The 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. This fund will consist of all moneys transferred from the highway tax distribution fund and will be used to provide low-carbon fuels incentives and carbon intensity verification. The commissioner is tasked with distributing these incentives to ethanol production facilities for eligible capital projects aimed at improving efficiency and reducing carbon intensity. The bill sets limits on the amount of incentives that can be distributed, 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 may allocate up to one million dollars from the fund for developing 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. Specifically, it modifies the distribution of registration fees to direct a portion to the newly established low-carbon fuels fund instead of the previous ethanol production incentive fund. The amendments include a provision that allows for annual transfers to the low-carbon fuels fund until a cumulative total of thirty million dollars is reached. Furthermore, the bill repeals the chapter that previously governed ethanol production incentives, effectively consolidating the state's efforts towards low-carbon fuel initiatives under the new fund.

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