PRINTER'S NO. 85
No. 65 Special Session No. 1 of 2007-2008
INTRODUCED BY MENSCH, ADOLPH, BAKER, BARRAR, BIANCUCCI, BOBACK,
BOYD, BRENNAN, CAUSER, CLYMER, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, DALLY,
DENLINGER, ELLIS, J. EVANS, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FLECK,
FRANKEL, GEIST, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GRELL, GRUCELA,
HARHART, HARKINS, HARPER, HARRIS, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY,
HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, KILLION, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, LEACH,
LONGIETTI, MAJOR, MANN, McGEEHAN, McILHATTAN,
McILVAINE SMITH, MELIO, MILLARD, R. MILLER, MILNE, MOYER,
MURT, MYERS, PALLONE, PETRARCA, PICKETT, PYLE, READSHAW,
REED, REICHLEY, ROAE, ROCK, RUBLEY, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO,
SCHRODER, SONNEY, STERN, SURRA, SWANGER, J. TAYLOR, THOMAS,
VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WATSON AND YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 27, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, JUNE 27, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), entitled "An
2 act relating to tax reform and State taxation by codifying
3 and enumerating certain subjects of taxation and imposing
4 taxes thereon; providing procedures for the payment,
5 collection, administration and enforcement thereof; providing
6 for tax credits in certain cases; conferring powers and
7 imposing duties upon the Department of Revenue, certain
8 employers, fiduciaries, individuals, persons, corporations
9 and other entities; prescribing crimes, offenses and
10 penalties," in personal income tax, further providing for
11 classes of income.
12 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
13 hereby enacts as follows:
14 Section 1. Section 303 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6,
15 No.2), known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, is amended by
16 adding a subsection to read:
17 Section 303. Classes of Income.--* * *
1 (a.8) The following shall apply:
2 (1) The purchase price at retail or use of a building energy
3 efficiency measure by an individual purchaser for nonbusiness
4 use shall be deductible on the annual personal income tax
5 return, provided that the product has been certified as in
6 compliance with and qualifies as an Energy Star product pursuant
7 to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of
8 Energy, Energy Star Program and bears the Energy Star label. The
9 amount of the allowable deduction shall be ten per cent (10%) of
10 the aggregate purchase price at retail or use of building energy
11 efficiency measures in the taxable year, not to exceed one
12 thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) or the amount of tax due
13 under this article, whichever is less. The deduction shall not
14 include the leasing, rental, repair or servicing of such system
15 or product.
16 (2) This subsection shall apply to taxable years beginning
17 after December 31, 2007, through the first taxable year
18 beginning after December 31, 2009. The Department of Revenue in
19 conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection
20 shall offer a review by December 31, 2009, of this subsection
21 showing the fiscal impact and offering an evaluation of the
22 program to the General Assembly.
23 (3) The Department of Revenue shall promulgate regulations
24 it deems necessary to implement the provisions of this
25 subsection and shall cooperate with the Department of
26 Environmental Protection in ensuring adherence to any energy and
27 environmental standards or criteria associated with this
28 subsection.
29 (4) For the purposes of this subsection, "building energy
30 efficiency measure" includes all of the following products:
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1 (i) "Air-source heat pump" meaning an air-source unitary
2 heat pump model consisting of one or more factory-made
3 assemblies that:
4 (A) Include an indoor conditioning coil, compressor and
5 outdoor coil, a means to provide controlled temperature air
6 heating and cooling functions and may also perform air
7 circulation, air cleaning, dehumidifying or humidifying
8 functions.
9 (B) May be a single-packaged system, where there is only one
10 assembly or a split system, where there are two assemblies.
11 (C) Contains at a minimum an Energy Star rating of: Heating
12 Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) 7.6, Energy Efficiency Ratio
13 (EER) 10.5, and a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) 12 or
14 higher and, for a split system, may be rated at a Heating
15 Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) 8.
