Electric Utility Cap and Trade Act of 2007
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S682-691)
Electric Utility Cap and Trade Act of 2007 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish an allowance trading program to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electric generating facilities that: (1) have a nameplate capacity greater than 25 megawatts; (2) combust GHG emitting fuels; and (3) generate electricity for sale. Provides for annual tonnage limitations for GHG emissions from such facilities for 2011-2020.
Requires the Administrator to establish: (1) a Climate Science Advisory Panel; (2) a safe climate level; (3) a Climate Action Trust Fund for the Administrator to use to carry out this Act; and (4) an innovative low- and zero-emitting carbon technologies program, a clean coal technologies program, and an energy efficiency technology program.
Requires the Administrator to use portions of the Climate Action Trust Fund for specified programs, including: (1) providing adaptation assistance for workers and communities to address and mitigate local or regional impacts of climate change; and (2) mitigating the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife habitat, including funding for the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act.
Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning early reduction credits for GHG reduction or sequestrations projects carried out between 2000 and 2010. Allows facilities to meet obligations by surrendering certain international GHG credits.
Requires the Administrator to determine if allowance prices have reached and sustained a level that is causing or will cause significant harm to the U.S. economy. Allows the Administrator to permit facilities to use allowances early and to increase the use of international credits if allowances have sustained such a level.
Allows credits obtained under this Act to be used in other GHG allowance trading programs, including state programs approved by the Administrator.
Sets forth provisions concerning; (1) outreach to landowners about reductions in GHGs and revenue enhancement; and (2) offset credits for GHG reductions from land use-related sequestration projects.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 17, 2007. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 17, 2007: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S682-691)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 110th Congress (2007-08), 460 of the 11,228 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced it on January 17, 2007, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 17, 2007, 7176 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7176 days ago, on January 17, 2007.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 110th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2009 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers