This bill establishes a new section in the North Dakota Century Code to create a low-carbon fuels fund, which will be a special fund in the state treasury. The fund will consist of moneys transferred from the highway tax distribution fund and will be used to provide low-carbon fuels incentives to ethanol production facilities for eligible capital projects aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing carbon intensity. The bill outlines specific limits on the distribution of these incentives, including a maximum of three million dollars per biennium and a cumulative total of ten million dollars per facility over a ten-year period. Additionally, the commissioner is authorized to use up to one million dollars from the fund to develop a carbon intensity verification process and is required to report on the fund's status biennially.

The bill also amends existing sections related to vehicle registration fees and repeals the chapter concerning ethanol production incentives. It specifies that 40% of the registration fees collected for farm vehicles will be transferred to the newly created low-carbon fuels fund, with a cap on transfers until a cumulative total of thirty million dollars is reached. Furthermore, the bill removes the office's responsibility for managing and distributing production incentive payments previously authorized under the repealed chapter. The remaining balance in the ethanol production incentive fund will be transferred to the low-carbon fuels fund by July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
INTRODUCED: 39-04-39, 54-44.5-09
Enrollment: 39-04-39, 54-44.5-09