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Committee forwards bill to convert ethanol incentive fund to low-carbon fuels fund; due-pass 6-0
Summary
Senate Bill 2,333 would move balances from the ethanol production incentive fund into a new low-carbon fuels fund and continue funding from a portion of farm vehicle registration fees; the committee voted unanimously to give the bill a do-pass with referral to Appropriations.
The Finance and Taxation Committee voted 6-0 to give Senate Bill 2,333 a do-pass recommendation with referral to the Appropriations Committee, advancing a proposal to convert the existing ethanol production incentive fund into a new low-carbon fuels fund.
Chairman Mel Weber described the bill as transferring the current balance of the ethanol production incentive fund into the new low-carbon fund and directing future transfers — specifically, an annual share of farm vehicle registration fees — into the new account. "They're calling it a low carbon fuel fund and they're transferring the existing balance from the ethanol production incentive fund," Weber said during the committee discussion.
Committee members noted the fund's existing balance and projected revenue flows. The committee record shows a current fund balance described in committee as approximately $5.3 million to $6.0 million, and the fiscal note summarized $5.2 million in revenue and $2.4 million in expenditures for the 2023-25 period, with projected growth to about $6.0 million in later years. The bill would limit distributions to roughly half of a project's cost for capital improvements at ethanol facilities and includes a proposed statutory cap for the new fund.
Weber and others explained that the funding is not drawn from the state's general fund but from a transfer — described in the bill language — of 40% of sums collected from farm vehicle registration fees into the fuel fund. If the new fund exceeds the statutory cap, mechanisms described in committee discussion would affect where surplus amounts flow under existing law.
Senator Patton moved the do-pass motion with referral to Appropriations; the motion received a second and passed on a roll-call vote of 6-0. Senator Powers volunteered to carry the bill.
The committee did not take testimony from outside stakeholders during the meeting; members said they supported advancing the bill to Appropriations for further review of the fiscal implications and program design.
