II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 348

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, and Mr. JEFFORDS)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

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.

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—
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1 (1) oilheat is an important commodity relied on

2 by approximately 30,000,000 Americans as an effi3 cient and economical energy source for commercial

4 and residential space and hot water heating;

5 (2) oilheat equipment operates at efficiencies

6 among the highest of any space heating energy

7 source, reducing fuel costs and making oilheat an ec8 onomical means of space heating;

9 (3) the production, distribution, and marketing

10 of oilheat and oilheat equipment plays a significant

11 role in the economy of the United States, accounting

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

13 annually and employing millions of Americans in all

14 aspects of the oilheat industry;

15 (4) only very limited Federal resources have

16 been made available for oilheat research, develop17 ment, safety, training, and education efforts, to the

18 detriment of both the oilheat industry and its

19 30,000,000 consumers; and

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

21 and implementation of a coordinated national oilheat

22 industry program of research and development,

23 training, and consumer education is necessary and

24 important for the welfare of the oilheat industry, the

25 general economy of the United States, and the mil-
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1 lions of Americans that rely on oilheat for commer2 cial and residential space and hot water heating.

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

4 In this Act:

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

6 national oilheat research alliance established under

7 section 4.

8 (2) CONSUMER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘con9 sumer education’’ means the provision of informa10 tion to assist consumers and other persons in mak11 ing evaluations and decisions regarding oilheat and

12 other nonindustrial commercial or residential space

13 or hot water heating fuels.

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

15 an agreement that—

16 (A) entitles each party or its customers to

17 receive oilheat from the other party; and

18 (B) requires only an insubstantial portion

19 of the volumes involved in the exchange to be

20 settled in cash or property other than the

21 oilheat.

22 (4) INDUSTRY TRADE ASSOCIATION.—The term

23 ‘‘industry trade association’’ means an organization

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

25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt
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1 from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code and

2 is organized for the purpose of representing the

3 oilheat industry.

4 (5) NO. 1 DISTILLATE.—The term ‘‘No. 1 dis5 tillate’’ means fuel oil classified as No. 1 distillate

6 by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

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

8 2 dyed distillate’’ means fuel oil classified as No. 2

9 distillate by the American Society for Testing and

10 Materials that is indelibly dyed in accordance with

11 regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treas12 ury under section 4082(a)(2) of the Internal Reve13 nue Code of 1986.

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

15 (A) No. 1 distillate; and

16 (B) No. 2 dyed distillate;

17 that is used as a fuel for nonindustrial commercial

18 or residential space or hot water heating.

19 (8) OILHEAT INDUSTRY.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘oilheat in21 dustry’’ means—

22 (i) persons in the production, trans23 portation, or sale of oilheat; and
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1 (ii) persons engaged in the manufac2 ture or distribution of oilheat utilization

3 equipment.

4 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘oilheat in5 dustry’’ does not include ultimate consumers of

6 oilheat.

7 (9) PUBLIC MEMBER.—The term ‘‘public mem8 ber’’ means a member of the Alliance described in

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

10 (10) QUALIFIED INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION.—

11 The term ‘‘qualified industry organization’’ means

12 the National Association for Oilheat Research and

13 Education or a successor organization.

14 (11) QUALIFIED STATE ASSOCIATION.—The

15 term ‘‘qualified State association’’ means the indus16 try trade association or other organization that the

17 qualified industry organization or the Alliance deter18 mines best represents retail marketers in a State.

19 (12) RETAIL MARKETER.—The term ‘‘retail

20 marketer’’ means a person engaged primarily in the

21 sale of oilheat to ultimate consumers.

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

23 means the Secretary of Energy.

24 (14) WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTOR.—The term

25 ‘‘wholesale distributor’’ means a person that—
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1 (A)(i) produces No. 1 distillate or No. 2

2 dyed distillate;

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

4 distillate; or

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

6 dyed distillate across State boundaries or

7 among local marketing areas; and

8 (B) sells the distillate to another person

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

10 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed distillate across State

11 boundaries or among local marketing areas.

12 SEC. 4. REFERENDA.

13 (a) CREATION OF PROGRAM.—

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

15 through the qualified industry organization, may

16 conduct, at its own expense, a referendum among re17 tail marketers and wholesale distributors for the es18 tablishment of a national oilheat research alliance.

19 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF COST.—The Alliance,

20 if established, shall reimburse the qualified industry

21 organization for the cost of accounting and docu22 mentation for the referendum.

23 (3) CONDUCT.—A referendum under paragraph

24 (1) shall be conducted by an independent auditing

25 firm.
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1 (4) VOTING RIGHTS.—

2 (A) RETAIL MARKETERS.—Voting rights of

3 retail marketers in a referendum under para4 graph (1) shall be based on the volume of

5 oilheat sold in a State by each retail marketer

6 in the calendar year previous to the year in

7 which the referendum is conducted or in an8 other representative period.

