Maryland TV Energy Bill Could Hit State Revenue, Small Businesses, Says Legislative Services
A Maryland bill that seeks to limit energy use of TVs could impact the state’s revenue and small businesses, the Department of Legislative Services of the Maryland General Assembly said in a report. The CEA warned state lawmakers in testimony Tuesday on SB-455 that the state will lose $3.5 million in sale tax revenue and 490 jobs if the measure that would impose California-type standards for TVs is adopted. Advocacy groups accused the CEA of using “scare tactics” and “spreading misinformation” to policy makers on the effects of the proposed standards.
"To the extent the adopted efficiency standards limit television models available from retailers in Maryland, general fund and Transportation Trust Fund revenues may decrease due to a loss in sales tax revenue generated from television sets,” the department said in fiscal and policy analysis of the bill. But the extent of the revenue decline can’t be “reliably estimated,” it said, and any increase in revenue for penalties imposed for non-compliance of the proposed standards will be minimal.
CE small businesses may be “meaningfully impacted” by the standards proposed in the bill, the department said, saying it can’t reliably estimate the “extent of impact.” It said, however, that any impact SB-455 would have on small businesses in Maryland would be “initially more significant” than in California because the bill doesn’t “allow for existing stock of noncompliant televisions to be sold once the standards take effect.” The Maryland Energy Administration views the bill’s effective date, which is two months after California’s, as providing retailers enough time to “plan their inventory accordingly,” the report said.
"I am not convinced there will be a detrimental effect to the business community,” bill sponsor Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George’s, told us. “More importantly, it will lower electric bills for the residents of the state.” As for the bill not letting noncompliant existing TV stocks be sold after the effective date, Pinsky said TV makers have indicated that once California’s regulations are in place they will “sell only those TVs that are compliant across the country,” meaning there will be no noncompliant models in stock when Maryland’s law takes effect.
"From all the information that we have we don’t reach that conclusion,” said David Lis of the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, of the report’s forecast of revenue losses to the state. The department didn’t study the issue closely enough, he said. Moreover, the energy savings to be had from the standards is “left out of the conversation,” he said. “You hear about the impact to manufacturers and retailers [but] what about the consumers?” The measure will result in “huge savings” for them, he said.