PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Encourage School Administrative Units To Increase Their Energy Savings
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §10123  is enacted to read:
§ 10123. School energy savings program
To the extent funds are available, the trust shall develop a program to provide energy savings improvements to kindergarten to grade 12 schools, including charter schools. Under this program, the trust may:
 
1.  Energy audits.     Provide incentives and technical support for an energy audit of a school facility;
 
2.  Energy measures.     Provide financial assistance for energy measures identified in an energy audit as likely to achieve total savings within 10 years that are greater than the total costs of the measures;
 
3.  School payments.     Accept payments equal to or less than the value on monthly energy bills of the energy savings as a result of the energy measures. These payments may include costs to develop and oversee the project, administer the program and service loans; and
 
4.  Rulemaking.     Adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. Funding sources. The Efficiency Maine Trust may seek funding for the program established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, subsection 10123 from multiple sources, including but not limited to using a revolving loan fund from a grant related to better buildings received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and partnering with the United States Department of Agriculture to use funds reserved for school districts with a population of less than 2,000 people.
 
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Efficiency Maine Trust to develop an energy program targeted to kindergarten to grade 12 schools, including charter schools.