2013 Legislative Digest Southern States Energy Board Legislative2013 Digest A Guide to Energy and Environment Legislation in the South 2013 Legislative Digest A Guide to Energy and Environment Legislation in the South October 2013 Covering measures in 16 states and two U.S. territories With an introduction by Representative Rocky Adkins, Kentucky SSEB Vice-Chair 1 Acknowledgments The Southern States Energy Board’s 2013 Legislative Digest is compiled each year in collaboration with member states and territories. We would like to thank the Board members, legislative research staff and state administrative officials and their staffs for assisting us in compiling and reviewing the Digest. Published by Southern States Energy Board 6325 Amherst Court Norcross, Georgia 30092 Phone: (770) 242-7712 Fax: (770) 242-9956 Web: www.sseb.org Email: [email protected] 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................... 2 Representative Rocky Adkins ................................................ 5 Introduction ................................................................................ 7 Categories of Energy Legislation ......................................... 15 Categories of Environmental Legislation ......................... 17 Matrices and Graphs ............................................................... 19 Abbreviations ............................................................................................... 20 Matrices of 2013 Energy and Environmental Legislation .......................... 21 Overall Energy Legislation .......................................................................... 23 Overall Environmental Legislation ............................................................. 24 Southern States Energy Board Member States Alabama ....................................................................................................... 25 Arkansas ...................................................................................................... 35 Florida .......................................................................................................... 49 Georgia ......................................................................................................... 73 Kentucky ...................................................................................................... 81 Louisiana ..................................................................................................... 89 Maryland .................................................................................................... 103 Mississippi ................................................................................................. 123 Missouri ..................................................................................................... 137 North Carolina ............................................................................................ 151 Oklahoma .................................................................................................... 177 Puerto Rico ................................................................................................ 187 South Carolina ............................................................................................ 191 Tennessee .................................................................................................. 197 Texas .......................................................................................................... 207 U.S. Virgin Islands ..................................................................................... 243 Virginia ...................................................................................................... 247 West Virginia ............................................................................................. 267 Southern States Energy Board .......................................... 274 2012-2013 Executive Committee .............................................................. 274 Members of the Board ............................................................................... 275 3 4 Representative Rocky Adkins State Representative Rocky Adkins currently serves as House Majority Floor Leader after being chosen for the post by his Democratic colleagues in November 2003. A long-time veteran of the Kentucky House of Representatives, he is now serving in his 25th year as a Legislator. A native of Sandy Hook, Kentucky, Representative Adkins is a graduate of Elliott County High School and Morehead State University, where he also received his Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. In 1986, Representative Adkins was elected to the 99th House District at the age of 26, making him one of the youngest members ever elected to serve in the Kentucky legislature. Representative Adkins quickly accumulated legislative responsibilities and served on a number of influential committees, including the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee and the Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation. A leader in the field of energy independence, Representative Adkins has introduced several ground-breaking pieces of legislation that will help our nation achieve energy self sufficiency in the coming years. His legislation includes incentives for the conversion for coal to transportation fuels, use of agricultural products for energy such as biodiesel, biomass, ethanol, and cellulose and greater utilization of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro. Representative Adkins' legislative initiatives also promote conservation and incentives for energy efficient home building and construction. He was appointed Vice-Chair of the Southern States Energy Board in 2008 by Chair, Governor Joe Manchin, who called Representative Adkins, “the South's lead legislator on energy.” Representative Adkins is a 14-year survivor of cancer and he actively raises funds for research by sponsoring an annual golf tournament entitled the “Rocky Adkins Charity Golf Outing Cure for Cancer.” The tournaments have raised more than $1 million since 1995. 5 6 Introduction Representative Rocky Adkins It is my privilege to present the 2013 Energy and Environmental Legislative Digest. For more than four decades, the Southern States Energy Board has published this Digest, and each year the Board endeavors to ensure that the information representing the legislative trends in the South is accurate and complete. A compendium of energy and environmental legislation enacted by the Board’s 18 member states and territories during the 2013 legislative sessions, this document thoroughly examines legislation passed state-by-state. No other document provides such a comprehensive review of energy and environmental legislation in our member states. This year our member states and territories passed over 790 pieces of legislation. Precise bill summaries are categorized for easy comparison. Energy measures are divided among the following categories: Alternative Energy Development; Coal and Minerals; Emergency Management and Homeland Security; Energy Efficiency; Natural Gas and Petroleum; Reorganization and Coordination; and Utilities. Many acts could easily fit into several of these categories as they seek to dramatically improve our energy independence. Energy related matters accounted for 30 percent of the total legislation summarized in this document. The largest topic areas this year was Natural Gas and Petroleum where there were 78 bills passed and Utilities with the passage of 66 bills. Environmental measures are divided into the following categories: Air Quality and Pollution Control; Coastal Zone Management; Emergency Management and Homeland Security; Environmental Health Services; Hazardous Waste and Substance Management; Inland Water Resource Management and Conservation; Land Management and Conservation; Radioactive Waste; Reorganization and Coordination; Solid Waste; and Water Quality and Pollution Control. The largest two categories continue to be Inland Water Resource Management and Conservation and Land Management and Conservation. These two categories combined for 221 pieces of legislation. When examining legislation passed state-by-state it is not unusual to observe certain trends or themes. This year was no different. The most apparent, yet least surprising trend, involved the adoption of many measures dealing with natural gas and petroleum development. Since the publication of the 2012 Digest, four states adopted measures significantly increasing penalties for utility tampering. Another theme involved products used given preference under systems determining energy efficiency in buildings. Four states adopted measures providing that sustainable building rating systems used for state-funded buildings may not exclude certificate credits for forest products several certifying agencies. An interesting trend that continued from 2012 in the natural gas arena is various incentives to support vehicles fueled by compressed or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Finally, a number of states continue to address the problem of metal theft 7 that is causing economic hardship on citizens, businesses, and governments as well as rising utility and insurance rates by imposing stricter standards on sellers and recyclers. While many states addressed similar issues, each state also had specific areas of law that warranted special attention. That said, each SSEB member state’s highlights are summarized in the following section. Alabama adopted 34 energy and environmental bills during the 2013 legislative