resources; 15 (8) other states and nations are working successfully to develop their 16 renewable energy resources; 17 (9) the continued competitiveness and stability of the state's economy requires 18 that the legislature consider national trends toward renewable energy development; 19 (10) renewable energy technology development promotes industry and creates 20 jobs; 21 (11) clean renewable energy has many environmental and health benefits; 22 (12) locally produced renewable energy has many security benefits; 23 (13) modern, affordable, and efficient renewable energy technologies now 24 exist; 25 (14) it is in the interest of the public for Alaska to develop its renewable 26 energy resources; and 27 (15) natural gas can be considered as a last alternative for communities with 28 no other reasonable renewable resources. 29 (b) It is the intent of the legislature that each year, for the next five years, $50,000,000 30 in capital funds be appropriated to fund projects recommended by the Alaska Energy 31 Authority as described in secs. 3 and 6 of this Act.
01 (c) For sec. 7 of this Act, the legislature finds that 02 (1) energy issues are among the most critical issues in the state; and 03 (2) a thorough assessment of present and future state energy needs and 04 requirements is necessary. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 36.30.850(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 06 (46) contracts for delivery of home heating assistance under 07 AS 47.25.626. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 42.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 42.45.045. Renewable energy grant fund and recommendation 10 program. (a) A renewable energy fund is established as a separate fund to finance 11 certain energy projects in Alaska. 12 (b) The authority shall administer the fund as a fund distinct from other funds 13 of the authority. The fund consists of 14 (1) money appropriated to the fund by the legislature to provide grants 15 for certain energy projects determined by the legislature; 16 (2) gifts, bequests, contributions from other sources, and federal 17 money; 18 (3) interest earned on the fund balance; and 19 (4) investments to be managed by the Department of Revenue, which 20 shall be the fiduciary of the fund under AS 37.10.071. 21 (c) The fund is not a dedicated fund. 22 (d) The authority shall, in consultation with the advisory committee 23 established under (i) of this section and the Department of Natural Resources, 24 (1) develop a methodology for determining the order of projects that 25 may receive assistance, including separate requirements for grant eligibility, and adopt 26 regulations identifying criteria to evaluate the benefit and feasibility of projects for 27 which an applicant applies for support from the legislature, with the most weight being 28 given to projects that serve areas in which energy costs exceed energy costs in other 29 areas of the state, and significant weight being given to a statewide balance of grant 30 funds and to the amount of matching funds an applicant is able to make available; 31 (2) make recommendations to the legislature for renewable power
01 production reimbursement grants; and 02 (3) not later than 10 days after the first day of each regular legislative 03 session, submit to the legislature a report summarizing and reviewing each grant 04 application submitted under this section and a recommended priority for awarding 05 grants. 06 (e) In consultation with the advisory committee established in (i) of this 07 section, the authority shall make recommendations to the legislature regarding eligible 08 applicants' projects that finance feasibility studies, reconnaissance studies, energy 09 resource monitoring, and construction of renewable energy projects, natural gas 10 projects, or transmission or distribution infrastructure located in Alaska that meet the 11 requirements of (f), (g), or (h) of this section, as applicable, and shall at least once 12 each year, solicit from the advisory committee funding recommendations for all 13 grants. 14 (f) For a renewable energy project to qualify for a grant recommendation 15 under (e) of this section, the project must 16 (1) be a new project not in operation on the effective date of this 17 section or an addition to an existing project made after the effective date of this 18 section; and 19 (2) be a 20 (A) hydroelectric facility; 21 (B) direct use of renewable energy resources; 22 (C) facility that generates electricity from fuel cells that use 23 hydrogen from renewable energy resources or natural gas; or 24 (D) facility that generates energy from renewable energy 25 resources. 26 (g) To qualify for a grant recommendation under (e) of this section, a project 27 that is a natural gas project must benefit a community that 28 (1) has a population of 10,000 or less; and 29 (2) does not have economically viable renewable energy resources it 30 can develop. 31 (h) To qualify for a grant recommendation under (e) of this section,
01 transmission or distribution infrastructure must link a renewable energy project or 02 natural gas project to the transmission or distribution infrastructure. A grant may be 03 recommended under this subsection even if the grant applicant is not itself financing 04 the construction of the renewable energy project or natural gas project. 05 (i) An advisory committee is established and consists of seven members, 06 appointed as follows: 07 (1) five members shall be appointed by the governor to staggered 08 three-year terms, with one representative to be appointed from each of the following 09 groups: 10 (A) small Alaska rural electric utilities; 11 (B) large Alaska urban electric utilities; 12 (C) Alaska Native organizations; 13 (D) businesses or organizations engaged in the renewable 14 energy sector; and 15 (E) the Denali Commission established under P.L. 105-277, 42 16 U.S.C. 3121 note; 17 (2) one member of the house of representatives shall be appointed by 18 the speaker of the house of representatives; and 19 (3) one member of the senate shall be appointed by the president of the 20 senate. 21 (j) A member of the advisory committee appointed under (i) of this section 22 serves without compensation but is entitled to travel and per diem expenses as 23 provided in AS 39.20.180. 24 (k) The legislature may appropriate money for grants from the renewable 25 energy grant fund for renewable energy projects described in this section. 26 (l) In this section, 27 (1) "eligible applicant" means an electric utility holding a certificate of 28 public convenience and necessity under AS 42.05, independent power producer, local 29 government, or other governmental utility, including a tribal council and housing 30 authority; 31 (2) "fund" means the renewable energy grant fund;
