December 2005 State Energy Efficiency Bulletin

Guest Highlight
Vermont legislator Jim McCullough explains his plan for increasing the number of "Green" cars on the roads in Vermont.

Alliance to Save Energy Column
The Alliance helps avert a building energy code tragedy in Louisiana.

State Updates
Legislative updates from California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin

RECA Report
Get the latest on the work of the Responsible Energy Codes Alliance (RECA).

Catalyst for Change: Creating Legislation to Increase the Number of "Green" Cars on the Roads in Vermont.

by Jim McCullough, Vermont State Representative

In 2004 my committee, the Vermont House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, went on a field trip to NRG Systems (www.NRGsystems.com), a Vermont-based company that produces products to help measure and understand the wind. That day the co-owners of NRG Systems, David Blittersdorf and his wife Jan, did more than show us their latest products, they reminded me of an important guiding principle: it is better to be strategic and concentrate on those issues that we can best influence than to focus on solutions to problems outside of our sphere of influence.

David suggested that the quickest, easiest, and single best thing we as legislators could do for air quality in Vermont was to cut down on emissions of vehicles driving in our State through fuel efficiency. David pointed out that although we have little influence on Federal air quality standards that permit the pollution from the East to migrate into Vermont, we do have the ability to incent Vermont consumers to purchase “cleaner” vehicles. David’s encouragement led me to introduce H.444, “the gas-guzzler bill.”

I knew that a bill to increase the overall fuel efficiency of vehicles in Vermont would work only if it addressed three realities: complicated legislation is difficult to pass; people often make purchase decisions based on the upfront cost of a product; and, Vermonters are wary of expensive state-run programs. The result was H.444, a straightforward bill that would provide a financial incentive at the point-of-sale to customers choosing more efficient vehicles, while costing the State treasury no money.

H.444 would add a $500 surcharge  for purchasing certain vehicles that get 21 MPG or less, while providing incentives for the purchase of vehicles that get 35 MPG or more. The State would collect the $500 surcharges, keep a 5% handling fee, and distribute the remainder of the funds to those who purchased the fuel efficient vehicles. The bill is revenue neutral at worst; at best it could actually generate funds. Click here to view the details of the legislation.

The bill pertains to new vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or less. Vehicles above this weight class would not be subject to the surcharge. I chose this approach since, for the most part, it represents a break between vehicles used for personal and commercial use. It is important to note that, according to Ford Motor Company, full sized pickup sales out-paced SUV sales, overall, in 2004. I have personally observed that many trucks that have back seats and back-doors are now doubling as family vehicles. I expect that these gas-guzzlers seldom carry cargo even close to their designed capacity. The 10,000 pound weight limitwas designed to capture these users.

Unfortunately, H.444 also captures some vehicles that are primarily used for commercial purposes. This is a problem that might keep the bill from advancing. While I attempted to draft legislative text to solve this problem, I failed to find a straightforward solution that seemed fair to all.

I introduced H.444 in the middle of the session last year, when the House Transportation Committee already had a sizable number of bills in line for debate. Also, I was engrossed in some landmark legislation in the Natural Resources and Energy Committee (renewable energy portfolio standards and storage of spent nuclear fuel). Consequently, by the time the session ended my bill had not been opened for debate.

Fortunately, there are members on the Transportation Committee who understand the need for reducing fuel consumption and cleaning up the air, and I plan to work with them in early 2006 to schedule a hearing on the bill. I trust that when the Committee analyzes the legislation they will help craft an improved version that will be compatible with the needs of small businesses that use heavier, less fuel-efficient vehicles for commercial uses. If the Committee fails to propose changes to the bill, I will work with the growing coalition of supporters outside of the Committee to craft an improved version. This bill could be a catalyst for change that would result in cleaner air for Vermonters in addition to reducing our state's consumption of foreign oil.

