II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1637 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve and extend certain 

energy-related tax provisions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 7, 2009 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve 

and extend certain energy-related tax provisions, 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; AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE; 

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009’’. 

7 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other8 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend9 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 

10 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 


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1 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi2 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

3 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; amendment of 1986 Code; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Increase in, and extension of, new energy efficient home credit. 

Sec. 3. Modification of deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings. 

Sec. 4. Energy ratings of non-business property. 

Sec. 5. Credit for home performance auditor certifications. 

5 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN, AND EXTENSION OF, NEW ENERGY 

6 EFFICIENT HOME CREDIT. 

7 (a) NEW TIER; CREDIT AMOUNT FOR NEW TIER.— 

8 (1) NEW TIER.—Subsection (c) of section 45L 

9 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(c) ENERGY SAVINGS REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A dwelling unit meets the 

12 energy saving requirements of this subsection if such 

13 unit is— 

14 ‘‘(A) described in paragraph (2), 

15 ‘‘(B) described in paragraph (3), 

16 ‘‘(C) a manufactured home described in 

17 paragraph (4), or 

18 ‘‘(D) a manufactured home described in 

19 paragraph (5). 

20 ‘‘(2) DWELLING UNIT DESCRIBED IN PARA21 GRAPH (2).—A dwelling unit is described in this 

22 paragraph if such unit is certified— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to have a level of annual heating and 

2 cooling energy consumption which is at least 50 

3 percent below the annual level of heating and 

4 cooling energy consumption of a comparable 

5 dwelling unit— 

6 ‘‘(i) which is constructed in accord7 ance with the standards of chapter 4 of the 

8 2003 International Energy Conservation 

9 Code, as such Code (including supple10 ments) is in effect on the date of the en11 actment of the Energy Tax Incentives Act 

12 of 2005, and 

13 ‘‘(ii) for which the heating and cooling 

14 equipment efficiencies correspond to the 

15 minimum allowed under the regulations es16 tablished by the Department of Energy 

17 pursuant to the National Appliance Energy 

18 Conservation Act of 1987 and in effect at 

19 the time of completion of construction, and 

20 ‘‘(B) to have building envelope component 

improvements account for at least 1 21 ⁄5 of such 

22 50 percent. 

23 The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Energy shall provide by regulation for the applica25 tion of this paragraph in the case of a dwelling unit 


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1 in a multifamily building that is more than 3 stories 

2 above grade, or in any other building that is not 

3 within the scope of such chapter 4. If, upon the ac4 quisition of such unit by any person described in 

5 subsection (a)(1)(A)(ii)(I), the amount of the credit 

6 allowed under this section with respect to such unit 

7 shall be disclosed to such person. 

8 ‘‘(3) DWELLING UNIT DESCRIBED IN PARA9 GRAPH (3).—A dwelling unit is described in this 

10 paragraph if such unit is certified— 

11 ‘‘(A) to have a level of annual total energy 

12 consumption (including heating, cooling, water 

13 heating, lighting, and appliance energy use) 

14 which is at least 50 percent below the annual 

15 level of total energy consumption of a com16 parable dwelling unit which is constructed in 

17 accordance with the 2004 Supplement of the 

18 2003 International Energy Conservation Code, 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) to have building envelope component 

improvements account for at least 1 21 ⁄5 of such 

22 50 percent. 

