I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7849 

To require the Secretary of Labor to carry out a pilot program to award 

competitive grants to eligible entities to train individuals for careers 

in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 29, 2020 

Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Labor to carry out a pilot program to award competitive grants to eligible entities to 

train individuals for careers in the renewable energy and 

energy efficiency industries, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited to as the ‘‘Renewable Energy 

5 Jobs Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TRAINING AND EMPLOY2 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

4 carry out a pilot program (in this section referred to as 

5 the ‘‘pilot program’’) to award competitive grants to eligi6 ble entities to train individuals for careers in the renew7 able energy and energy efficiency industries. 

8 (b) APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—To apply for a grant under 

10 the pilot program, an eligible entity shall submit an 

11 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

12 manner, and containing such information as the Sec13 retary may require. 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—A grant application under this 

15 section shall include the following: 

16 (A) A proposal for a program to train indi17 viduals for careers in the renewable energy and 

18 energy efficiency industries. 

19 (B) A description of the presence of such 

20 industries, and the availability of jobs in such 

21 industries, in the State in which the eligible en22 tity will carry out the program. 

23 (C) A description of the sustainability of 

24 long-term careers in such industries in such 

25 State, including a description of the growth of 

26 such industries over the 10-year period preVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7849.IH H7849

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1 ceding the date of the application and the pro2 duction output of such industries as of the date 

3 of such application. 

4 (D) A plan to coordinate the efforts of the 

5 eligible entity under the program with relevant 

6 efforts of workforce development boards. 

7 (E) A description of how the program 

8 aligns with the workforce plan of such State. 

9 (F) A description of how the program will 

10 aid participants to attain recognized postsec11 ondary credentials. 

12 (c) DURATION OF GRANT.—Each grant under this 

13 section shall be for a period of 3 years. 

14 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

15 a grant under this section may use the grant funds— 

16 (1) to carry out the proposal submitted by the 

17 recipient under subsection (b)(2)(A); 

18 (2) to reimburse a primary entity for the cost 

19 of providing on-the-job training; 

20 (3) to reimburse a secondary entity for the cost 

21 of providing skills training (or on-the-job training if 

22 in partnership with an energy efficient employer); 

23 (4) to reimburse an employer for wages associ24 ated with registered apprenticeship; 


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1 (5) to conduct outreach to inform primary enti2 ties, secondary entities, and the public, including in3 dividuals in rural areas and Indian tribes, of eligi4 bility or potential eligibility for participation in the 

5 program; and 

6 (6) to conduct any other activities that the Sec7 retary determines appropriate. 

8 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 

9 (a), the Secretary shall prioritize grants to eligible entities 

10 that submit a proposal to carry out a program in a State 

11 that is among the 5 States with the highest installed alter12 native energy power capacity. 

13 (f) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receipt of funds 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall require an eligible 

15 entity to agree— 

16 (1) to repay to the Secretary any amount re17 ceived under the pilot program that is not used for 

18 the purposes described in subsection (d) by the date 

19 that is 3 years after the date on which the recipient 

20 received such funds; 

21 (2) to submit to the Secretary, at such times 

22 and containing such information as the Secretary 

23 shall require, reports on the use of grant funds; and 

24 (3) to ensure that any employer or other entity 

25 receiving funds through a program under this secVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Aug 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7849.IH H7849

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1 tion pays each individual receiving on-the-job train2 ing provided by such employer or entity not less 

3 than the applicable minimum wage for the State or 

4 locality in which such training is provided. 

5 (g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

6 (1) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—Of the 

7 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization 

8 of appropriations under subsection (i), 2 percent 

9 shall be made available to the Secretary for adminis10 trative costs associated with implementing and eval11 uating the pilot program under this section and for 

12 preparing and submitting the report required under 

13 subsection (h). 

14 (2) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec15 retary shall determine the appropriate maximum 

16 amount of each grant awarded under this section 

17 that may be used by the recipient for administrative 

18 and reporting costs. 

19 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

20 submit to Congress an annual report on the pilot program 

21 for each year of the grant period containing— 

22 (1) a description of activities carried out under 

23 this section; 

24 (2) an evaluation of the pilot program; and 


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1 (3) a description of how many participants were 

2 employed by renewable energy and energy efficiency 

3 employers within 6 months of completing the train4 ing. 

5 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

7 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2023, 

8 for the purpose of carrying out the pilot program. 

9 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

11 (A) a primary entity; or 

12 (B) a consortium of entities that— 

13 (i) consists of one or more primary 

14 entities; and 

15 (ii) may include one or more sec16 ondary entities. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

18 given that term in section 102 of the Federally Rec19 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

20 479a). 

21 (3) The term ‘‘installed alternative energy 

22 power capacity’’ means the amount of wind, solar, 

23 and geothermal power generation, expressed in 

24 megawatts, installed in a State. 


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1 (4) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

2 has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 

3 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 (5) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ has the 

6 meaning given such term in section 2 of the Na7 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152). 

8 (6) The term ‘‘on-the-job training’’ means 

9 training by renewable energy and energy efficiency 

10 employers, a labor organization, a institution of 

11 higher education, or a nonprofit organization that is 

12 provided to a paid participant while engaged in pro13 ductive work that— 

14 (A) provides knowledge or skills essential 

15 to the full and adequate performance of the job; 

16 (B) provides reimbursement to the em17 ployer for the costs of providing the training 

18 and additional supervision related to the train19 ing; and 

20 (C) is limited in duration as appropriate to 

21 the occupation for which the participant is 

22 being trained, taking into account the content 

23 of the training, the prior work experience of the 

24 participant, and the service strategy of the par25 ticipant, as appropriate. 


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1 (7) The term ‘‘primary entity’’ means— 

2 (A) a renewable energy and energy effi3 ciency employer; or 

4 (B) a workforce development board. 

5 (8) The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden6 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

7 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

8 U.S.C. 3102). 

9 (9) The term ‘‘renewable energy and energy ef10 ficiency employer’’ means an employer that employs 

11 individuals in a trade or business in the renewable 

12 energy and energy efficiency industries. 

13 (10) The term ‘‘renewable energy and energy 

14 efficiency industries’’ means any of the following in15 dustries: 

16 (A) The energy-efficient building, construc17 tion, or retrofits industry. 

18 (B) The renewable electric power industry, 

19 including the wind, solar, and geothermal en20 ergy industries. 

21 (C) The energy efficiency assessment in22 dustry that serves the residential, commercial, 

23 or industrial sectors. 


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1 (D) The industries that manufacture solar 

2 panels, wind turbines, geothermal generators, 

3 and similar products. 

4 (11) The term ‘‘secondary entity’’ means— 

5 (A) a institution of higher education; 

6 (B) a nonprofit organization; or 

7 (C) a labor organization. 

8 (12) The term ‘‘skills training’’ means training 

9 by secondary entity that provides the knowledge and 

10 skills essential to specific jobs in the renewable en11 ergy and energy efficiency industries. 

12 (13) The term ‘‘State’’ includes each of the sev13 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common14 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

16 Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the 

17 Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the ter18 ritories and possessions of the United States. 

19 (14) The term ‘‘workforce development board’’ 

20 means a State or local workforce development board 

21 established under title I of the Workforce Innovation 

22 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.). 

Æ 


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