Public Policy

Update on new Shaheen/Portman energy bill, S.761

The new version of the last Congress’ S.1000 bill, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, is known as S.761. It has been through the committee process and is ready for floor vote. Originally scheduled for vote in the Senate this month, May 2013, it has been slightly delayed. Following is an update I just received from my friend Dain Hanson of IAPMO:

“I just spoke with Senate leadership and it looks like the Shaheen-Portman bill will not be considered on the Senate floor until June. They did not expect the Farm Bill to be reported out of committee so quickly, and it is likely to be taken up on the Senate floor tomorrow or Thursday. With hundreds of amendments expected, the Farm Bill will likely take several days to complete. This will likely take the Senate up to the Memorial Day recess. In June, they will likely first move to immigration reform, prior to the Shaheen Portman bill.

They only expect the Shaheen-Portman bill to take a couple days of floor time, so if the other big ticket bills get delayed it could come earlier, but staff stated ‘...they do not expect it to come up until June at the earliest.’"

Most of us feel the bill has a good chance of passing in the Senate. There is a companion bill in the House, however, that has yet to be marked up in committee. In fact, it may take some time since it was sent to no fewer than SIX committees! We’ll see...

Legislative Update – Week ending 26-Apr-2013

This is the first of a series of occasional updates on congressional, judicial, and executive branch activities and issues. These items are not usually specific to lighting, but are of general interest such as appropriations, taxes, business, energy, and the environment.
Click here for the update.

Closing in on an Internet Sales Tax?

Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have offered an amendment to a Democratic budget resolution last week (actually on Friday, March 22) that, by allowing states to "collect taxes on remote sales," is intended to usher in the first national Internet sales tax. A “non-binding” vote was taken in the Senate with a result of 75-24, the yeas significantly outnumbering the nays. A non-binding vote is not an official vote – it is used to “test the waters” to see if there is sufficient interest to move a bill forward. There is no guarantee, however, that the results will be the same if and when an official floor vote is taken. The House passed similar legislation last year.

In addition, Sens. Enzi and Durbin have sponsored a separate bill, S.336, the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013. That bill is currently in committee. Here is a link to the bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:s.00336:

In summary, the amendment and the bill allow States to collect sales tax for any online sales, creating a level playing field with the bricks and mortar retailers. The sales tax would apply to all online sales exceeding $1 million in that particular state. Rather than provide one or two particular links here, you can read about this in your favorite newspaper, magazine, or website - just Google or Bing “internet sales tax legislation”.

DOE unveils “Energy 101” Framework - Colleges Urged to Create 'Introduction to Energy' Courses Open to All Undergraduates

Click here for more information.

REINS Act Re-introduced

The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, or REINS Act, was re-introduced in the House of Representatives on January 23, 2013 by Congressman Todd Young of Indiana. Under this legislation, any new major rule would need approval from both chambers of Congress before it would take effect. A rule is considered “major” if it would impact the economy with more than $100 million in compliance costs each year.

The bill is designed to increase accountability in the regulatory process and improve congressional oversight. According to the bill, “Over time, Congress has excessively delegated its constitutional charge while failing to conduct appropriate oversight and retain accountability for the content of the laws it passes. By requiring a vote in Congress, this Act will result in more carefully drafted and detailed legislation, an improved regulatory process, and a legislative branch that is truly accountable to the people of the United States for the laws imposed upon them.”

A recent study commissioned by the Small Business Administration found that annual regulatory compliance costs in the United States hit $1.75 trillion in 2008. A staggering figure that exceeds the total collected from income taxes that year ($1.449 trillion).

Go to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.367: for the complete text of the bill.

(Thanks to our friends at NAED for providing this news item)

Public Comment Period for the DOE’s Commercial and Residential Energy Asset Scoring Programs

Dear Colleagues, As you may know, the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a preliminary commercial building energy asset score (hereinafter “score”) to apply to a large variety of commercial building types across the U.S. Last week, DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit input on key issues associated with this voluntary score. The RFI was published in the Federal Register, and is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/02/07/2013-02753/request-for-information-rfi-for-commercial-building-energy-asset-score.

If you are interested in providing input regarding the score, please submit your written comments by March 11, 2013. Instructions for submitting comments can be found in the RFI. Please feel free to share this information about the RFI with other interested parties.

