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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, passed both houses earlier this week and now awaits President Biden’s signature. The $3.5 trillion package includes a new minimum tax on large corporations, provisions to lower prescription drug prices and more than $300 billion to address climate change and promote clean energy. The legislation stipulates that the funding for the energy and climate programs must meet certain prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship requirements. Also, it ensures timely permitting processes including environmental reviews on all federal construction projects and on Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) and interstate electricity transmission line projects. Among the many things included in the Act, the legislation provides $330 million for fiscal year 2022 for grants to help states adopt residential and commercial building energy codes that meet or exceed the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019, or some combination of those codes. It also provides $2 billion for fiscal year 2022 for the Federal Highway Administration to reimburse or provide incentives to states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and public authorities to use materials produced with lower-carbon emissions. There are also production tax credits to accelerate U.S. manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and critical minerals processing. Click here to read a memo from our partners at the Finishing Contractors Association (ECA is a chapter of FCA), who break down the Act and its many provisions that impact our industry.