Tag Archives: Biomass

More Bills Trickle through Process

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As the week nears an end, the House and Senate continue to work hard to move bills through the final stages of the legislative process.

Earlier in the day, the House passed HB 3178 with a vote of 97-1.  House Bill 3178 organizes, consolidates, and, where appropriate, contracts with private providers for technology systems and resources.  In addition, the bill establishes spending restrictions for information technology for the 2009-2011 biennium.

The House passed a striker put forth by the House Ways & Means Committee which replaces the current language but maintains the intent of the bill. In addition, the final bill passed off the House floor with two amendments attached:

  • Amendment 119:  Adds the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to the list of higher education entities exempted from provisions of the bill.
  • Amendment 118: Removes the section of the bill that changes the Data Processing Revolving Fund from a non-appropriated to an appropriated account.

House Bill 3178 now goes to the Senate for further consideration.

The Senate was also busy moving bills through the process. The Senate passed House Bill 2481 with a vote of 47-0.

HB 2481 allows the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to become a viable partner in the area of biomass and a potential partner with Evergreen in our Biomass Gasification Project. 

As passed by the House, HB 2481 will allow the DNR to do the following:

  • Allows the department to enter into contract terms up to 15 years when an entity plans and commits to a capital investment of at least 50 million dollars prior to the contract and completes that investment prior to removal of biomass under the contract.
  • Allows the department to include provisions in the agreement that are periodically adjusted for market conditions.
  • Requires the contract to include provisions that allow the department, when it is in the best interest of the trust beneficiaries, to maintain access to existing users of biomass.
  • Ensures that biomass volume conveyed under this chapter will not be counted toward the department’s sustainable harvest target, except that appraised timber sold in a conventional timber sale will count toward the target whether individual trees are ultimately used by that purchaser for timber or biomass energy.
  • Excludes wood from existing old growth forests from the definition of forest biomass

The bills now goes to the House for concurrence.

Senate Ways and Means Hears Biomass Bill

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The Senate Ways & Means Committee met early this Saturday morning to hear a variety of bills and take action on several more.

The deadline for the Committee to consider House bills with a fiscal impact is end of day Monday, March 1.

As  a part of the public hearing process this morning , Evergreen testified in support of House Bill 2481. HB 2481 is a bill discussed often on this blog, but is worth further discussion because it looks different at this stage in the legislative process than it did earlier on. The bill would:

 
  • Allow Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to enter into contract terms up to 15 years when an entity plans and commits to a capital investment of at least $50 million prior to the contract and completes that investment before removal of biomass under the contract;
  • Allow DNR to include provisions in the agreement that are periodically adjusted for market conditions;
  • Require the contract to include provisions that allow DNR, when it is in the best interest of the trust beneficiaries, to maintain access to existing users of biomass;
  • Ensure that biomass volume conveyed under this act will not be counted toward DNR’s sustainable harvest target, except that appraised timber sold in a conventional timber sale will count toward the target whether individual trees are ultimately used by that purchaser for timber or biomass energy;
  • Remove wood from old growth forests from the definition of what is not included in forest biomass; and
  • Require DNR to conduct a survey of scientific literature regarding the carbon neutrality of forest biomass and report to the Legislature by December 15, 2010.

Evergreen believes that the passage of House Bill 2481 would provide the Washington Department of Natural Resources with the tools necessary to be a viable player in the emerging biomass industry and a potential partner with Evergreen as we move forward to construct our Biomass Gasification Project.

The Committee took no further action on the bill.

Policy Committee Deadline Looms for House, Senate to Follow

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Today, House and Senate policy committees continued to work bills from the opposite chamber through the legislative process.

The House has less than 24 hours to consider policy bills from the Senate before the deadline for policy bills is reality. The House must move Senate initiated policy bills by 5:00 p.m. on February 23. 

The Senate has a few more days to get bills through the process. The Senate must move House policy bills to an appropriations committee or to the floor by 5:00 p.m. February 26.

Several bills of interest to Evergreen were heard by policy committees today and one bill was moved to the floor by the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

This morning the  Senate Early Learning & K12 Education Committee held a public hearing  on Senate Bill 3068. SB 3068 expands eligibility to additional students if funds are available for the conditional scholarship after currently qualified students have been accepted. Evergreen has supported the passage of SB 3068 since it was introduced earlier this session.

At the same time, the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean, and Recreation committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2481. HB 2481 provides the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) with the necessary tools and resources to be a viable partner in the emerging biomass industry in Washington. The bill authorizes DNR to maintain a list of all potential sources of forest biomass on state lands for the purposes of making biomass available ot others; allows DNR to enter into biomass contracts for up to 5 years; and authorizes DNR to lease lands for the purpose of biomass.

