Amendment #163 to H4879

Amendment to ensure a green recovery and reduce air pollution

Mr. Driscoll of Milton moves to amend the bill by adding the following new sections:

SECTION XX. Section 3 of chapter 25A of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following definitions:-

“Adult,” a resident of the Commonwealth age eighteen (18) or above.

“DOR Commissioner”, the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue.

“EEA Secretary”, the Massachusetts Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

“Employer”, any person, corporation, partnership, governmental body, or other entity that has employees working in the commonwealth.

“Green Infrastructure Fund”, a fund whose revenues are derived from the pollution charges defined in this section, and whose funds are used to finance the development of green infrastructure, according to section 13B.

''Greenhouse gas'', carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and any other matter identified by the department of energy resources as a likely contributor to climate change.

“Greenhouse gas pollution charges fund”, the greenhouse gas pollution charges fund established under section 13D of this chapter,, also called the “pollution charges fund”.

“Greenhouse gas pollution charges”, the charges imposed on each ton of CO2e pursuant to this chapter.

“Low-income households” are those with household incomes at or below sixty (60) percent of the statewide income or sixty (60) percent of the area median household income as calculated annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Low-income communities” are census tracts with median household incomes at or below sixty (60) percent of the statewide median income.

“Median Household Income”, the median income determined by the U.S. Census Bureau every ten years and used to determine the income level category of geographies.

“Minor,” a resident of the Commonwealth age seventeen (17) or below.

“Resident” shall have the same meaning as defined in section one of chapter 62.

“Short ton” or “ton”, mass measurement unit equal to two-thousand (2,000) pounds-mass

SECTION XX.Section 6 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following:-

(13) administer the schedules of greenhouse gas pollution charges and the greenhouse gas pollution charges rebate fund, both established pursuant to this chapter. The executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall delegate all collection of greenhouse gas pollution charges, distribution of rebates, and any other appropriate functions to the department of revenue. The department of revenue will carry out all functions delegated to it by the executive office of energy and environmental affairs.

SECTION XX.Chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 13 the following sections:-

25A:13A Greenhouse gas pollution schedule and charges

(a) The EEA Secretary shall, using the best information and science reasonably available, consider whether to identify any greenhouse gas-emitting matter, in addition to natural gas, petroleum, coal, and any solid, liquid or gaseous fuel derived therefrom, as subject to the greenhouse gas pollution charges for the purposes of this chapter; except that emissions from farm animals and crops shall not be subject to greenhouse gas pollution charges.

(b) The EEA Secretary shall determine the schedule of greenhouse gas pollution charges authorized under this chapter by multiplying the CO2e emitted from each greenhouse gas-producing substance by the charge or charges established herein. For the purpose of calculating said schedule, the EEA Secretary shall determine the average CO2e per unit of each greenhouse gas-producing substance.

(c) The DOR commissioner, in consultation with the EEA Secretary, shall collect greenhouse gas pollution charges on the distribution or sale of matter which emits greenhouse gases. The charge shall be five (5) cents per gallon of gasoline, or the equivalent per short ton of CO2e for gasoline, which is $16.47, and the same amount per short ton of CO2e produced by other fuels or electricity.

(d) The EEA Secretary shall undertake all reasonable efforts to collect charges authorized pursuant to this chapter at the first point of distribution or sale within the commonwealth of a greenhouse gas-producing substance. Before 2025, the EEA Secretary shall amend current regulations, and develop new regulations if necessary, in order to measure and verify actual emissions of greenhouse gases from entities subject to carbon fees, in adherence with the timeframe described in Section 25A:13A(d).

(e) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, the EEA Secretary shall determine the amount of carbon dioxide equivalents released in the form of escaped methane due to the extraction, transport, or distribution of natural gas before the point of consumption in the state, and shall add an additional charge to the carbon price for all natural gas based on the rate specified in subsection (c) of this section.

