Calendar No. 217

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 348

[Report No. 106–109]

A BILL

To authorize and facilitate a program to enhance

poses.consumers and the public, and for other purin the oilheat industry for the benefit of oilheatservation and efficiency, and consumer educationtraining, research and development, energy conJULY 20, 1999

Reported with amendments
II

Calendar No. 217

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 348

[Report No. 106–109]

To authorize and facilitate a program to enhance training, research and

development, energy conservation and efficiency, and consumer education

in the oilheat industry for the benefit of oilheat consumers and the

public, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 3, 1999

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mr. GORTON, Mr. JEFFORDS, Ms.

COLLINS, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr.

ROBB, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. REED, Mr. HELMS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr.

BUNNING, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. GREGG, Mr.

MOYNIHAN, Mr. CHAFEE, Mrs. MURRAY, AND Mr. DODD) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

JULY 20, 1999

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To authorize and facilitate a program to enhance training,

research and development, energy conservation and efficiency, and consumer education in the oilheat industry

for the benefit of oilheat consumers and the public, and

for other purposes.
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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 Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) oilheat is an important commodity relied on

9 by approximately 30,000,000 Americans as an effi10 cient and economical energy source for commercial

11 and residential space and hot water heating;

12 (2) oilheat equipment operates at efficiencies

13 among the highest of any space heating energy

14 source, reducing fuel costs and making oilheat an ec15 onomical means of space heating;

16 (3) the production, distribution, and marketing

17 of oilheat and oilheat equipment plays a significant

18 role in the economy of the United States, accounting

19 for approximately $12,900,000,000 in expenditures

20 annually and employing millions of Americans in all

21 aspects of the oilheat industry;

22 (4) only very limited Federal resources have

23 been made available for oilheat research, develop24 ment, safety, training, and education efforts, to the
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1 detriment of both the oilheat industry and its

2 30,000,000 consumers; and

3 (5) the cooperative development, self-financing,

4 and implementation of a coordinated national oilheat

5 industry program of research and development,

6 training, and consumer education is necessary and

7 important for the welfare of the oilheat industry, the

8 general economy of the United States, and the mil9 lions of Americans that rely on oilheat for commer10 cial and residential space and hot water heating.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) ALLIANCE.—The term ‘‘Alliance’’ means a

14 national oilheat research alliance established under

15 section 4.

16 (2) CONSUMER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘con17 sumer education’’ means the provision of informa18 tion to assist consumers and other persons in mak19 ing evaluations and decisions regarding oilheat and

20 other nonindustrial commercial or residential space

21 or hot water heating fuels.

22 (3) EXCHANGE.—The term ‘‘exchange’’ means

23 an agreement that—

24 (A) entitles each party or its customers to

25 receive oilheat from the other party; and
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1 (B) requires only an insubstantial portion

2 of the volumes involved in the exchange to be

3 settled in cash or property other than the

4 oilheat.

5 (4) INDUSTRY TRADE ASSOCIATION.—The term

6 ‘‘industry trade association’’ means an organization

7 described in paragraph (3) or (6) of section 501(c)

8 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt

9 from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code and

10 is organized for the purpose of representing the

11 oilheat industry.

12 (5) NO. 1 DISTILLATE.—The term ‘‘No. 1 dis13 tillate’’ means fuel oil classified as No. 1 distillate

14 by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

15 (6) NO. 2 DYED DISTILLATE.—The term ‘‘No.

16 2 dyed distillate’’ means fuel oil classified as No. 2

17 distillate by the American Society for Testing and

18 Materials that is indelibly dyed in accordance with

19 regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treas20 ury under section 4082(a)(2) of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986.

22 (7) OILHEAT.—The term ‘‘oilheat’’ means—

23 (A) No. 1 distillate; and

24 (B) No. 2 dyed distillate;
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1 that is used as a fuel for nonindustrial commercial

2 or residential space or hot water heating.

3 (8) OILHEAT INDUSTRY.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘oilheat in5 dustry’’ means—

6 (i) persons in the production, trans7 portation, or sale of oilheat; and

8 (ii) persons engaged in the manufac9 ture or distribution of oilheat utilization

10 equipment.

