Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rpacer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor urges study of RPACER program; committee hears about consumer protections
Summary
Representative Chris Munns told the Commerce Committee HB 12‑85 would create an interagency study commission to evaluate residential PACE (RPACER) financing, consumer protections, and which agency should administer the program; the bill as amended in the House set a reporting deadline in 2026.
Representative Chris Munns presented HB 12‑85, a bill to establish a study commission to evaluate whether New Hampshire should implement a residential property assessed clean energy/resiliency (RPACER) program. Munns described RPACER as a long‑term financing tool, often repaid over 30 years via a voluntary special assessment on property tax bills, to support energy efficiency, renewable generation, and resiliency upgrades.
Munns said existing commercial CPACER legislation is administered by the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority but that RPACER would likely require a different administrator because it interfaces directly with homeowners. He urged the committee to authorize a commission to study costs, benefits, consumer protections (including ability‑to‑pay verification, disclosure rules, and contractor performance remedies), and to identify the appropriate state agency for administration if a program is recommended. The House Commerce Committee previously amended the bill from an interagency task force to a legislatively appointed study commission with a completion date noted in House amendments.
No vote was recorded in the transcript for this bill during the hearing; the committee closed the public portion of the hearing after Munns’ testimony.
