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