Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1043, sub-§2, ¶O, as amended by PL 2017, c. 95, §1, is further amended to read:
O.
In the case of an energy distribution system project or an energy generating system project regulated by the Public Utilities Commission with respect to rates or terms of service or that requires, for construction or operation, authorization or certification from the commission, the following conditions are met.
(1) The energy distribution system project or the energy generating system project has received all authorizations or certifications from the Public Utilities Commission necessary for construction and operation of the project. The authority may issue a certificate of approval for a project that has received conditional approvals or certifications from the commission, except that the authority's certificate becomes legally effective only upon fulfillment of the conditional provisions of the commission's certificates or approvals. If the commission has approved rates to be charged by the project or has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the project, the authority shall take into consideration any findings and conclusions of law of the commission, including any findings and conclusions pertaining to the need for the project and the financial viability of the project.
(2) The authority has reviewed and considered any comments provided by the Director Commissioner of the Governor's Maine Energy Office and the Public Advocate.
(3) The authority has determined that the applicant is creditworthy and that there is a strong likelihood that the revenue obligation securities will be repaid through the revenues of the project and any other sources of revenues and collateral pledged to the repayment of those securities. In order to make these determinations, the authority shall consider such factors as it considers necessary and appropriate in light of the special purpose or other nature of the business entity owning the project and the specific purposes of the project to measure and evaluate the project and the sufficiency of the pledged revenues to repay the obligations, including, but not limited to:
(a) Whether the individuals or entities obligated to repay the obligations have demonstrated sufficient revenues from the project or from other sources to repay the obligations and a reasonable probability that those revenues will continue to be available for the term of the revenue obligation securities;
(b) Whether the applicant demonstrates a reasonable probability that the project will continue to operate and provide the public benefits projected to be created for the term of the revenue obligation securities;
(c) Whether the applicant's creditworthiness is demonstrated by factors such as its historical financial performance, management ability, plan for marketing its product or service and ability to access conventional financing;
(d) Whether the applicant meets or exceeds industry average financial performance ratios commonly accepted in determining creditworthiness in that industry;
(e) Whether the applicant demonstrates that the need for authority assistance is due to the reduced cost and increased flexibility of the financing for the project that result from authority assistance and not from an inability to obtain necessary financing without the capital reserve fund security provided by the authority;
(f) Whether collateral securing the repayment obligation is reasonably sufficient under the circumstances;
(g) Whether the proposed project enhances the opportunities for economic development;
(h) The effect that the proposed project financing has on the authority's financial resources;
(i) The financial performance of similar projects;
(j) The need for the project, as determined by the Public Utilities Commission and as indicated by any comments provided by the Director Commissioner of the Governor's Maine Energy Office, other public officials and members of the public;
(k) The nature and extent of customer commitment to use the project or the fuel or energy the project distributes, transmits or generates;
(l) The cost advantages to end users of the fuel or energy to be distributed, transmitted or generated by the project, to the extent those advantages may affect market penetration by the project; and
(m) The nature and extent of the applicant's equity contribution to payment of the costs of the project; such a contribution may not be less than 25% of the expected cost of the project.
This paragraph is repealed January 1, 2020.
Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §9722, sub-§2, ¶I, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. MM, §10 and affected by §26, is further amended to read:
I. An energy efficiency representative, recommended by the Director Commissioner of the Governor's Maine Energy Office within the Executive Department, who has experience or expertise in the design or implementation of energy codes or in the application of energy efficiency measures in residential or commercial construction;
Sec. 4. 35-A MRSA §4131, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 655, Pt. MM, §17 and affected by §26, is further amended to read:
C. The Director Commissioner of the Governor's Maine Energy Office, or another employee of that office, as the director commissioner may from time to time designate in writing filed with the clerk of the agency, shall serve as a member of the board of directors.
Sec. 5. 35-A MRSA §10103, sub-§2, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. B, §14, is amended to read:
A.
The board consists of the following 9 voting members:
(1) The Director Commissioner of the Governor's Maine Energy Office or the commissioner's designee;
(2) The director of the Maine State Housing Authority; and
’(3) Seven members appointed by the Governor, reviewed by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy matters and approved by the Senate. Among these 7 members must be persons who adequately represent the interests of commercial energy consumers, industrial energy consumers, small business energy consumers, residential energy consumers and low-income energy consumers; among these members must be persons with knowledge of and experience in financial matters and consumer advocacy and who possess substantial management expertise or knowledge of or experience with conservation fund programs, carbon reduction programs or energy efficiency or climate change policy. The requirements of this subparagraph may be met through the appointment of one or more persons who satisfy more than one of the requirements, as long as at any one time the 7 members include among them members who adequately represent the identified interests and who possess the required knowledge, expertise and experience.