01 (3) "hydroelectric facility" has the meaning given to the term "project" 02 under AS 42.45.350(g); 03 (4) "natural gas project" means use or access of natural gas other than 04 landfill or digester gas; 05 (5) "renewable energy resources" means 06 (A) wind, solar, geothermal, hydrothermal, wave, tidal, river 07 in-stream, or hydropower; 08 (B) low-emission nontoxic biomass based on solid or liquid 09 organic fuels from wood, forest and field residues, or animal or fish products; 10 (C) dedicated energy crops available on a renewable basis; or 11 (D) landfill gas and digester gas. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 47 is amended by adding new sections to read: 13 Article 3A. Alaska Heating Assistance Program. 14 Sec. 47.25.621. Alaska heating assistance program. (a) The Alaska heating 15 assistance program is established in the Department of Health and Social Services to 16 provide expanded eligibility for Alaska residents for home heating assistance, to the 17 extent funds are appropriated by the legislature for that purpose. 18 (b) The heating assistance program established under this section is in addition 19 to the federal low-income heating and energy assistance provided under 42 U.S.C. 20 8621 - 8629 (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981), as amended, and 21 implementing regulations. 22 Sec. 47.25.622. Duties. The department shall 23 (1) administer the Alaska heating assistance program provided under 24 AS 47.25.621; 25 (2) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 26 to carry out the purpose of the program; 27 (3) coordinate payments among other heating assistance programs to 28 avoid duplication of payments. 29 Sec. 47.25.623. Eligibility. An individual is eligible for home heating 30 assistance payments under the Alaska home heating assistance program if the 31 individual
01 (1) is a resident of the state; 02 (2) is physically present and resides in a home in the state when the 03 home heating costs are incurred; 04 (3) has gross household income above 150 percent but that does not 05 exceed 225 percent of the federal poverty guideline for Alaska set by the United States 06 Department of Health and Human Services and revised under AS 42 U.S.C. 9902(2); 07 (4) meets other eligibility requirements specified in regulations 08 adopted under AS 47.25.622. 09 Sec. 47.25.624. Appeal rights. Except as provided in AS 47.25.626(e), an 10 individual who receives a determination from the department that denies, limits, or 11 modifies home heating payments under AS 47.25.621 - 47.25.626, other than a 12 determination based on insufficient funding of the program, may request a hearing 13 before the department under regulations adopted by the department. 14 Sec. 47.25.625. Ability to recover or recoup improper home heating 15 assistance payments. An individual is liable to the department for the value of 16 assistance improperly paid under AS 47.25.623 if the improper payment was based on 17 inaccurate or incomplete information provided by the individual. In a civil action 18 brought by the state to recover from the individual the value of the assistance 19 improperly paid, the state may recover from the individual the costs of investigation 20 and prosecution of the civil action, including attorney fees as determined under court 21 rules. 22 Sec. 47.25.626. Regional heating assistance program. (a) The department 23 may develop a regional Alaska heating assistance program for the administration of 24 AS 47.25.621 - 47.25.626 to provide home heating assistance in a uniform and cost- 25 effective manner in a region of this state if an Alaska Native organization is authorized 26 to implement a federally approved tribal family assistance plan that includes that 27 region and has been awarded a tribal energy assistance grant for a program that 28 includes that region under 42 U.S.C. 8623(d). 29 (b) The department may award contracts to implement a program developed 30 under (a) of this section. A contract authorized for delivery of home heating assistance 31 under a regional Alaska heating assistance program under this section is exempt from
01 the competitive bid requirements of AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code). Subject to 02 appropriation, a contract under this section must be in an amount that represents a fair 03 and equitable share of the money appropriated for the Alaska heating assistance 04 program under AS 47.25.621 - 47.25.626 to serve the state residents specified in (a) of 05 this section. The authority provided under this section to contract is in addition to the 06 authority to contract in AS 47.05.015 or other law. 07 (c) The department may award a contract under this section only to an 08 organization that 09 (1) has been awarded a tribal energy assistance grant under 42 U.S.C. 10 8623(d) for a program that includes that region; 11 (2) agrees to administer home heating assistance under AS 47.25.621 - 12 47.25.626 to state residents in the region; and 13 (3) agrees to implement an appeals process as described in (e) of this 14 section. 