House Energy committee narrows H.125 to one-time study, asks ANR to report on data and mapping feasibility

The House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Thursday, March 13 discussed and substantially revised draft 4.1 of H.125, directing the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to deliver a one-time study by December instead of an annual report and asking the agency to return with recommendations on data availability, mapping and any resources needed to provide regional analysis.

Committee members spent the meeting walking through written testimony from ANR Secretary Julie Moore and line edits prepared by legislative counsel Ellen Jankowski. Members said the change to a single, initial report would allow ANR to align the bill’s requirements with work already underway under the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and the state’s environmental justice efforts, and to avoid duplicative data requests.

Why it matters: Committee members flagged several practical data issues that affect H.125’s current language. Witnesses and staff said weatherization program data are not tracked by income quintile as the bill originally requested, certificate-of-public-good…