Amendment ID: S2829-86

Amendment 86

Energy Facilities Siting Board Intervenors Funding

Ms. Comerford and Messrs. Eldridge and Gomez move that the proposed new draft be amended in section 9, by inserting after the words “public authority;”, in line 112, the following words:- “(iv) assessments collected pursuant to the fourth paragraph of section 18; and (v) income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund.”; and

By inserting after section 9 the following section:-

“SECTION 9A. Section 18 of chapter 25 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph:-

For the purpose of providing the department with funds to be used to provide support to intervenors in department or energy facilities siting board proceedings consistent with section 149 of chapter 164, the commission may make a separate assessment proportionally against each electric and gas company under the jurisdictional control of the department, based upon the intrastate operating revenues subject to the jurisdiction of the department of each of such companies derived from sales within the commonwealth of electric and gas service, as shown in the annual report of each of such companies to the department. Such assessments shall be made at a rate as shall be determined and certified annually by the commission as sufficient to produce an annual amount of not more than $3,500,000. The amount of the assessment may be increased by the commission annually by a rate not to exceed the most recent annual consumer price index as calculated for the northeast region for all urban consumers; except that the assessment may be increased by the commission by a rate exceeding such index upon a finding that additional funding is necessary to meet the demand for grant funding from prospective grantees. Each company shall pay the amount assessed against it within 30 days after the date of the notice of assessment from the department. Such assessments shall be collected by the department and credited to the department of public utilities and energy facilities siting board intervenor support trust fund established by section 12S. Any funds unexpended in any fiscal year and remaining in the fund shall be credited against the assessment to be made in the following fiscal year and the assessment in the following fiscal year shall be reduced by any such unexpended amount.”.