11 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘oilheat in12 dustry’’ does not include ultimate consumers of

13 oilheat.

14 (9) PUBLIC MEMBER.—The term ‘‘public mem15 ber’’ means a member of the Alliance described in

16 section 5(c)(1)(F).

17 (10) QUALIFIED INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION.—

18 The term ‘‘qualified industry organization’’ means

19 the National Association for Oilheat Research and

20 Education or a successor organization.

21 (11) QUALIFIED STATE ASSOCIATION.—The

22 term ‘‘qualified State association’’ means the indus23 try trade association or other organization that the

24 qualified industry organization or the Alliance deter25 mines best represents retail marketers in a State.
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1 (12) RETAIL MARKETER.—The term ‘‘retail

2 marketer’’ means a person engaged primarily in the

3 sale of oilheat to ultimate consumers.

4 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

5 means the Secretary of Energy.

6 (14) WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR.—The term

7 ‘‘wholesale distributor’’ means a person that—

8 (A)(i) produces No. 1 distillate or No. 2

9 dyed distillate;

10 (ii) imports No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed

11 distillate; or

12 (iii) transports No. 1 distillate or No. 2

13 dyed distillate across State boundaries or

14 among local marketing areas; and

15 (B) sells the distillate to another person

16 that does not produce, import, or transport No.

17 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed distillate across State

18 boundaries or among local marketing areas.

19 SEC. 4. REFERENDA.

20 (a) CREATION OF PROGRAM.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The oilheat industry,

22 through the qualified industry organization, may

23 conduct, at its own expense, a referendum among re24 tail marketers and wholesale distributors for the es25 tablishment of a national oilheat research alliance.
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1 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF COST.—The Alliance,

2 if established, shall reimburse the qualified industry

3 organization for the cost of accounting and docu4 mentation for the referendum.

5 (3) CONDUCT.—A referendum under paragraph

6 (1) shall be conducted by an independent auditing

7 firm.

8 (4) VOTING RIGHTS.—

9 (A) RETAIL MARKETERS.—Voting rights of

10 retail marketers in a referendum under para11 graph (1) shall be based on the volume of

12 oilheat sold in a State by each retail marketer

13 in the calendar year previous to the year in

14 which the referendum is conducted or in an15 other representative period.

16 (B) WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS.—Voting

17 rights of wholesale distributors in a referendum

18 under paragraph (1) shall be based on the vol19 ume of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate

20 sold in a State by each wholesale distributor in

21 the calendar year previous to the year in which

22 the referendum is conducted or in another rep23 resentative period, weighted by the ratio of the

24 total volume of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed

25 distillate sold for nonindustrial commercial and
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1 residential space and hot water heating in the

2 State to the total volume of No. 1 distillate and

3 No. 2 dyed distillate sold in that State.

4 (5) ESTABLISHMENT BY APPROVAL OF TWO5 THIRDS.—

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graph (B), on approval of persons representing

8 two-thirds of the total volume of oilheat voted

9 in the retail marketer class and two-thirds of

10 the total weighted volume of No. 1 distillate

11 and No. 2 dyed distillate voted in the wholesale

12 distributor class, the Alliance shall be estab13 lished and shall be authorized to levy assess14 ments under section 7.

15 (B) REQUIREMENT OF MAJORITY OF RE16 TAIL MARKETERS.—Except as provided in sub17 section (b), the oilheat industry in a State shall

18 not participate in the Alliance if less than 50

19 percent of the retail marketer vote in the State

20 approves establishment of the Alliance.

21 (6) CERTIFICATION OF VOLUMES.—Each per22 son voting in the referendum shall certify to the

23 independent auditing firm the volume of oilheat, No.

24 1 distillate, or No. 2 dyed distillate represented by

25 the vote of the person.
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1 (7) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, a qualified

3 State association may notify the qualified industry

4 organization in writing that a referendum under

5 paragraph (1) will not be conducted in the State.

