BILL REQ. #:  H-3700.1 

Prefiled 12/30/2005. Read first time 01/09/2006.   Referred to Committee on Technology, Energy & Communications.

     AN ACT Relating to creating a sustainable energy trust; reenacting and amending RCW 43.79A.040; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature intends to promote the development of sustainable energy resources, including new energy technologies, and to improve system reliability by establishing a fund that can be used to reduce the cost of deploying distributive generation projects in the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Department" means the energy policy office of the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (2) "Distributive generation" means generation below one megawatt that is connected to the distribution transmission of an electric utility.
     (3) "Renewable energy" means solar energy, wind, ocean thermal energy, wave or tidal energy, fuel cells, landfill gas and low emission advanced biomass conversion technologies, and other energy resources and emerging technologies that have significant potential for commercialization and that do not involve the combustion of coal, petroleum or petroleum products, municipal solid waste, or nuclear fission.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) All electric and natural gas companies must collect a system benefit charge from all of the retail electricity consumers within its service area for a period of ten years. The monthly charge shall be as follows:
     (a) Five cents per month on each account for residential electric service;
     (b) Five cents per month on each account for residential natural gas service;
     (c) Fifty cents per month on each account for nonresidential electric service that has less than ten megawatts of peak demand during the previous calendar year;
     (d) Thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents per month on each account for nonresidential electric service that had ten megawatts or greater of peak demand during the previous calendar year; and
     (e) Thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents per month on each account for nonresidential natural gas service that had ten megawatts or greater of peak demand during the previous calendar year.
     (2) Funds collected by an electric or natural gas company through system benefit charges must be deposited in the sustainable energy trust fund, established in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The sustainable energy trust fund is created in the custody of the state treasurer to fund distributive generation projects as authorized in this chapter. Only the department may authorize expenditures from the fund. Expenditures from this account may be used only for purposes of this chapter. Revenue to the fund consists of system benefits charge money received under section 3 of this act. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) There is established in the department a grant program to support sustainable energy projects in the state. The purpose of the program is to foster the growth, development, and commercialization of distributive generation projects and related enterprises and to stimulate demand for distributive generation sources that serve end use customers in this state.
     (2) The department may accept grant proposals and establish a competitive process for the awarding of grants. In administering the grant program, the department shall:
     (a) Develop criteria for the awarding of grants to qualifying business, institutions, or individuals;
     (b) Make decisions regarding distribution of grant funds and make grant awards; and
     (c) Seek to provide a balance between research grant awards and the grants that support the manufacture, commercialization, deployment, and installation of distributive generation technologies.
     (3) In the awarding of grants, priority shall be given to proposals that leverage additional private and public funding resources.
     (4) The department may not be a direct recipient of grant awards under this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The department must establish a peer review committee to assist the department in matters related to the sustainable energy trust fund, including, but not limited to, development of a comprehensive plan and expenditure of funds. Membership must include staff of the department, scientists, engineers, and individuals with specific recognized expertise. The peer review committee must provide to the department an independent review of all proposals determined to be competitive for a grant award that are submitted to the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The department must establish performance benchmarks against which the program will be evaluated. The grants program must be reviewed periodically by the department. The department must report annually to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature on grants awarded and as appropriate on program review conducted by the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   (1) The department must administer the sustainable energy grant program.
     (2) No more than one percent of the available funds may be used for administrative costs of the program.

Sec. 9   RCW 43.79A.040 and 2005 c 424 s 18, 2005 c 402 s 8, 2005 c 215 s 10, and 2005 c 16 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Money in the treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, invested, and reinvested by the state treasurer in accordance with RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same extent as if the money were in the state treasury.
     (2) All income received from investment of the treasurer's trust fund shall be set aside in an account in the treasury trust fund to be known as the investment income account.
     (3) The investment income account may be utilized for the payment of purchased banking services on behalf of treasurer's trust funds including, but not limited to, depository, safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasurer or affected state agencies. The investment income account is subject in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for payments to financial institutions. Payments shall occur prior to distribution of earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
     (4)(a) Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the earnings credited to the investment income account to the state general fund except under (b) and (c) of this subsection.
     (b) The following accounts and funds shall receive their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The Washington promise scholarship account, the college savings program account, the Washington advanced college tuition payment program account, the agricultural local fund, the American Indian scholarship endowment fund, the foster care scholarship endowment fund, the foster care endowed scholarship trust fund, the students with dependents grant account, the basic health plan self-insurance reserve account, the contract harvesting revolving account, the Washington state combined fund drive account, the commemorative works account, the Washington international exchange scholarship endowment fund, the developmental disabilities endowment trust fund, the energy account, the fair fund, the fruit and vegetable inspection account, the future teachers conditional scholarship account, the game farm alternative account, the grain inspection revolving fund, the juvenile accountability incentive account, the law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' plan 2 expense fund, the local tourism promotion account, the produce railcar pool account, the rural rehabilitation account, the stadium and exhibition center account, the youth athletic facility account, the self-insurance revolving fund, the sulfur dioxide abatement account, the children's trust fund, the Washington horse racing commission Washington bred owners' bonus fund account, the Washington horse racing commission class C purse fund account, the individual development account program account, the Washington horse racing commission operating account (earnings from the Washington horse racing commission operating account must be credited to the Washington horse racing commission class C purse fund account), ((and)) the life sciences discovery fund, and the sustainable energy trust fund. However, the earnings to be distributed shall first be reduced by the allocation to the state treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW 43.08.190.
     (c) The following accounts and funds shall receive eighty percent of their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The advanced right of way revolving fund, the advanced environmental mitigation revolving account, the city and county advance right-of-way revolving fund, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures account, the high occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance account, and the miscellaneous transportation programs account.
     (5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state Constitution, no trust accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings without the specific affirmative directive of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   Sections 1 through 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.