2022 -- S 2584 | |
======== | |
LC004418 | |
======== | |
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- JUST TRANSITION TO CLEAN | |
ENERGY | |
| |
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Kallman, DiMario, Lombardo, Ciccone, Euer, and | |
Date Introduced: March 10, 2022 | |
Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Title 42 of the General Laws entitled "STATE AFFAIRS AND |
2 | GOVERNMENT" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: |
3 | CHAPTER 140.5 |
4 | JUST TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY |
5 | 42-140.5-1. Creation of transition office. |
6 | (a) In the department of labor and training, there is established a just transition office. The |
7 | office shall ensure that workers employed in the energy sector who are displaced due to efforts by |
8 | the state and the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or transition from fossil fuels to |
9 | clean energy have immediate access to employment and training opportunities in clean energy |
10 | industries and related fields. The just transition office shall also work with clean energy businesses |
11 | to ensure they act as responsible employers to further the state’s workforce and economic |
12 | development goals. The just transition office shall also work to increase access to employment and |
13 | training opportunities in clean energy industries and related fields for residents of frontline and |
14 | environmental justice communities. |
15 | (b) The director of the department of labor and training shall appoint the director of the just |
16 | transition office. |
17 | 42-140.5-2. Advisory committee. |
18 | (a) Within the just transition office, there shall exist an eighteen (18) member just transition |
| |
1 | advisory committee consisting of: |
2 | (1) The director of the office; |
3 | (2) The director of the department of labor and training; |
4 | (3) The chair of the executive climate change coordinating council; |
5 | (4) A representative of employers in the gas utility sector appointed by the governor; |
6 | (5) A representative of employers in the electric power generation sector appointed by the |
7 | governor; |
8 | (6) A representative of employers in the renewable electricity sector appointed by the |
9 | governor; |
10 | (7) A representative of employers in the energy efficiency sector appointed by the |
11 | governor; |
12 | (8) A representative of employers in the clean transportation sector appointed by the |
13 | governor; |
14 | (9) A representative of employers in the clean heating sector appointed by the governor; |
15 | (10) A representative of employees in the gas utility sector appointed by the president of |
16 | the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; |
17 | (11) A representative of employees in the electric power generation sector appointed by |
18 | the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; |
19 | (12) Two (2) representatives of employees in the clean energy sector appointed by the |
20 | president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; |
21 | (13) A representative of employees in the transportation sector appointed by the president |
22 | of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; |
23 | (14) The president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, or |
24 | designee; |
25 | (15) Two (2) representatives of environmental justice communities appointed by the chair |
26 | of the executive climate change coordinating council; and |
27 | (16) The commissioner of the office of energy resources. |
28 | (b) The committee shall be tasked with developing a just transition plan for the energy |
29 | sector that identifies workers currently employed in the sector by industry, trade, and job |
30 | classification, and contains relevant information including, but not limited to, current wage and |
31 | benefit packages and current licensing, certification and training requirements. The committee, |
32 | through the just transition plan, shall recommend education and training programs to enhance re- |
33 | employment opportunities within the energy sector, and services to support dislocated workers |
34 | displaced from jobs within the energy sector as a result of emissions-reducing policies and |
| LC004418 - Page 2 of 5 |
1 | advancements in clean energy technology. The just transition plan shall also recommend actions to |
2 | increase opportunities for residents of environmental justice communities to work in clean energy |
3 | industries. |
4 | 42-140.5-3. Just transition plan. |
5 | (a) The just transition plan shall include provisions to: |
6 | (1) Administer climate adjustment assistance benefits that are similar in type, amount, and |
7 | duration to federal Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits available pursuant to 20 CFR |
8 | 617.20–617.49; |
9 | (2) Educate dislocated workers, in collaboration with employers of dislocated workers and |
10 | relevant labor unions, on re-employment or training opportunities, and how to apply for climate |
11 | adjustment assistance benefits; |
12 | (3) Provide training, cross-training, and re-training to workers displaced by gas |
13 | infrastructure loss in the state’s local distribution companies and related businesses; |
14 | (4) Address the workforce development challenges of the fossil fuel energy sector’s |
15 | shrinking workforce over the course of the state’s thirty (30) year transition to a clean energy |
16 | economy; |
17 | (5) Incentivize the hiring of displaced energy sector workers with utilities, clean energy |
18 | industries, and related industries; |
19 | (6) Work with the executive office of commerce and the office of energy resources to |
20 | ensure that training and employment opportunities for displaced energy sector workers are included |
21 | in their initiatives, incentives, funding opportunities, and projects; |
22 | (7) Work with the public utilities commission, the department of public utilities and |
23 | carriers, and other agencies regulating the energy sector within the state to coordinate just transition |
24 | initiatives, complementing the other regulatory priorities of those agencies; |
25 | (8) Establish a fund to implement the just transition plan and its components, including |
26 | potential sources for sustainable short-term and long-term funding; |
27 | (9) Develop requirements, including the submission of a workforce reduction plan, for |
28 | energy sector employers that are closing a facility or significantly reducing their workforces as a |
29 | result of efforts by the state or the private sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or transition |
30 | from fossil fuels to clean energy; and |
31 | (10) Increase access to employment and training opportunities in clean energy industries |
32 | and related fields for residents of environmental justice communities. |
33 | (b) Employers described in subsection (a)(9) of this section shall submit a workforce |
34 | reduction plan to the office. Workforce reduction plans shall include: |
| LC004418 - Page 3 of 5 |
1 | (1) The reasons for the workforce reduction or facility closure; |
2 | (2) The total number of workers by job classification and by geographic assignment |
3 | employed by the employer; |
4 | (3) The total number of workers whose existing jobs will be retained, by job classification |
5 | and geographic location; |
6 | (4) The total number of workers whose existing jobs will be eliminated by the workforce |
7 | reduction or the closure of a facility, by job classification and geographic location; |
8 | (5) Whether each classification of workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be offered |
9 | employment in any other job classification or capacity by the employer; how many employees in |
10 | each classification will be offered employment; and whether the replacement employment offered |
11 | will provide comparable wages, benefits, and working conditions; |
12 | (6) Whether the employer is offering severance or early retirement benefits to impacted |
13 | workers; the value of the severance or early retirement benefits; whether the severance or early |
14 | retirement benefits are being provided to all or certain classes of workers; and how many impacted |
15 | workers intend to utilize these offerings; |
16 | (7) Whether the employer plans to transfer the work to a separate facility, enter a |
17 | contracting agreement for work previously performed by company employees, or otherwise |
18 | outsource work previously performed by company employees; and |
19 | (8) Whether the employer is a recipient of loans, grants, tax increment financing, or any |
20 | other financial incentive from the state, its independent state agencies, departments, or |
21 | corporations, or any municipality within the last five (5) years. |
22 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
======== | |
LC004418 | |
======== | |
| LC004418 - Page 4 of 5 |
EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- JUST TRANSITION TO CLEAN | |
ENERGY | |
*** | |
1 | This act would establish a just transition plan to a green economy by creating and |
2 | strengthening a critical support and employment process for displaced fossil fuel workers in the |
3 | transition to a carbon free economy. The act would create a just transition office within the |
4 | department of labor and training assisted by an eighteen (18) member advisory committee. |
5 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
======== | |
LC004418 | |
======== | |
| LC004418 - Page 5 of 5 |