6 (b) SUBSEQUENT STATE PARTICIPATION.—The

7 oilheat industry in a State that has not participated ini8 tially in the Alliance may subsequently elect to participate

9 by conducting a referendum under subsection (a).

10 (c) TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the initiative of the Alli12 ance or on petition to the Alliance by retail market13 ers and wholesale distributors representing 35 per14 cent of the volume of oilheat or weighted No. 1 dis15 tillate and No. 2 dyed distillate in each class, the Al16 liance shall, at its own expense, hold a referendum,

17 to be conducted by an independent auditing firm se18 lected by the Alliance, to determine whether the

19 oilheat industry favors termination or suspension of

20 the Alliance.

21 (2) VOLUME PERCENTAGES REQUIRED TO TER22 MINATE OR SUSPEND.—Termination or suspension

23 shall not take effect unless termination or suspen24 sion is approved by—
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1 (A) persons representing more than one2 half of the total volume of oilheat voted in the

3 retail marketer class and more than one-half of

4 the total volume of weighted No. 1 distillate

5 and No. 2 dyed distillate voted in the wholesale

6 distributor class; or

7 (B) persons representing more than two8 thirds of the total volume of fuel voted in either

9 such class.

10 (d) CALCULATION OF OILHEAT SALES.—For the

11 purposes of this section and section 5, the volume of

12 oilheat sold annually in a State shall be determined on

13 the basis of information provided by the Energy Informa14 tion Administration with respect to a calendar year or

15 other representative period.

16 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

17 (a) SELECTION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub19 section (c)(1)(C), the qualified industry organization

20 shall select members of the Alliance representing the

21 oilheat industry in a State from a list of nominees

22 submitted by the qualified State association in the

23 State.
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1 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Alliance

2 shall be filled in the same manner as the original se3 lection.

4 (b) REPRESENTATION.—In selecting members of the

5 Alliance, the qualified industry organization shall make

6 best efforts to select members that are representative of

7 the oilheat industry, including representation of—

8 (1) interstate and intrastate operators among

9 retail marketers;

10 (2) wholesale distributors of No. 1 distillate and

11 No. 2 dyed distillate;

12 (3) large and small companies among wholesale

13 distributors and retail marketers; and

14 (4) diverse geographic regions of the country.

15 (c) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the Alli17 ance shall be as follows:

18 (A) One member representing each State

19 with oilheat sales in excess of 32,000,000 gal20 lons per year.

21 (B) If fewer than 24 States are rep22 resented under subparagraph (A), 1 member

23 representing each of the States with the highest

24 volume of annual oilheat sales, as necessary to

25 cause the total number of States represented
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1 under subparagraph (A) and this subparagraph

2 to equal 24.

3 (C) 5 representatives of retail marketers, 1

4 each to be selected by the qualified State asso5 ciations of the 5 States with the highest volume

6 of annual oilheat sales.

7 (D) 5 additional representatives of retail

8 marketers.

9 (E) 21 representatives of wholesale dis10 tributors.

11 (F) 6 public members, who shall be rep12 resentatives of significant users of oilheat, the

13 oilheat research community, State energy offi14 cials, or other groups knowledgeable about

15 oilheat.

16 (2) FULL-TIME OWNERS OR EMPLOYEES.—

17 Other than the public members, Alliance members

18 shall be full-time owners or employees of members of

19 the oilheat industry, except that members described

20 in subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of paragraph (1)

21 may be employees of the qualified industry organiza22 tion or an industry trade association.

23 (d) COMPENSATION.—Alliance members shall receive

24 no compensation for their service, nor shall Alliance mem25 bers be reimbursed for expenses relating to their service,
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1 except that public members, on request, may be reim2 bursed for reasonable expenses directly related to partici3 pation in meetings of the Alliance.

4 (e) TERMS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (4), a

6 member of the Alliance shall serve a term of 3 years,

7 except that a member filling an unexpired term may

8 serve a total of 7 consecutive years.

9 (2) TERM LIMIT.—A member may serve not

10 more than 2 full consecutive terms.

11 (3) FORMER MEMBERS.—A former member of

12 the Alliance may be returned to the Alliance if the

13 member has not been a member for a period of 2

14 years.

