Virginia House Bill 2303 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: Passed on March 16 2017 - 100% progression
Action: 2017-03-16 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0565)
Text: Latest bill text (Chaptered) [HTML]

Small agricultural generators. Establishes the parameters of a program under which small agricultural generators may sell the electricity generated from a small agricultural generating facility to its utility. Effective July 1, 2019, enrollment by eligible agricultural customer-generators in an existing net energy metering program conducted by an electric cooperative will cease, though a cooperative's customers who were participating as eligible agricultural customer-generators before that date are allowed to remain in the net metering program for not more than 25 years. A small agricultural generator is defined in this measure as a customer who operates an electrical generating facility as part of an agricultural business, which generating facility, among other conditions, has a capacity of not more than 1.5 megawatts, uses renewable energy as its total source of fuel, has a capacity that does not exceed 150 percent of the customer's expected annual energy consumption based on the previous 12 months of billing history, uses not more than 25 percent of contiguous land owned or controlled by the agricultural business for purposes of the renewable energy generating facility, and is a PURPA qualifying small power production facility. The program for small agricultural generators requires the generator to enter into a power purchase agreement with its supplier to sell all of the electricity generated at a rate not less than the supplier's State Corporation Commission-approved avoided cost tariff for energy and capacity. The program also provides for utilities to recover distribution service costs and costs incurred to purchase electricity, capacity, and renewable energy certificates from the small agricultural generator through its Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) rate adjustment clause if the utility has a Commission-approved RPS plan and rate adjustment clause or, if the utility does not have a Commission-approved RPS rate adjustment clause, then the costs shall be recoverable through the supplier's fuel adjustment clause or through the utility's cost of purchased power. Finally, the measure directs the Commission to conduct a single docketed proceeding to implement the provisions of this measure. This bill is identical to SB 1394.

Small agricultural generators; establishes parameters of a program.

Del. Randall Minchew [R]	Del. Timothy Hugo [R]	Del. Steven Landes [R]	Del. Joesph Lindsey [D]
Del. David Yancey [R]

2017-02-16 - Senate - Senate: Passed Senate (36-Y 2-N 1-A) (Y: 36 N: 2 NV: 1 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2017-02-15 - Senate - Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2017-02-13 - Senate - Senate: Reported from Commerce and Labor (11-Y 1-N 1-A) (Y: 11 N: 1 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2017-02-07 - House - House: VOTE: PASSAGE #2 (82-Y 13-N 2-A) (Y: 82 N: 13 NV: 2 Abs: 2) [PASS]
2017-02-07 - House - House: VOTE: PASSAGE (81-Y 14-N 2-A) (Y: 81 N: 14 NV: 2 Abs: 2) [PASS]
2017-02-02 - House - House: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (18-Y 2-N) (Y: 18 N: 2 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2017-01-31 - House - House: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (11-Y 1-N) (Y: 11 N: 1 NV: 1 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2017-03-16		Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0565)
2017-03-16		Governor: Approved by Governor-Chapter 565 (effective 7/1/17)
2017-02-21		Governor: Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
2017-02-21	House	Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on 2/21/17
2017-02-21	Senate	Signed by President
2017-02-20	House	Signed by Speaker
2017-02-20	House	Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB2303ER)
2017-02-20	House	Enrolled
2017-02-16	Senate	Passed Senate (36-Y 2-N 1-A)
2017-02-16	Senate	Read third time
2017-02-15	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
2017-02-13	Senate	Reported from Commerce and Labor (11-Y 1-N 1-A)
2017-02-08	Senate	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
2017-02-08	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed
2017-02-07	House	VOTE: PASSAGE #2 (82-Y 13-N 2-A)
2017-02-07	House	Passed House (82-Y 13-N 2-A)
2017-02-07	House	Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House
2017-02-07	House	VOTE: PASSAGE (81-Y 14-N 2-A)
2017-02-07	House	Read third time and passed House (81-Y 14-N 2-A)
2017-02-06	House	Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB2303H1
2017-02-06	House	Committee substitute agreed to 17104829D-H1
2017-02-06	House	Read second time
2017-02-04	House	Read first time
2017-02-02	House	Committee substitute printed 17104829D-H1
2017-02-02	House	Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (18-Y 2-N)
2017-01-31	House	Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (11-Y 1-N)
2017-01-17	House	Assigned C & L sub: Special Subcommittee on Energy
2017-01-12	House	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
2017-01-12	House	Presented and ordered printed 17103607D

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+HB2303
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+HB2303+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+HB2303H1+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+HB2303ER+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+ful+CHAP0565+hil
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+H1403V0008+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+H14V0076+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+HV2083+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+HV2112+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+S02V0110+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+SV0554HB2303+HB2303
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+vot+SV0626HB2303+HB2303