23 ‘‘(4) MANUFACTURED HOME DESCRIBED IN

24 PARAGRAPH (4).—A manufactured home is described 

25 in this paragraph if such manufactured home conVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:29 Aug 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1637.IS S1637

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1 forms to Federal Manufactured Home Construction 

2 and Safety Standards (part 3280 of title 24, Code 

3 of Federal Regulations) and meets the requirements 

4 of a dwelling unit described in paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(5) MANUFACTURED HOME DESCRIBED IN

6 PARAGRAPH (5).—A manufactured home is described 

7 in this paragraph if such manufactured home con8 forms to Federal Manufactured Home Construction 

9 and Safety Standards (part 3280 of title 24, Code 

10 of Federal Regulations) and— 

11 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of— 

12 ‘‘(i) a dwelling unit described in para13 graph (2), applied by substituting ‘30 per14 cent’ for ‘50 percent’ both places it appears therein and by substituting ‘1 15 ⁄3’ for 

‘

1 16 ⁄5’ in subparagraph (B) thereof, or 

17 ‘‘(ii) a dwelling unit described in para18 graph (3), or 

19 ‘‘(B) meets the requirements established 

20 by the Administrator of the Environmental Pro21 tection Agency under the Energy Star Labeled 

22 Homes program as in effect on the date of the 

23 enactment of the Expanding Building Effi24 ciency Incentives Act of 2009, or 


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1 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under the 

2 Energy Star Labeled Homes program estab3 lished after the date of the enactment of the 

4 Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act 

5 of 2009.’’. 

6 (2) CREDIT AMOUNT FOR NEW TIER.—Para7 graph (2) of section 45L(a) is amended to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

10 paragraph (1), the applicable amount is an amount 

11 equal to— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of a dwelling unit de13 scribed in paragraph (2) or (4) of subsection 

14 (c), $2,000, 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of a dwelling unit de16 scribed in paragraph (3) of subsection (c), 

17 $5,000, 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of a manufactured home 

19 described in paragraph (5)(A)(i) or (5)(B) of 

20 subsection (c), $1,500, and 

21 ‘‘(D) in the case of a manufactured home 

22 described in paragraph (5)(A)(ii) or (5)(C) of 

23 subsection (c), $2,500. 


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1 Nothing in this section shall permit the same dwell2 ing unit or manufactured home to qualify for more 

3 than one applicable amount.’’. 

4 (b) CREDIT AVAILABLE FOR RENTAL UNITS, 

5 OWNER-BUILDERS, AND QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME BUILD6 INGS; CREDIT AMOUNT FOR QUALIFIED LOW-INCOME

7 BUILDINGS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 

9 45L(a) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

11 38— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of an eligible contractor, 

13 the new energy efficient home credit for the 

14 taxable year is the applicable amount for each 

15 qualified new energy efficient home which is— 

16 ‘‘(i) constructed by the eligible con17 tractor, and 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) acquired by a person from 

19 such eligible contractor and used by any 

20 person as a residence during the taxable 

21 year, or 

22 ‘‘(II) used by such eligible contractor 

23 as a residence during the taxable year, and 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a taxpayer, the new en25 ergy efficient home credit for the taxable year 


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1 is the applicable amount for each qualified new 

2 energy efficient home which is in a qualified 

3 low-income building (as defined in section 

4 42(c)(2))— 

5 ‘‘(i) placed in service by the taxpayer 

6 during the taxable year, and 

7 ‘‘(ii) for which such taxpayer is al8 lowed a credit under section 42 or a 

9 subaward under section 1602(c) of the 

10 American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax 

11 Act of 2009.’’. 

12 (2) CREDIT AMOUNT.—Paragraph (2) of section 

13 45L(a), as amended by this section, is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new flush sentence: 

15 ‘‘In the case of a dwelling unit in a qualified low16 income building (as so defined), the applicable dollar 

17 amount for such a dwelling unit described in 1 of 

18 the preceding subparagraphs shall be equal to 150 

19 percent of the dollar amount otherwise specified in 

20 such preceding subparagraph, except that if the 

21 credit under section 42 with respect to such unit is 

22 determined by applying section 42(d)(5)(B), then 

23 the applicable dollar amount shall be 115 percent of 

24 such dollar amount so specified.’’. 


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1 (3) NO BASIS ADJUSTMENT.—Section 45L(e) is 

2 amended by inserting ‘‘(other than a qualified low3 income building)’’ after ‘‘any property’’. 