15 (4) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Initial appoint16 ments to the Alliance shall be for terms of 1, 2, and

17 3 years, as determined by the qualified industry or18 ganization, staggered to provide for the subsequent

19 selection of one-third of the members each year.

20 SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

22 (1) PROGRAMS, PROJECTS; CONTRACTS AND

23 OTHER AGREEMENTS.—The Alliance—

24 (A) shall develop programs and projects

25 and enter into contracts or other agreements
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1 with other persons and entities for imple2 menting this Act, including programs—

3 (i) to enhance consumer and employee

4 safety and training;

5 (ii) to provide for research, develop6 ment, and demonstration of clean and effi7 cient oilheat utilization equipment; and

8 (iii) for consumer education; and

9 (B) may provide for the payment of the

10 costs of carrying out subparagraph (A) with as11 sessments collected under section 7.

12 (2) COORDINATION.—The Alliance shall coordi13 nate its activities with industry trade associations

14 and other persons as appropriate to provide efficient

15 delivery of services and to avoid unnecessary dupli16 cation of activities.

17 (3) ACTIVITIES.—

18 (A) EXCLUSIONS.—Activities under clause

19 (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) shall not include

20 advertising, promotions, or consumer surveys in

21 support of advertising or promotions.

22 (B) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEM23 ONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Research, develop2 ment, and demonstration activities under

3 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall include—

4 (I) all activities incidental to re5 search, development, and demonstra6 tion of clean and efficient oilheat utili7 zation equipment; and

8 (II) the obtaining of patents, in9 cluding payment of attorney’s fees for

10 making and perfecting a patent appli11 cation.

12 (ii) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—Re13 search, development, and demonstration

14 activities under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall

15 not include research, development, and

16 demonstration of oilheat utilization equip17 ment with respect to which technically fea18 sible and commercially feasible operations

19 have been verified, except that funds may

20 be provided for improvements to existing

21 equipment until the technical feasibility

22 and commercial feasibility of the operation

23 of those improvements have been verified.
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1 (b) PRIORITIES.—In the development of programs

2 and projects, the Alliance shall give priority to issues relat3 ing to—

4 (1) research, development, and demonstration;

5 (2) safety;

6 (3) consumer education; and

7 (4) training.

8 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—

9 (1) OFFICERS; COMMITTEES; BYLAWS.—The

10 Alliance—

11 (A) shall select from among its members a

12 chairperson and other officers as necessary;

13 (B) may establish and authorize commit14 tees and subcommittees of the Alliance to take

15 specific actions that the Alliance is authorized

16 to take; and

17 (C) shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of

18 business and the implementation of this Act.

19 (2) SOLICITATION OF OILHEAT INDUSTRY COM20 MENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Alliance shall

21 establish procedures for the solicitation of oilheat in22 dustry comment and recommendations on any sig23 nificant contracts and other agreements, programs,

24 and projects to be funded by the Alliance.
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1 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Alliance may

2 establish advisory committees consisting of persons

3 other than Alliance members.

4 (4) VOTING.—Each member of the Alliance

5 shall have 1 vote in matters before the Alliance.

6 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The administrative expenses

8 of operating the Alliance (not including costs in9 curred in the collection of assessments under section

10 7) plus amounts paid under paragraph (2) shall not

11 exceed 7 percent of the amount of assessments col12 lected in any calendar year, except that during the

13 first year of operation of the Alliance such expenses

14 and amounts shall not exceed 10 percent of the

15 amount of assessments.

16 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF THE SECRETARY.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance shall an18 nually reimburse the Secretary for costs in19 curred by the Federal Government relating to

20 the Alliance.

21 (B) LIMITATION.—Reimbursement under

22 subparagraph (A) for any calendar year shall

23 not exceed the amount that the Secretary deter24 mines is twice the average annual salary of 1

25 employee of the Department of Energy.
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1 (e) BUDGET.—

2 (1) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED BUDGET.—Be3 fore August 1 of each year, the Alliance shall pub4 lish for public review and comment a proposed budg5 et for the next calendar year, including the probable

6 costs of all programs, projects, and contracts and

7 other agreements.

