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Rep. Jeff Morris, serving the 40th District Serving San Juan, eastern and northwestern Skagit and southwestern Whatcom counties. |
Morris bill offers state assistance for energy-saving improvements
Voluntary program would offer financing to property owners for installing energy-efficient devices like solar panels and weatherization materials
OLYMPIA
– It was State
Representative Jeff Morris’ day in the House Technology, Energy, and
Communications Committee, during which public hearings were held on four
of Morris’ bills.
Among them was a proposal to create what Rep. Morris (D – Mount Vernon)
calls a new
sustainable-energy trust for the state. The voluntary program would
allow the Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED)
to offer low-interest loans to private home and commercial-building owners
for energy-efficient or renewable energy improvements. In return, property
owners who opt for the loans would pay back the costs for the improvements
as part of their property taxes over a 20-year period.
The improvements cover a wide range of materials, devices, and systems,
from storm windows and doors, automatic heating or air conditioning
systems, to solar panels, wind energy, and even biomass and geothermal
energy systems.
Morris, an energy policy expert by trade, sees this new trust as a way to
spur greater investment in, and use of, alternative energy sources as well
as conservation efforts. “I hear from so many citizens back home who are
interested in doing the right thing to reduce both their energy costs and
their carbon footprint,” said Morris. “But up until now, the cost of doing
so was too prohibitive.”
“This program could be part of our long-term solution and help jumpstart
the adoption of these new energy systems statewide.”
Morris modeled the sustainable-energy trust after a similar program
enacted by the City of Berkeley in California, although that program is
much smaller in scope and applies only to the installation of solar
photovoltaic electric systems.
The three other bills heard today sponsored by Morris are:
HB 1008 - Concerning permit requirements for small wind energy
systems.
HB 1004 - Adding products to the energy efficiency code.
HB 1005 - Requiring a commercial web site that collects personally
identifiable information to post a privacy policy.
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