75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 1597
House Bill 2626
Sponsored by Representatives READ, BAILEY, C EDWARDS, FREEMAN;
Representatives BARNHART, BARTON, BENTZ, CANNON, DEMBROW,
ESQUIVEL, GALIZIO, GARRARD, GARRETT, GILLIAM, HOLVEY, SHIELDS,
J SMITH, WITT, Senators BATES, BONAMICI, DEVLIN, DINGFELDER,
MORSE, NELSON
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Requires State Treasurer to solicit investors for State
Department of Energy program for installation of energy
efficiency features and packages in one and two family
residential dwellings. Requires State Treasurer to administer
investor accounts.
Creates Energy Efficiency and Productivity Fund for use by
department in developing and administering energy efficiency
program for one and two family residential dwellings in
cooperation with certain nongovernmental entities and public and
private utilities. Requires establishment of pilot program during
biennium beginning July 1, 2009, and statewide implementation by
January 2, 2012.
Increases State Treasurer expenditure limit for biennium
beginning July 1, 2009, for purpose of attracting investors in
energy efficiency program and administering investor accounts.
Requires State Treasurer to report to interim committee of
Legislative Assembly no later than October 1, 2010, regarding
efforts to attract energy efficiency program investors.
Increases State Department of Energy expenditure limit for
biennium beginning July 1, 2009, for purpose of funding energy
efficiency pilot program.
Requires State Department of Energy to report to interim
committee of Legislative Assembly no later than October 1, 2010,
regarding implementation of pilot program.
Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2009.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to energy use; appropriating money; limiting
expenditures; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + (1) The State Treasurer shall establish and
administer a program for the purpose of soliciting long-term
investment moneys from public and private financial sources for
use in carrying out the energy efficiency program established by
the State Department of Energy under section 3 of this 2009 Act.
The State Treasurer shall deposit investment moneys described in
this section to the Energy Efficiency and Productivity Fund
established in section 2 of this 2009 Act.
(2) The State Treasurer shall provide assistance to the
department in processing and administering investments under this
section, including, but not limited to, soliciting and collecting
investments, keeping investment account records, managing payouts
and repayments, risk management and interaction with rating
agencies.
(3) The State Treasurer may advise and assist the department in
identifying and utilizing grants, incentive moneys, federal
funding and other sources of permanent or long-term noninvestment
financial support for deposit to the Energy Efficiency and
Productivity Fund established under section 2 of this 2009 Act.
(4) A utility that invests with the State Treasurer under this
section may claim the investment amount as an investment in
renewable energy generation facilities under ORS 757.247. + }
SECTION 2. { + The Energy Efficiency and Productivity Fund is
established in the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the
General Fund. Interest earned by the Energy Efficiency and
Productivity Fund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the
fund are continuously appropriated to the State Department of
Energy for carrying out sections 3 and 4 of this 2009 Act and for
sending moneys to the State Treasurer for payment to investors
described in section 1 of this 2009 Act. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) The State Department of Energy shall
establish and administer an energy efficiency program for the
purpose of retrofitting existing one and two family dwellings to
increase the energy efficiency of those dwellings. The duties of
the department in administering the program include, but need not
be limited to, the following:
(a) Identifying one and two family dwelling energy efficiency
features that, on average, have a high benefit to cost ratio.
(b) Developing energy conservation packages consisting of two
or more high benefit energy efficiency features that work in a
complementary or synergistic fashion to reduce energy consumption
in one and two family dwellings to an extent that may reasonably
be expected to result, over time, in energy costs savings that
exceed the cost of the package.
(c) Prioritizing properties and neighborhoods for energy
efficiency program efforts.
(d) Developing programs to assist nongovernmental entities that
receive public purpose charge moneys under ORS 757.612 and public
and private utilities in:
(A) Actively marketing energy efficiency packages to
homeowners;
(B) Making homeowners aware of the potential benefits of
installing particular energy efficiency features and packages in
the dwellings occupied by those homeowners and making homeowners
aware of energy efficiency payment plan options;
(C) Facilitating customer contact with construction contractors
participating in the energy efficiency program;
(D) Providing energy efficiency program project management
within a service area;
(E) Verifying the proper installation of energy efficiency
features and packages by a participating construction contractor;
and
(F) Arranging for the verification of energy savings in
residences where energy efficiency packages are installed.
(e) Developing payment plan options to allow the recovery of
energy efficiency feature or package installation costs from a
homeowner over an extended period, including, but not limited to,
the addition of feature or package cost payments to the
homeowner's utility bills or the imposition of a surcharge on the
homeowner's property taxes.