8 (2) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY AND CON9 GRESS.—After review and comment under para10 graph (1), the Alliance shall submit the proposed

11 budget to the Secretary and Congress.

12 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—

13 The Secretary may recommend for inclusion in the

14 budget programs and activities that the Secretary

15 considers appropriate.

16 (4) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Alliance shall not

17 implement a proposed budget until the expiration of

18 60 days after submitting the proposed budget to the

19 Secretary.

20 (f) RECORDS; AUDITS.—

21 (1) RECORDS.—The Alliance shall—

22 (A) keep records that clearly reflect all of

23 the acts and transactions of the Alliance; and

24 (B) make the records available to the pub25 lic.
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1 (2) AUDITS.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The records of the Alli3 ance (including fee assessment reports and ap4 plications for refunds under section 7(b)(4))

5 shall be audited by a certified public accountant

6 at least once each year and at such other times

7 as the Alliance may designate.

8 (B) AVAILABILITY OF AUDIT REPORTS.—

9 Copies of each audit report shall be provided to

10 the Secretary, the members of the Alliance, and

11 the qualified industry organization, and, on re12 quest, to other members of the oilheat industry.

13 (C) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance shall

15 establish policies and procedures for audit16 ing compliance with this Act.

17 (ii) CONFORMITY WITH GAAP.—The

18 policies and procedures established under

19 clause (i) shall conform with generally

20 accepted accounting principles.

21 (g) PUBLIC ACCESS TO ALLIANCE PROCEEDINGS.—

22 (1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Alliance shall give at

23 least 30 days’ public notice of each meeting of the

24 Alliance.
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1 (2) MEETINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Each

2 meeting of the Alliance shall be open to the public.

3 (3) MINUTES.—The minutes of each meeting of

4 the Alliance shall be made available to and readily

5 accessible by the public.

6 (h) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year the Alliance shall

7 prepare and make publicly available a report that—

8 (1) includes a description of all programs,

9 projects, and contracts and other agreements under10 taken by the Alliance during the previous year and

11 those planned for the current year; and

12 (2) details the allocation of Alliance resources

13 for each such program and project.

14 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENTS.

15 (a) RATE.—The assessment rate shall be equal to

16 two-tenths-cent per gallon of No. 1 distillate and No. 2

17 dyed distillate.

18 (b) COLLECTION RULES.—

19 (1) COLLECTION AT POINT OF SALE.—The as20 sessment shall be collected at the point of sale of

21 No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate by a whole22 sale distributor to a person other than a wholesale

23 distributor, including a sale made pursuant to an

24 exchange.
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1 (2) RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT.—A whole2 sale distributor—

3 (A) shall be responsible for payment of an

4 assessment to the Alliance on a quarterly basis;

5 and

6 (B) shall provide to the Alliance certifi7 cation of the volume of fuel sold.

8 (3) NO OWNERSHIP INTEREST.—A person that

9 has no ownership interest in No. 1 distillate or No.

10 2 dyed distillate shall not be responsible for payment

11 of an assessment under this section.

12 (4) FAILURE TO RECEIVE PAYMENT.—

13 (A) REFUND.—A wholesale distributor

14 that does not receive payments from a pur15 chaser for No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed dis16 tillate within 1 year of the date of sale may

17 apply for a refund from the Alliance of the as18 sessment paid.

19 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a refund

20 shall not exceed the amount of the assessment

21 levied on the No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed dis22 tillate for which payment was not received.

23 (5) IMPORTATION AFTER POINT OF SALE.—The

24 owner of No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed distillate im25 ported after the point of sale—
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1 (A) shall be responsible for payment of the

2 assessment to the Alliance at the point at which

3 the product enters the United States; and

4 (B) shall provide to the Alliance certifi5 cation of the volume of fuel imported.

6 (6) LATE PAYMENT CHARGE.—The Alliance

7 may establish a late payment charge and rate of in8 terest to be imposed on any person who fails to

9 remit or pay to the Alliance any amount due under

10 this Act.