(f) If the federal government, or a regional consortium of states, has established or establishes a carbon fee on the electricity, transportation or heating sectors, the DOR shall deduct the sum of payments made to other carbon price programs in the same year from the greenhouse gas pollution charges established by this chapter; provided, however, that the amount deducted may be no greater than the total amount of the carbon fee assessed by the DOR Commissioner.

(g) Applicable rules and regulations shall be promulgated in a timely manner so as to ensure initial collection of greenhouse gas pollution charges occur no later than July 31st, 2022.

25A:13B Green Recovery Fund

(a) There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Green Recovery Fund, also known as the “GRF”. The DOR commissioner shall deposit 50% of proceeds collected under section 13A into said fund. The GRF will support investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and resiliency to the local impacts of climate change, and prioritize investments that create local jobs and provide for a green recovery. Eligible projects shall include but not be limited to: investments in public transit, electric vehicles, electric vehicle infrastructure, and other modes of clean transportation; expansion of in-state renewable energy systems; energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in housing, municipal infrastructure, and public school buildings; and loan programs for small business climate resiliency, renewable energy, and efficiency upgrades. Funding for household projects shall include resources that enable renter households to access the benefits of energy efficiency and/or renewable energy.

(b) Governance

(1) A Green Recovery Fund Board of Directors shall be created, also known as the “GRF Board” Its members chosen by the Governor of the Commonwealth. The EEA Secretary shall serve as chair of the GRF Board, with twelve (12) members representing:

(i) the Department of Transportation;

(ii) the Department of Environmental Protection;

(iii) the Department of Energy Resources;

(iv) the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center;

(v) business;

(vi) organized labor;

(vii) low-income residents;

(viii) municipalities;

(ix) clean energy;

(x) public transportation;

(xi) environmental protection; and

(xii) regional planning associations

(2) The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC), with the guidance of the GRF Board, shall develop and issue two-year plans for expenditure of the GRF funds. The CEC may assign responsibility for administering portions of the funds and plans to state agencies outside its authority, including but not limited to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Massachusetts Department of Education, and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

(3) Municipal governments and regional agencies serving municipalities, including regional transit authorities, are eligible to apply for funding from the GRF, through a grant procedure to be developed by the CEC under the direction of the GRF Board. The CEC must make technical assistance available as part of this grant procedure, using funds specified in Section 13B(b)(4).

(4) The GRF shall be administered by the CEC using up to 8% of Green Recovery Fund proceeds to cover administrative costs, including support from expert consultants, technical assistance to municipal governments and regional agencies, and program outreach.

(c) Investment

(1) Priority disbursements will be awarded to projects that concur with investment principles established by the GRF Board, in consultation with the public. Among these principles, all funded projects must facilitate, directly or indirectly, reductions of greenhouse gas emissions or provide resilience to the local impacts of climate change.

(2) The investment plan shall allocate a minimum of forty (40) percent of the available monies in the fund to programs and projects that benefit individual low-income households, regardless of location, and to larger-scale projects located within the boundaries of, and benefiting individuals living in, low-income communities.

(3) Any funding guidelines developed for administering agencies pursuant to Section 13B shall include guidelines for how administering agencies should maximize and measure benefits for low-income households and communities, provided further that all construction, reconstruction, alteration, installation, demolition, operation of leased or

owned equipment and/or vehicles, maintenance or repair paid through the Green Recovery Fund shall be subject to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 149 Sections 26 to 27H inclusive, Massachusetts General Law Chapter 149 Section 29, and Massachusetts General Law Chapter 30 Section 39M.

(d) Annual Reporting

(1) The CEC shall make public and submit an annual report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the status of projects funded pursuant to this bill and their outcomes.

(2) Administering agencies shall report to the CEC, and the CEC shall include in the report, a description of how the administering agencies have fulfilled legislative requirements pursuant to Section 13B(a) and Section 13B(c).

25A:13C Workforce Development & Training Fund

(a) There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Green Workforce Development & Training Fund, also known as the “workforce fund”. The DOR commissioner shall deposit one (1) percen[1] t of proceeds collected under section 13A into said fund. The workforce fund shall be established to ensure that workers displaced due to emission reductions and advancements in green technology will have immediate access to training and employment opportunities in green technology and/ or next generation utilities or related fields, with comparable working conditions, benefits, living wages, union representation, and/or job protections.

