I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1756 

To reauthorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2011 

Mr. BASS of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. WELCH, Mr. PALLONE, and 

Mr. LANCE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Oilheat Research Alliance, 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 as the ‘‘National Oilheat Re5 search Alliance Reauthorization Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Section 702 of the National Oilheat 

8 Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note; Pub9 lic Law 106–469) is amended by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each 

10 place it appears and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 703 of the National 

2 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

3 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each place it appears 

5 (other than paragraph (10)) and inserting ‘‘oilheat 

6 fuel’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, including 

8 information on energy conservation strategies, safe9 ty, new technologies that reduce consumption or im10 prove safety, and State, local, or Federal programs 

11 designed to assist oilheat fuel consumers’’ after ‘‘hot 

12 water heating fuels’’; 

13 (3) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(7) OILHEAT FUEL.—The term ‘oilheat fuel’ 

16 means fuel that— 

17 ‘‘(A) is— 

18 ‘‘(i) No. 1 distillate; 

19 ‘‘(ii) No. 2 dyed distillate; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a liquid blended with No. 1 dis21 tillate or No. 2 dyed distillate; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) a biobased liquid; and 

23 ‘‘(B) is used as a fuel for nonindustrial 

24 commercial or residential space or hot water 

25 heating.’’; 


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1 (4) in the heading for paragraph (8), by strik2 ing ‘‘OILHEAT’’ and inserting ‘‘OILHEAT FUEL’’; 

3 (5) in paragraph (14)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘No. 1 distillate or No. 2 

5 dyed distillate’’ each place it appears and in6 serting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sells 

8 the distillate’’ and inserting ‘‘sells the oilheat 

9 fuel’’; and 

10 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (14) and (15) 

11 as paragraphs (15) and (14), respectively, and mov12 ing paragraph (15) (as so redesignated) to appear 

13 after paragraph (14). 

14 (c) REFERENDA.—Section 704 of the National 

15 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

16 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each place it appears 

18 and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed 

20 distillate’’ each place it appears in subsections (a) 

21 and (c) and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘Ex24 cept as provided in subsection (b), the’’ and in25 serting ‘‘The’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘, No. 1 

2 distillate, or No. 2 dyed distillate’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘under’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘consistent with’’; and 

5 (5) in the heading for subsection (d), by strik6 ing ‘‘OILHEAT’’ and inserting ‘‘OILHEAT FUEL’’. 

7 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 705 of the National 

8 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

9 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each place it appears 

11 and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘No. 1 dis13 tillate and No. 2 dyed distillate’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; and 

15 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(c) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the Al19 liance shall be as follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) One member representing each State 

21 participating in the Alliance. 

22 ‘‘(B) Five representatives of retail market23 ers, of whom 1 shall be selected by each of the 

24 qualified State associations of the 5 States with 

25 the highest volume of annual oilheat fuel sales. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Five additional representatives of re2 tail marketers. 

3 ‘‘(D) Twenty-one representatives of whole4 sale distributors. 

5 ‘‘(E) Six public members, who shall be rep6 resentatives of significant users of oilheat fuel, 

7 the oilheat fuel research community, State en8 ergy officials, or other groups with expertise in 

9 oilheat fuel. 

10 ‘‘(2) FULL-TIME OWNERS OR EMPLOYEES.— 

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

12 subparagraph (B), other than the public mem13 bers of the Alliance, Alliance members shall be 

14 full-time managerial owners or employees of 

15 members of the oilheat fuel industry. 

16 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYEES.—Members described in 

17 subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph 

18 (1) may be employees of the qualified industry 

19 organization or an industry trade association.’’. 

20 (e) FUNCTIONS.—Section 706 of the National 

21 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

22 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each place it appears 

24 and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 including providing the cost of installing appliances 

3 in low-income households’’ after ‘‘utilization equip4 ment’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOP8 MENT AS A PRIORITY.—Of the assessments collected 

9 by the Association pursuant to section 707, not less 

10 than 40 percent shall be devoted to a category of 

11 outlays comprised of training projects and research, 

12 development, and demonstration projects, with a pri13 ority on research, development, and demonstration 

14 projects that would enhance efficiency through the 

15 use of biobased liquids. Training and research under 

16 this paragraph shall include the development and 

17 demonstration of advanced biofuels.’’; 

18 (4) in the heading for subsection (c)(2), by 

19 striking ‘‘OILHEAT’’ and inserting ‘‘OILHEAT FUEL’’; 

20 (5) by redesignating paragraph (4) of sub21 section (e) as paragraph (5); 

22 (6) by inserting after subsection (e)(3) the fol23 lowing new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(4) RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS.—If 

25 the Secretary makes recommendations under paraVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:06 May 10, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1756.IH H1756

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1 graph (3), the Alliance shall, before implementation 

2 of the budget with respect to which the rec3 ommendations pertain, provide to the Secretary and 

4 the Congress a report describing the Alliance’s re5 sponse to the recommendations.’’; 

6 (7) by amending subsection (f)(2)(C) to read as 

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES TO ENSURE COMPLI9 ANCE.—The Alliance shall contract with a 

10 qualified accounting firm to develop procedures 

11 to ensure compliance with the Act. The Alliance 

12 shall contract on a yearly basis with a qualified 

13 accounting firm to evaluate whether such proce14 dures have been followed. Such evaluation shall 

15 be included in the annual report required under 

16 subsection (h) and shall be furnished to Con17 gress and to the Secretary of Energy.’’; and 

18 (8) in subsection (h)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para20 graph (1); 

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

22 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) provides a detailed account of the amounts 

2 spent by each qualified State association that re3 ceived funds pursuant to subsection (e) on training, 

4 research, development, and demonstration, safety, 

5 and consumer education.’’. 