Background on the Asset Score and RFI:
The score provides information regarding the efficiency of a building's major energy consuming systems and is intended to enable greater understanding of building performance and potential savings. Through the use of a free, on-line scoring tool, building owners and operators will be able to generate a score along with recommendations for how to improve the efficiency of their buildings. The scoring tool applies standard assumptions about a building's operations (based on building type) in order to calculate a score that reflects the building's energy efficiency, not the behavior of its occupants. More detailed information concerning the scoring methodology and other program features are outlined in a document entitled “Commercial Building Energy Asset Score: Program Overview and Technical Protocol Version 1.0." This Protocol document can be found at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/pdfs/energy_asset_score_technical_protocol_phase1.pdf.

The RFI seeks input on the following specific program components:

Data collection and validation;

The asset score report (see sample score report attached to this email); and

Score durability.

The RFI provides an overview of the three program components. Additional detail on each of the three topics is provided in the Protocol document noted above.

Pilot Test #2 in Late Spring 2013:
DOE plans to continue to work with commercial building owners and operators to pilot test the score in 2013, as a follow-on to pilot testing done in 2012. During this testing period, DOE will continue to refine the program as well as conduct additional analysis to inform future program development. If you are interested in participating in the pilot, please email asset.score@ee.doe.gov with “Interested Pilot” in the subject line.

Thank you for your continued interest.

Joan Glickman
Senior Advisor
Commercial and Residential Energy Asset Scoring Programs
U.S. Department of Energy

SENATOR MURKOWSKI ENERGY BLUEPRINT

In early February 2013, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) released her Energy Blueprint – Energy 20/20: A Vision for American’s Energy Future. Energy 20/20 presents the Senator’s vision for how we can move forward on energy policy and features about 200 policy recommendations under seven headings:

Producing more;
Consuming less;
Clean energy technology;
Energy delivery infrastructure;
Effective government; environmental responsibility; &
Energy policies that pay for themselves

According to the Senator, “Energy 20/20 is intended to be a source of ideas for discrete legislation that can secure support from a politically and geographically diverse group of Members.” A copy of the full report is available online.

Alliance to Save Energy publishes report on achieving a doubling of energy productivity by 2030

The Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy was created in 2012 to identify solutions for increasing U.S. energy productivity and aid in jumpstarting the economy. Click on the link to find out more about this report.

Bi-partisan Energy Efficiency bill, take 2

Representatives Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) intend to reintroduce the Energy Efficiency Government Technology Act next week. This legislation would call for greater coordination/strategy to reduce energy costs and electricity consumption by computer servers and data centers. Other original cosponsors include Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) & Peter Welch (D-VT), and Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) & Cory Gardner (R-CO) are considering signing on as well.

Details on the “Fiscal Cliff” Package, “American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”

The Senate passed this package just after midnight of Dec. 31, 2012. The House passed the bill unchanged late in the day on Jan 1, 2013. The bill will be sent to the President for signing, which is expected today, Jan. 2.

High-level discussion points of the agreement:

Tax Policy
• Marginal Rates: Permanent extension of current policy up to $400,000 for singles, $450,000 for married couples.
• Capital Gains & Dividends: Permanent: 15% top capital gains and dividends rate up to $400k (singles), $450k (married); 20% rate for both above threshold.
• Death Tax: Permanent extension of current policy on portability and unification with a $5M exemption indexed for inflation and a 40% top rate.
• PEP & Pease: Permanent relief from PEP & Pease under $250,000 (single), $300,000 (married).
• AMT: Permanently index AMT for inflation.
• Tax Extenders: Adopts package reported by Finance Committee in 2012, with a 2 year extension through 2013.
• Temporary Payroll Tax Cut: Allowed to expire.
• Bonus Depreciation: 1 year extension of 50% Bonus Depreciation.
• Stimulus Tax Credits: 5 year extension.
• Deduction Cap: There is no cap on deductions.

Spending Policy
• Debt Limit: No increase in the debt limit -- remains at $16.394 trillion.
• Sequester: sequester is turned off for two months and paid for with a reduction in discretionary spending cap for 2013 and 2014, and expanding eligibility for Roth conversion.
• CLASS Act: CLASS Act entitlement repealed.
• Doc Fix: 1 year extension paid for by reducing Medicare spending.
• Unemployment Insurance: 1 year extension of current extended weeks of UI.
• Farm Bill: Provides for a one year extension of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
See these documents for more info (ZIP file).