Jim McCullough is a Vermont State Representative from Williston serving in his second biennium on the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee. His first committee assignment was on the House Transportation.  Jim may be contacted at jim@jimforwilliston.com.

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Louisiana Energy Code Tragedy Averted
By Kara Saul Rinaldi, Director of Policy

Working with coalition partners, the Alliance to Save Energy helped ensure that the Louisiana legislature adopted a statewide residential building code that included energy-efficiency requirements. On November 29th, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco signed Louisiana Senate Bill 44 into law. Among the codes enacted by the bill is the International Residential Code (IRC.) Prior to this action, Louisiana was one of the few states in the nation without a comprehensive statewide residential building code. As a result of the law, new homes constructed in Louisiana will include important energy conservation measures making them more affordable to cool in the hot summer months. In fact, thanks to the energy conservation section of the code, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy projects that homeowners will pay approximately $200-$600 less per year in energy bills for their new homes. However, besides immediately effective emergency wind and water provision, the newly formed code council has all of 2006 to review the code before it goes into effect. Through this process, the council has jurisdiction to adopt the most up-to-date energy provisions of the 2006 version of the IRC.

This important new law is the result of a hard won battle for efficient construction. Despite the fact that some 350,000 homes were completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, a coalition of builders attempted to exclude the energy conservation portion (Section IV) of the IRC from this law. The Louisiana Senate originally passed a bill that met the homebuilders’ request, excluding the energy conservation section of the code and setting a stage for thousands of inefficient homes to be built in the coming years. The Alliance to Save Energy and many other building efficiency advocates jumped to action to educate legislators in the Louisiana House and Senate, as well as local citizens, about the cost of inefficient energy construction practices. We argued that energy conservation building requirements protect new homeowners from high energy bills and wasteful energy consumption.

The Alliance sent out an e-mail action alert to over 200 Alliance energy efficiency activists in Louisiana. The Alliance for Affordable Energy, based in New Orleans, also sent this alert to their activists. Members of the Responsible Energy Codes Alliance worked with the Louisiana energy office and provided technical code details to the local coalition partners. With additional technical assistance from the Building Codes Assistance Project and advocacy work by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, Cardinal Glass, and the local Sierra Club chapter, a great deal of education was completed in a mere 24 hours.

This victory is especially important for low-income families who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on energy bills, and who already are struggling financially in the aftermath of the hurricane. The energy conservation portion of the code will require new Louisiana homes to include adequate insulation and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, which will result in higher quality, more comfortable homes.

As the U.S. Congress continues to consider supplemental appropriations to offer tax dollars in financial aid to the hurricane stricken region, the whole country can breathe a sigh of relief that a sound building code with energy conservation guidelines will keep Louisiana from becoming an energy drain in the South.

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California
Regulatory Action: 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report Approved 11/21/05

Building on recommendations laid out in The 2005 Energy Action Plan adopted earlier this year by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission, the newly approved 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report lays out further guidelines for meeting the State’s energy needs. The report, adopted by the CEC on November 21, 2005, includes recommendations on a broad range of energy topics, from nuclear power policy to transportation policy. Significantly, the report includes a greenhouse gas performance standard for utility procurement, which specifies that power can only be purchased from sources with emission levels equal to, or lower than, emissions from new combined-cycle natural gas turbines plants. This will effectively block Californian utilities from buying power from traditional coal-fired power plants, which are not capable of meeting the stringent standard.

Click here for more information.

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Florida
House Bill 347 Filed in the House 11/08/05

HB 347, which is a companion bill to SB 762, would exempt energy efficient products costing less than $1,500 from sales tax from October 5 - 11, 2006. The exemption would apply to dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, incandescent or florescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, programmable thermostats, and refrigerators designated as meeting or exceeding EPA’s Energy Star Requirements.

Click here for more information.

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Illinois
House Bill 4176 Referred to Rule Committee 11/02/05

HB 4176 would exempt hybrid vehicles and components from Use Tax, the Service Use Tax, the Service Occupation Tax, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax effective from the date of enactment through June 30, 2012.

