Ways and Means – Week of May 20, 2011

STAFF CONTACT:  Kris Bell

SF 514 – Brownfields and Grayfields Tax Credits

SF 534 (SSB 1212) – Certificate of Need

HF 672 – Wind and other renewable energy tax credits

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 514, as amended by the House, requires the Department of Economic Development to allocate up to $5 million in tax credits for the Redevelopment Tax Credits program. The tax credits are placed under the Department’s current aggregate tax credit limitation of $120 million. The bill clarifies the “qualifying investment” definition. In addition, the bill specifies a detailed process for verification of eligibility, including the registration of projects, the review of applications and the issuance of letters containing preliminary approval of an amount of tax credits. Investors will have to submit an audit of a project to the Department before a tax credit certificate may be issued. [5/12: 49-0, Seymour “excused”]

HF 672 reallocates unused wind energy production tax credits that were available for mid-sized wind energy projects under Iowa Code 476B to be available for use for smaller, locally owned wind energy projects under Iowa Code 476C. Because all of the current credits allocated under 476C have been claimed, the transfer of credits from 476B to this area will allow projects that have been on a waiting list to access the credit and move forward. It allows projects that have received the credit but have not become operational to extend their time period to do so without losing the credit certificate they have claimed. Currently, a project has to become operation within a period of time, or it will lose the credit certificate. It also would allow projects that generate heat from a refuse derived fuel, methane or biomass to receive the credit if they use the energy produced on site. Currently, that energy must be sold for commercial use to be eligible for the production tax credit.

On this passage, the Senate accepted a House amendment that removed a portion of the bill that had provided for 25 MW of new production tax credit to be issued annually beginning in 2015 and ending in 2020.  These new credits had been included by the Senate earlier and would have added 150MW of new 476C tax credits in the future. [5/12: 48-1 (Chelgren no; Seymour excused)]

COMMITTEE & FLOOR ACTION:

SF 534 (SSB 1212), as amended by the committee, requires a new freestanding facility other than a hospital that will perform abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization to apply for and receive a certificate of need before offering services in the state of Iowa. In order to qualify for a certificate of need, the new facility must be located sufficiently close to a hospital providing the appropriate level of perinatal care to protect the life or health of the mother or fetus. Level II Regional Neonatal Hospitals and Level III hospitals provide this level of care. [5/12: 9-6 (party-line); 5/17: 26-23 (party-line, Houser excused)]