Evergreen has testified in support of House Bill 2481 as a vehicle by which to stabilize DNR’s viability as a potential partner with the College in our Biomass Gasification Project effort.

In the afternoon, the Senate Ways & Means Committee took action on Senate Bill 6409. SB 6409, which Evergreen supports, creates the Washington Investment in Excellence Account.  The Account is funded through state lottery proceeds and directs those funds to a range of research and financial aid programs. In particular the programs eligible to receive funds from the Account include efforts to recruit entrepreneurial researchers, innovation partnership zones, and research teams and higher education financial aid programs including opportunity grants, educational opportunity grants, state work study, GET ready for math and science scholarships, passport to college promise, college bound scholarships, and the Washington promise scholarship.

The Senate Ways & Means Committee amended the bill in executive session. The amendment to the bill makes the following changes:

  • Changes the Account name to Opportunity Pathways Account
  • Extends eligibilty to the following programs: Washington Scholars, Washington Award for Vocational Excellence, the State Need Grant, Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program
  • Transfer $102 million per year from the General Fund to the Education Construction Account to replace lost lottery dollars
  • Requires the Lottery Commission to report to the Legislative higher education and economic development committees on marketing strategies and revenue targets for the new account
  • Provides for a JLARC performance review of lottery marketing.

Legislature Works the Weekend

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The House and the Senate were focused on moving legislation to the opposite chamber this weekend. Though both chambers only met on Saturday, both moved several pieces of legislation and spent long hours on the floor and in caucus.

Here are some of the highlights from the weekend.

The House took action on bills ranging from teacher preparation to changes to the state loan program. House Bill 2930 passed with a vote of 98-0.  HB 2930 directs the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) to give priority in selecting Future Teachers scholarship recipients to those individuals who are seeking specialty endorsements in math as well as individuals who are uniquely qualified to help schools address the achievement gap. Evergreen supported HB 2930 and encouraged, through testimony, the Legislature to consider extending eligibility to individuals seeking endorsements in special education and English Language Learners (ELL). HB 2930 will have a public hearing before the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee on February 19.

House Bill 2481 passed by a vote of 92-0.  HB 2481 allows the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to become a viable partner in the area of biomass.  In particular the bill:

  • Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to maintain a list of all potential sources of forest biomass on state lands for the purposes of identifying and making forest biomass available for the conversion into energy, biofuels, or any other similar use.
  • Permits the DNR to enter into contracts for the purpose of providing a supply of forest biomass from lands managed by the DNR.
  • Authorizes the DNR to lease state lands for the conversion of biomass into energy or biofuels, for the development of a biorefinery, or for any other use derived from biomass.
  • Authorizes the DNR to establish a five-year forest health and fuel reduction supply agreement demonstration project.

House Bill 2481, which Evergreen supports, would position DNR to be a potential partner with Evergreen in our effort to realize our Biomass Gasification Project.

The House took the next step towards implementing the state loan program for students. House Bill 2854 establishes student eligibility requirements for the state Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) which was created in statute during the 2009 session.  Evergreen testified in support of the bill mirroring the testimony of the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Kenney, which supports first funding financial aid state grants and then providing for a low interest loan option for those students that borrow.

On Saturday, the House Finance Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 6130. Senate Bill 6130 temporarily suspends tax-limiting Initiative 960 in its entirety.  SB 6130 is the current vehicle for SB 6843 which passed out of the Senate in a close vote late last week.

The movement of the bill indicates the Legislature’s leanings towards raising revenue in the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium. 

Senate Bill 6130 now heads to the House floor for further consideration.

Biomass Takes Center Stage as Evergreen Works to Move Forward Biomass Gasification Project

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Biomass gasification will put Evergreen and its design and construction partners at the forefront of alternative energy production systems in the NW. That is why Evergreen is asking the state to join Evergreen students and the College to fund a pre-design for a Biomass Gasification Project to facilitate detailed planning for the design & construction phases of the project.

As part of the effort to encourage the state to fund projects and policies that address this rising technology -biomass- The Evergreen State College testified in support of Senate Bill 6236 this afternoon before the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation Committee. Senate Bill 6236 would allow the Washington Department of Natural Resources to enter into forest biomass supply agreements. Evergreen encouraged the Committee to pass the bill which would provide the Department with the tools and research necessary to be a viable partner in the area of biomass.