4 (c) CERTIFICATION METHOD FOR HIGH RISE MUL5 TIFAMILY AND MIXED USE BUILDINGS.—Section 

6 45L(d)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and in the case of 

7 high rise multifamily and mixed use buildings, after exam8 ining the methods required for such buildings under sec9 tion 179D’’ after ‘‘the Secretary of Energy’’. 

10 (d) CREDIT ALLOWED AGAINST ALTERNATIVE MIN11 IMUM TAX.—Subparagraph (B) of section 38(c)(4) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating clauses (vi), (vii), and (viii) 

14 as clauses (vii), (viii), and (ix), respectively, and 

15 (2) by inserting after clause (v) the following 

16 new clause: 

17 ‘‘(vi) the credit determined under sec18 tion 45L,’’. 

19 (e) EXTENSION.—Subsection (g) of section 45L is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

22 the acquisition of any qualified new energy efficient 

23 home— 

24 ‘‘(1) described in subsection (a)(2)(A) after De25 cember 31, 2012, 


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1 ‘‘(2) described in subsection (a)(2)(B) after De2 cember 31, 2013, 

3 ‘‘(3) described in subsection (a)(2)(C) after De4 cember 31, 2010, and 

5 ‘‘(4) described in subsection (a)(2)(D) after De6 cember 31, 2013.’’. 

7 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply to homes constructed and ac10 quired or placed in service after December 31, 2008. 

11 (2) AMT.—The amendments made by sub12 section (d) shall apply to credits determined under 

13 section 45L of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

14 in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008, 

15 and to carrybacks of such credits. 

16 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DEDUCTION FOR ENERGY EFFI17 CIENT COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS. 

18 (a) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF DEDUC19 TION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

21 179D(b)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘$1.80’’ and in22 serting ‘‘$3.00’’. 

23 (2) PARTIAL ALLOWANCE.—Paragraph (1) of 

24 section 179D(d) is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(1) PARTIAL ALLOWANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subsection (f), if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the requirement of subsection 

4 (c)(1)(D) is not met, but 

5 ‘‘(ii) there is a certification in accord6 ance with paragraph (6) that— 

7 ‘‘(I) any system referred to in 

8 subsection (c)(1)(C) satisfies the en9 ergy-savings targets established by the 

10 Secretary under subparagraph (B) 

11 with respect to such system, or 

12 ‘‘(II) the systems referred to in 

13 subsection (c)(1)(C)(ii) and subsection 

14 (c)(1)(C)(iii) together satisfy the en15 ergy-savings targets established by the 

16 Secretary under subparagraph (B) 

17 with respect to such systems, 

18 then the requirement of subsection (c)(1)(D) 

19 shall be treated as met with respect to such sys20 tem or systems, and the deduction under sub21 section (a) shall be allowed with respect to en22 ergy efficient commercial building property in23 stalled as part of such system and as part of 

24 a plan to meet such targets, except that sub25 section (b) shall be applied to such property deVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:29 Aug 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1637.IS S1637

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1 scribed in clause (ii)(I) by substituting ‘$1.00’ 

2 for ‘$3.00’ and to such property described in 

3 clause (ii)(II) by substituting ‘$2.20’ for 

4 ‘$3.00’. 

5 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, 

7 after consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Energy, shall establish a target for each 

9 system described in subsection (c)(1)(C) 

10 which, if such targets were met for all such 

11 systems, the building would meet the re12 quirements of subsection (c)(1)(D). 

13 ‘‘(ii) COMBINED SYSTEMS.—The Sec14 retary, after consultation with the Sec15 retary of Energy, shall establish not later 

16 than 6 months after the date of the enact17 ment of the Expanding Building Efficiency 

18 Incentives Act of 2009 a prescriptive par19 tial compliance pathway for combined en20 velope and mechanical system performance 

21 that details the appropriate components, 

22 efficiency levels, or other relevant informa23 tion for which the required level of com24 bined savings in both categories can be 

25 deemed to have been achieved.’’. 