16 (ii) "Boiler" meaning a self-contained fuel burning
17 appliance of less than 300,000 BTUs per hour energy input, for
18 supplying low pressure steam or hot water for space heating
19 applications, that provides hot water for domestic use and that
20 has an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency Factor (AFUE) of 85 or
21 higher.
22 (iii) "Ceiling fan" meaning a ceiling mounted fan and light
23 combination.
24 (iv) "Central air conditioner" meaning an air conditioning
25 unit intended to control air temperature in entire building.
26 (v) "Dehumidifier" meaning an appliance used to remove water
27 vapor from the air.
28 (vi) "Door" meaning a residential entry or patio door system
29 including the door leaf and frame, where applicable, and that is
30 Energy Star rated.
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1 (vii) "Furnace" meaning a heating unit that has as its
2 function the combustion of fossil fuel for space heating with
3 forced hot air, that includes a burner, heat exchanger, blower
4 and connection to a heating duct, that provides hot water for
5 domestic use and that, at a minimum, contains an Annual Fuel
6 Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) 90 or higher.
7 (viii) "Geothermal heat pump" meaning equipment that uses
8 the thermal energy of the ground or groundwater as the heat
9 source and heat sink for residential space heating or cooling
10 functions only, or both, consisting of one or more factory-made
11 assemblies that:
12 (A) Normally include an indoor conditioning coil with air
13 moving means, compressor and refrigerant to fluid a heat
14 exchanger.
15 (B) Provides a partial or all of the domestic water heating
16 through the use of a desuperheater, integrated demand water
17 heater or a separately installed compressor that provides demand
18 water heating, including all equipment and connections from the
19 point at which the ground heat exchanger enters the house,
20 except for indoor equipment that was installed by someone not
21 representing the manufacturer or manufacturer's representative.
22 (C) Contains at a minimum an Energy Star rating of: Energy
23 Efficiency Ratio (EER) 14.1 Coefficient of Performance (COP) 3.3
24 for Closed Loop Systems, Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) 16.2
25 Coefficient of Performance (COP) 3.6 for Open Loop Systems and
26 Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) 15 Coefficient of Performance
27 (COP) 3.5 for Direct Expansion Systems.
28 (ix) "Insulation" meaning a material or substance with the
29 primary purpose of insulating, including floor, ceiling, wall or
30 duct insulation used to retrofit an existing residential
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1 building.
2 (x) "Programmable clock thermostat" meaning a device that
3 enables the user to set one or more time periods each day when a
4 comfort setpoint temperature is maintained, one or more time
5 periods each day when an energy-saving setpoint temperature is
6 maintained and that may be capable of controlling one or more
7 zones of a conditioned space.
8 (xi) "Reflective roofing" meaning elastometric roof coating
9 applied to the roof of a residential building and used to
10 deflect solar radiation and aiding in reducing indoor air
11 temperature.
12 (xii) "Room air conditioner" meaning a window-mounted air
13 conditioning unit that is intended to control air temperature in
14 one room only.
15 (xiii) "Solar energy system" meaning the equipment and
16 requisite hardware that provide and are used for collecting,
17 transferring, converting, storing or using incidental solar
18 energy for water heating, space heating and cooling, generating
19 electricity or other applications that would otherwise require
20 the use of a conventional source of energy such as coal,
21 petroleum products, natural gas, manufactured gas or
22 electricity. Eligible solar water heating equipment must be
23 certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation and
24 solar photovolatic systems must bear a certification by the
25 Florida Solar Energy Center.
26 (xiv) "Ventilating fan" meaning a fan used to improve
27 ventilation including kitchen range hoods, bathroom fans,
28 utility fans and inline fans.
29 (xv) "Window or skylight" meaning an entire glazed unit
30 designed for installation in an external wall of a residential
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1 building to allow for views and natural daylighting and that is
2 Energy Star rated, regardless of whether it is fixed or
3 operable.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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