An Act To Update the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1945
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: KOFFMAN, MARTIN
Amends: 35-A MRSA §10008, 38 MRSA §579, 38 MRSA §580-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1945 
H.P. 1381 
House of Representatives, December 18,2007 
An Act To Update the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 17,2007. Referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 40l. 
Presented by Representative KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor. 
Cosponsored by Senator MARTIN of Aroostook. 
Primed on recycled paper 
!1'/~ 1'h. 71I0£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §10008, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 317, §15, is 
amended to read: 
4. 
Money invested. 
Any revenue received from the sale of carbon dioxide 
allowances, pursuant to Title 38, section 580-8, and any forward capacity market 
payments administered by the regional transmission organization or other capacity 
payments that may be attributable to projects funded by the trust are the property of the 
trust and must be deposited in the trust fund. Money in the trust fund not currently needed 
to meet obligations under Title 38, section 580-8 or for the purposes of this section must 
lObe deposited with the Treasurer of State to the credit of the trust fund and may be 
invested as provided by law. Interest on these investments must be credited to the trust 
fund. The State may not assess any indirect charges on any revenue received from the 
sale of carbon dioxide allowances pursuant to this section. 
Sec. 2. 3SA MRS A §10008, sub-§6, ,G, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 317, § 15, is 
amended to read: 
G. No more than 5% of trust fund receipts in anyone year may be used for the total 
administrative costs: 
(1) Of the trust related to this section; 
(2) Of the Department of Environmental Protection ffi for participating in the 
regional organization as defined in Title 38, section 580-A, subsection 20 and for 
administering the allowance auction under Title 38, chapter 3-8; and 
(3) Of the Attorney General, including activities pertaining to the tracking and 
monitoring of allowance trading activity and managing and evaluating the trust's 
funding of conservation programs. 
Of the trust fund receipts used for administrative costs under this paragraph, no more 
than 40% in anyone year may be used for the administration of the trust. 
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §579, first ~, as amended by PL 2007, c. 317, § 16, is further 
amended to read: 
The department may participate in the regional greenhouse gas initiative as described 
in the climate action plan required in section 577. The commissioner and the members of 
I 
the Public Utilities Commission are authorized to act as representatives for the State in 
the regional organization as defined in section 580-A subsection 20, may contract with 
organizations and entities when such arrangements are necessary to efficiently carry out 
the purposes of this section and may coordinate its the State's efforts with other states and 
35, 
jurisdictions participating in that initiative, with respect to: 
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §580-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 3 17, § 17, is 
amended to read: 
Page I - 123LR3201(OI)-1 
3. Carbon dioxide budget unit. "Carbon dioxide budget unit" means a any single 
fossil fuel fired electrical generating unit that serves a generator with a nameplate 
capacity equal to or greater than 25 megawatts of electrical output. 
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §580-A, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 317, § 17, IS 
amended to read: 
12. Fossil fuel fired unit. "Fossil fuel fired unit" means combustion of fossil fuel 
,,,,hen the fossil fHel combusted constitutes, or is projected to constitute, more than 50% of 
the annual heat input on a British Them'lal Unit basis.~ 
A. With regard to a unit that commenced operation prior to January 1, 2005, a unit 
fueled by the combustion of fossil fuel, alone or in combination with any other fuel, 
where the fossil fuel combusted constitutes, or is projected to comprise, more than 
50% of the annual heat input on a British Thermal Unit basis during any calendar 
year; or 
B. With regard to a unit that commences operation on or after January 1, 2005, a unit 
fueled by the combustion of fossil fuel, alone or in combination with any other .fuel, 
where the fossil fuel combusted constitutes, or is projected to comprise, more than 
5% of the annual heat input on a British Thermal Unit basis during any calendar year. 
Sec. 6. 38 MRS A §580-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 317, § 17, is 
amended to read: 
2. Contingent on initiation of comparable programs. The carbon dioxide cap-
and-trade program commences no earlier than January 1, 2009 and only when other states 
that are participating in the regional greenhouse gas initiative that produce a minimum of 
35,000,000 tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions budget and participate in a wholesale 
electricity market administered and overseen by the regional transmission organization 
have initiated a comparable carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program. Nothing in this 
section precludes the department from initiating air emissions licensing of carbon dioxide 
budget sources or from participating in auctions for the sale of carbon dioxide 
allowances. 
Sec. 7. 38 MRS A §580-B, sub-§7-A is enacted to read: 
7-A. Voluntary renewable energy market set-aside. The department shall set aside 
a portion not to exceed 1 % of the State's annual carbon dioxide emissions budget in a 
voluntary renewable market set-aside account. The allowances from this account must be 
retired in an amount equal to the amount of carbon dioxide emissions reduced by the 
voluntary purchase of renewable energy credits by the citizens of the State up to the 
amount held in the set-aside account. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing the regional greenhouse 
gas initiative. 
1. 
It specifies that the State may not assess any indirect charges on any revenue 
received from the sale of carbon dioxide allowances. 
2. It clarifies that futfds from the Energy and Carbon Savings Trd~t, which under 
current law may be used by the Department Of Environmental Protection for 
administering the allowance auction, may also be used by the Department of 
Environmental Protection for participating in the regional organization. 
3. It specifies that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the members 
of the Public Utilities Commission may act as representatives for the State in the regional 
organization and may contract with organizations and entities to carry out the purposes of 
the regional greenhouse gas initiative. 
4. It amends the definition of "fossil fuel fired" to reflect changes to that definition 
that were incorporated into the regional greenhouse gas initiative model rules. 
5. It requires the Department of Environmental Protection to set aside a portion of the 
State's annual carbon dioxide emissions budget in a voluntary renewable market set-aside 
account. 
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