11 (7) ALTERNATIVE COLLECTION RULES.—The

12 Alliance may establish, or approve a request of the

13 oilheat industry in a State for, an alternative means

14 of collecting the assessment if another means is de15 termined to be more efficient or more effective.

16 (c) SALE FOR USE OTHER THAN AS OILHEAT.—No.

17 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate sold for uses other

18 than as oilheat are excluded from the assessment.

19 (d) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Pending disbursement

20 under a program, project, or contract or other agreement

21 the Alliance may invest funds collected through assess22 ments, and any other funds received by the Alliance,

23 only—

24 (1) in obligations of the United States or any

25 agency of the United States;
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1 (2) in general obligations of any State or any

2 political subdivision of a State;

3 (3) in any interest-bearing account or certifi4 cate of deposit of a bank that is a member of the

5 Federal Reserve System; or

6 (4) in obligations fully guaranteed as to prin7 cipal and interest by the United States.

8 (e) STATE, LOCAL, AND REGIONAL PROGRAMS.—

9 (1) COORDINATION.—The Alliance shall estab10 lish a program coordinating the operation of the Al11 liance with the operator of any similar State, local,

12 or regional program created under State law (includ13 ing a regulation), or similar entity.

14 (2) FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE TO QUALIFIED

15 STATE ASSOCIATIONS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—

17 (i) BASE AMOUNT.—The Alliance

18 shall make available to the qualified State

19 association of each State an amount equal

20 to 15 percent of the amount of assess21 ments collected in the State.

22 (ii) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT.—

23 (I) IN GENERAL.—A qualified

24 State association may request that the

25 Alliance provide to the association any
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1 portion of the remaining 85 percent of

2 the amount of assessments collected

3 in the State.

4 (II) REQUEST REQUIREMENTS.—

5 A request under this clause shall—

6 (aa) specify the amount of

7 funds requested;

8 (bb) describe in detail the

9 specific uses for which the re10 quested funds are sought;

11 (cc) include a commitment

12 to comply with this Act in using

13 the requested funds; and

14 (dd) be made publicly avail15 able.

16 (III) DIRECT BENEFIT.—The Al17 liance shall not provide any funds in

18 response to a request under this

19 clause unless the Alliance determines

20 that the funds will be used to directly

21 benefit the oilheat industry.

22 (IV) MONITORING; TERMS, CON23 DITIONS, AND REPORTING REQUIRE24 MENTS.—The Alliance shall—
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1 (aa) monitor the use of

2 funds provided under this clause;

3 and

4 (bb) impose whatever terms,

5 conditions, and reporting require6 ments that the Alliance considers

7 necessary to ensure compliance

8 with this Act.

9 SEC. 8. MARKET SURVEY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION.

10 (a) PRICE ANALYSIS.—Beginning 2 years after estab11 lishment of the Alliance and annually thereafter, the Sec12 retary of Commerce, using only data provided by the En13 ergy Information Administration and other public sources,

14 shall prepare and make available to the Congress, the Alli15 ance, the Secretary of Energy, and the public, an analysis

16 of changes in the price of oilheat relative to other energy

17 sources. The oilheat price analysis shall compare indexed

18 changes in the price of consumer grade oilheat to a com19 posite of indexed changes in the price of residential elec20 tricity, residential natural gas, and propane on an annual

21 national average basis. For purposes of indexing changes

22 in oilheat, residential electricity, residential natural gas,

23 and propane prices, the Secretary of Commerce shall use

24 a 5-year rolling average price beginning with the year 4

25 years prior to the establishment of the Alliance.
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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT ACTIVITIES.—If in any

2 year the 5-year average price composite index of consumer

3 grade oilheat exceeds the 5-year rolling average price com4 posite index of residential electricity, residential natural

5 gas, and propane in an amount greater than 10.1 percent,

6 the activities of the Alliance shall be restricted to research

7 and development, training, and safety matters. The Alli8 ance shall inform the Secretary of Energy and the Congress

9 of any restriction of activities under this subsection. Upon

10 expiration of 180 days after the beginning of any such re11 striction of activities, the Secretary of Commerce shall

12 again conduct the oilheat price analysis described in sub13 section (a). Activities of the Alliance shall continue to be

14 restricted under this subsection until the price index excess

15 is 10.1 percent or less.