15 (d) Records pertaining to recipients of home heating assistance under a 16 contract awarded under this section are confidential and not subject to disclosure 17 under AS 40.25.100 - 40.25.220. 18 (e) An organization that receives a contract under this section shall provide an 19 appeals process to applicants for or recipients of home heating assistance covered by 20 the contract awarded under this section. The appeals process must be the same as the 21 method available under AS 47.25.624, except that the decision reached shall be 22 considered a recommended decision to the department. Within 30 days after receiving 23 a recommended decision, the department shall review the recommended decision and 24 issue a decision accepting or rejecting the recommended decision. If the department 25 rejects the recommended decision, the department shall independently review the 26 record and issue its final decision. The final decision of the department on the matter 27 is appealable to the courts of this state. 28 (f) If the department establishes a regional Alaska heating assistance program 29 and awards a contract to provide home heating assistance under this section, a person 30 applying for home heating assistance under AS 47.25.621 - 47.25.626 in the region of 31 the state covered by the regional home heating assistance program may obtain home
01 heating assistance from the department only through the organization designated by 02 the department to serve the region. 03 * Sec. 5. AS 42.45.045 is repealed June 30, 2013. 04 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 05 read: 06 RENEWABLE ENERGY GRANTS DURING STATE FISCAL YEAR 2009. (a) For 07 the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, from an appropriation made under the statement of intent 08 set out in sec. 1(b) of this Act, the Alaska Energy Authority shall distribute grants to 09 applicants determined by the Authority and that meet the criteria in AS 42.45.045(f) - (h), 10 added by sec. 3 of this Act, based on the procedure described in (b) of this section. 11 (b) For administering grants under AS 42.45.045(f) - (h), added by sec. 3 of this Act, 12 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, notwithstanding AS 42.45.045(d), (e), and (i) - (l), 13 added by sec. 3 of this Act, 14 (1) the Alaska Energy Authority shall submit to the Legislative Budget and 15 Audit Committee for review a revised program setting out the proposed grants; 16 (2) 45 days shall elapse before commencement of expenditures under the 17 revised program unless the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee earlier recommends 18 otherwise; 19 (3) should the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee recommend within the 20 45-day period that the Alaska Energy Authority not award the grants as set out in the revised 21 program, the Alaska Energy Authority shall again review the grant applications and, if the 22 Alaska Energy Authority determines to authorize the expenditures, the Alaska Energy 23 Authority shall provide the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee with a statement of the 24 Alaska Energy Authority's reasons before commencement of expenditures making the 25 approved grants. 26 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 27 read: 28 ALASKA RENEWABLE ENERGY TASK FORCE. (a) There is established in the 29 legislative branch of state government the Alaska Renewable Energy Task Force. The task 30 force consists of seven voting members appointed as follows: 31 (1) the speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint three members
01 from the house of representatives; 02 (2) the president of the senate shall appoint three members from the senate; 03 and 04 (3) the governor shall appoint one member. 05 (b) The chair of the task force shall be a legislative member selected by a majority 06 vote of the members of the task force. The staff of the members who are legislators shall serve 07 as staff to the task force. 08 (c) The task force shall prepare a report that includes 09 (1) an assessment of future statewide renewable energy needs; and 10 (2) recommendations for a statewide energy plan to fulfill the state's 11 renewable energy needs. 12 (d) Members of the task force are entitled to transportation expenses and per diem 13 allowances provided by law. 14 (e) The task force shall meet at least four times. The task force may meet in 15 communities in the state that are using or considering sources of renewable energy. 16 (f) The task force shall submit written reports of its findings and recommendations to 17 the legislature 18 (1) before March 1, 2009; and 19 (2) before March 1, 2010. 20 (g) The Alaska Renewable Energy Task Force is terminated on April 16, 2010. 21 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 22 read: 23 TRANSITION: RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 24 For the initial appointments made to the advisory committee under AS 42.45.045(i)(1), added 25 by sec. 3 of this Act, two members serve for one year, two for two years, and three for three 26 years. 27 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 TRANSITION: RETROACTIVITY OF REGULATIONS. Notwithstanding a contrary 30 provision of AS 44.62.240, if the Department of Health and Social Services expressly 31 designates in a regulation adopted under AS 47.25.622(2), enacted by sec. 4 of this Act, that
01 the regulation applies retroactively to November 1, 2007, and is necessary to implement, 02 interpret, make specific, or otherwise carry out AS 47.25.621 and 47.25.623, enacted by sec. 4 03 of this Act, the regulation may apply retroactively to November 1, 2007. 04 * Sec. 10. Sections 1(c) and 7 of this Act are repealed April 16, 2010. 05 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 RETROACTIVITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT. AS 47.25.621 and 08 47.25.623, enacted by sec. 4 of this Act, are retroactive to November 1, 2007. 09 * Sec. 12. Sections 2, 4, 9, and 11 of this Act takes effect immediately under 10 AS 01.10.070(c).