HF 5056

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/20/2024 11:23am

A bill for an act
relating to energy; establishing a program to award grants for the purchase of
electric lawn and snow removal equipment; requiring reports; appropriating money;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216C.

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

Section 1.

[216C.47] LAWN AND SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRIFICATION GRANT PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given.

(b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.

(c) "Eligible applicant" means:

(1) an individual;

(2) a small business, as defined in section 645.445, subdivision 2;

(3) a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and is operating from a physical location in Minnesota; and

(4) a person that is otherwise eligible pursuant to any additional eligibility requirements
determined during the program design and implementation phase.

(d) "Environmental justice area" has the meaning given in section 115A.03.

(e) "Focus community" means a community in Minnesota that is underserved by clean
energy solutions, including but not limited to renewable energy, electric vehicles, or building
electrification, and is overburdened by air pollution. Focus communities may be defined
as:

(1) meeting the definition of an environmental justice community under section 216C.441,
subdivision 2, paragraph (i);

(2) meeting the definition of a low-income household under section 216B.2402,
subdivision 16;

(3) residing in city-defined geographic areas identified as bearing high levels of pollution
or racial and economic marginalization or disinvestment, including but not limited to
Minneapolis' Green Zones; or

(4) other definitions determined by the commissioner or community input to identify
communities underserved by clean energy solutions or overburdened by air pollution.

(f) "Lawn and snow removal equipment" means equipment that is used to perform
landscaping or remove snow from land or building surfaces. Lawn and snow removal
equipment includes but is not limited to a lawn mower, lawn edger, trimmer, leaf blower,
chainsaw, snow blower, or other equipment that emits local air pollution, including small
generators used to power community events.

(g) "Operating organization" means a third-party organization responsible for operating
the grant program under this section, and may include community action partnerships or
other entities capable of providing grants directly to residents.

Subd. 2.

Establishment; purpose.

A lawn and snow removal equipment electrification
grant program is established in the Pollution Control Agency to assist eligible applicants to
purchase lawn and snow removal equipment that operates solely by electricity. The grant
program must (1) prioritize grant awards to individuals from focus communities, or small
businesses operating within focus communities; (2) develop and implement an inclusive
process to design the grant program with direct input from and influence by focus
communities; and (3) provide public education and outreach regarding the benefits of
electrification, including to K-12 schools, particularly within focus communities.

Subd. 3.

Program administration; program design.

(a) The commissioner, with input
from focus communities and other interested parties, may select one or more operating
organizations to administer and operate the grant program under this section. The program
must be established no later than June 30, 2025.

(b) The commissioner must spend up to one year working with potential or selected
operating organizations, focus communities, and other interested parties, including but not
limited to community organizations, nonprofits, and lawn and snow removal equipment
vendors, to design the grant program under this section to be equitable for focus communities.
To help locate decision-making within focus communities, the commissioner and focus
communities must create a community design group consisting of no less than six individuals
from focus communities.

(c) The commissioner and the community design group, as part of the program design
phase and with input from other interested parties listed in paragraph (b), must:

(1) further define eligible applicants for the program to align with the definitions under
subdivision 1 and the purpose of the grant program stated under subdivision 2;

(2) create a grant application process that is streamlined and nonburdensome for eligible
applicants, and considers a point-of-sale option;

(3) determine grant award amounts for individual applicants and small business
applicants, including maximum amounts;

(4) determine a process to evaluate grant applications and award grants that is equitable
and inclusive, and prioritizes individuals or small businesses in focus communities;

(5) consider how to permanently retire and recycle fossil-fuel-powered lawn and snow
removal equipment that are being replaced under the program, including how to verify
retirement; and

(6) decide how focus communities provide feedback and advise on the program once
the design phase ends and the operating phase begins.

Subd. 4.

Public outreach and community engagement.

(a) Public outreach and
community engagement during the design phase must, at minimum:

(1) engage with residents across Minnesota, including within both Minneapolis and St.
Paul, and outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area;

(2) include at least three public meetings that are remotely accessible to allow focus
communities and other interested parties to provide feedback on grant program design;

(3) include a public website with updates on the grant program design phase and operating
phase; and

(4) include at least two in-person outreach events with physical materials or hand-outs,
and an option to provide feedback nonelectronically.

(b) The commissioner may consult with the community design group on other public
outreach and community engagement practices.

(c) The commissioner must act as fiscal agent for the grant program. The commissioner
must develop administrative procedures to evaluate the application, evaluation, and grant
award processes in conjunction with operating organizations and focus communities.

Subd. 5.

Account established.

A lawn and snow removal equipment electrification grant
account is established in the special revenue fund. Money received from the general fund
must be transferred to the commissioner and credited to the account. Earnings, including
interest, dividends, and any other earnings arising from the assets of the account, must be
credited to the account. Earnings remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year do not
cancel to the general fund but remain in the account until June 30, 2030. The commissioner
must manage the account.

Subd. 6.

Appropriation; expenditures.

Money in the account established under
subdivision 5 is appropriated to the commissioner for the purposes of this section and must
be used only to:

(1) award grants made under this section;

(2) support community engagement in program design and implementation;

(3) provide public education and outreach on this grant program; and

(4) pay the reasonable costs of the agency and operating organizations to administer this
section.

Subd. 7.

Accountability and report.

(a) The commissioner must work with the
community design group and operating organizations to create a process to (1) track use of
the grant program funds across identified demographics, and (2) estimate the air and climate
pollution reduction as a result of this grant program.

(b) The commissioner must publish a publicly available and Internet-accessible annual
report no later than February 1, 2026, showing (1) how grants have been awarded across
identified demographics, and (2) the annual and cumulative estimates of air and climate
pollution reduced in a given program year.

(c) After the grant program is established and begins operating, the commissioner must
work with operating organizations to conduct regular outreach to focus communities to
gather feedback on improvements, following the additional process or recommendations
set by the community design group as part of subdivision 3, paragraph (c), clause (6). The
commissioner may elect to use a community advisory board or similar organization, new
or existing, to review grant program operations and outcomes and advise on changes needed
to reach the program's stated purpose under subdivision 2.

(d) No later than June 30, 2026, and every June 30 thereafter, the commissioner must
submit a written report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and house
of representatives committees with jurisdiction over climate, energy, environment, and
natural resources summarizing the number and amount of grant awards made and the types
of equipment financed under this section.

Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.

$3,500,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency for the purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.47.
This appropriation does not cancel to the general fund at the end of a fiscal year but remains
available until June 30, 2030.