2021 -- H 6468

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LC000389

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- GREEN NEW DEAL ACT OF 2021

     Introduced By: Representative Scott Slater

     Date Introduced: June 24, 2021

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 23.8

GREEN NEW DEAL ACT OF 2021

     23-23.8-1. Short title.

     This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Green New Deal Act of 2021.

     23-23.8-2. Definitions.

     As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

     (1) "Clean energy" means energy efficiency, energy conservation, demand response,

energy storage, and energy derived from solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, geothermal, and ocean

tidal sources.

     (2) "Director" means the director of the department of environmental management.

     (3) "Environmental justice community" means a census block in which residents;

     (i) Are predominantly minorities or low-income individuals;

     (ii) Have been excluded from the environmental policy-setting or decision-making process;

     (iii) Are subject to a disproportionate impact from one or more environmental hazards; and

     (iv) Experience disparate implementation of environmental regulations, requirements,

practices, and activities.

     (4) "Fossil fuel" or "fossil fuel resource" means coal, petroleum, natural gas, or any

derivative of coal, petroleum, or natural gas that is used for fuel.

     (5) "Fossil fuel energy" means electric energy generated, in whole or in part, by a fossil

fuel resource.

     (6) "Gathering line" has the same meaning ascribed to the term in 49 C.F.R. § 195.2.

     (7) "Permitting agency" means the department of environmental management, or other

state agency or political subdivision of the state that is the issuing agent for any permit, certificate,

or other approval that is required to be obtained prior to the construction or operation of any facility

described in § 23-23.8-4.

     (8) "Retail electric supplier" means a public utility or other person that:

     (i) Sold not less than one thousand megawatt (1,000 mw) hours of electric energy to retail

customers during the preceding calendar year; or

     (ii) Generates not less than one thousand megawatt (1,000 mw) hours of electric energy for

use by the person.

     23-23.8-3. Clean energy mandates.

     (a) The minimum annual percentage of the quantity of electricity sold by a retail electric

supplier that is generated from clean energy resources shall be:

     (1) In calendar years 2028 through 2035, eighty percent (80 %); and

     (2) In calendar year 2036 and every calendar year thereafter, one hundred percent (100%).

     (b) Beginning in 2022, by April 1 of each year, each retail electric supplier shall submit a

report to the director containing:

     (1) Documentation of purchases or generation by the retail electric supplier of clean energy

sourced electricity as a percentage of the total retail electricity sales of the retail electric supplier in

the preceding calendar year; and

     (2) Documentation of plans for the purchase or generation by the retail electric supplier of

clean energy sourced electricity equal to the percentage required by this chapter for retail electricity

sales in 2028 through 2035 and in 2036 and every year thereafter.

     23-23.8-4. Moratorium on new major fossil fuel projects.

     (a) Beginning on January 1, 2022, unless preempted by applicable federal law, there shall

be a moratorium on approval by any permitting agency of any permit, certificate, or other approval

required for:

     (1) Any new electric generating facility that generates fossil fuel energy through the

combustion of any fossil fuel resource;

     (2) Any new or expanding import or export terminal for fossil fuel resources;

     (3) Any maintenance activity relating to an existing import or export terminal for a fossil

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fuel resource that expands the import or export capacity for a fossil fuel resource;

     (4) Any new gathering line or pipeline for the transport of any fossil fuel resource that

requires the use of eminent domain on private property;

     (5) Any maintenance activity relating to an existing gathering line or pipeline for the

transport of a fossil fuel resource that expands the carrying capacity of the gathering line or pipeline

by more than five percent (5%);

     (6) Any new refinery of a fossil fuel resource; and

     (7) Any exploration for any type of fossil fuel.

     (b) Unless preempted by applicable federal law, the applicable permitting agency shall

deny any application submitted to such permitting agency on or after January 1, 2022, for a permit,

certificate, or approval for the construction, installation, expansion, or operation of any facility or

activity described in subsection (a) of this section.

     23-23.8-5. Authority of director - Enforcement of chapter by injunction.

