SCS/SB 1037 - This act creates the Property Assessment Clean Energy (PACE) Act. Municipalities may individually or jointly form Clean Energy Development Boards, which shall fund energy projects for property owners within their jurisdictions. Projects shall either reduce energy consumption or create energy from renewable sources. In exchange for receiving the funding for the project, a property owner agrees to pay a special assessment to be collected with his or her property tax for a period not to exceed 20 years.
The agreement between a property owner and a Clean Energy Development Board is a covenant that runs with the land and shall be binding upon subsequent owners of the property. Clean Energy Development Boards can establish their own application requirements and project selection criteria and can require energy audits as a prerequisite to funding a project. Boards must submit annual reports to municipality(ies) that created them, with report requirements listed in the act.
Clean Energy Development Boards may issue bonds, and may use the revenue from the sale of the bonds to fund energy efficiency or renewable energy projects.
The act expands the definition of the term "project" to include renewable energy projects, to make these types of projects eligible for funding through the Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority (EIERA).
This act is similar to provisions in TAT/SS/SCS/HCS#2/HBs 1692, 1209, 1405, 1499, 1535, & 1811 (2010).
ERIKA JAQUES