SB450: Bill Text

SB450,53,14 2. Land owned by a municipality. In this subdivision, "municipality" has the meaning given in s. 66.0301 (1) (a).

SB450,53,16 3. Land that is in native sod on the effective date of this subdivision .... [LRB inserts date].

SB450,53,17 4. Land enrolled in the program under subch. I or subch. VI of ch. 77.

SB450,53,18 5. Land enrolled in any of the following:

SB450,53,19 a. The conservation reserve program under 16 USC 3831 to 3836.

SB450,53,20 b. The wetlands reserve program under 16 USC 3837 to 3837f.

SB450,53,21 c. The grassland reserve program under 16 USC 3838n to 3838q.

SB450,53,22 d. The biomass crop assistance program under 7 USC 8111.

SB450,53,25 (7) Eligible energy crops. (a) Except as provided in par. (b), a person may receive payments under this section for the production of any perennial herbaceous crop or short rotation woody crop to be harvested and used to produce energy or fuel.

SB450,54,2 (b) No payments may be received under this section for the growth of any of the following:

SB450,54,5 1. A crop that is produced and harvested for a purpose other than the production of energy or fuel, even if the residue of the crop may be used to produce energy or fuel.

SB450,54,7 2. Any plant identified by the department of natural resources under s. 23.22 as invasive or having the potential to become invasive.

SB450,54,8 3. Any other crop specified by the department by rule.

SB450,54,9 (8) Rule making. (a) The department shall promulgate the following by rule:

SB450,54,11 1. Rules to implement and administer the program under this section, including all of the following:

SB450,54,12 a. The application form and procedures for applying.

SB450,54,14 b. Procedures and criteria for the review and approval or rejection of an application.

SB450,54,16 c. Procedures and criteria for disbursing payments under the program, including prorating of payments under sub. (4) (b) 1.

SB450,54,18 d. Reporting required of persons who have entered into a contract with the department under sub. (3).

SB450,54,19 e. Conditions under which a person may reenroll land under this section.

SB450,54,20 2. Crops ineligible for payments, as described under sub. (7) (b).

SB450,54,24 3. The amount of, limits on, and procedures for calculating cost-sharing payments available to persons under sub. (4) (a) 1., including the manner in which the amounts of or limits on cost-sharing payments will vary with the energy crops being established and the costs required to establish that energy crop.

SB450,55,2 4. The amount of, limits on, and procedures for calculating income replacement payments under sub. (4) (a) 2., including all of the following:

SB450,55,5 a. The maximum number of years a person may receive payments under sub. (4) (a) 2., which number shall depend upon the time required to establish the energy crop being established by the person.

SB450,55,13 b. Limits on the amount or percent of income from payments received under the federal conservation reserve program, 7 USC 3831 to 3836, that may be included in the calculation of income replacement under sub. (4) (a) 2. The rules promulgated under this subd. 4. b. shall be designed to provide an incentive for persons who remove their land from the federal conservation reserve program to enroll the land in the program under this section, but small enough that those persons will not choose to withdraw their land from the federal conservation reserve program solely for the purpose of receiving payments under sub. (4) (a) 2.

SB450,55,18 5. The amount of and limits on production payments made under sub. (4) (a) 3., including the manner in which the amount of the payment available to a person under sub. (4) (a) 3. will vary depending upon the energy or fuel derived from the particular energy crop produced, the costs to produce the energy crop, and other factors consistent with the objectives of the program under this section.

SB450,55,21 6. Procedures and criteria for allocating funds available from the appropriation under s. 20.115 (4) (d) between cost-sharing payments, income replacement payments, and production payments.

SB450,55,24 7. Limits on the amount of payments that a person with whom the department has entered into a contract under sub. (3) may receive in any payment category under sub. (4) (a), in any contract year, and over the duration of the contract.

SB450,56,4 8. Requirements for sustainable planting and harvesting practices, including practices to minimize consumptive water use and maximize water conservation, applicable to persons with whom the person has entered into a contract under sub. (3).

SB450,56,9 (b) To advance any of the following objectives, the department may promulgate rules to establish priorities for entering into contracts with persons and enrolling land in the program under this section, and for making payments to a person who has entered into a contract under sub. (3), based upon the attributes of the land, the agricultural practices of the person, or any other pertinent factors:

SB450,56,10 1. Maximizing carbon sequestration, as defined in s. 299.03 (1) (bm).