     (a) The director shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper

to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

     (b) The authority to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter is hereby vested

in the director. In administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter, the director shall

exercise the following powers in addition to any other powers conferred upon the director by law:

     (1) To supervise the administration and enforcement of this chapter and all rules,

regulations, and orders adopted hereunder;

     (2) To issue orders to enforce the provisions of this chapter and all rules and regulations

promulgated hereunder;

     (3) To make investigations and inspections to ensure compliance with any provision of this

chapter or any rules, regulations, or orders promulgated or issued hereunder; and

     (4) To receive any federal funds, state funds, or any other funds and to enter into any

contracts for which funds are available to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

     (c) The director may petition the superior court for an injunction against any violation of

the provisions of this chapter and the rules, regulations, and orders promulgated or issued hereunder

or to compel the performance of acts required thereby without regard to any adequate remedy that

may exist at law, such injunction to be issued without bond.

     23-23.8-6. Climate action plan.

     (a) The director of the department shall adopt a climate action plan to implement the

requirements established in this chapter. The climate action plan shall:

     (1) Address all aspects of climate change, including mitigation, adaptation, and resiliency;

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     (2) Address agriculture, heating, cooling, and transportation;

     (3) Be completed by January 1, 2023, with a draft plan available for public comment by

March 1, 2022;

     (4) Support the development of community and publicly owned clean energy; and

     (5) Incorporate goals of environmental justice and be developed with meaningful input and

analysis from environmental justice organizations.

     (b) The director shall conduct regional public hearings on the draft plan.

     (c) Permitting agencies shall take action and adopt regulations that are consistent with and

further the goals of the climate action plan. Each permitting agency shall develop and update

annually a plan to achieve such goals for its own internal operations as well as for regulatory and

other actions under its purview.

     (d) The director shall ensure that the climate action plan will advance the goal of one

hundred percent (100%) clean energy in a manner that benefits the state's most disadvantaged

communities and is transparent and accountable to the public and the general assembly.

     (e) The climate action plan shall ensure that forty percent (40%) of funds allocated by and

through the state to deal with climate change shall be targeted to low-income communities and

communities of color.

     (f) The director shall establish a statewide environmental and climate justice task force of

affected community groups to assist in the development and implementation of the climate action

plan.

     (g) The director shall implement programs that provide a just transition from current energy

sources to clean energy by developing, in conjunction with the department of labor and training,

programs, including job training programs as provided in § 23-23.8-8, relocation assistance, higher-

education programs, and temporary financial support that extends the duration of unemployment

benefits, that assist workers in transitioning from jobs in the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries

into jobs in the clean energy sector. The programs developed by the department of labor and

training pursuant to this subsection shall also be open to individuals who are determined by that

department to:

     (1) Have been previously employed in the fossil fuel industry and who are out of work due

to reduction in demand for jobs in that industry; or

     (2) Reside in communities that have been disproportionately affected by fossil fuels.

     (h) Residents of the state and organizations shall have the legal standing to sue to ensure

that the provisions of this chapter and any climate action plan adopted pursuant to this section are

enforced.

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     23-23.8-7. Energy efficiency of buildings.

     (a) The state shall have a stated goal of reducing the consumption of electric energy for

heating, cooling, lighting, and appliances in buildings within the state by 2035 to a level that is

thirty-six percent (36%) less than the quantity of electricity that would reasonably be projected to

be consumed in the state for such purposes in 2035 in the absence of such actions. Such goal shall

have benchmark goals of two and four tenths percent (2.4%) per year of the electric energy

consumption for such purposes from 2020 levels.

     (b) Efforts to attain the goals set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall focus on the

following:

     (1) Weatherizing building envelopes to prevent heating and cooling leaks;

     (2) Upgrading heating and cooling equipment with energy-efficient electric equipment;

     (3) Modernizing lighting; and

     (4) Replacing inefficient appliances and devices with energy-efficient electric devices.

     (c) The goals set forth in subsection (a) of this section shall be accomplished through;

      (1) Public and utility investment in energy efficiency programs, including grants, rebates,

and credits on bills or taxes, and

     (2) Requiring utilities to meet energy efficiency standards as may be enacted by the general

assembly.

