February 2022 | Vol. 27 No. 2

Commerce Department Publishes RFI on Domestic Semiconductor Industry

On January 24, 2022, the Department of Commerce and NIST published a Request for Information called “Incentives, Infrastructure, and Research and Development Needs to Support a Strong Domestic Semiconductor Industry.”  The stated purpose of the RFI is to gather information on several potential programs contained in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, including a semiconductor financial assistance program; a national semiconductor technology center; advanced packaging manufacturing program; and workforce development needs of the semiconductor industry. NEMA is reviewing the RFI and will be developing responsive comments in consultation with members. 

— Phil Squair, Vice President of Government Relations, NEMA and Steve Griffith, Senior Industry Director, NEMA

NEMA Members Invited to Join SBOM Development

The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is inviting members of the public to participate in working groups to help develop elements of a cybersecurity software bill of materials (SBOM). SBOMs have emerged as a critical component to supply chain cybersecurity and resilience; the recent Log4j vulnerability disclosure has reinforced this notion. The CISA working groups will cover four main areas:

• Cloud and Online Applications
• Tools and Implementation
• Sharing and Exchanging SBOMs
• On-ramps and Adoption

NEMA members wishing to participate in any of these groups should email CISA to sign up: sbom@cisa.dhs.gov. NEMA encourages electroindustry participation in the process to ensure manufacturing perspectives and concerns are adequately addressed. At the conclusion of the development process, it is likely that CISA will require SBOM adoption for critical infrastructure entities, which many NEMA members are.

— Peter Ferrell, Government Relations Manager on Cybersecurity and Data Policy, NEMA

States Introduce Lighting Legislation

Over the past weeks, several State legislators have re-filed or submitted new bills regarding energy efficiency of lighting products. The proposals are related to similar proposals over the past few years that focus on State-regulated general service lamps and specialty linear fluorescent products currently not regulated federally, NEMA will file letters of opposition to these bills where appropriate.

Legislators in Vermont have proposed two bills, H495 and H500, which seek to phase out or ban mercury-containing lamps with few exceptions. One bill also proposes to sunset mercury lamp recycling programs, which is favorable. NEMA is establishing a member working group to discuss response and is coordinating with NEMA lobbyists in the State to determine the likelihood of passage and best strategy to engage on these bills.

— Alex Boesenberg, Director of Regulatory Affairs, NEMA

White House Announces National Building Performance Standards Coalition

On Friday, January 21, the Biden-Harris administration announced the creation of a coalition to strengthen and advance building performance standards (BPS). At the time of the announcement, the alliance included 33 state and local governments—representing 20 percent of the nation’s building footprint. “The first-of-its-kind partnership will unlock energy efficiency and electrification across the buildings sector as an engine for job creation all while lowering energy bills for consumers.” Key elements of the initiative include coalition building, advancing building performance standards, job training, technical assistance, and stakeholder engagement.

BPS represent a suite of potential policies that jurisdictions can enact to improve the performance of its built environment over time—including energy efficiency, electrification, decarbonization, indoor air quality, and more—while maintaining technology neutrality and providing building owners and operators flexibility in how to meet them. NEMA will continue to monitor the development of the coalition and identify ways for NEMA and its members to support these efforts.