Date: 04/16/2015

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB15-1332

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion p
Refer House Bill 15-1332, as amended, to the Commi		Pass Without Objection
PASS



11:56 AM -- HB 15-1332

The committee was called to order. The committee took a brief recess.

12:01 PM

Representative Pabon, prime sponsor, came to the table to present House Bill 15-1332. The bill creates a state income tax credit for a taxpayer who purchases and installs the equipment necessary to generate electricity using hydroelectricity, wind, or biomass resources. To qualify, the taxpayer must be an end-user electric customer of a cooperative electric association or municipal electric utility. In addition, the power generation system must be located on the taxpayer's side of the meter.

The amount of the credit is the lesser of 30 percent of the total costs of the equipment or $50,000. The taxpayer can only generate an income tax credit once and the credit is refundable. The credit will be available for tax years 2015 through 2017 and is capped at $1 million dollars each year. The bill requires the Colorado Energy Office to verify that the taxpayer meets the credit requirements and to issue a credit certificate.

Representative Pabon responded to questions from the committee on the definition of "small hydro" and why investor owned utilities (IOU) are not included under the bill.

12:07 PM -- Charles Newcomb, representing the Distributed Wind Energy Association and Endurance Wind Power, spoke in favor of the bill. He distributed a map showing the wind turbines installed by Endurance Wind Power (Attachment A). He discussed the wind resources of Colorado, small wind markets, incentives for wind energy, the Small Wind Council that had been formed in Colorado to encourage investment in small wind technologies, and the expected installation of small wind that would result from the bill. He responded to questions on the average size of a distributed generation project, whether reporting requirements for the tax credit had been considered in the bill, and the existing incentives provided by IOUs for customers who install distributed generation technologies.

150416 AttachA.pdf150416 AttachA.pdf

Representative Pabon distributed amendment L.001 (Attachment B) and explained that it removes biomass from the bill and extends the credit for a year.

150416 AttachB.pdf150416 AttachB.pdf
BILL:HB15-1332
TIME: 12:18:05 PM
MOVED:Tyler
MOTION:Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Mitsch Bush
VOTE
Becker J.
Buck
Carver
Coram
Esgar
Kraft-Tharp
Melton
Moreno
Neville P.
Nordberg
Winter
Excused
Mitsch Bush
Tyler
YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


12:19 PM

Representative Pabon made his closing comments on the bill, noting that the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, Colorado Farm Bureau, Distributed Wind Energy Association, and Conservation Colorado could not attend to testify in support of the bill because of conflicting legislative schedules. The committee discussed the merits of the bill.
BILL:HB15-1332
TIME: 12:19:08 PM
MOVED:Mitsch Bush
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1332, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 7-6.
SECONDED:Melton
VOTE
Becker J.
No
Buck
No
Carver
No
Coram
No
Esgar
Yes
Kraft-Tharp
Yes
Melton
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Neville P.
No
Nordberg
No
Winter
Yes
Mitsch Bush
Yes
Tyler
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS