Bill Text - SB24 (2019)

Relative to New Hampshire's regional greenhouse gas initiative program.


Revision: June 3, 2019, 11:15 a.m.

SB 24 - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES

 

05/30/2019   2163EBA

2019 SESSION

19-0238

08/06

 

SENATE BILL 24

 

AN ACT relative to New Hampshire's regional greenhouse gas initiative program.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. Bradley, Dist 3

 

COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill amends New Hampshire's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program to be consistent with the amended Model Rule dated December 19, 2017.

 

This bill is a request of the department of environmental services.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

06/06/2019   2163EBA 19-0238

08/06

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen

 

AN ACT relative to New Hampshire's regional greenhouse gas initiative program.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Rulemaking Authority.  Amend RSA 125-O:8, I(e), (f) and (g) to read as follows:

(e)  [Defining eligible projects for early reduction allowances under RSA 125-O:21, IV, and establishing criteria to quantify and grant such allowances.

(f)  Defining eligible projects for offset allowances under RSA 125-O:21, V, and establishing criteria to quantify and grant such allowances, including the accreditation of third-party verifiers, provided that the department may incorporate national or regional forestry protocols by reference that are referenced in the RGGI model rule.

(g)]  The forms and information required on applications for a temporary or operating permit required under RSA 125-O:22.

2  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Definitions.  Amend RSA 125-O:20, XII to read as follows:

XII.  "Regional greenhouse gas initiative" or "RGGI" or "RGGI program" means the program to implement the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between signatory states, dated December 20, 2005, as amended, and the corresponding model rule as amended February 7, 2013, and as amended December 19, 2017, to establish a regional CO2 emissions budget and allowance trading program for emissions from fossil fuel-fired electricity generating units.

3  Regional Green House Gas Initiative; Definitions.  Amend RSA 125-O:20, XV to read as follows:

XV.  "RGGI allowance" means a limited authorization to emit one ton of CO2 issued by the department or other [RGGI signatory] state with a program that the department determines is in accordance with this subdivision or the RGGI program, including emissions limitations as documented by the regional organization, and shall include budget allowances, offset allowances, and early reduction allowances.

4  New Paragraph; Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Definitions.  Amend RSA 125-O:20 by inserting after paragraph XVII the following new paragraph:

XVIII.  "Third adjustment for banked allowances" or "TBA" means an adjustment applied to the New Hampshire RGGI program base budget for allocation years 2021 through 2025 to address allowances held in general and compliance accounts, including compliance accounts established pursuant to the RGGI program but not including accounts opened by participating states, that are in addition to the aggregate quantity of emissions from all affected CO2 sources in all of the participating states at the end of the fourth control period in 2020 and as reflected in the CO2 Allowance Tracking System on March, 15, 2021.

5  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Carbon Dioxide Emissions Budget Trading Program.  Amend RSA 125-O:21, II to read as follows:

II.  The program shall include a statewide budget allowance total for each year calculated as follows:

[2014 4,749,011 minus FCPBA

2015 4,630,286 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA

2016 4,514,529 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA

2017 4,401,665 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA

2018 4,291,624 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA]

2019 4,184,333 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA

2020 4,079,725 minus FCPBA minus SCPBA

2021 [and thereafter] [4,079,725] 3,960,999 minus TBA

2022 3,842,274 minus TBA

2023 3,723,549 minus TBA

2024 3,604,823 minus TBA

2025 3,486,098 minus TBA

2026 3,367,373

2027 3,248,648

2028 3,129,922

2029 3,011,197

2030 and thereafter 2,892,472

6  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; Carbon Dioxide Emissions Budget Trading Program.  Amend RSA 125-O:21, VI(i) to read as follows:

(i)  Effectiveness of allowance price control and consumer protection mechanisms, including, but not limited to,[ offsets,] cost containment reserves, cost thresholds, and consumer rebates.

7  Review of the RGGI Program.  Amend RSA 125-O:27 to read as follows:

125-O:27  Review of the New Hampshire RGGI Program.  At the time of [the 2016] each comprehensive review by the participating states, the commission and the department shall concurrently review New Hampshire specific elements of the RGGI program, and include the results of such review and any recommendations for revisions to the New Hampshire regional greenhouse gas initiative program under RSA 125-O:19-29, resulting from this review in the agencies' annual report under RSA 125-O:21, VI.

8  Cost Containment Allowances in Addition to the Budget.  Amend RSA 125-O:29, I to read as follows:

I.  For the purposes of cost containment, the department shall make available for sale at one or more auctions up to [260,935 allowances for 2014 or, for any year thereafter, up to 521,869] the following amounts of allowances, that shall be in addition to the budget allowance total for the given year under RSA 125-O:21, II, if:

(a)  [The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $4 in 2014;

(b)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $6 in 2015;

(c)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $8 in 2016;

(d)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $10 in 2017;

(e)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $10.25 in 2018;

(f)]  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $10.51 in 2019, up to 521,869 allowances;

[(g)] (b)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $10.77 in 2020, up to 521,869 allowances; [or]

(c)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $13 in 2021, up to 396,099 allowances;

(d)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $13.91 in 2022, up to 384,227 allowances;

(e)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $14.88 in 2023, up to 372,354 allowances;

(f)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $15.92 in 2024, up to 360,482 allowances;

(g)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $17.03 in 2025, up to 348,609 allowances;

(h)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $18.22 in 2026, up to 336,737 allowances;

(i)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $19.50 in 2027, up to 324,864 allowances;

(j)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $20.87 in 2028, up to 312,992 allowances;

(k)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $22.33 in 2029, up to 301,119 allowances;

(l)  The CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds $23.89 in 2030, up to 289,247 allowances; or

[(h)] (m)  In any year thereafter, the CO2 allowance auction price equals or exceeds [1.025] 1.07 multiplied by the auction price at which cost containment allowances were required to be made available in the previous calendar year rounded to the nearest whole cent, until further legislative action.

9  Cross Reference Deleted.  Amend RSA 125-O:21, III to read as follows:

III.  The department shall make available for sale at one or more auctions all of the budget allowances for a given year, except for those granted or reserved under RSA 125-O:22, VI[, 125-O:24,] and RSA 125-O:25.  The department may also make available for sale at one or more auctions a portion of future year budget allowances.  Such auctions may be conducted in coordination with other states.  Revenues from the sale of allowances shall be deposited in the energy efficiency fund established under RSA 125-O:23.

10  Repeal.  The following are repealed:

I.  RSA 125-O:21, IV and V, relative to early reduction allowances and offset allowances.

II.  RSA 125-O:24, relative to conversion of allowances.

11  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.