Roae: Commerce Committee Advances Bills to Help Charities and Promote Clean-Energy Projects in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG – House Commerce Committee Chairman Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie) today in Harrisburg convened a meeting where he and his colleagues voted to approve two bills. The first bill would make it easier for charities to raise funds, while the second would promote clean-energy projects in Pennsylvania.
“I’m pleased as chairman of the House Commerce Committee that we were able to move these bills forward through the legislative process,” Roae said. “These bills could make a positive impact in the lives of many Pennsylvanians.”
The committee approved
House Bill 1760, which would expand the state’s existing Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. That program, which was authorized through legislation adopted in 2018, facilitates long-term financing for energy efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy projects for agricultural, commercial and industrial properties.
House Bill 1760 would enhance the C-PACE program by expanding eligibility to multi-family commercial buildings and indoor air improvements such as those required in COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
“We want to expand this program to promote more clean-energy projects in the Commonwealth,” Roae said. “This would enable more properties to qualify for this program and use its unique financing system to pay for clean-energy projects.”
The other bill approved today by the committee –
Senate Bill 731 – would make it easier for small charities to raise funds through charitable gift annuities.
Charitable gift annuities provide donors the opportunity to support a charitable organization while receiving fixed annuity payments. The payments can begin immediately, or the donor can choose to defer the payments to a future date. The terms of the arrangement are set forth in a contract signed by the nonprofit organization and the donor. The arrangement terminates on the death of the annuitant, at which point the nonprofit organization uses the remaining funds on its mission.
Existing laws in Pennsylvania make it very difficult for smaller charitable organizations to use charitable gift annuities because the amount of unrestricted cash or publicly-traded securities needed to cover the minimum is impractical and unworkable. A smaller foundation or charity must commit a significant amount of foundation resources to the annuity and not to its mission.
Senate Bill 731 would enable charities to transfer the risk to a commercial insurance company.
“This bill would make it easier for smaller charities to raise funds to support their missions in our communities,” Roae said. “We want small charities to have access to these resources so they can help more people in the communities they serve.”
House Bill 1760 and Senate Bill 731 now head to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
More information about Roae is available by visiting his website at
RepRoae.com and following him on Facebook at
Facebook.com/RepRoae.
Representative Brad Roae
6th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Dan Massing
717.772.9845
dmassing@pahousegop.com
RepRoae.com /
Facebook.com/RepRoae