Enabling Energy Savings Innovations Act (H.R. 4850)

Last month, the Senate unanimously passed key provisions of two major energy efficiency bills as amendments to the Enabling Energy Savings Innovations Act (H.R. 4850) that had been sent by the House for Senate approval. The amendments included industrial and federal agency energy efficiency provisions from the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000), authored by Alliance Honorary Vice Chairs Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The amendments also included appliance standards provisions from the Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act (S. 398), authored by Alliance Honorary Vice Chairs Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Full Senate approval of H.R. 4850, including the amendment that appended key provisions from bills authored by Shaheen, Portman, Bingaman and Murkowski, is expected. House action on the expanded version of H.R. 4850 during the lame duck session is possible, but not expected.

S.3591, the “Commercial Building Modernization Act”, introduced

Legislation introduced in the Senate would improve the structure of the 179D commercial building tax deduction and encourage energy efficiency investments in America’s commercial buildings. U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) are the main sponsors in introducing S.3591, the “Commercial Building Modernization Act,” a bill that would extend and strengthen the existing 179D commercial building tax deduction for energy efficiency improvements in commercial buildings, both new and existing. Click here for more details. To view the Senators’ press release, click here.

S. 1000 PROVISIONS PROPOSED FOR INCLUSION IN THE BINGAMAN UC (Unanimous Consent) REQUEST

Late Friday night, Sens. Shaheen and Portman were able to get several provisions from S.1000, “Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2011”, included in a unanimous consent request on Sen. Bingaman's bill on appliance standards, S.398. It was passed by the Senate. The building code provisions were not included. Included provisions are described here.

IRS Notice 2012-22 Adjusts Energy Savings Percentage for the 179D Commercial Building Tax Deduction

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58), signed by President Bush, created a tax deduction for constructing energy efficient buildings and performing energy efficiency retrofits. The Section 179D tax deduction is between $0.30 and $1.80 per square foot depending on the type of systems installed. The expiration of this tax deduction was extended to December 31, 2013 by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

The full tax deduction is available to owners of both new and existing commercial buildings in which the installation or retrofit of interior lighting system, HVAC system, building envelope, and service hot water systems reduce the total annual building power and energy costs by 50% or more compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2001 minimum requirements. Here’s a link to a NEMA-sponsored website with more detailed information on the history and status: http://www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/tax_deduction.html

Originally, a partially qualifying property would be able to receive a portion of the tax deduction as long as one of the three major systems (lighting, HVAC/Hot water, building envelope) saves at least 16 2/3% in energy and power costs. These percentages have changed several times since, with lighting being increased and HVAC and building envelope decreasing.

Click here for details on these changes, nicely summarized by Capitol Review Group (this does not imply endorsement of CRG by the IES).

The latest information is that Senators Bingaman and Snowe are developing a bipartisan package which modifies aspects of Section 179D (most notably an increase of the deduction to $3.00/sq.ft.) and proposes a new Section 179F, a performance-based energy efficiency deduction aimed at addressing the issue of buildings falling short of efficiency goals and the issue of retrofits. A 5-year extension is also part of the package. It is hope they can introduce this and get it passed by the end of the year (and the end of this 112th Congress).

Update On Energy Legislation

S.1000, the “Energy Savings and Industrial Competitive Act of 2011”, better known as the Shaheen/Portman bill – in spite of a big pre-August-recess push, this bill has still not hit the Senate floor. Senator Shaheen has even gone to sending an online petition requesting supporters to write to Senate leadership. While there is basically no opposition to this bill in the Senate, there are other priorities and also a reluctance to bring even non-controversial bills to the floor in an election year.

This bill may have a chance after the recess, but possibly only if it’s bundled with another bill.

Philadelphia Unanimously Passes Rating Policy

The new law requires commercial buildings over 50,000 sf to report efficiency ratings with Portfolio Manager to a public website and upon request to buyers and lessees. Click here to read more.

Boston's Mayor Menino Announces Rating Policy Intentions

Thomas Menino alluded to a future Building Energy Disclosure Ordinance that would require large commercial and residential buildings to publicly disclose efficiency scores. Click here to read more.

