Montana Legislature
(Click here for federal energy legislation)
The 2007 Legislature considered a number of energy-related bills. The following list identifies some of those bills and their status:
HB 6 — Renewable resource grants
HB 8 — Renewable resource bonds and loans
HB 25 — Generally revise electric industry restructuring laws
HB 41 — Energy conservation and assistance funds for low-income persons
HB 88 — Regulate electrical generation facility waste
HB 114 — Establish Montana energy transmission and transportation authority
HB 123 — Revise laws related to electricity supply and default supply service
HB 134 — Regulate rates of local government energy transmission facilities
HB 161 — Revise fee provisions of major facility siting act
HB 170 — Net metering for wind turbines
HB 218 — Revise net metering laws
HB 610 — Revise laws relating to challenges to agency actions
HB 681— Extend renewable portfolio act to competitive suppliers
HB 709 — Hydroelectric power considered a renewable resource
HB 758 — Revise laws related to electrical energy
SB 60 — Clarify energy emergency power concerning price of energy
SB 105 — Tax break for equipment to sequester carbon dioxide
SB 210 — Revise energy conservation and weatherization laws
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HB 41— Energy conservation and assistance funds for low-income persons
This bill eliminates restrictions on use of principal of the energy conservation and energy assistance account in the federal revenue fund.
Status: Signed into Law
HB 88 — Regulate electrical generation facility waste
This bill would regulate solid waste from power plants.
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 123 — Revise laws related to electricity supply and default supply service
This bill would force the default supply to look at short-term costs only
when procuring electricity (ignoring numerous other important factors like
risk to the consumer).
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 134 — Regulate rates of local government energy transmission facilities
This bill would regulate the rates of municipal electric utilities, and
prevent them from splitting off of NorthWestern Energy if they cannot prove
their rates would be lower
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 114 — Establish Montana energy transmission and transportation authority
This bill would create a transmission and pipeline authority for Montana.
The bill was amended to make it 5 member instead of 7 member, and to
explicitly prevent it from having eminent domain authority.
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 170 — Net metering for wind turbines
This bill would allow customer-generators to opt not to connect a net-metering system to other meters on the customer-generators's premises; allow net electricity produced by a customer-generator to be credited to all accounts on the premises for each billing period; allow any remaining unused kWh credit accumulated during the previous 12 months to be granted to the customer-generator.
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 218 — Revise net metering laws
This bill would extend Montana's net metering law to the rural electric
cooperatives and Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU).
Status:
Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 610 — Revise laws relating to challenges to agency actions
This bill would revise statutes regarding an environmental impact analysis and an environmental impact statement to provide for the use of analysis and statement as a planning document only and prohibiting an action or proceeding challenging agency actions taken.
Status: Died in Process, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 681 — Extend renewable portfolio act to competitive suppliers
This bill would require municipalities and others to meet Montana’s renewable energy standard.
Status: Signed into Law.
HB 709 — Hydroelectric power considered a renewable resource
This bill seeks to include existing hydroelectric plants in the definition of “eligible renewable resources.” According to industry experts, passage of this bill would essentially render meaningless Montana’s Renewable Energy Standard, which was passed last session (SB 415).
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
HB 758 — Revise laws related to electrical energy
This bill seeks to revise the definition of “qualifying small power production facility,” eliminate certain standards for determining qualifying facility rates, revise fee requirements for net metering customer-generators, clarify the term “eligible renewable resource,” and clarify renewable resource cost limit provisions. According to industry experts, passage of this bill would have an effect similar to that of HB709 and also would hinder development of small-scale, distributed renewable energy systems.
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
SB 210 — Revise energy conservation and weatherization laws
This bill would increase the individual income tax credit for energy-conserving expenditures; provide a tax credit for limited-liability partnerships, S Corporations, or other disregarded entities, and for taxpayers.
Status: Died in Standing Committee, April 27, 2007. Probably dead.
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For details on these and other bills, visit http://laws.leg.mt.gov/pls/laws07/law0203w$.startup
2005 Legislation
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