House Bill No. 10

Introduced By quilici

By Request of the Office of Budget and Program Planning

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act appropriating oil overcharge money for programs administered by the state of Montana; and providing an effective date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Policy. [Sections 1 through 15 16 15] implement the policy stated in 90-4-210.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 15 16 15], the following definitions apply:

(1) "Amoco payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana pursuant to the decision and order of the U.S. department of energy in Case No. HQF-0588 and any interest accrued on the payments.

(2) "Carryover" means unspent oil overcharge funds previously appropriated and incorporated into an approved program plan for one of the federal energy conservation programs, but not included in unspent project funds as defined in subsection (9).

(3) "Cities service payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana pursuant to the consent agreement between cities service oil and gas and the U.S. department of energy, as affirmed by the federal energy regulatory commission, and any interest accrued on the payments.

(4) "Diamond shamrock payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana as the result of the final settlement agreement in the U.S. district court for the southern district of Ohio eastern division in Civil Action No. C2-84-1432 and any interest accrued on the payments.

(5) "Exxon payments" means the oil overcharge payments made by the exxon corporation to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana pursuant to the order of the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia in Civil Action No. 78-1035 and any interest accrued on the payments.

(6) "Getty oil payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana pursuant to the order of disbursement issued in Civil Action No. 77-347 (MMS) in the U.S. district court for the district of Delaware and any interest accrued on the payments.

(7) "Stripper well payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana as the result of the final settlement agreement in the U.S. district court for the district of Kansas, Cause No. M.D.L. 378, and any interest accrued on the payments. The term also includes but is not limited to cities service payments, as defined in subsection (3), getty oil payments, as defined in subsection (6), texaco payments, as defined in subsection (8), and any unspent project funds, as defined in subsection (9).

(8) "Texaco payments" means the oil overcharge payments made to the U.S. treasury for distribution to the state of Montana pursuant to the texaco final consent order, 53 Fed. Reg. 32929, August 29, 1988, and any interest accrued on the payments.

(9) "Unspent project funds" means stripper well payments that were not expended or otherwise legally obligated during the 1997 biennium but were appropriated for the 1997 biennium in Chapter 63, Laws of 1995, in:

(a) section 4;

(b) section 5;

(c) section 6;

(d) section 7; and

(e) section 8.

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Deposit of oil overcharge revenue. All funds from stripper well, amoco, and exxon payments must be deposited by the state treasurer in the federal special revenue fund. All interest earned on any of these funds or payments also must be deposited in the federal special revenue fund.

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Matching funds for low-income energy assistance -- appropriation. (1) There is appropriated $100,000 $250,000 $180,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of public health and human services for the purpose described in subsection (2).

(2) The department of public health and human services shall USE THE FUNDS APPROPRIATED IN SUBSECTION (1) TO match private contributions to energy share, inc., to be used to provide emergency energy assistance to residents with incomes between 125% and 150% of poverty guidelines who are not eligible for federal low-income energy assistance. All of the funds appropriated to the department for this purpose under subsection (1) must be used for clients' fuel bills or other emergency energy needs.

NEW SECTION. SECTION 5.  LOW-INCOME HOME WEATHERIZATION -- APPROPRIATION. THERE IS APPROPRIATED $150,000 $230,000 FROM THE STRIPPER WELL PAYMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR USE IN THE HOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM CREATED IN 90-4-201.

NEW SECTION. Section 6.  Recommissioning state-owned buildings -- appropriation. (1) There is appropriated $80,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to identify and implement low-cost maintenance activities and modifications to equipment and procedures that will enable state building systems to operate at their designed efficiencies, reducing energy consumption in buildings by 5% to 10%.

(2) ALTHOUGH THE AGGREGATE ENERGY COST SAVINGS REALIZED FROM THIS PROGRAM COULD BE SIGNIFICANT, THE AMOUNT OF SAVINGS REALIZED BY INDIVIDUAL AGENCIES IS NOT LIKELY TO BE SUBSTANTIAL. THEREFORE, IT IS THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATURE THAT AGENCIES BE ALLOWED TO KEEP AND USE ANY ENERGY COST SAVINGS REALIZED AS AN INCENTIVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM. THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY SHALL REPORT THE AMOUNT OF SAVINGS TO THE 1999 LEGISLATURE, AT WHICH TIME THIS POLICY MAY BE REEVALUATED.

NEW SECTION. Section 6.  Infrastructure to support purchase and use of ethanol-fueled vehicles -- appropriation. There is appropriated $100,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to help establish a refueling infrastructure that will support the use of ethanol-fueled (E-85) vehicles. A one-time investment of oil overcharge dollars will be used to leverage private-sector funds to provide pilot alternative refueling stations to supply alternative-fueled vehicles.

NEW SECTION. SECTION 7.  INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT PURCHASE AND USE OF ETHANOL-FUELED VEHICLES -- APPROPRIATION. THERE IS APPROPRIATED $70,000 FROM THE STRIPPER WELL PAYMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY TO HELP ESTABLISH A REFUELING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL SUPPORT THE USE OF ETHANOL-FUELED (E-85) VEHICLES. A ONE-TIME INVESTMENT OF OIL OVERCHARGE DOLLARS WILL BE USED TO LEVERAGE PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDS TO PROVIDE PILOT ALTERNATIVE REFUELING STATIONS TO SUPPLY ALTERNATIVE-FUELED VEHICLES.

