READ FIRST TIME 03/05/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to anaerobic digestion power; reenacting and amending RCW 43.84.092; adding a new section to chapter 43.105 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature declares it to be a clear public purpose and governmental function to promote anaerobic digestion as both a waste treatment technology and a sustainable energy-producing technology. The legislature finds that anaerobic digester projects in the state provide numerous environmental benefits; they reduce odors from organic waste, control pathogens, minimize sludge production, conserve nutrients, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to providing environmental benefits, anaerobic digestion produces power using a clean, renewable resource. Encouraging the development of anaerobic digestion power will reduce the state's reliance on other fossil fuel-based sources to meet existing and projected load requirements, which provides a substantial benefit to the citizens of the state.
     Despite the numerous environmental and energy-producing benefits that result from anaerobic digester projects, many potential anaerobic digester projects are not pursued in this state because of the high capital costs for construction of such projects. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to establish a clean streams grant program to assist anaerobic digestion power producers by bringing down the cost of the initial capital investment.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Anaerobic digester project" means a facility that processes animal manure or agricultural waste into biogas and dried manure using microorganisms in a decomposition process within a closed, oxygen-free container.
     (2) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (3) "Director" means the director of the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (4) "Power producer" means an individual or business that generates power from an anaerobic digester located in the state, or an individual or business that anticipates generation of power from an anaerobic digester located in the state upon completion of the anaerobic digester project.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) In order to be eligible for a grant under section 4 of this act, a person or entity that is in the process of developing an anaerobic digester project in this state must, prior to completion of the project, submit a call for subscriptions seeking a power purchase agreement offer from an electric utility to purchase power from the anaerobic digester project.
     (2) Once a power purchase agreement offer has been made by a potential purchaser, the power producer must ask their local electric utility for transmission access to wheel the power from the generation site to the potential purchaser who submitted the highest bid, if the highest bid was not made by the local electric utility.
     (3) If an agreement for transmission access cannot be reached between the local electric utility and the power producer, the power producer may send a written purchase request to the local electric utility to request that the utility purchase the output of the anaerobic digester project at the utility's avoided cost as required under applicable federal law that obligates the utility to purchase power from a qualifying facility.
     (4) Once a power producer has secured a power purchase agreement offer from a potential purchaser and has secured transmission access for the power, the power producer may send a request to the department to apply for a clean streams grant.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department shall establish a clean streams grant program to encourage the construction of anaerobic digester projects in the state. A grant may be awarded to a producer of anaerobic digester power that seeks assistance to pay for the capital costs associated with their initial investment that have not been satisfied by other funding sources.
     (2) A power producer may apply for a clean streams grant by submitting (a) the power purchase agreement offer between the power producer and the purchaser, including the estimated revenue over the life of the contract, and (b) a detailed analysis of the initial capital investment cost of the anaerobic digester project.
     (3) The department shall review applications from eligible power producers. At a minimum, a power producer must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible to participate in the grant program:
     (a) The power producer is carrying original debt on the initial capital investment in the anaerobic digester project that has not been satisfied by other federal, state, or private funding sources;
     (b) The power producer has secured a power purchase agreement offer from a potential purchaser for the electricity; and
     (c) The power producer was unable to secure sufficient revenue from a potential purchaser to recover the initial capital investment over the length of the power purchase agreement offer.
     (4)(a) In determining the amount of the grant award, the department shall review an applicant's power purchase agreement offer. Any grant award determined by the department must supply the power producer with no more than the power producer's cost to finance the initial capital investment during the period of the power purchase agreement, minus the revenue to be generated by the power purchase agreement offer between the power producer and the potential purchaser, and minus any federal, state, or private funding received for the anaerobic digester project.
     (b) The grant award shall be based upon the annual electricity output of the anaerobic digester project. The grant will be reviewed annually. Upon review, the grant award may be adjusted to reflect actual power produced for the previous year as compared to the projected amount of power used to calculate the amount of the original grant award.
     (5) Once the department determines that a grant application satisfies the criteria outlined in subsection (3) of this section, the department shall, within sixty days, make a decision on whether to offer a grant to the power purchaser. If the department decides to extend a grant to a power producer, the grant award shall be contingent on the power producer demonstrating actual production of power from the anaerobic digester project.
     (6) The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement the grant award process under this section.
     (7) Availability of grant funding from the department is contingent on the availability of specific appropriations. If appropriations are insufficient to cover all anaerobic digestion projects applying for a grant, the department may prioritize and prorate grant awards as necessary.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 43.105 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By September 1, 2007, the department shall survey all desktop computers owned by the state and identify which desktop computers are suitable for using power management software.
     (2) After conducting the review under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall purchase power management software for all desktop computers owned by the state that have been identified by the department as suitable for using power management software. The power management software must be purchased according to the terms of the master contract number T06-MST-002 effective July 7, 2006, or a subsequent contract entered into by the state for power management software that offers comparable or better energy efficiency savings.
     (3) The department must install power management software on all desktop computers as expeditiously as possible.
     (4) When acquiring new desktop computers, the department must purchase and install power management software at the time of acquisition, unless power management software is not suitable for a particular desktop computer's intended use.
     (5) The department may retain any rebate moneys the state receives for energy conservation resulting from utilization of the power management software.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   By December 1st of each year, the department of information services shall report to the legislature on the number of licenses installed, the amount of estimated energy saved per computer per year, as well as the amount and number of rebates received by the state as a result of implementing the power management software.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 5 and 6 of this act expire July 1, 2017.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   The clean streams and clear sky subaccount is created in the state treasury as a subaccount of the energy freedom account. Revenues to the subaccount shall consist of amounts appropriated to the subaccount that represent energy savings generated from use of power management software on state computers. All receipts from appropriations made to the clean streams and clear sky subaccount shall be deposited into the subaccount. Moneys in the subaccount may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the subaccount may be used only for projects and activities authorized under this chapter and under the clear sky program established in chapter . . . (Second Substitute House Bill No. 1036), Laws of 2007. No more than fifty percent of the moneys in the subaccount shall be used for a single program or technology.

