Bill Text: FL H1463 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Study of Alternative Energy Resources

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Energy & Utilities Policy (GGPC) [H1463 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-H1463-Introduced.html

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HB 1463

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to a study of alternative energy
3	resources; providing legislative findings; requiring the
4	Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida to contract
5	with a professional organization to study an alternative
6	energy policy for the state and develop a renewable energy
7	and economic development investment plan; setting forth
8	the subjects to be studied by the contracting
9	organization; requiring that the contracting organization
10	submit a final report to the Governor, the President of
11	the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
12	Representatives by a specified date; providing an
13	effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1. Strategy for promoting alternative energy
18	resources.-
19	(1)(a) The Legislature finds that the energy industry in
20	the United States and throughout the industrialized world is
21	moving toward the use of cleaner alternative energy sources,
22	such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal, which reduce the
23	emission of pollutants and carbon dioxide, as well as reduce
24	dependence on imported fossil fuels. The Legislature also finds
25	that other states have taken steps to hasten this shift to
26	alternative energy sources, using a variety of incentives,
27	regulations, and other policy tools to stimulate alternative
28	energy resource activities for both environmental and economic
29	reasons, principally job creation.
30	(b) The Legislature finds that this state offers tax
31	exemptions to buyers and owners of alternative energy equipment
32	but other incentive programs in the state are fragmented and are
33	mostly developed and implemented by local counties or private
34	utilities. The Legislature finds that if an effective statewide
35	alternative energy policy were implemented to encourage the
36	adoption of alternative energy resources, the result could
37	simultaneously increase the state's renewable energy generation
38	capacity and create jobs for residents of this state.
39	(2) As a part of the efforts to design an effective
40	alternative energy resource policy for the state, the
41	Legislature intends that, subject to available resources, the
42	Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida shall contract with
43	SRI International to study an alternative energy policy for the
44	state and develop a renewable energy and economic development
45	investment plan. For the study, SRI International shall:
46	(a) Review all locally available literature, including SRI
47	International's in-house research and databases, to lay out the
48	range of alternative energy policy and program options, focusing
49	on each option's relative merits and limitations.
50	(b) Examine the alternative energy policies of other
51	states or regions which encourage alternative energy use, and
52	assess the policies or programs that are in place. In order to
53	distinguish and examine the more effective policies, SRI
54	International shall gather data on several benchmark states that
55	exhibit best practices in alternative energy policy.
56	(c) After identifying the different policy approaches used
57	to promote alternative energy, evaluate the details of the
58	approaches that have been the most successful for stimulating
59	investment in and adoption of alternative energy resources.
60	(d) Conduct interviews with stakeholders in the
61	development of an alternative energy policy to discuss and
62	solicit feedback regarding various policy and program options
63	for an alternative energy policy.
64	(3) SRI International shall submit a final report to the
65	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
66	House of Representatives by January 15, 2011. The final report
67	must include:
68	(a) Summaries of the interviews.
69	(b) An analysis of the alternative energy policies of the
70	other states.
71	(c) An analysis of the alternative energy policies of the
72	State of Florida.
73	(d) A description of the basic structure and optional
74	parts of an alternative energy plan for use in this state.
75	(e) An initial set of recommendations for consideration
76	and implementation by the Governor and Legislature.
77
78	The Legislature intends that the report recommend a set of well-
79	designed, actionable, and appropriate policies based on SRI
80	International's research to promote alternative energy and
81	statewide job growth in this state. In particular, the
82	recommendations should include whether incentive programs or
83	regulatory requirements should be implemented and how such
84	efforts can be integrated into existing alternative energy
85	research being conducted at Florida universities.
86	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.