Appointed trustees serve 3-year terms. If an appointed trustee is unable to complete the term, the Governor shall appoint a replacement for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Amend the bill in section 3 in §10203 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 4, lines 18 to 21 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill in section 3 in §10204 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 4, lines 29 and 30 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill in section 3 in §10206 in the first paragraph in the 4th to 6th lines (page 7, lines 22 to 24 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " For the purposes of this section, "state-owned" and "energy infrastructure corridor" have the same meanings as in section 122, subsection 1."
Amend the bill by inserting after section 5 the following:
‘Sec. 6. Transition provisions. The following provisions govern the transition of the Governor's Energy Office to the Maine Energy Office.
1. The Maine Energy Office is the successor in every way to the powers, duties and functions of the former Governor's Energy Office.
2. Any positions authorized and allocated subject to the personnel laws to the former Governor's Energy Office are transferred to the Maine Energy Office and may continue to be authorized.
3. All records, property and equipment previously belonging to or allocated for the use of the former Governor's Energy Office become, on the effective date of this Act, part of the property of the Maine Energy Office.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, all accrued expenditures, assets and liabilities, including but not limited to any contractual obligations, balances, appropriations, allocations, transfers, revenues, grants or other available funds, in any account or subdivision of an account of the Governor's Energy Office on the effective date of this Act must be reallocated to the Maine Energy Office.
5. The Governor may appoint from the personnel of the former Governor's Energy Office an acting commissioner to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Commissioner of the Maine Energy Office until a commissioner is appointed in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 10203, subsection 1 or for 6 months from the date of appointment, whichever occurs first.
Sec. 7. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Governor's Energy Office Z122
Initiative: Deallocates from the Governor's Energy Office, which is being eliminated.
| FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
0.000 |
(2.000) |
|
Personal Services
|
$0 |
($141,567) |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
($947,050) |
|
 |
|
| FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND TOTAL |
$0 |
($1,088,617) |
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
0.000 |
(1.000) |
|
Personal Services
|
$0 |
($79,205) |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
($50,000) |
|
|
|
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL |
$0 |
($129,205) |
| EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT |
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
|
|
|
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND
|
$0 |
($1,088,617) |
|
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
|
$0 |
($129,205) |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS |
$0 |
($1,217,822) |
MAINE ENERGY OFFICE
Maine Energy Office N285
Initiative: Provides allocation to the newly established Maine Energy Office.
| FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
0.000 |
2.000 |
|
Personal Services
|
$0 |
$141,567 |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
$947,050 |
|
|
|
| FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND TOTAL |
$0 |
$1,088,617 |
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
|
0.000 |
1.000 |
|
Personal Services
|
$0 |
$79,205 |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
$50,000 |
|
|
|
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL |
$0 |
$129,205 |
Maine Energy Office N285
Initiative: Appropriates $75,000 in fiscal year 2018-19 for activities relating to energy resources, planning and development.
| GENERAL FUND |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
$75,000 |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL |
$0 |
$75,000 |
Maine Energy Resources Development Program N286
Initiative: Provides allocation to allow the Maine Energy Office to expend any private funds on activities promoting energy research and demonstration activities.
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$0 |
$500 |
|
|
|
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL |
$0 |
$500 |
| MAINE ENERGY OFFICE |
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
|
|
|
GENERAL FUND
|
$0 |
$75,000 |
|
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND
|
$0 |
$1,088,617 |
|
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
|
$0 |
$129,705 |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS |
$0 |
$1,293,322 |
| SECTION TOTALS |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
|
|
|
|
GENERAL FUND
|
$0 |
$75,000 |
|
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND
|
$0 |
$0 |
|
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS
|
$0 |
$500 |
|
|
|
| SECTION TOTAL - ALL FUNDS |
$0 |
$75,500 |
Sec. 8. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019.’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment does the following.
1. It specifies that the Commissioner of the Maine Energy Office instead of the Director of the Governor's Energy Office serves on the Efficiency Maine Trust Board.
2. It specifies that the deputy commissioner serves at the pleasure of the commissioner and not of the Governor as in the bill.
3. It removes the $300,000 annual funding for the Maine Energy Office from the Efficiency Maine Trust, but includes from current law that the office may receive funds from the Efficiency Maine Trust for office activities that reasonably relate to programs or activities of the Efficiency Maine Trust.
4. It removes unnecessary language regarding energy infrastructure corridors.
5. It adds an appropriations and allocations section.
6. It adds an effective date of January 1, 2019.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)