An Act To Provide Climate Change Transition Assistance for Maine's Energy-intensive Businesses
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1554
Committee Amendment CA_A_SA_A_S618 (Senate)
Amends: 35-A MRSA §10109

SENATE AMENDMENT" fl "to COivfMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1159, 
L.D. 1554, "An Act To Provide Climate Change Transition Assistance for Maine's Energy-
intensive Businesses" 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of sections 2 and 3 and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §10109, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2021, c. 298, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
4. Expenditures; projects. Except for transfers required under subsection 3 f._ and 
other costs authorized in accordance with this chapter, funds in the trust fund must be 
expended in accordance with this subsection. 
A. Trust funds must be allocated for measures, investments, loans, technical assistance 
and arrangements that reduce electricity consumption, increase energy efficiency or 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower energy costs at commercial or industrial 
facilities and for investment in measures that lower residential heating energy demand 
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The measures that lower residential heating 
demand must be fuel-neutral and may include, but are not limited to, energy efficiency 
improvements to residential buildings, energy storage systems and upgrades to 
efficient heating systems that will reduce residential energy costs and greenhouse gas 
emissions, as determined by the board. The trust shall ensure that measures to reduce 
the cost of residential heating are available for low-income households as defined by 
the trust. When promoting electricity cost and consumption reduction, the trust may 
consider measures at commercial and industrial facilities that also lower peak capacity 
demand, including energy storage systems. Subject to the apportionment pursuant to 
this subsection, the trust shall fund conservation programs that give priority to 
measures with the highest benefit-to-cost ratio, as long as cost-effective collateral 
efficiency opportunities are not lost, and that: 
(1) Reliably reduce greenhouse gas production and heating energy costs by fossil 
fuel combustion in the State at the lowest cost in funds from the trust fund per unit 
of emissions; or 
(2) Reliably increase the efficiency with which energy in the State is consumed at 
the lowest cost in funds from the trust fund per unit of energy saved. 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
SENATE AMENDMENT" (,}-" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1159, L.D. 1554 {$-f.a/8) 
B. 
Expenditures from the trust fund relating to conservation of electricity and 
mitigation or reduction of greenhouse gases must be made predominantly on the basis 
of a competitive bid process for long-term contracts, subject to rules adopted by the 
board under section 10105. Rules adopted by the board to implement the competitive 
bid process under this paragraph may not include an avoided cost methodology for 
compensating successful bidders. Bidders may propose contracts designed to produce 
greenhouse gas savings or electricity conservation savings, or both, on a unit cost basis. 
Contracts must be commercially reasonable and may require liquidated damages to 
ensure performance. Contracts must provide sufficient certainty of payment to enable 
commercial financing of the conservation measure purchased and its installation. 
C. The board may target bid competitions in areas or to participants as they consider 
necessary, as long as the requirements of paragraph A are satisfied. 
D. 
Community-based renewable energy projects, as defined in section 3602, 
subsection 1, may apply for funding from the trust to the extent they are eligible under 
paragraph A. 
E. The size of a project funded by the trust fund is not limited as long as funds are 
awarded to maximize energy efficiency and support greenhouse gas reductions and to 
fully implement the triennial plan. 
F. No more than $800,000 of trust fund receipts in any one year may be used for the 
costs of administering the trust fund pursuant to this section. The limit on 
administrative costs established in this paragraph does not apply to the following costs 
that may be funded by the trust fund: 
( 1) Costs of the Department of Environmental Protection 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-B; and 
(2) Costs of the Attorney General for activities pertaining to the tracking and 
monitoring of allowance trading activity and managing and evaluating the trust's 
funding of conservation programs. 
G. In order to minimize administrative costs and maximize program participation and 
effectiveness, the trustees shall, to the greatest extent feasible, coordinate the delivery 
of and make complementary the energy efficiency programs under this section and 
other programs under this chapter. 
H. The trust shall consider delivery of efficiency programs by means of contracts with 
service providers that participate in competitive bid processes for reducing energy 
consumption within individual market segments or for particular end uses. 
I. A trade association aggregator is eligible to participate in competitive bid processes 
under this subsection. 
J. 
Trust fund receipts must, upon request by the Department of Environmental 
Protection, fund research approved by the Department of Environmental Protection in 
an amount of up to $100,000 per year to develop new categories for carbon dioxide 
emissions offset projects, as defined in Title 38, section 580-A, subsection 6, that are 
located in the State. Expenditures on research pursuant to this paragraph are not 
considered administrative costs under paragraph F, subparagraph (1). 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" ,4 "to COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"A" to H.P. 1159, L.D. 1554(5-Ca.{5) 
K. The trust shall establish an industrial climate transition initiative to develop and 
support climate change mitigation strategies designed to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions at industrial facilities in the State. 
In establishing the initiative and 
developing climate change mitigation strategies for industrial facilities, the trust shall: 
(1) Prioritize mitigation strategies identified in the State's climate action plan, as 
adopted and updated under Title 38, section 577, that offer the most cost-effective 
means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities; and 
(2) Consider mitigation strategies and other recommendations identified by any 
working group, task force or other advisory body that is established by the Maine 
Climate Council, established under Title 38, section 577-A, to develop strategies 
and other recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial 
facilities in the State. 
The trust may allocate funds from the trust fund, and may expend any federal funds or 
other public or private funding that may be available, to establish the initiative under 
this paragraph and to develop and support climate change mitigation strategies 
designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities in the State. 
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
EFFICIENCY MAINE TRUST 
Efficiency Maine Trust ZlO0 
fuitiative: Provides funding to the Efficiency Maine Trust to be deposited in the Regional 
Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
35-A, section 10109, subsection 2 and used to fund the establishment and activities of the 
industrial climate transition initiative under Title 35-A, section 10109, subsection 4, 
paragraph K. 
GENERAL FUND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
2021-22 
$0 
$0 
2022-23 
$500,000 
$500,000 
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the appropriations and allocations section in Committee 
Amendment "A": The amendment makes a technical change to avoid creating a conflict in 
recently amended law. 
SPONSORED BY: =--~---1-1-_.;,__..:;,_ ____ 
_ 
(Senator BREEN, C.) 
COUNTY: Cumberland 
FISCAL NOTE REQUJalJ> 
(Seuttaclled) 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/22/22 feae 
LD 1554 
LR 1670(05) 
An Act To Provide Climate Change Transition Assistance for Maine's Energy-intensive Businesses 
Fiscal Note for Senate Amendment 'It'' to Committee Amendment II A 11 {s-(Q! 8) 
Sponsor: Sen. Breen of Cumberland 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2021-22 
FY 2022-23 
($6,000,000) 
$500,000 
($6,000,000) 
$500,000 
Projections 
FY 2023-24 
$0 
$0 
Projections 
FY 2024-25 
$0 
$0 
This amendment replaces the one-time appropriation of $6,000,000 in fiscal year 2021-22 to the Efficiency Maine 
Trust with a one-time appropriation of $500,000 in fiscal year 2022-23. 
LR1670(05) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1