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1 (b) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—Section 179D is 

2 amended by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as sub3 sections (h) and (i), respectively, and by inserting after 

4 subsection (f) the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH NEW ENERGY EFFICIENT

6 HOME CREDIT.—No deduction shall be allowed under this 

7 section with respect to any building or dwelling unit with 

8 respect to which a credit under section 45L was allowed.’’. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to property placed in service in 

11 taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act. 

13 SEC. 4. ENERGY RATINGS OF NON-BUSINESS PROPERTY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub15 chapter A of chapter 1 is amended by inserting after sec16 tion 25D the following new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 25E. ENERGY RATINGS OF NON-BUSINESS PROPERTY. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

19 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 

20 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to 

21 the amount paid or incurred by the taxpayer for a quali22 fied home energy rating conducted during such taxable 

23 year. 


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1 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount allowed as a credit 

2 under subsection (a) with respect to any taxpayer for any 

3 taxable year shall not exceed $200. 

4 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY RATING.—For pur5 poses of this section, the term ‘qualified home energy rat6 ing’ means a home energy rating conducted with respect 

7 to any residence of the taxpayer by a home performance 

8 auditor certified by a provider accredited by the Building 

9 Performance Institute (BPI), the Residential Energy 

10 Services Network (RESNET), or equivalent rating system 

11 as determined by the Secretary of Energy. 

12 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply 

13 with respect to any rating conducted after December 31, 

14 2011.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A chapter 1 is 

17 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

18 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Energy ratings of non-business property.’’. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax21 able years beginning after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. CREDIT FOR HOME PERFORMANCE AUDITOR CER2 TIFICATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 45R. HOME PERFORMANCE AUDITOR CERTIFICATION 

7 CREDIT. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the 

9 home performance auditor certification credit determined 

10 under this section for any taxable year is an amount equal 

11 to the qualified training and certification costs paid or in12 curred by the taxpayer which may be taken into account 

13 for such taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION

15 COSTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified train17 ing and certification costs’ means costs paid or in18 curred for training which is required for the tax19 payer or employees of the taxpayer to be certified as 

20 home performance auditors for purposes of providing 

21 qualified home energy ratings under section 25E(c). 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The qualified training and 

23 certification costs taken into account under sub24 section (a)(1) for the taxable year with respect to 

25 any individual shall not exceed $500 reduced by the 

26 amount of the credit allowed under subsection (a)(1) 


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1 to the taxpayer (or any predecessor) with respect to 

2 such individual for all prior taxable years. 

3 ‘‘(3) YEAR COSTS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.— 

4 Qualified training and certifications costs with re5 spect to any individual shall not be taken into ac6 count under subsection (a)(1) before the taxable 

7 year in which the individual with respect to whom 

8 such costs are paid or incurred has performed 25 

9 qualified home energy ratings under section 25E(c). 

10 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATION RULES.—For purposes of 

12 this section, all persons treated as a single employer 

13 under subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 shall be 

14 treated as 1 person. 

15 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No deduction shall be 

17 allowed for that portion of the expenses other18 wise allowable as a deduction for the taxable 

19 year which is equal to the amount taken into 

20 account under subsection (a) for such taxable 

21 year. 

22 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT PREVIOUSLY DEDUCTED.— 

23 No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) 

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1 tion has been allowed in any preceding taxable 

2 year.’’. 

3 (b) CREDIT TREATED AS PART OF GENERAL BUSI4 NESS CREDIT.—Section 38(b) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (34), by striking the period 

6 at the end of paragraph (35) and inserting ‘‘plus’’, and 

7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(36) the home performance auditor certifi9 cation credit determined under section 45R(a).’’. 

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec11 tions for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 

12 1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

13 45Q the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45R. Home performance auditor certification credit.’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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