Click here for more information.

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Louisiana
Senate Bill 44 signed into law by Governor on 11/29/05

SB 44 allows the newly formed State Uniform Construction Code Council to view and adopt the 2003 International Residential Code, including the energy conservations section. The law also provides for training and education of code officials.

Click here for more information.

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Massachusetts
House Bill 4473 Enacted and laid before the Governor 11/17/05, returned to the House with Governor’s Amendments on 11/23/05

HB 4473 would provide an emergency one-time state supplement of $20 million to the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for the purpose of assisting low-income elders, working families and other households with the purchase of heating oil, propane and natural gas and electricity and other primary or secondary heating sources.

Click here for more information.

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Michigan
House Bill 5402 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology 11/03/05

HB 5402 would exempt home appliances that meet or exceed the EPA’s Energy Star standards for energy efficiency from the use tax.

Click here for more information.

House Bill 5403 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology 11/03/05

HB 5403 would exempt home appliances that meet or exceed the EPA’s Energy Star standards for energy efficiency from the sales tax.

Click here for more information.

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New York
Regulatory Action: LEVII Amendments Adopted on 11/9/05

The New York State Environmental Board recently approved regulations to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles in model years 2009 -2016. New York, which opted into the California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) program in the early 1990s under Section 177 of the Clean Air Act, is required to adopt amendments to the LEV program as they are passed in California. Traditionally, the LEV program has focused on reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from tailpipe and fuel system emissions. However, the latest version of the program, approved by the California legislature in 2002, specifically addresses greenhouse gases for the first time, in recognition of the large contribution of the transportation sector to the global climate change problem. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) estimates that the regulations will reduce New York State's light and medium-duty vehicle GHG emissions by an estimated 14,855,500 CO2 equivalent tons per year in 2020 and by 26,280,000 CO2 equivalent tons per year in 2030.

Click here for more information

House Bill 8103 Introduced and referred to the Energy Committee 05/09/05

HB 8103 would require the New York Secretary of State to establish and enforce minimum energy performance standards for several products sold in the state of New York.

Click here for more information.

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Ohio
House Bill 405 Introduced in the House 11/01/05

HB 405 would allow a nonrefundable personal income tax credit of up to $1,000 for the installation of energy-efficient devices in homes. Applicable devices must meet the energy efficiency criteria of the EPA’s and DOE’s Energy Star program. Devices include residential washer, dryer, range, refrigerator, freezer, water heater, dishwasher, trash compactor, air conditioner, furnace, or other similar products used for regulating air or water temperature, cooking, sanitary purposes, or other household purposes, or a window or door on an outside wall of a home.

Click here for more information.

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Pennsylvania

House Bill 1539 passed Senate 11/22/2005

HB 1539 would transfer $25 million in state funds to supplement the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The money will come from the proceeds of the Gross Receipts tax, a tax collected from utility companies.

Click here for more information.

Senate Bill 1015 Referred to the Transportation Committee 11/15/05

SB 1015 would exempt hybrid electric vehicles with a city fuel economy rating of 40 miles per gallon or better from emission inspections.

Click here for more information.

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Wisconsin
House Bill 744 referred to the Committee on Energy and Utilities 10/13/05

HB 744 would create an income and franchise tax credit for the amount of the sales and use taxes paid on the purchase of energy efficient equipment, including air conditioners, dehumidifiers, furnaces, boilers, refrigerators, freezers, and clothes washers. The maximum credit is $1,000 for each piece of equipment purchased.

Click here for more information.

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The Responsible Energy Codes Alliance (RECA)

RECA continues its work to promote adoption of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). In November, RECA and its members were active in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Iowa, and Texas. In the month ahead, RECA plans to be engaged in Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts and New York.

Click here to visit the RECA website for more information.

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