NEW SECTION. Section 8.  Reduce petroleum use in Yellowstone region -- appropriation. There is appropriated $75,000 $25,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to promote expanded use of alternative fuels within Yellowstone park and to develop means of increasing energy-efficient tourist travel in the region NEIGHBORING MONTANA COMMUNITIES.

NEW SECTION. Section 9.  Small business and tribal environmental compliance loan fund program -- appropriation. There is appropriated $250,000 $180,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to provide a grant to the department of commerce microbusiness finance program to offer loans to small businesses and tribal communities for pollution control equipment, petroleum-based chemical product substitution, equipment replacement, pollution prevention, energy conservation, and waste minimization.

NEW SECTION. Section 10.  Recycling for mercury-containing lamps -- appropriation. There is appropriated $36,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to reduce disposal costs and enhance energy savings from lighting retrofits by providing equipment and training to establish a self-sustaining lamp recycling program.

NEW SECTION. Section 11.  Home energy rating system -- appropriation. There is appropriated $120,000 $80,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to work with representatives of the housing industry in a collaborative effort to identify AND ADOPT a home energy rating system applicable to Montana.

NEW SECTION. Section 11.  Promote energy-efficient transportation infrastructure -- appropriation. There is appropriated $140,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to work with local governments to promote the design and eventual construction of an inherently less polluting, more energy-efficient transportation infrastructure.

NEW SECTION.  SECTION 11.  LOW-INCOME HOME WEATHERIZATION -- APPROPRIATION. THERE IS APPROPRIATED ANOTHER $295,000 FROM THE STRIPPER WELL PAYMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR USE IN THE HOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM CREATED IN 90-4-201.

NEW SECTION. SECTION 12.  FOOD BANK NETWORK TRANSPORTATION -- APPROPRIATION. THERE IS APPROPRIATED $5,000 FROM THE STRIPPER WELL PAYMENTS CONTAINED IN THE FEDERAL SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR USE IN ASSISTING THE MONTANA FOOD BANK NETWORK WITH COORDINATED ENERGY-EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION OF FOOD TO DROP SITES AND LOCAL FOOD BANKS STATEWIDE.

NEW SECTION. Section 13.  Energy share foundation -- appropriation. (1) Pursuant to subsection (2), there is appropriated $100,000 from the stripper well payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of public health and human services for the purpose described in subsection (2) TO HELP CAPITALIZE A PERMANENT LOW-INCOME ENERGY FOUNDATION.

(2) The appropriation in subsection (1) is effective if a bill is passed and approved to establish a permanent foundation that may be capitalized through a combination of tax credits for energy providers and additional charges to those same companies that could be passed on to their energy customers.

NEW SECTION. Section 13.  Carryover -- reappropriations. There is reappropriated $25,000 from the stripper well payments, $50,000 from the exxon payments, $57,000 from the diamond shamrock payments, and $1,500 from the amoco payments contained in the federal special revenue fund to the department of environmental quality to fund the state energy program administered by the department pursuant to 10 CFR 420.

NEW SECTION. Section 14.  Conditions applied to appropriations. (1) The appropriations made in [sections 4 through 13 14 13] are biennial appropriations.

(2) One-half of the total amount appropriated to each program in [sections 4 through 13 14 13] is appropriated in fiscal year 1998 and the remainder is appropriated in fiscal year 1999. As biennial appropriations, the unexpended funds appropriated in fiscal year 1998 may be carried forward within each program to fiscal year 1999.

(3) The appropriations in [section 13 14 13] are limited to available funds. Expenditures of carryover funds may not exceed the actual amount of unspent funds available.

NEW SECTION. Section 15.  Appropriations prioritized. (1) The appropriations in [sections 4 through 12 13 12] are approved in order of priority as they appear in [sections 4 through 12 13 12], with the appropriation in [section 4] having the highest priority and the appropriation in [section 12 13 12] having the lowest priority. If the U.S. department of energy does not approve one or more of the programs that are funded by [sections 4 through 12 13 12], any stripper well payments that are not used to fund the higher-priority program must be provided to the lower-ranked program up to the amounts appropriated in [sections 4 through 12 13 12].

(2) If stripper well payments are insufficient to fully fund the appropriations made in [sections 4 through 12 13 12], allocations to the lowest-ranking program must be reduced until the deficiency is eliminated. If the deficiency is in excess of the appropriation to the lowest-ranking program, the next lowest-ranking program must have its appropriation reduced until the deficiency is eliminated and so forth as the programs are prioritized. These priorities must be applied to one-half of the total amount appropriated in [sections 4 through 12 13 12] for fiscal year 1998 and to the remaining appropriation for fiscal year 1999.

(3) In order to provide continuity for the programs when establishing the appropriations for each fiscal year of the 1999 biennium, anticipated stripper well payments that will be received under terms of the stripper well agreement during the biennium may be considered as available to fund the activities.

(4) The expenditure of money appropriated by [sections 4 through 12 13 12] may not exceed the amount of the stripper well payments available in the biennium.

NEW SECTION. Section 16.  Coordination instruction. If House Bill No. 12 is passed and approved, the stripper well payments appropriated in House Bill No. 12 have a higher priority than any appropriation of stripper well payments in [sections 4 through 12 13 12].

NEW SECTION. Section 17.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.

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