(b) Governance: A Green Workforce Development & Training Fund Commission shall be created, also known as the “Green Workforce Commission”. Two (2) members shall be chosen by the Governor of the Commonwealth, one (1) chosen by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one (1) chosen by the President of the State Senate. Further, three (3) members shall be appointed by the President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, one (1) of whom shall have expertise in the Building and Construction Trades, one (1) of whom shall have expertise in the utility sector, and one (1) of whom shall represent workers in sectors that may be displaced through advancements in green technologies and emissions reduction.

(c) The commission shall appoint an executive director by a majority vote. The executive director shall supervise the administrative affairs and general management and operations of the commission and also serve as secretary of the commission, ex officio. The executive director shall receive a salary commensurate with the duties of the office. The executive director may, with the approval of the commission, appoint other officers and employees of the commission necessary to the functioning of the commission.

(d) Directed by the Green Workforce Commission, the executive director shall establish education, training, and support for displaced workers, including consideration of:

(1) education in affected sectors with benefits, wages, and working conditions similar in type, amount, and duration to previous employment

(2) the education of dislocated workers, in collaboration with employers of dislocated workers and relevant labor unions, regarding how to apply for just transition benefits; and

(3) the establishment and structure of a fund to assist displaced workers in communities and organizations that will be financially impacted by emission reductions, including a workforce transition plan for facility closures and loss of employment.

(e) The Green Workforce Commission shall identify those workers currently working in the energy and related construction and utility sectors, their current wage and benefits packages, and their current training requirements and regularly maintain, update, and make publicly available those standards.

(f) The DOR commissioner shall allocate a minimum of $1 million to the Rapid Response Set-Aside Fund, that is part of the Green Workforce Development & Training Fund. The Rapid Response Set-Aside Funds is solely for the purpose of providing assistance to workers and communities experiencing displacement, loss of tax revenue, or other forms of economic loss due to the shrinkage of fossil fuel industries. The Rapid Response Set-Aside Fund shall be administered by the Green Workforce Commission.

25A:13D Greenhouse gas pollution charges fund

(a) There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the greenhouse gas pollution charges fund. None of said proceeds shall fund government operations of the commonwealth, other than to pay for reasonable administrative costs as provided under sub-section (b) of this section.

(b) The DOR commissioner shall disburse all greenhouse gas pollution charge proceeds as follows. No less than fifty (50) percent of the monies shall be put into a “household rebate fund” that is part of the greenhouse gas pollution charges fund. Twenty-five (25) percent of the monies shall be put into a “commuter and rural resident rebate fund” that is part of the greenhouse gas pollution charges fund. The DOR commissioner may retain a reasonable amount of charge proceeds to pay for the costs of administering the activities authorized by this chapter. Proceeds shall be available for the purposes enumerated in this section without appropriation.

(c) All greenhouse gas pollution charge proceeds not disbursed to additional funds, created pursuant to sub-section (h) of this section, shall be deposited into the aforementioned household rebate fund.

(d) HOUSEHOLD REBATE FUND -- Funds transferred to the household rebate fund shall be distributed to all individuals whose household income is below the statewide median household income. These available funds shall be divided by the sum of the adults living in households below the state median household income, plus one-half the minors in said household income group, with the resulting number termed the “household rebate”. Each adult or tax-paying unit who are part of a household whose income is below the state median shall receive a household rebate times the number of adults in the household, plus half the amount of the household rebate per number of minors, who are defined as dependents for tax purposes.

(e)  COMMUTER AND RURAL REBATE FUND -- Funds transferred to the commuter and rural rebate fund shall be distributed as follows:

(1) The DOR commissioner shall direct the monies to households in the form of motor fuel rebates.

(2) The DOR Commissioner shall direct motor fuel rebates to each household in the commonwealth, such that:

(i) Non-rural households receive a flat rebate per adult, and a flat half rebate per minor.

