82R15763 JXC-F

By: Anchia H.B. No. 773

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 773:

By: Crownover C.S.H.B. No. 773

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating an energy efficiency council to coordinate administration of energy efficiency programs.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 4, Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 470 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 470. ENERGY EFFICIENCY COUNCIL

Sec. 470.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Council" means the energy efficiency council.

(2) "Energy efficiency program" means a program that uses state or federal funding to:

(A) reduce inefficient energy use;

(B) reduce peak energy demand;

(C) reduce energy consumption;

(D) promote compliance with energy efficient building design standards; or

(E) pay for the implementation of energy cost reduction measures.

(3) "Program administrator" includes any of the following entities that administer an energy efficiency program:

(A) a state agency, including the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Railroad Commission of Texas, the State Energy Conservation Office, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;

(B) a political subdivision of this state;

(C) a private or public utility service provider, including an electric cooperative or municipally owned utility;

(D) a school district; or

(E) an institution of higher education.

Sec. 470.002. PURPOSE. The energy efficiency council is a council established in the comptroller's office to:

(1) monitor energy efficiency programs in this state;

(2) make recommendations for improving energy efficiency programs in this state; and

(3) provide a central repository for information on energy efficiency programs in this state.

Sec. 470.003. ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM POLICIES. A program administrator shall consider any applicable recommendations of the council when creating or implementing the energy efficiency program.

Sec. 470.004. COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP. (a) The council is composed of the following 15 members:

(1) 12 ex officio members as follows:

(A) the presiding officer of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;

(B) the chief executive officer of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas;

(C) the presiding officer of the Public Utility Commission of Texas;

(D) the presiding officer of the Railroad Commission of Texas;

(E) the comptroller or an employee of the State Energy Conservation Office designated by the comptroller;

(F) the director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs;

(G) the executive director of the Texas Facilities Commission;

(H) the executive administrator of the Texas Water Development Board;

(I) the presiding officer of the Water Conservation Advisory Council;

(J) the executive director of the Texas Department of Rural Affairs;

(K) the director of the Energy Systems Laboratory at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System; and

(L) the chief executive of the Office of Public Utility Counsel; and

(2) three public members appointed by the governor as follows:

(A) one member to represent low-income ratepayers;

(B) one member to represent commercial or industrial ratepayers; and

(C) one member to represent an environmental organization.

(b) The three public members must be appointed with the advice and consent of the senate.

(c) The ex officio members and the appointed members serve as voting members of the council.

(d) The comptroller or the employee designated under Subsection (a)(1)(E) shall serve as presiding officer of the council.

(e) The council shall meet at least two times per year at the call of the presiding officer.

(f) Council members may not receive compensation for services but, subject to the availability of funding, may receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing council business.

(g) Appointments to council positions shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the appointees.

Sec. 470.005. TERMS; VACANCY. (a) Appointed council members serve staggered two-year terms, with the terms of one or two members, as applicable, expiring on February 1.

(b) A vacancy on the council in the position of an appointed council member shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. The person appointed serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Sec. 470.006. GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL. (a) It is a ground for removal from the council that a member:

(1) does not maintain during service on the council the qualifications required by Section 470.004(a)(1);

(2) cannot, because of illness or disability, discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's term; or

(3) is absent from more than half of the regularly scheduled council meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote of the council.

(b) The validity of an action of the council is not affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a council member exists.

(c) If the presiding officer has knowledge that a potential ground for removal exists, the presiding officer shall notify the appointing authority and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists.

Sec. 470.007. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. To the extent resources are available, the State Energy Conservation Office shall provide the council with administrative support, including meeting space and staff necessary to assist the council in carrying out the council's duties under this chapter.

Sec. 470.008. ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS, GRANTS, OR DONATIONS. The council may solicit and the comptroller may accept for the council gifts, grants, and donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this chapter.

Sec. 470.009. ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM MONITORING AND RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The council shall monitor energy efficiency programs in this state.

(b) The council may submit to a program administrator recommendations on means to encourage greater energy efficiency on a regular basis.

Sec. 470.010. OFFICIAL INTERNET WEBSITES. The council shall use the following official Internet websites for the publication of information as required by this chapter:

(1) the Internet website of the State Energy Conservation Office; and

(2) the electric choice website of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, www.powertochoose.org.

Sec. 470.011. LIST OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. (a) The council shall:

(1) develop a list of currently operating energy efficiency programs in this state and publish the list on the official Internet websites under Section 470.010; and

(2) work with the State Energy Conservation Office and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to develop and publish on the official Internet websites under Section 470.010 a user-friendly page that allows a consumer to search by the consumer's address energy efficiency programs available in the consumer's service area.

(b) The State Energy Conservation Office and the Public Utility Commission of Texas shall each provide a link on their Internet websites to the page described by Subsection (a)(2).

Sec. 470.012. BIENNIAL PROGRAMS REPORT. (a) The council biennially shall prepare a report on energy efficiency programs in this state. The council shall submit the report to the legislature not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year.

(b) The report must include:

(1) a comprehensive review of the energy efficiency programs on the list required by Section 470.011, including information on the goals, costs, and benefits of the programs, the results of each program, the energy savings and emissions reductions that each program achieves, and the jobs that each program creates;

(2) a study comparing energy efficiency programs in this state to similar programs in:

(A) California;

(B) Florida;

(C) New York; and

(D) each other state the council determines to have programs appropriate for the comparisons; and

(3) recommendations for improving energy efficiency programs in this state.

(c) The report may include recommendations for creating new energy efficiency programs in this state.

(d) The council shall publish the report on the official Internet websites under Section 470.010.

Sec. 470.013. APPLICABILITY OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE LAW. Chapter 2110 does not apply to the council.

SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the governor and the lieutenant governor shall appoint members to the energy efficiency council in accordance with Section 470.004, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.