House Passes Energy and Water Appropriations Bill With Lighting Rider

Last week (week of June 4, 2012), the House passed their Energy and Water Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013. This bill contains the expected rider, sponsored by Rep. Burgess (R-TX), eliminating enforcement funds for the incandescent lamp minimum efficacy regulations. This is a repeat of what happened to the 2012 appropriations bill after Rep. Barton’s (R-TX) failed attempt to repeal the regulations. The Senate version of the bill is still being developed, but it is thought that the Senate bill will be quite different from the House version. Click here to read more.

DOE Office of Hearings and Appeals Approves T8 Fluorescent Lamp Exception

On April 16, 2012, DOE’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) granted GE, OSI, and Philips their Applications for Exception for relief from certain provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 430, “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for General Service Fluorescent Lamps (GSFL) and Incandescent Reflector Lamps (Lighting Efficiency Standards)”. These provisions take effect July 14, 2012; however, because the 2009 Final Rule also included minimum efficacy for T8 lamps, the rule would have effectively phased out the 700 Series T8 lamps in favor of 800 series types manufactured by the firms mentioned above. Click here to read more.

From the “Subject That Will Not Go Away” Department

Due to the continuing (and seemingly never-ending) discourse on the subject of the incandescent lamp regulations, another lighting organization is weighing in with an article titled “Let’s Set the Record Straight”. The National Lighting Bureau, an independent, multi-disciplinary lighting information communications group based in Washington DC, has been following this issue along with the rest of us and has published their own take on the incandescent lamp situation. Click on the following link to read the article: http://www.nlb.org/index.cfm?cdid=10876&pid=10213

International Code Council (ICC) announces the International Green Construction Code (IgCC); Standard 189.1 included as a compliance option

The ICC has introduced the 2012 IgCC, a new model “green” code for constructing and remodeling buildings. The IgCC is aimed at improving the overall environmental viability of buildings and providing positive impacts on occupant health, safety, and community welfare. ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 is a compliance option that may be exercised by either the jurisdiction or the code applicant.

For more details, click here to view ASHRAE’s press release.

New EPA Energy Star Specification for CFLs and Integral LED Lamps

Until now, there were two separate Energy Star specifications for CFLs and Integral LED screw-base retrofit lamps. For CFLs, it is (or was) Version 4.3; for LEDs, Version 1.4. The EPA now wants to combine the specs and have one spec that is technology neutral. Public comments were submitted last December on the combined spec, Version 1.0. These were incorporated (or not) into a new draft. This latest draft will be discussed on March 27 between the EPA and the various stakeholders. The outcome of this should be Version 1.1, due in the next several months. As usual, there are advantages, drawbacks, and pitfalls to this approach. Here is a link to the EPA website where you can download the latest draft along with the comments submitted by stakeholders.

DOE Report Characterizes Lighting Market

The long-awaited update of the DOE’s 2003 study is now available. It characterizes the U.S. lighting market in 2010 and includes lighting inventory and energy consumption estimates for the Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Outdoor markets. Solid State Lighting and Lighting Controls are also discussed. Click on the link below to be taken to the DOE’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy website. The report is titled “2010 U.S. Lighting Market Characterization”.

Update on the Incandescent Lamp Regulations

Well, it is January 3, 2012 – the new incandescent lamp regulations have been in effect since the 1st. The regulations have withstood direct challenges by those wishing to repeal those sections of EISA 2007 pertaining to the new minimum efficacy standards. However, on December 15th, a new wrinkle was introduced. On that date, the Federal Energy and Water Appropriations Act was passed including a rider that affects the incandescent lamp regulations.

REINS Act

The Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011 (REINS Act) passed in the House on Dec. 7. This Act requires that any regulatory activity that has an economic impact greater than $100M must be approved by both the House and Senate before going into effect. The bill has been introduced in the Senate, but is not yet up for vote. While some feel this will force regulators to think twice before rulemakings and thereby reduce the regulatory burden, others claim it will cause lengthy delays waiting to get on the Congressional calendar and create a situation whereby all members of Congress will need to be educated on the details of the regulations, introducing further delays.

A confounding issue is created since original legislation (if it is enabling legislation) gives rulemaking authority to the applicable agencies of the Executive branch. This could affect how legislation is written if the authors want to avoid having the ensuing regulatory process amended.

Implementation of Energy Savings Projects and Performance-Based Contracting for Energy Savings training

On December 2, President Obama announced nearly $4 billion in combined federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next 2 years. This investment includes a $2 billion commitment, made through the issuance of a Presidential Memorandum, to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers.