(ii) Rural households receive a rebate per adult that is 1.3 times greater than the flat rebate per adult received by non-rural households. Rural households receive a rebate per minor that is 1.3 times greater than the flat half rebate per minor received by non-rural households.

(f) In rebating greenhouse gas pollution charge proceeds, the DOR Commissioner shall coordinate with officials of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, the executive office of health and human services, the executive office of housing and economic development and other agencies in making all reasonable efforts to identify the names and addresses of all residents, with special attention to the names and addresses of low-income residents, so that they can receive rebates expeditiously.

(g) In the second year of implementation, and every two (2) years thereafter, the EEA Secretary shall complete a study of the impacts of rebates of greenhouse gas pollution charges on households or other entities in the Commonwealth, which shall be known as the “two-year benefits report”. Said report shall also look at the potential impacts of greenhouse gas pollution charges on (i) rural residents, (ii) low income residents, (iii) high income residents, (iv) employers, (v) municipalities, and (vi) energy-intensive export-oriented industries. Said report shall include recommendations for the best methods to reduce any financial burden to said populations through a rebate.

(1) Said report shall be made public within one (1) week of completion.

(2) Said report shall consider recommendations to the legislature on whether any further adjustments in greenhouse gas pollution charges are recommended to account for inflation, to ensure progress towards reaching emissions limits for 2030, 2040, and 2050 included in or authorized by chapter 21N, the Climate Protection & Green Economy Act, or, pursuant to section 13C(f)(2) of this chapter.

(3) Rebate recommendations shall not be proportional to the amount of fuel or electricity consumed by a population group, but rather by the number of individuals, their incomes, and their other characteristics, such as , but limited to, the degree of competition faced by export-oriented industries.

(4) Said report may also outline and recommend actions to address lifecycle emissions, which arise prior to and subsequent to their combustion or other use within the Commonwealth, including emissions during extraction, refining, processing, transportation, and disposal. Such emissions may be significant in relation to the emissions from combustion or other use within the Commonwealth.

(h) The EEA Secretary may establish, in accordance with applicable recommendations found in the most recent two-year benefit report, additional funds that are part of the greenhouse gas pollution charges fund. Such funds shall be similar in operation to the aforementioned household fund, established in sub-section (d) of this section. Total monies deposited in said additional funds by DOR, at the direction of the EEA Secretary, shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of collected greenhouse gas pollution charges. The EEA Secretary shall promulgate necessary regulations no later than twelve (12) months following the completion of the most recent report.

(i) The DOR commissioner shall not be subject to penalties or lawsuits for damages if the charges collected under this chapter are not precisely equal to rebates returned under this chapter; provided, that the commissioner shall make all reasonable efforts to return to residents and other entities in the aggregate all charges collected under this chapter, except for those funds placed in the fund for green infrastructure.

25A:13E Regulations; Miscellaneous

(a) The DOR commissioner and EEA Secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(b) If any covered fuel or its derivative is used by a government agency whose primary purpose is to provide public transportation by bus, van, rail, ferry, or other means that reduce the amount of driving by private motor vehicles, the DOR commissioner shall fully compensate or exempt these agencies for their total costs associated with this chapter.

(c) The DOR commissioner shall do at least one of the following:

(i) Provide rebates to low and moderate income households twice each year in advance of the annual heating season and summer cooling season;

(ii) distribute part or all of the annual expected value of household rebates to low and moderate-income households prior to collecting greenhouse gas charges in year one; or

(iii) otherwise set schedules and methods for distribution of rebates that ensure low and moderate-income households obtain rebates corresponding to the time schedule in which they can be expected to be paying greenhouse gas pollution charges.

(d) The commissioner may issue additional rebates or declare exemptions from charges in instances where charges have been paid but no emissions occur or are anticipated to occur.

(e) Rebates distributed pursuant to Section 13D shall not be counted in determining eligibility for other state programs with income limitations. To the degree possible, said rebates shall not count towards income limitations for federal programs.

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #163 to H4879

Amendment to ensure a green recovery and reduce air pollution