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2004 SWEEP Legislative Activities Report

The state legislatures in the SWEEP region typically meet annually, during the first and second quarter of the year (the Nevada and Wyoming state legislatures meet bi-annually, during the first and second quarter of odd-numbered years). SWEEP's 2004 advocacy activities range from researching and writing bill language, to building coalitions to support energy efficiency bills, to testifying at committee hearings and submitting letters of support. Here's a state-by-state rundown of these advocacy efforts.

Arizona

House Bill 04-2703: state buildings; energy savings
House Bill 2703, sponsored by Representatives Tom Boone (R-Glendale) and Randy Graf (R-Green Valley), was adopted in May by the Arizona State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Janet Napolitano. The bill clarifies how state agencies can utilize the energy bill savings resulting from performance contracts for energy efficiency projects in their facilities. The bill removes a key obstacle that was inhibiting performance contracting by state government. It follows up on a bill enacted in 2003 that established energy savings goals for state agencies. SWEEP played a leading role in developing and promoting the bill.

Colorado

House Bill 04-1313: Concerning Integrated Resource Planning for Electric Utilities
House Bill 1313, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver) and co-sponsored by Rep. Bob Briggs (R-Westminster), was killed in the House Information and Technology Committee by a 7-3 vote on Wednesday, February 11. SWEEP worked closely with Rep. Romanoff in drafting and advocating for the bill, and Howard Geller, SWEEP's executive director, testified in support of the bill at the committee hearing.

House Bill 1313 would have directed the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to establish that the goal of integrated resource planning (IRP) in Colorado would be to minimize the total energy bills paid by residents and businesses, rather than to minimize the rates charged for units of electricity and natural gas. Such a change would have lead to the expansion of utility-sponsored demand-side management energy conservation programs, saving Colorado's consumers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next ten to fifteen years. Power plant emissions would have been reduced, and one to three new power plants would have been avoided.

House Bill 04-1184: Investor-Owned Utility Energy Conservation Programs
House Bill 1184, sponsored by Rep. Betty Boyd (D-Lakewood) and co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Larson (R-Cortez), was killed in the Colorado House of Representatives' House Transportation and Energy Committee by a 7-6 vote on Wednesday, January 28. SWEEP worked very closely with Rep. Boyd in drafting and advocating for the bill, and Howard Geller, SWEEP's executive director, testified in support of the bill at the committee hearing.

HB 1184 would have directed the state's large investor-owned electric utilities to save one-half percent of their annual retail electricity sales each year between 2005-2020 through cost-effective energy efficiency programs. Utilities that met the savings goal would have been allowed to recover the costs of and make a small profit on the programs through a small rate increase that would have been applied to all customers. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission would have provided oversight over the requirements, by monitoring the projections of the utilities and ensuring that the savings targets were being met.

SWEEP estimates that consumers and businesses in Colorado would have saved over $1 billion net during 2005-2020—actual electricity bill savings minus the cost of the energy efficiency programs. Reducing electricity use by 7.5% in 2020 would have eliminated the need for one or more power plants totaling 450 MW in capacity. As electricity generation is a water-intensive process, about 1.3 billion gallons of water per year would have been saved by 2020, and due to the need for less electricity, power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide would also have been reduced.

House Bill 04-1183: Concerning Energy Efficiency Standards for Specified Devices
On January 28, 2004 the Colorado House of Representatives' Transportation and Energy Committee failed to approve a bill sponsored by Rep. Alice Borodkin (D-Denver) that would have set minimum energy efficiency standards on ten products not currently covered by federal efficiency standards, including ceiling fans, TV set top boxes, torchiere lamps, exit signs, and traffic signals. SWEEP estimates that House Bill 1183 would have saved consumers and businesses in Colorado about $465 million and lowered water use by nearly 5 billion gallons during 2005-2020. At least one major new power plant in Colorado would have been avoided if the standards had been adopted. HB 1183 was based on a model act developed by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. Bills similar to HB 1183 were recently adopted in California and Maryland, and will be introduced in at least eight states in addition to Colorado in 2004. SWEEP's executive director Howard Geller testified at the committee hearing in support of the bill.

New Mexico

Senate Bill 0086-04: Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Exemption for Certain New Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
SB 86 was adopted by both the New Mexico State Senate and House of Representatives, and will become law upon the signature of Governor Bill Richardson.

Co-sponsored by New Mexico State Senators Carlos Cisneros (D-Questa) and Dede Feldman (D-Albuquerque), SB 86 provides a one-time exemption from the 3% state motor vehicle excise tax for the purchase of a new hybrid-electric vehicle that achieves a composite fuel economy rating of 27.5 miles per gallon or better. Hybrid-electric vehicles routinely achieve fuel economy ratings much higher than the standard; for example, the Toyota Prius is rated at 55 mpg.

Encouraging the purchase of hybrid-electric vehicles in New Mexico will reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce air pollution throughout the state. By adopting SB 86, New Mexico is following in the footsteps of California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, all of which provide tax incentives to the purchasers of hybrid vehicles.

House Bill 0251-04: Advanced Energy Technologies Economic Development Act
HB 251 was adopted by both the New Mexico State Senate and House of Representatives, and will become law upon the signature of Governor Bill Richardson.

Sponsored by New Mexico State Representative Nick Salazar (D-San Juan Pueblo), HB 251 will support programs statewide that demonstrate the benefits of developing and employing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and hydrogen fuel cell technologies in New Mexico. The Advanced Energy Technologies Economic Development Act (AETED) allocates $500,000 to the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department to establish a grant program for energy-saving projects developed by local governments, schools, and tribal governments, and $200,000 to the Economic Development Department to develop hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

AETED is directly aimed at broadening and diversifying New Mexico's existing energy production economy. The clean technologies targeted in HB 251 have proven growth potential, especially in New Mexico, which has a wealth of renewable resources, energy-efficiency opportunities, and high-tech R&D infrastructure.

House Bill 0293-04: Capital Outlay Projects
HB 293 was adopted by both the New Mexico State Senate and House of Representatives, and will become law upon the signature of Governor Bill Richardson.

Sponsored by New Mexico State Representative Edward Sandoval (D-Albuquerque), HB 293 appropriates $2.6 million to the state Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in state government and public school buildings and facilities.

House Bill 0380-04: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bonding Act
HB 380 was introduced in and adopted by the New Mexico House of Representatives, but was not adopted by the State Senate. Though sent to the floor by the Senate's Conservation Committee, the bill fell victim to a backlog of higher priority bills as the Senate labored to complete its work before the close of the legislative session on February 19.

Sponsored by New Mexico State Representative Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), HB 380 would have created a revenue-neutral mechanism for funding state government and public school building energy efficiency retrofits from the proceeds of bonds secured by the resulting future energy cost savings.