SB450,56,13 2. Minimizing life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the production, harvesting, processing, and distribution of the energy crop by minimizing any of the following:

SB450,56,15 a. The distance the energy crop must be transported between the point of production and the point of end use.

SB450,56,16 b. The use of fossil fuels to plant, cultivate, and harvest the energy crop.

SB450,56,18 c. The application of fertilizer and pesticide in connection with the production of the energy crop.

SB450,56,19 d. Other energy-consuming practices.

SB450,56,21 3. The preservation of farmland through a farmland preservation agreement or farmland preservation zoning.

SB450,56,22 4. Providing soil and water conservation or wildlife preservation benefits.

SB450,56,25 (c) The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall consult with the department of natural resources in the preparation of any rules that affect the natural resources of this state.

SB450,57,4 (9) Program outcomes and reports. The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall, no later than July 1 of each odd year, submit to the departments of administration and natural resources a report containing all of the following information about the program under this section:

SB450,57,5 (a) The number of acres of land enrolled in the program.

SB450,57,7 (b) The number of tons and the energy content of each energy crop harvested under the program.

SB450,57,8 (c) Costs of the program.

SB450,57,10 (d) The extent to which the program under this section complements and is coordinated with the biomass crop assistance program under 7 USC 8111.

SB450,57,12 (e) Any recommendations for legislation to improve the program under this section.

SB450, s. 40 Section 40. 93.475 of the statutes is created to read:

SB450,57,15 93.475 Bioenergy feedstock production incentive study. (1) In this section:

SB450,57,17 (a) "Bioenergy feedstock" means biomass used to produce energy, including heat or electricity, or to produce a fuel, including transportation fuel.

SB450,57,18 (b) "Biomass" has the meaning given in s. 196.374 (1) (am).

SB450,57,19 (c) "Cap and trade program" has the meaning given in s. 299.04 (1) (a).

SB450,58,4 (2) (a) The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection shall, in consultation with the department of natural resources, study whether current and projected markets for bioenergy feedstocks and state and federal programs in effect on the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], provide adequate financial incentives to prompt producers of bioenergy feedstocks to sustainably produce a supply of biomass that, as a result of the use of that biomass as bioenergy feedstocks, will significantly contribute to the achievement of the state greenhouse gas emission reduction goals established under s. 299.03 (2). The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources shall prepare a report on the study.

SB450,58,12 (b) The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources shall prepare the study required under this subsection in consultation with the office of energy independence in the department of administration, the public service commission, the University of Wisconsin System, the administrator of the statewide energy efficiency and renewable resource programs under s. 196.374 (2) (a) 1., representatives of natural resources and environmental organizations, and representatives of sectors of the economy in this state that are affected by the programs.

SB450,59,2 (3) (a) If, after conducting the study under sub. (2), the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources determine that the financial incentives under state and federal law are inadequate to prompt producers of bioenergy feedstocks to sustainably produce a supply of biomass that will significantly contribute to the achievement of the state greenhouse gas emission reduction goals established under s. 299.03 (2), and that additional financial incentives are warranted, the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources shall recommend changes to improve the effectiveness of financial incentives under existing state programs and propose new legislation offering additional financial incentives to prompt bioenergy feedstock producers to sustainably produce additional biomass in order to help achieve the state greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources shall consider all of the following when making the recommendations required under this paragraph:

SB450,59,4 1. Methods to reduce financial risks of bioenergy feedstock producers, such as loan guarantees and insurance.

SB450,59,8 2. Expansion of a cap and trade program or a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction offset program to create credits for producers of bioenergy feedstocks who reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the production of bioenergy feedstocks by adopting appropriate management practices.

SB450,59,11 3. Expansion of the renewable resource credits created under s. 196.378 (3) (a) 1. to authorize the creation of credits from the production or generation of nonelectric energy, as defined in s. 196.378 (1r) (dm), that is produced or generated from biomass.

SB450,59,16 (b) No later than July 1, 2013, the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection and the department of natural resources shall submit a report on the study required under sub. (2) together with any recommended changes to current law or recommended new legislation proposed under par. (a) to the climate change coordinating council.

SB450, s. 41 Section 41. 100.215 of the statutes is created to read:

SB450,59,19 100.215 Energy efficiency; consumer audio and video equipment. (1) Definitions. In this section:

SB450,59,24 (b) "Compact audio device" means an integrated audio system that is encased in a single housing; that includes an amplifier, radio tuner, and attached or separable speakers; and that can reproduce audio from magnetic tape, compact disc, digital versatile disc, or flash memory, except that "compact audio device" does not include any of the following:

SB450,59,25 1. A device that can only be powered by internal batteries.

