Multifamily Housing Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014

Summary: Multifamily Housing Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 - Requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to analyze and report on the relationship between energy savings improvements to homes and buildings, utility and energy expenses, and mortgage performance. Directs HUD to make the results of the analysis publicly available. Requires HUD and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to evaluate departmental procedures and policies to assess if they accurately reflect the energy expenses and benefits of energy savings improvements for homeowners and building owners. Amends the National Housing Act to revise provisions concerning mortgage insurance by establishing a green refinancing program for multifamily housing projects to increase the amount of mortgage loans that may be insured to finance the cost of residential energy conservation measures. Requires HUD to carry out a Multifamily Housing Energy Innovation Plan to make grants to establish or expand an energy savings plan that will result in at least a 20% reduction in the energy, water, or gas consumption of multifamily housing. Authorizes HUD to waive during the next five years any requirement regarding the eligibility of multifamily properties for an existing risk-sharing agreement entered into under multifamily mortgage credit programs, if the waiver facilitates the adoption of energy or water conservation measures in the properties.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Multifamily Housing Energy 
Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENERGY SAVINGS IMPROVEMENTS AND 
              MORTGAGE PERFORMANCE.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in 
coordination with the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall commence a 
study to analyze the relationship between energy savings improvements 
to homes and buildings, utility and energy expenses, and mortgage 
performance, which shall include an analysis of--
            (1) the likely increase in value of homes or buildings from 
        energy savings improvements;
            (2) the effect of energy savings improvements on mortgage 
        default rates; and
            (3) the risks of financing energy savings improvements 
        through property assessments and the risks associated with 
        providing energy efficiency products with senior liens on 
        buildings or homes.
    (b) Protection of Information.--In conducting the study required 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall ensure that data shared with 
any third-party or published does not contain any personally 
identifiable information.
    (c) Publication.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall--
            (1) publish the results of the study required under 
        subsection (a) on the publicly available website of the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
            (2) submit a report regarding the results of the study 
        required under subsection (a) to the Committee on Financial 
        Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
    (d) Evaluation.--Not later than 12 months after the completion of 
the study required by subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director of 
the Federal Housing Finance Agency shall evaluate departmental 
procedures and policies to assess if they accurately reflect the energy 
expenses and benefits of energy savings improvements for homeowners and 
building owners.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ENERGY EFFICIENCY 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) Green Refinancing.--Section 223 of the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1715n) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Green Refinancing.--The Secretary shall, by regulation, 
establish a green refinancing program for multifamily housing projects 
insured under subsection (f) under which any dollar amount limitations 
which would otherwise apply with respect to a project may be increased 
by up to 20 percent for the cost of residential energy conservation 
measures for the project, but the Secretary shall only insure 
residential energy conservation measures pursuant to this subsection if 
the Secretary verifies that--
            ``(1) a third-party assessment procured by the lender or 
        borrower has been conducted of the project's physical needs, 
        including an energy audit and identification of cost-effective 
        opportunities for increasing energy and water efficiency and 
        achieving a reduction in energy and water costs, and such 
        assessment indicates that such energy conservation measures 
        will be cost-effective over the life of the conservation 
        measure; and
            ``(2) such energy conservation measures will be verified 
        and monitored over the life of the mortgage, using such method 
        as the Secretary determines appropriate.
For purposes of this subsection, the term `energy conservation measure' 
has the meaning given such term in section 221(k)(3) (12 U.S.C. 
1715l(k)(3)).''.
    (b) Verification of Cost-Effectiveness of Residential Energy 
Conservation Measures.--Subsection (k) of section 221 of the National 
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(k)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and will be cost-effective over the life 
        of the measure'';
            (2) by striking ``(k) With respect to any project'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(k) Financing of Solar Energy Systems and Residential Energy 
Conservation Measures.--
            ``(1) Authority.--Subject to paragraph (2), with respect to 
        any project''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(2) Verification regarding residential energy 
        conservation measures.--The Secretary may increase the dollar 
        amount limitations pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to a 
        project due to residential energy conservation measures for the 
        project only if the Secretary--
                    ``(A) verifies that in the case of a mortgage 
                insured under this section financing new construction 
                of the project, such measures will be cost-effective 
                over the life of the measures;
                    ``(B) in the case of a mortgage insured under this 
                section financing repair and rehabilitation of the 
                project, verifies that a third-party assessment 
                procured by the lender or borrower has been conducted 
                of the project's physical needs, including an energy 
                audit and identification of cost-effective 
                opportunities for increasing energy and water 
                efficiency and achieving a reduction in energy and 
                water costs, and such assessment indicates that the 
                energy conservation measures to be installed will be 
                cost-effective over the life of the measures; and
                    ``(C) ensures that the project is provided 
                information that will enable the project to verify and 
                monitor the energy savings achieved by the energy 
                conservation measures on a voluntary basis.
            ``(3) Definition of energy conservation measure.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, the term `energy conservation 
        measure' means, with respect to a project, any measure that 
        will result in a reduction in energy, water, or gas consumption 
        for the project.''.
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) Guidance.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development shall issue guidance to implement the amendments 
        made by this section not later than the expiration of the 12-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Annual report on energy efficiency improvements.--The 
        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, on an annual 
        basis, make available on a publicly available website of the 
        Department a report describing the implementation of the 
        amendments made by this section and the programs for financing 
        residential energy conservation measures under sections 221(k) 
        and 223(h) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(k), 
        1715n(h)) as amended by such amendments.

SEC. 4. MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ENERGY EFFICIENCY INNOVATION.

