Committee reviews draft fuel-dealer reporting and greenhouse-gas inventory proposal

The committee reviewed a new draft on a greenhouse-gas inventory and fuel-dealer data collection mechanism intended to improve the state's ability to track fuel sales and emissions.

The draft would create reporting requirements for fuel dealers and include a budget request and position to administer the data. Committee members emphasized that the phrase "smallest geographic level practicable" should not mean disclosure of individual addresses and asked for protections for small businesses and proprietary information.

The chair said section 4 contemplates reverse data use so that tax department records could leverage environmental data and avoid duplicative reporting if the legal and technical arrangements are possible. The draft proposes removing unused registry language tied to the clean-heat standard as housekeeping.

Members asked whether the appropriation in the budget required inclusion in the bill text; staff said appropriations typically are coordinated with the appropriations committee but had been included at the request of that committee. Stakeholders were invited to provide detailed language in advance of next week’s session.