The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will provide technical assistance and project facilitation in support of Federal Agencies' achievement of this goal. FEMP provides technical expertise ranging from building efficiency improvements, renewable energy installations, water use reduction, and operation and maintenance optimization that are ready to assist Federal Agencies. Furthermore, FEMP maintains performance contracts with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) to provide private investment and expertise for Federal Agencies to finance and install energy efficiency improvements to federal buildings with no up-front costs. FEMP will work with each agency to develop a plan to fulfill this goal in conjunction with the Agency's Strategic Sustainable Performance Plan (SSPP).

White House announcement about the Better Buildings Initiative

Below is a link to an announcement from the White House regarding the expansion of the Better Buildings Challenge and other Better Buildings Initiative programs, including a commitment of $2B to fund upgrades to federal buildings using performance contracts, as well as revisions to the 179D tax incentive.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/02/we-cant-wait-president-obama-announces-nearly-4-billion-investment-energ
Also, here’s a fact sheet about the Better Buildings Initiative.

Lighting Facts® Program

This is a DOE program, originally launched in 2008 and continually updated, designed to assist buyers of Solid State Lighting (SSL) products choose the right product for a particular application. It showcases SSL products for general illumination form manufacturers who commit to testing products and reporting performance results according to industry standards.

The program encompasses a Lighting Facts label, an assortment of tools allowing searches based on several criteria, and identification of products that have received special recognition such as Energy Star qualifications or winning a design competition such as Next Generation Luminaires™. Check it out at http://lightingfacts.com.

The LUMEN Coalition held a press conference on Oct 19, 2011 in Washington DC

News Flash! The LUMEN Coalition, co-sponsored by NEMA, ALA, and the Alliance to Save Energy, held a press conference on Oct 19, 2011 in Washington DC to announce the new website to help inform the market about the upcoming phase-out of the 100W incandescent general service lamp. The website also provided information on the various choices available to the market, including compliant halogen lamps, CFLs, and LED lamps.

LUMEN stands for Lighting Understanding for a More Efficient Nation; it is a group of approx. 40 entities (manufacturers, advocates, States, government agencies, and technical societies) that support the minimum efficacy standards set by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Check out the website: http://lumennow.org

Interested in the building owners’ perspective on “green” codes? Here is an article written by the regulatory affairs group at BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association).

Pet Peeve Dept.: the official title of “90.1” is ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 - 2010; that of “189.1” is ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 -2009. Most people, for the sake of brevity, refer to them using just the “ASHRAE” part. When I hear this, I am quick to remind the perpetrator about the “IES” part they are excluding. Just saying…. For more details, click here.

Daylighting – Where have all the skylights gone?

Over the last year, I have been asked several times by organizations in Washington, “So, what is the IES’ position on daylighting?” My response was simply, “The IES supports daylighting – why wouldn’t it?”. They were seemingly expecting me to downplay it due to their impression that it reduces the need for electric lighting equipment. While we all know that is a misnomer, the good news is that daylighting is on people’s minds. For more details, click here.

Follow-up to the introduction of the BULB Act, HR. 2417 (noted in the previous entry)

HR. 2417 did not receive the required 2/3 majority vote to pass (2/3 was required since Rep. Barton (R-TX) did not introduce this bill via committee; it was introduced directly to the floor of the House). However, there was a Plan B: a day later, an amendment to the Energy and Water appropriations bill (HR.2354) was tacked on by Rep. Burgess (R-TX). This amendment basically cut off funding to enforce the incandescent lamp standards for general service and reflector lamps. So, the law (based on EISA 2007 minimum standards) is still in effect, but the DOE will not have funds for enforcement, if that is ever necessary. For more details, click here.

BULB (Better Use of Light Bulbs) Act – HR 91

NEWS FLASH! Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) sponsored a bill called the BULB (Better Use of Light Bulbs) Act – HR 91. This bill was meant to repeal the incandescent lamp efficacy standards in EISA 2007 destined to take effect January 1, 2012. There is a new version of the bill introduced in the House – HR 2417. Click on the link to see the wording as of July 6, which will be the bill voted on in the House on Monday, July 11. In sum, 2 provisions were added to the original bill -- one is that no standards can mandate mercury containing lamps (which, of course, the current law doesn't do) and that states are pre-empted from any different action.