Establishing the Iowa carbon dioxide disaster relief fund, creating an excise tax, and making appropriations

This bill establishes the Iowa carbon dioxide disaster relief fund (fund). The bill creates the fund in the state treasury under the control of the department of natural resources (DNR). The fund shall consist of moneys deposited into the fund, including moneys collected from the excise tax assessed under the bill and gifts and donations received for the fund. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to DNR to respond to catastrophic events, regardless of size, resulting from the release or failure of a liquefied carbon dioxide pipeline, transportation, or storage system, including but not limited to a leakage, rupture, or other hazardous incident. The moneys may be used by the department for immediate disaster response, including containment, emergency response support, or environmental cleanup or long-term recovery, including compensation to victims, rebuilding, and environmental restoration. The fund is financed through an excise tax at a rate determined by the general assembly. The bill imposes the excise tax on the total annual transportation capacity of liquefied carbon dioxide pipelines and storage systems operating within Iowa and the actual amount of liquefied carbon dioxide transported through Iowa annually. The bill requires a minimum of $10 billion to be maintained in the fund in order for any common carrier liquefied carbon dioxide pipeline to transport liquefied carbon dioxide within the state. The bill creates two fiduciary oversight boards, the oversight board and the victim assistance board. The oversight board consists of at least five members appointed to five-year terms by the governor and confirmed by the senate. Expertise in financial relief, public policy, and disaster relief is considered when appointing the members. The members are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the fund, meeting at least quarterly to review the fund and oversee tax revenues and distributions, making recommendations for changes, and acquiring appropriate insurance to protect the fund and victims. The victim assistance board consists of at least seven members, five of which must meet certain qualifications provided in the bill. The members are responsible for ensuring that the fund’s resources are equitably and efficiently distributed to disaster victims, assessing the needs of victims, prioritizing claims, monitoring the recovery progress, advising the oversight board on any adjustments needed in the disaster response process or funding levels, creating and maintaining an on-demand, three-dimensional plume model network to accurately predict movement of a carbon dioxide plume, determining equipment and training required for local first responders, and compensating local first responder units. The bill requires the general assembly to review the operation of the fund every two years to ensure it meets its objectives, adjust the excise tax rate as needed to keep pace with inflation or changing disaster needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of disaster response protocols. The bill allows the oversight board or the victims assistance board to recommend improvements or changes to disaster relief policies.