    (a) Multifamily Housing Energy Innovation Plan.--The Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development shall carry out a program to be known as 
the Multifamily Housing Energy Innovation Plan to make grants to 
eligible entities to establish or expand an energy savings plan that 
uses innovative approaches to reduce energy, water, and/or gas 
consumption in multifamily housing.
    (b) Submission and Selection of Multifamily Housing Energy 
Innovation Plans.--
            (1) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to 
        the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Secretary may require, which shall include--
                    (A) a description of the energy savings plan 
                established or expanded using amounts from a grant 
                under this section that includes goals of the plan, use 
                of grant funds, and the anticipated outcome of the 
                plan;
                    (B) the amount of grant funds needed for such plan 
                and the amount and sources of other funding, including 
                matching funds required under subsection (d)(1); and
                    (C) a description of how implementing such plan 
                will comply with the energy savings requirement under 
                subsection (c)(2).
            (2) Selection.--The Secretary shall establish criteria for 
        selection of applications submitted under paragraph (1) to 
        receive grants under this section and shall select eligible 
        entities to receive grants based on such criteria. Such 
        criteria shall be based upon--
                    (A) the relevant experience and capacity of the 
                eligible entity to carry out the energy savings plan to 
                be assisted with grant amounts and to achieve the 
                stated goals of such plan;
                    (B) the extent to which such plan provides an 
                innovative approach to reducing energy consumption in 
                multifamily housing;
                    (C) the ability of such plan to be replicated by 
                others; and
                    (D) such other factors as the Secretary determines 
                to be appropriate.
            (3) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to applications based on--
                    (A) the extent of funding for the energy savings 
                plan secured by the eligible entity from private, 
                nonprofit, or government sources in addition to the 
                matching funds required under subsection (d)(1);
                    (B) the extent of the proposed benefit of the 
                energy savings plan to low-income families; and
                    (C) the extent to which the energy savings plan 
                would reduce budgetary expenses for the Department of 
                Housing and Urban Development.
    (c) Use of Grant Funds.--
            (1) Eligible energy savings plans.--Amounts from grants 
        under this section may be used only for energy savings plans 
        that--
                    (A) are financing demonstrations for multifamily 
                housing, including for financing through credit 
                enhancements, revolving loan funds, loan loss reserves, 
                interest rate subsidies, loan insurance, or other 
                financing methods approved by the Secretary;
                    (B) create green jobs, including in the fields of 
                construction, property management, and technical 
                analysis, that directly promote the adoption of energy 
                savings measures in multifamily housing, including 
                energy savings plans that create green jobs for low-
                income families;
                    (C) acquire and analyze data on the costs, 
                benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with 
                retrofitting multifamily housing for energy efficiency; 
                or
                    (D) research and implement a demonstration project 
                that--
                            (i) creates retrofit or repair strategies 
                        that use readily available technologies to 
                        reduce or increase the efficiency of energy, 
                        water, and gas consumption that are not 
                        typically used for multifamily housing;
                            (ii) addresses the split incentive problem, 
                        including implementing changes to methods for 
                        utility metering in multifamily housing;
                            (iii) creates a system for benchmarking, 
                        tracking, and sharing energy consumption 
                        statistics for multifamily housing; or
                            (iv) achieves another goal as approved by 
                        the Secretary.
            (2) Energy savings requirement.--Amounts from a grant under 
        this section may be used only to carry out an energy savings 
        plan described in paragraph (1) that will result in at least a 
        20-percent reduction in the energy, water, or gas consumption 
        of multifamily housing and a description of the methodology to 
        be used to compute the reduction in energy consumption.
    (d) Other Requirements.--
            (1) Matching funds.--An eligible entity that receives a 
        grant under this section shall contribute towards the energy 
        savings plan amounts from private, nonprofit, or government 
        sources that are not less than the amount of the grant.
            (2) Duration.--Grants shall be awarded for a period not to 
        exceed 24 months.
            (3) Eligible entity report.--Not later than 12 months after 
        the date on which the grant period of an eligible entity that 
        received a grant under this section ends, each such eligible 
        entity shall submit to the Secretary a report on the 
        performance of energy savings plans carried out pursuant to 
        this section that shall contain such information as the 
        Secretary shall require.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section the following definitions shall 
apply:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        partnership between 2 or more of the following entities:
                    (A) A State or unit of local government.
                    (B) A provider of utility services.
                    (C) A community housing development organization as 
                defined in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
                National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704).
                    (D) A public housing agency as defined in section 
                3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
                U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
                    (E) A non-profit or for-profit entity whose primary 
                business is management of multifamily housing.
            (2) Energy savings plan.--The term ``energy savings plan'' 
        means a program, project, or activity for energy savings or 
        water and gas efficiency in multifamily housing.
            (3) Low-income families.--The term ``low-income families'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 3(b) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
            (4) Multifamily housing.--The term ``multifamily housing'' 
        means a residence consisting of 5 or more dwelling units.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (6) Split incentive problem.--The term ``split incentive 
        problem'' means, with respect to multifamily housing, a 
        situation in which--
                    (A) the occupant of a dwelling unit in the housing 
                does not pay for energy, water, or gas consumption for 
                such unit and is not incentivized to implement an 
                energy savings measure; or
                    (B) the owner does not pay for energy, water, or 
                gas consumption for dwelling units in the housing and 
                is not incentivized to implement an energy savings 
                measure.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and any territory or 
        possession of the United States.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2015, 
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, and 
$10,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. GREEN PRESERVATION EXPANSION.

    During the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may waive any 
statutory or regulatory requirement regarding the eligibility of 
multifamily properties for an existing risk-sharing agreement entered 
into under section 542 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-22), but only if such waiver facilitates the 
adoption of energy or water conservation measures in such properties.