The Washington State Senate passed legislation today to clarify a law passed in 2020 that enabled the creation of a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency (C-PACER) program.
Senate Bill 5862, sponsored by Sen. Liz Lovelett (D – Anacortes), passed on a unanimous vote Wednesday.
C-PACER provides local governments and individual building owners a private sector financing tool for important projects such as energy resiliency improvements and seismic upgrades. Since the passage of House Bill 2405 in 2020, five counties in Washington have approved ordinances to implement the innovative public-private partnership. However, ambiguity in the law has stalled investments in adopting counties.
SB 5862 clarifies the role of both lenders and county officials and will unlock the potential to fund millions of dollars of projects and help businesses comply with the 2019 Clean Building Standards.
“C-PACER is a crucial mechanism to effectively move our state towards energy efficiency in the face of the ongoing climate crisis,” said Lovelett. “By making it easier for local jurisdictions to implement the program, we can further expedite that process to make our buildings both safer and more sustainable at the same time.”
SB 5862 will now head to the House of Representatives for consideration. The 2022 session is scheduled to adjourn on March 10.
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