6 (f) ASSESSMENTS.—Section 707 of the National 

7 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

8 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ each place it appears 

10 and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

11 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) RATE.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The assessment rate for 

calendar years 2012 and 2013 shall be equal to 2 15 ⁄10

16 of 1 cent per gallon of oilheat fuel. 

17 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT ASSESSMENTS.—Subject to 

18 paragraphs (3) and (4), beginning with calendar 

19 year 2014, the annual assessment rate shall be suffi20 cient to cover the costs of the plans and programs 

21 developed by the Alliance. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON INCREASE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The annual assessment shall not exceed 1 24 ⁄2 of 1 cent per gallon 

25 of oilheat fuel. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The annual assessment may not change by more than 1 2 ⁄10 of 1 

3 cent per gallon of oilheat fuel in any 12 month4 period. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL.—No increase in the as6 sessment may occur unless— 

‘‘(i) the increase is approved by 3 7 ⁄4 of 

8 the members voting at a regularly sched9 uled meeting of the Alliance; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) at least 90 days before the date 

11 of the meeting of the Alliance, the Alliance 

12 provides notice of the proposed increase to 

13 the Committee on Energy and Natural Re14 sources of the Senate and the Committee 

15 on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

16 Representatives. 

17 ‘‘(D) NOTICE.—The Alliance shall provide 

18 notice of a change in assessment at least 90 

19 days before the date on which the change is to 

20 take effect.’’; 

21 (3) in subsections (b)(1) and (c), by striking 

22 ‘‘No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate’’ each 

23 place it appears and inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

24 (4) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘No. 1 distillate or No. 2 

2 dyed distillate’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraphs (2)(B) and (5)(B), by 

5 striking ‘‘fuel’’ each place it appears and insert6 ing ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; 

7 (5) in the heading for subsection (c), by strik8 ing ‘‘OILHEAT’’ and inserting ‘‘OILHEAT FUEL’’; 

9 and 

10 (6) in subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii)(III), by striking 

11 ‘‘directly benefit’’ and all that follows through ‘‘in12 dustry’’ and inserting ‘‘consumers of oilheat fuel’’. 

13 (g) MARKET SURVEY AND CONSUMER PROTEC14 TION.—Section 708 of the National Oilheat Research Alli15 ance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note; Public Law 106– 

16 469) is repealed. 

17 (h) LOBBYING PROHIBITION.—Section 710 of the 

18 National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 

19 U.S.C. 6201 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 710. LOBBYING PROHIBITION. 

22 ‘‘No funds derived from assessments under section 

23 707 collected by the Alliance shall be used directly or indi24 rectly to influence Federal, State, or local legislation or 

25 elections, or the manner of execution of legislation, except 


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1 that the Alliance may use such funds to provide informa2 tion requested by a Member of Congress, or an official 

3 of any Federal, State, or local agency, in the course of 

4 the official business of such Member or official.’’. 

5 (i) VIOLATIONS.—Section 712(a) of the National 

6 Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 

7 note; Public Law 106–469) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘oilheat’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘oilheat fuel’’; and 

10 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3) a direct reference to a competing prod13 uct.’’. 

14 (j) EXTENSION.—Section 713 of the National Oilheat 

15 Research Alliance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note; Pub16 lic Law 106–469) is amended by striking ‘‘9 years after 

17 the date on which the Alliance is established’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘7 years after the date of enactment of the National 

19 Oilheat Research Alliance Reauthorization Act of 2011’’. 

20 SEC. 3. RENEWABLE FUEL CONTENT. 

21 (a) RENEWABLE FUEL RESEARCH.—Section 

22 706(a)(3)(B)(i)(I) of the National Oilheat Research Alli23 ance Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 6201 note; Public Law 106– 

24 469) is amended by inserting ‘‘, including research to de25 velop renewable fuels and to examine the compatibility of 


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1 different renewable fuels with oilheat fuel utilization 

2 equipment, with priority given to research on the develop3 ment and use of advanced biofuels’’ after ‘‘utilization 

4 equipment’’. 

5 (b) REPORT.—The National Oilheat Research Alli6 ance shall prepare a report no later than one year after 

7 date of enactment of this Act on the use of biofuels in 

8 oilheat fuel utilization equipment. This report shall pro9 vide information on the environmental benefits, economic 

10 benefits, and any technical limitations on the use of 

11 biofuels in oilheat fuel utilization equipment. It shall also 

12 describe market acceptance of the fuel, and information 

13 on State and local governments that are encouraging the 

14 use of these fuels in oilheat fuel utilization equipment. The 

15 Alliance shall provide this report to the Governor of each 

16 State, and other appropriate State leaders, where the Alli17 ance is operating. Additionally, a copy of this report will 

18 be furnished to the Administrator of the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency and to the Congress. 

20 (c) CONSUMER EDUCATION MATERIALS.—The Alli21 ance shall develop consumer education materials in con22 junction with an institution or organization engaged in 

23 biofuels research describing the benefits of using biofuels 

24 as or in oilheat fuel based on the technical information 


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1 developed pursuant to subsection (b), as well as other in2 formation generally available. 

Æ 


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