Sec. 9   RCW 43.84.092 and 2006 c 337 s 11, 2006 c 311 s 23, 2006 c 171 s 10, 2006 c 56 s 10, and 2006 c 6 s 8 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) All earnings of investments of surplus balances in the state treasury shall be deposited to the treasury income account, which account is hereby established in the state treasury.
     (2) The treasury income account shall be utilized to pay or receive funds associated with federal programs as required by the federal cash management improvement act of 1990. The treasury income account is subject in all respects to chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for refunds or allocations of interest earnings required by the cash management improvement act. Refunds of interest to the federal treasury required under the cash management improvement act fall under RCW 43.88.180 and shall not require appropriation. The office of financial management shall determine the amounts due to or from the federal government pursuant to the cash management improvement act. The office of financial management may direct transfers of funds between accounts as deemed necessary to implement the provisions of the cash management improvement act, and this subsection. Refunds or allocations shall occur prior to the distributions of earnings set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
     (3) Except for the provisions of RCW 43.84.160, the treasury income account may be utilized for the payment of purchased banking services on behalf of treasury funds including, but not limited to, depository, safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasury and affected state agencies. The treasury 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) Monthly, the state treasurer shall distribute the earnings credited to the treasury income account. The state treasurer shall credit the general fund with all the earnings credited to the treasury income account except:
     (a) The following accounts and funds shall receive their proportionate share of earnings based upon each account's and fund's average daily balance for the period: The capitol building construction account, the Cedar River channel construction and operation account, the Central Washington University capital projects account, the charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions account, the clean streams and clear sky subaccount of the energy freedom account, the Columbia river basin water supply development account, the common school construction fund, the county criminal justice assistance account, the county sales and use tax equalization account, the data processing building construction account, the deferred compensation administrative account, the deferred compensation principal account, the department of retirement systems expense account, the developmental disabilities community trust account, the drinking water assistance account, the drinking water assistance administrative account, the drinking water assistance repayment account, the Eastern Washington University capital projects account, the education construction fund, the education legacy trust account, the election account, the emergency reserve fund, the energy freedom account, The Evergreen State College capital projects account, the federal forest revolving account, the freight mobility investment account, the freight mobility multimodal account, the health services account, the public health services account, the health system capacity account, the personal health services account, the state higher education construction account, the higher education construction account, the highway infrastructure account, the high-occupancy toll lanes operations account, the industrial insurance premium refund account, the judges' retirement account, the judicial retirement administrative account, the judicial retirement principal account, the local leasehold excise tax account, the local real estate excise tax account, the local sales and use tax account, the medical aid account, the mobile home park relocation fund, the multimodal transportation account, the municipal criminal justice assistance account, the municipal sales and use tax equalization account, the natural resources deposit account, the oyster reserve land account, the pension funding stabilization account, the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account, the public employees' retirement system plan 1 account, the public employees' retirement system combined plan 2 and plan 3 account, the public facilities construction loan revolving account beginning July 1, 2004, the public health supplemental account, the public works assistance account, the Puyallup tribal settlement account, the real estate appraiser commission account, the regional mobility grant program account, the resource management cost account, the rural Washington loan fund, the site closure account, the small city pavement and sidewalk account, the special wildlife account, the state employees' insurance account, the state employees' insurance reserve account, the state investment board expense account, the state investment board commingled trust fund accounts, the supplemental pension account, the Tacoma Narrows toll bridge account, the teachers' retirement system plan 1 account, the teachers' retirement system combined plan 2 and plan 3 account, the tobacco prevention and control account, the tobacco settlement account, the transportation infrastructure account, the transportation partnership account, the tuition recovery trust fund, the University of Washington bond retirement fund, the University of Washington building account, the volunteer fire fighters' and reserve officers' relief and pension principal fund, the volunteer fire fighters' and reserve officers' administrative fund, the Washington fruit express account, the Washington judicial retirement system account, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' system plan 1 retirement account, the Washington law enforcement officers' and fire fighters' system plan 2 retirement account, the Washington public safety employees' plan 2 retirement account, the Washington school employees' retirement system combined plan 2 and 3 account, the Washington state health insurance pool account, the Washington state patrol retirement account, the Washington State University building account, the Washington State University bond retirement fund, the water pollution control revolving fund, and the Western Washington University capital projects account. Earnings derived from investing balances of the agricultural permanent fund, the normal school permanent fund, the permanent common school fund, the scientific permanent fund, and the state university permanent fund shall be allocated to their respective beneficiary accounts. All earnings to be distributed under this subsection (4)(a) shall first be reduced by the allocation to the state treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW 43.08.190.
     (b) 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 aeronautics account, the aircraft search and rescue account, the county arterial preservation account, the department of licensing services account, the essential rail assistance account, the ferry bond retirement fund, the grade crossing protective fund, the high capacity transportation account, the highway bond retirement fund, the highway safety account, the motor vehicle fund, the motorcycle safety education account, the pilotage account, the public transportation systems account, the Puget Sound capital construction account, the Puget Sound ferry operations account, the recreational vehicle account, the rural arterial trust account, the safety and education account, the special category C account, the state patrol highway account, the transportation 2003 account (nickel account), the transportation equipment fund, the transportation fund, the transportation improvement account, the transportation improvement board bond retirement account, and the urban arterial trust account.
     (5) In conformance with Article II, section 37 of the state Constitution, no treasury accounts or funds shall be allocated earnings without the specific affirmative directive of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   Sections 1 through 4 and 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.