Every Wednesday, Stateside Associates will feature energy-related legislative, regulatory, and federal programs impacting state and local public policies and proceedings, including upcoming Groups events, activities, and conversations in This Week in Energy.
For more information on our Energy Practice, please contact Taylor Beis.
LEGISLATIVE, REGULATORY and LOCAL UPDATES
ALASKA
The Senate Resources Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding HB 50. This measure requires the Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to submit an annual report on the accounting of the carbon storage closure trust fund and information on the licensing of carbon storage leases.
Contact: Ian Thompson
The House Finance Committee will hold a hearing on April 25 regarding the following. For more information on these measures, contact Ian Thompson.
- HB 154: This measure amends the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation's subsidiary creation function to include sustainable energy development projects. The Alaska Energy Authority may provide technical assistance for supporting and establishing nonprofit entities to provide financial assistance for sustainable energy development projects.
- HB 307: Current Alaska law requires an independent power producer to pay state and local government ad valorem, income, and excise taxes. This measure would require an independent power producer (IPP) to pay a tax to the state on the number of kilowatt hours of electricity sold during the preceding calendar year.
- HB 368: This measure establishes a clean energy standard of 35% by December 31, 2036, and 60% by December 31, 2051. Clean energy sources include coal with a sulfur content of 1% or less by weight, hydropower, geothermal, waste-to-wood, biofuels, and nuclear energy.
CALIFORNIA
The Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding the following:
- AB 3107: This measure requires the Energy Commission to study the benefits of microgrids for local governments and communities. A report must be submitted by January 1, 2027.
Contact: Ian Thompson
- AB 2697: This measure requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop network roaming requirements for electric vehicle chargers and charging station networks by January 1, 2026, applying to the charging network of charging network providers that received an incentive from a state agency or through a charge on ratepayers, as specified.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
- AB 2368: This measure requires the Independent System Operator, if it finds that the primary cause of a power outage is the insufficient procurement of generation resources, to share its findings and recommendations for procuring necessary resources with the Public Utilities Commission, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Legislature.
Contact: Ian Thompson
- AB 2256: This requires the Public Utilities Commission to revise the standard contract or tariff for net energy metering and for generation by a renewable electrical generation facility when appropriate. They must ensure that customer-sited renewable distributed generation continues to grow at a pace identified by the state as needed to meet the state’s climate goals, rather than sustainably; that the standard contract or tariff is based on an independent assessment of the cost of service analysis and the total benefits of the renewable electrical generation facility, including quantifiable nonenergy benefits; and that the total benefits of the standard contract or tariff to all customers and the electrical system are approximately equal to or greater than the total costs.
Contact: Ian Thompson
- AB 2495: This measure requires each joint report issued on or after January 1, 2026, to include an evaluation identifying geographic locations for the development of renewable energy and zero-carbon resources. The report is required to include a comparison of existing and needed transmission infrastructure, potential infrastructure locations, and barriers to the deployment of infrastructure.
Contact: Ian Thompson
The Assembly Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding the following:
- AB 2678: This measure proposes to extend existing state law that allows qualified alternative fuel, plug-in electric, and hybrid vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes regardless of occupancy. Electric vehicles may be issued decals or other identifiers and must be displaying an identifier to use HOV lanes.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
- AB 2147: This measure would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission's joint review and report to also include information on the progress made on job creation and workforce development in support of hydrogen fueling, limited to the construction, operation, and maintenance of hydrogen-fueling stations that are funded by active commission agreements.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
- AB 1918: This measure provides a building is exempt from current standards requiring residential and commercial buildings to be solar-ready or have photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems installed if the building is within the service territory of a public utility district that receives its electricity from carbon-free sources.
Contact: Ian Thompson
The Senate Environmental Quality Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding SB 941. This measure requires the next scoping plan to:
- Discuss industrial sources of emissions and current technologies to reduce emissions
- Discuss industrial sources that have no feasible zero-emissions alternatives
- Include an approximation of industrial emissions that cannot be eliminated
- Include policy recommendations for decarbonization including the replacement of combustion technology with zero-emissions technology
Contact: Ian Thompson
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on April 29 regarding SB 1006. This measure requires transmission utilities to prepare a grid-enhancing technologies strategy plan by January 1, 2026. Once finished, a plan must be submitted to the Public Utilities Commission. Plans must include methods to increase transmission capacity, reduce transmission congestion, increase renewable and zero-carbon resources, and increase grid resilience.
Contact: Ian Thompson
COLORADO
The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding HB 1346. This measure permits the Energy and Carbon Management Commission (Commission) to regulate, issue, and enforce permits related to geologic storage.