     (d) In order to facilitate meeting the goals set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the

director of the department shall work with the state building code standards committee to revise

the Rhode Island State Building Code to:

     (1) Prohibit the use of natural gas in newly constructed residential buildings;

     (2) Require, where feasible, the installation of rooftop solar generation devices for new

construction and major renovations of residential buildings;

     (3) Require that, where the installation of rooftop solar generation devices is not feasible,

residential buildings that are newly constructed or undergo major renovations have access to

community solar generation facilities;

     (4) Require the installation of electric vehicle-charging infrastructure for all new residential

construction;

     (5) Establish energy-efficient construction standards; and

     (6) Require the installation of energy-efficient appliances in all new residential

construction.

     23-23.8-8. Transitioning workers.

     (a) The director, in conjunction with the department of labor and training, shall develop

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job training programs that include:

     (1) The development of trade programs in high schools and community colleges; and

     (2) Scholarships and forgivable education loans for people who work in the clean energy

and energy efficiency sectors.

     (b) The director shall develop guidelines for clean energy worker protections. Such

guidelines shall:

     (1) Require the use of project labor agreements or otherwise provide for the payment of a

prevailing wage for clean energy and energy efficiency jobs; and

     (2) Protect the rights of individuals to freely join a union without interference from

employers.

     (c) The director shall develop a program of transition assistance for workers in the fossil

fuel industry and affected communities. The program shall include:

     (1) Job training support;

     (2) Relocation support;

     (3) Income and benefit support; and

     (4) Early retirement benefits.

     23-23.8-9. Environmental justice protections.

     (a) The director shall determine which census tracts in the state are environmental justice

communities and establish performance benchmarks for environmental justice communities. Such

benchmarks shall:

     (1) Mandate that forty percent (40%) of funding for energy efficiency programs in the state

be directed to energy efficiency measures in environmental justice communities until such date that

energy efficacy goals in environmental justice communities are attained; and

     (2) Mandate that forty percent (40%) of funding for programs directed at attaining annual

clean energy goals be directed to investments in clean energy facilities in environmental justice

communities until such date that one hundred percent (100%) of the energy consumed in such

communities is clean energy.

     (b) The director of the department of labor and training shall establish programs for jobs

for people in environmental justice communities. Such programs shall:

     (1) Provide scholarships and low-interest loans for job training programs prioritized for

individuals living in environmental justice communities;

     (2) Ensure that job training programs exist in environmental justice communities and are

adequate to meet employment goals; and

     (3) Mandate that fifty percent (50%) of the workforce for energy efficiency and clean

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energy programs comes from environmental justice communities.

     (c) The director shall provide meaningful input and analysis in planning for energy

transition and energy efficiency from environmental justice communities throughout the state. In

implementing this requirement, the director of the department shall:

     (1) Establish statewide and regional bodies responsible for developing, evaluating, and

providing feedback on meeting environmental justice priorities; and

     (2) Hold multiple public hearings in environmental justice communities on transition plans.

     (d) The director shall not allow offsets to meet clean energy or energy efficiency goals.

The director shall ensure that benefits for low-income communities are specific and realized. The

director shall prevent the use of compliance payment or other offsets to meet clean energy and

energy efficiency goals.

     (e) In order to provide accountability for meeting environmental justice benchmarks, the

director of the department shall:

     (1) Require annual reporting on progress, including specifics on goals for environmental

justice communities;

     (2) Require shareholders, and not ratepayers, to be responsible for civil penalties assessed

against a retail electric supplier pursuant to § 23-23.8-10 for failure to meet any goal or benchmark;

and

     (3) Conduct, if any goal or benchmark established by this chapter is not met, an analysis

as to why the goal or benchmark was not met and develop a plan to make up from the missed goal

or benchmark in subsequent years.

     23-23.8-10. Civil penalties.

     Any retail electric supplier that fails to meet any goal or benchmark established under this

chapter, upon such finding by the superior court, shall be assessed a civil penalty equal to twice the

cost of the financial investment necessary to meet such goal or mandate that was not achieved, or

three (3) times the cost of the financial investment necessary to meet such goal or benchmark that

was not achieved if not met in an environmental justice community. All civil penalties under this

section shall be recovered in a civil action brought by the attorney general in the name of the state.

All civil penalties assessed under this section be paid into the general fund.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- GREEN NEW DEAL ACT OF 2021

***

     This act would establish a climate action plan to eliminate the state's dependence on fossil

fuel energy generation of electricity and replace the required generation of electricity from clean

energy resources by calendar year 2036.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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