SB450,60,1 2. A device that has a powered external satellite antenna.

SB450,60,2 3. A device that can produce a video output signal.

SB450,60,4 (c) "Digital versatile disc" means a laser-encoded plastic medium capable of storing a large amount of digital audio, video, or computer data.

SB450,60,8 (d) "Digital versatile disc player" means a commercially available electronic device encased in a single housing that includes an integral power supply and whose primary purpose is the decoding of digitized audio and video signals on a digital versatile disc.

SB450,60,13 (e) "Digital versatile disc recorder" means a commercially available electronic device encased in a single housing that includes an integral power supply and for which the primary purpose is the production or recording of digitized audio and video signals on a digital versatile disc, except that "digital versatile disc recorder" does not include a device that has an electronic programming guide.

SB450,60,17 (f) "Digital video recorder" means a device that can record audio and video signals on a hard disk drive or other device that can store the signals digitally, except that "digital video recorder" does not include a device that has an electronic programming guide.

SB450,60,20 (g) "Electronic programming guide" means an application that provides an interactive on-screen menu of television listings and that downloads program information from the vertical blanking interval of a television signal.

SB450,60,23 (h) "Standby mode" means the condition in which a device is connected to a power source and does not produce video or audio output signals, but can be switched into another mode with a remote control unit or an internal signal.

SB450,61,3 (i) "Television" means a commercially available electronic device consisting of a monitor, with or without a tuner or receiver, encased in a single housing, which is designed to receive and display an analog or digital video signal received from a terrestrial, satellite, cable, or broadband source, except that "television" does not include any of the following:

SB450,61,6 1. A multifunction device that can perform functions performed by a video cassette recorder, digital versatile disc player or recorder, digital video recorder, or electronic programming guide or that has a point-of-deployment card slot.

SB450,61,7 2. A computer monitor.

SB450,61,10 (j) "Video cassette recorder" means a commercially available analog recording device that includes an integral power supply and that records audio and video signals onto a tape medium for subsequent viewing.

SB450,61,12 (2) Prohibition; penalty. (a) No person may sell or offer for sale at retail in this state any of the following:

SB450,61,14 1. A compact audio device without a permanently illuminated clock that uses more than 2 watts in standby mode.

SB450,61,16 2. A compact audio device with a permanently illuminated clock that uses more than 4 watts in standby mode.

SB450,61,17 3. A television that uses more than 3 watts in standby mode.

SB450,61,19 4. A digital versatile disc player or digital versatile disc recorder that uses more than 3 watts in standby mode.

SB450,61,22 (b) A person who violates this subsection is subject to a forfeiture of not more than $100. Each device sold or offered for sale in violation of this subsection constitutes a separate violation.

SB450, s. 42 Section 42. 101.02 (23) of the statutes is created to read:

SB450,62,2 101.02 (23) No later than July 1, 2013, and at least every 4 years thereafter, the department shall prepare and provide to the department of natural resources an assessment of progress toward meeting the new building energy use goal in s. 299.03 (3).

SB450, s. 43 Section 43. 101.027 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 101.027 (1m) and amended to read:

SB450,62,10 101.027 (1m) In this section, "energy conservation code" means the The department shall, by rule, promulgate an energy conservation code promulgated by the department that sets minimum design requirements standards for construction and equipment for the purpose of energy conservation in public buildings and places of employment. Except as provided in sub. (1r), the rules shall conform to the energy design standards contained in a generally accepted code.

SB450, s. 44 Section 44. 101.027 (1g) of the statutes is created to read:

SB450,62,17 101.027 (1g) In this section, "generally accepted code" means the International Energy Conservation Code or an energy efficiency code that provides at least as great an energy conservation benefit as the energy design standards contained in the International Energy Conservation Code and that is generally accepted and used by architects, engineers, and the construction industry in the construction of public buildings and places of employment.

SB450, s. 45 Section 45. 101.027 (1r) of the statutes is created to read:

SB450,62,22 101.027 (1r) (a) The department may set particular design standards that are less strict than those contained in the generally accepted code used by the department to promulgate the energy conservation code under sub. (1m) if all of the following apply:

SB450,62,24 1. Application of the generally accepted code is unreasonably burdensome because of specific conditions existing in this state.

SB450,63,2 2. The less strict standards provide the greatest energy conservation benefits that are consistent with the specific conditions.