(f) Establishing a training, qualification and approval process
for licensed construction contractors to participate in the
energy efficiency program by:
(A) Actively marketing energy efficiency features and packages
and the energy efficiency payment program to homeowners;
(B) Supplying information to the department for the purpose of
calculating projected energy efficiency savings for a particular
dwelling; and
(C) Entering into contracts with the homeowner for the
installation of energy efficiency features or packages in one and
two family dwellings.
(g) Calculating projected energy savings for a homeowner
purchase of an energy efficiency feature or package based upon
information supplied by a participating construction contractor.
The department may establish caps for the energy savings
projections that the department supplies to homeowners.
(h) Processing homeowner applications for the installation of
energy efficiency features or packages by a participating
construction contractor.
(i) Arranging, to the extent moneys are available from energy
efficiency package cost payments, energy savings fees, federal
moneys or grants, for the payment of appropriate principal and
interest to investors described in section 1 of this 2009 Act.
(2) The department may assess a construction contractor fees
for application processing, training and program participation.
(3) The department may adopt any rules the department considers
reasonable for the administration of this section and section 4
of this 2009 Act. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) The unpaid balance of an energy efficiency
feature or package purchase is a debt that runs with the property
on which the dwelling having the installed energy efficiency
feature or package is located.
(2) A utility participating in the energy efficiency program
may collect a processing fee from utility customers that purchase
energy efficiency program features or packages. The fee imposed
by the utility may not exceed the actual processing cost of the
utility.
(3) A utility participating in the energy efficiency program
shall collect an energy savings fee from utility customers
purchasing energy efficiency features or packages. The utility
shall collect the energy savings fee on behalf of the State
Department of Energy and shall forward the fee to the department.
The department shall establish the fee amount. The department may
vary the energy savings fee amount by feature or package, housing
characteristics or other factors the department considers
relevant.
(4) The department may appoint a nongovernmental entity that
receives public purpose charge moneys collected under ORS 757.612
to carry out management of the energy efficiency program within
the service district of a utility. A nongovernmental entity
appointed under this subsection may exercise any powers that a
utility could exercise under this section or section 3 of this
2009 Act, except that the entity may not offer homeowners a
payment plan option that adds feature or package costs to utility
bills without permission of the utility.
(5) The department shall deposit moneys received from the
energy savings fee to the Energy Efficiency and Productivity
Fund. In addition to any other use authorized for moneys
deposited to the fund, the department may use moneys received
from energy savings fees for grants to homeowners to reduce debt
on energy efficiency feature or package purchases that have
failed to produce sufficient energy savings to offset the feature
or package purchase price or to enable homeowners to purchase
energy efficiency features or packages that otherwise would not
produce sufficient energy savings to offset the costs to the
homeowners. + }
SECTION 5. { + Notwithstanding any other law limiting
expenditures, the limitation on expenditures established by
section 1, chapter ___, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled Senate Bill
5550), for the biennium beginning July 1, 2009, as the maximum
limit for payment of expenses from fees, moneys or other
revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts, but excluding lottery
funds and federal funds, collected or received by the State
Treasurer, is increased by $___ for the purpose of carrying out
the duties of the State Treasurer under section 1 of this 2009
Act. + }
SECTION 6. { + Notwithstanding any other law limiting
expenditures, the limitation on expenditures established by
section 1, chapter ___, Oregon Laws 2009 (Enrolled House Bill
5013), for the biennium beginning July 1, 2009, as the maximum
limit for payment of expenses from fees, moneys or other
revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts, but excluding lottery
funds and federal funds, collected or received by the State
Department of Energy, is increased by $___ for the purpose of
establishing a pilot program for the marketing of energy
efficiency features and packages as described in sections 3 and 4
of this 2009 Act. + }
SECTION 7. { + (1) The State Treasurer shall report to an
interim committee of the Seventy-fifth Legislative Assembly
dealing with energy or natural resource issues no later than
October 1, 2010. The report shall include information regarding
the investment program established and administered by the State
Treasurer under section 1 of this 2009 Act.
(2) The State Department of Energy shall report to an interim
committee of the Seventy-fifth Legislative Assembly dealing with
energy or natural resource issues no later than October 1, 2010.
The report shall include information regarding the establishment
of an energy efficiency program, including, but not limited to,
the pilot program described in section 6 of this 2009 Act. + }
SECTION 8. { + The State Department of Energy shall establish
the energy efficiency program described in sections 3 and 4 of
this 2009 Act on a statewide basis no later than January 2,
2012. + }
SECTION 9. { + This 2009 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2009 Act takes effect July 1,
2009. + }
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