Contact: Ian Thompson
The Senate Local Government and Housing Committee will hold a hearing on April 25 regarding HB 1304. This measure restricts counties and municipalities within a metropolitan planning organization from enforcing minimum parking requirements for real property but allows for the enactment of maximum parking requirements and minimum requirements for bicycle parking. It permits charging fees for voluntarily provided motor vehicle parking spaces and the inclusion of vehicle charging stations.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
LOUISIANA
The Senate Committee on Transportation, Highways, and Public Works will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding HB 515. This measure prohibits any state agency from restricting the use or sale of a motor vehicle based on the energy source used to power the motor vehicle, including the energy source for propulsion or the use of powering other functions of the motor vehicle.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding HB 1465. This measure requires the Department of Energy to publish a report on nuclear energy development studies starting December 1, 2025.
Contact: Ian Thompson
OHIO
The House Public Utilities Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding HB 197. This measure requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish a community solar pilot program that will consist of one thousand five hundred megawatts. The Commission must certify two hundred fifty megawatts until one thousand megawatts of nameplate capacity occurs. Five hundred megawatts must be certified for sites on distressed land. The Commission must promulgate rules and regulations no more than 6 months after this measure takes effect.
Contact: Ian Thompson
The Senate Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on April 24 regarding SR 155. This resolution reaffirms the State of Ohio's commitment to consumer choice in the automotive marketplace by neither mandating nor prohibiting the purchase of specific vehicle technologies. It also urges the Biden Administration to ensure all regulations being promulgated by the U.S. EPA regarding light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles protect American families and workers by being both economically practicable and technologically feasible, which means preventing direct or indirect electric vehicle mandates.
Contact: Maxwell Klein
REGULATORY HIGHLIGHTS
COLORADO
The Public Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing on April 30 on proposed rules concerning regional electricity market participation.
Contact: Amy Cole
IOWA
The Economic Development Authority will hold a public hearing on April 29 on proposed amendments to rules concerning the Iowa Energy Center Grant Program. Comments are due April 29.
Contact: Genevieve Kaplan
MASSACHUSETTS
The Department of Public Utilities will accept comments until April 26 on a staff proposal to implement a statutory provision that allows more than one net metering facility to be located on a single parcel of land.
Contact: Nick Zuppas
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
For more information regarding the below local highlights, please contact Stephanie Rojo, Director of Local Services.
ALABAMA
The Clark County Commission will meet on April 25 to consider amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance regarding commercial solar energy systems. The proposed measure includes modifying regulations for setback requirements and screening.
COLORADO
The Fort Collins City Council held a work discussion on April 23 to discuss recommendations from staff derived from the Building Performance Standards (BPS) policy development process. Staff highlighted BPS as a key part of a larger strategy to reduce climate pollution and air pollution as a regulatory lever. Staff have partnered with community contributors who helped provide a full consideration of local circumstances and conditions, sharing feedback that accounts for lived experiences in our community. Building performance standards policy work aligns with the 2024-2026 adopted council priorities and the Our Climate Future Plan, specifically, the goal of an 80% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030 and Big Move 6: Efficient, Emissions Free Buildings. Video of the meeting is available here.
OREGON
The Portland City Council will meet on April 24 to consider creating the Sustainability and Climate Commission. In 2010, the city combined the Planning Commission and the Multnomah County/Portland Sustainable Development Commission to create the Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC). In the intervening years, the oversight responsibilities related to both land use planning and sustainability in Portland have become more than one commission can undertake effectively. In addition, issues related to sustainability and climate change have become more prominent and urgent. The Planning Commission Code Amendments project dissolved the PSC and formed the Planning Commission in February 2023. The new Sustainability and Climate Commission will among other things, create the City's Climate Action Plan and other guiding documents on climate, advance the City’s efforts to mitigate the human-made climate crisis and prioritize environmental justice initiatives, and ensure the City is on track to meet established climate goals.
INFRASTRUCTURE HIGHLIGHTS
The section below provides snippets of weekly updates on infrastructure and infrastructure funding policy, programs, and deployment updates related to clean transportation. For more information on our Infrastructure Funding Services, including our first-class grants, awards, and incentives monitoring database, click here.
CLEAN TRANSPORTATION: ELECTRIC VEHICLES & CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
FEDERAL
On April 16, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a $54 million Communities Taking Charge Accelerator funding opportunity to enhance electric mobility in communities without access to home charging infrastructure and to transition all types of fleets to electric vehicles. It also focuses on developing managed charging solutions to optimize grid efficiency and integrate renewable energy to promote sustainability, economic growth, and community health.
ILLINOIS
On April 18, a Senate bill to establish the Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging Station Act was passed by the Senate. This act requires the Department of Transportation to ensure that charging stations in the state are sufficiently accessible to allow independent use by drivers with disabilities, including people who have limited or no hand dexterity, limb differences, or upper extremity amputations and use adaptive driving controls.
OKLAHOMA
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is moving forward with the first phase of expanding electric vehicle infrastructure after the Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved more than $8 million in federal funds be awarded to three private partners to build 13 charging stations along Oklahoma interstates. The charging stations are expected to be opened in 2025.
GROUPS EVENTS
For more information on these events, please contact Taylor Beis.
National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)
Southeast Region Meeting
Atlanta, GA
April 30- May 1
