[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3923 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3923

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to clarify 
     the authority of States to adopt renewable energy incentives.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2010

 Mr. Sanders (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Leahy, and 
 Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to clarify 
     the authority of States to adopt renewable energy incentives.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Let the States Innovate on 
Sustainable Energy Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF STATE AUTHORITY TO ADOPT RENEWABLE ENERGY 
              INCENTIVES.

    Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 824a-3) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(o) Clarification of State Authority To Adopt Renewable Energy 
Incentives.--
            ``(1) Definition of state-approved production incentive 
        program.--In this subsection, the term `State-approved 
        production incentive program' means a requirement imposed 
        pursuant to State law, or by a State regulatory authority 
        acting within the authority of the State regulatory authority 
        under State law, that an electric utility purchase renewable 
        energy (as defined in section 609(a)) at a specified rate.
            ``(2) Rates.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
        Act or the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.), a State 
        legislature or regulatory authority may set the rates for a 
        sale of electric energy by a facility generating electric 
        energy from renewable energy sources pursuant to a State-
        approved production incentive program under which the facility 
        voluntarily sells electric energy.''.
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