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House Engrossed
solar royalties fund; county residents |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session 2024
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HOUSE BILL 2281 |
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An Act
amending title 11, chapter 2, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 11-269.29; relating to county boards of supervisors.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 11, chapter 2, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 11-269.29, to read:
11-269.29. County solar royalties fund; definition
A. A county solar royalties fund shall be established by the board of supervisors in each county to be administered by the county treasurer. the fund will be funded by each owner or operator of a solar panel in that county that meets all of the following:
1. The solar panel is located in the relevant county.
2. The solar panel is not any of the following:
(a) Owned by an eligible entity.
(b) subject wholly to an exclusive power purchase agreement with an eligible entity.
B. If a solar panel is a part of a solar facility in which only a portion of the output of the solar facility is subject to a power purchase agreement with an eligible entity, the owner or operator of the solar panel shall calculate the number of solar panels that are subject wholly to an exclusive power purchase agreement for the purposes of subsection a of this section by:
1. Dividing the output of the solar facility subject to a power purchase agreement with an eligible entity by the total output of the solar facility.
2. Multiplying the quotient as determined pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection by the total number of solar panels in the solar facility.
c. The owner or operator of a solar panel that meets the requirements of subsection a of this section shall:
1. Not less than thirty days before the operational date of the solar panel, notify the county that the solar panel meets the requirements of subsection a of this section.
2. On the first of each month after the operational date of the solar panel:
(a) provide the county with a written report that indicates the total kilowatt-hours generated by the solar panel in the preceding month and the revenues received by the owner or operator in the preceding month from the sale of the kilowatt-hours.
(b) Pay the county in which the solar panel is located twelve and one-half percent of every $1.00 that the owner or operator receives in revenues from the sale of kilowatt-hours from the solar panel in the preceding month. the county shall deposit these monies in the fund established pursuant to subsection a of this section.
d. The county assessor shall administer and enforce subsection c of this section. The county assessor may use fund monies, which may not exceed ten percent of the monies in the fund, for the administrative costs of subsection c of this section.
e. fund mONIES SHALL BE USED TO PAY PROPERTY TAXES WITHIN THE COUNTY. iF ALL PROPERTY TAXES WITHIN THE COUNTY ARE PAId by fund monies, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS of THAT COUNTY MAY ELECT TO DISTRIBUTE any MONIES remaining in THE FUND FOR ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES:
1. funding for law enforcement or fire departments located within the county.
2. Funding for road or infrastructure improvements within the county.
3. DIRECT PAYMENTS TO COUNTY RESIDENTS PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION f OF THIS SECTION.
f. Direct payments made to county residents pursuant to subsection E, paragraph 3 of this section may be made either as a single payment or installment payments, as determined by the county board of supervisors. If the board of supervisors elects to disburse fund monies to provide direct payments to county residents, on the date of the single payment or an installment payment, the county treasurer shall determine the total amount of monies AVAILABLE in the fund that the board of supervisors has elected to disburse for the purpose of direct payments and the total number of qualified individuals who live in the county. The county treasurer shall use monies in the fund for the administrative costs of this subsection, which may not exceed ten percent of the monies that the board of supervisors has elected to make AVAILABLE for direct payments. After the administrative costs of this subsection are paid, The county treasurer shall pay to each qualified county resident an equal distribution of the total amount of monies in the fund that the board of supervisors has elected to make available for direct payments. The direct payments shall be made by check.
G. This section does not apply to a solar panel that meets any of the following:
1. produces power for only on-site use by a commercial or industrial user.
2. does not export power to the grid.
3. is a rooftop solaR system, regardless of whether the system exports power to the grid.
H. For the purposes of this section, "eligible entity" means any of the following:
1. A public service corporation that is regulated by the corporation commission.
2. a public power entity that has service territory located in this state.
3. A political subdivision of this state that operates a federal reclamation project.