16 SEC. 8. 9. COMPLIANCE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance may bring a civil ac18 tion in United States district court to compel payment of

19 an assessment under section 7.

20 (b) COSTS.—A successful action for compliance under

21 this section may also require payment by the defendant

22 of the costs incurred by the Alliance in bringing the action.

23 SEC. 9. 10. LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS.

24 No funds derived from assessments under section 7

25 collected by the Alliance shall be used to influence legisla-
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1 tion or elections, except that the Alliance may use such

2 funds to formulate and submit to the Secretary rec3 ommendations for amendments to this Act or other laws

4 that would further the purposes of this Act.

5 SEC. 10. 11. DISCLOSURE.

6 Any consumer education activity undertaken with

7 funds provided by the Alliance shall include a statement

8 that the activities were supported, in whole or in part, by

9 the Alliance.

10 SEC. 11. 12. VIOLATIONS.

11 (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per12 son to conduct a consumer education activity, undertaken

13 with funds derived from assessments collected by the Alli14 ance under section 7, that includes—

15 (1) a reference to a private brand name;

16 (2) a false or unwarranted claim on behalf of

17 oilheat or related products; or

18 (3) a reference with respect to the attributes or

19 use of any competing product.

20 (b) COMPLAINTS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A public utility that is ag22 grieved by a violation described in subsection (a)

23 may file a complaint with the Alliance.

24 (2) TRANSMITTAL TO QUALIFIED STATE ASSO25 CIATION.—A complaint shall be transmitted concur-
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1 rently to any qualified State association undertaking

2 the consumer education activity with respect to

3 which the complaint is made.

4 (3) CESSATION OF ACTIVITIES.—On receipt of

5 a complaint under this subsection, the Alliance, and

6 any qualified State association undertaking the con7 sumer education activity with respect to which the

8 complaint is made, shall cease that consumer edu9 cation activity until—

10 (A) the complaint is withdrawn; or

11 (B) a court determines that the conduct of

12 the activity complained of does not constitute a

13 violation of subsection (a).

14 (c) RESOLUTION BY PARTIES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days after

16 a complaint is filed and transmitted under sub17 section (b), the complaining party, the Alliance, and

18 any qualified State association undertaking the con19 sumer education activity with respect to which the

20 complaint is made shall meet to attempt to resolve

21 the complaint.

22 (2) WITHDRAWAL OF COMPLAINT.—If the

23 issues in dispute are resolved in those discussions,

24 the complaining party shall withdraw its complaint.

25 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A public utility filing a com2 plaint under this section, the Alliance, a qualified

3 State association undertaking the consumer edu4 cation activity with respect to which a complaint

5 under this section is made, or any person aggrieved

6 by a violation of subsection (a) may seek appropriate

7 relief in United States district court.

8 (2) RELIEF.—A public utility filing a complaint

9 under this section shall be entitled to temporary and

10 injunctive relief enjoining the consumer education

11 activity with respect to which a complaint under this

12 section is made until—

13 (A) the complaint is withdrawn; or

14 (B) the court has determined that the con15 sumer education activity complained of does not

16 constitute a violation of subsection (a).

17 (e) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—

18 (1) MERITORIOUS CASE.—In a case in Federal

19 court in which the court grants a public utility in20 junctive relief under subsection (d), the public utility

21 shall be entitled to recover an attorney’s fee from

22 the Alliance and any qualified State association un23 dertaking the consumer education activity with re24 spect to which a complaint under this section is

25 made.
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1 (2) NONMERITORIOUS CASE.—In any case

2 under subsection (d) in which the court determines

3 a complaint under subsection (b) to be frivolous and

4 without merit, the prevailing party shall be entitled

5 to recover an attorney’s fee.

6 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall

7 limit causes of action brought under any other law.

8 SEC. 12. 13. SUNSET.

9 This Act shall cease to be effective as of the date that

10 is 4 years after the date on which the Alliance is estab11 lished.