9 (B) WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS.—Voting

10 rights of wholesale distributors in a referendum

11 under paragraph (1) shall be based on the vol12 ume of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate

13 sold in a State by each wholesale distributor in

14 the calendar year previous to the year in which

15 the referendum is conducted or in another rep16 resentative period, weighted by the ratio of the

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

18 distillate sold for nonindustrial commercial and

19 residential space and hot water heating in the

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

21 No. 2 dyed distillate sold in that State.

22 (5) ESTABLISHMENT BY APPROVAL OF TWO23 THIRDS.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), on approval of persons representing
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1 two-thirds of the total volume of oilheat voted

2 in the retail marketer class and two-thirds of

3 the total weighted volume of No. 1 distillate

4 and No. 2 dyed distillate voted in the wholesale

5 distributor class, the Alliance shall be estab6 lished and shall be authorized to levy assess7 ments under section 7.

8 (B) REQUIREMENT OF MAJORITY OF RE9 TAIL MARKETERS.—Except as provided in sub10 section (b), the oilheat industry in a State shall

11 not participate in the Alliance if less than 50

12 percent of the retail marketer vote in the State

13 approves establishment of the Alliance.

14 (6) CERTIFICATION OF VOLUMES.—Each per15 son voting in the referendum shall certify to the

16 independent auditing firm the volume of oilheat, No.

17 1 distillate, or No. 2 dyed distillate represented by

18 the vote of the person.

19 (7) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days

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

21 State association may notify the qualified industry

22 organization in writing that a referendum under

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

24 (b) SUBSEQUENT STATE PARTICIPATION.—The

25 oilheat industry in a State that has not participated ini-
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1 tially in the Alliance may subsequently elect to participate

2 by conducting a referendum under subsection (a).

3 (c) TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the initiative of the Alli5 ance or on petition to the Alliance by retail market6 ers and wholesale distributors representing 35 per7 cent of the volume of oilheat or weighted No. 1 dis8 tillate and No. 2 dyed distillate in each class, the Al9 liance shall, at its own expense, hold a referendum,

10 to be conducted by an independent auditing firm se11 lected by the Alliance, to determine whether the

12 oilheat industry favors termination or suspension of

13 the Alliance.

14 (2) VOLUME PERCENTAGES REQUIRED TO TER15 MINATE OR SUSPEND.—Termination or suspension

16 shall not take effect unless termination or suspen17 sion is approved by—

18 (A) persons representing more than one19 half of the total volume of oilheat voted in the

20 retail marketer class and more than one-half of

21 the total volume of weighted No. 1 distillate

22 and No. 2 dyed distillate voted in the wholesale

23 distributor class; or
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1 (B) persons representing more than two2 thirds of the total volume of fuel voted in either

3 such class.

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

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

6 oilheat sold annually in a State shall be determined on

7 the basis of information provided by the Energy Informa8 tion Administration with respect to a calendar year or

9 other representative period.

10 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

11 (a) SELECTION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub13 section (c)(1)(C), the qualified industry organization

14 shall select members of the Alliance representing the

15 oilheat industry in a State from a list of nominees

16 submitted by the qualified State association in the

17 State.

18 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Alliance

19 shall be filled in the same manner as the original se20 lection.

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

22 Alliance, the qualified industry organization shall make

23 best efforts to select members that are representative of

24 the oilheat industry, including representation of—
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1 (1) interstate and intrastate operators among

2 retail marketers;

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

4 No. 2 dyed distillate;

5 (3) large and small companies among wholesale

6 distributors and retail marketers; and

7 (4) diverse geographic regions of the country.

8 (c) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The membership of the Alli10 ance shall be as follows:

11 (A) One member representing each State

12 with oilheat sales in excess of 32,000,000 gal13 lons per year.

14 (B) If fewer than 24 States are rep15 resented under subparagraph (A), 1 member

16 representing each of the States with the highest

17 volume of annual oilheat sales, as necessary to

18 cause the total number of States represented

19 under subparagraph (A) and this subparagraph

20 to equal 24.

21 (C) 5 representatives of retail marketers, 1

22 each to be selected by the qualified State asso23 ciations of the 5 States with the highest volume

24 of annual oilheat sales.
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1 (D) 5 additional representatives of retail

2 marketers.

3 (E) 21 representatives of wholesale dis4 tributors.

5 (F) 6 public members, who shall be rep6 resentatives of significant users of oilheat, the

7 oilheat research community, or other groups

8 knowledgeable about oilheat.

9 (2) FULL-TIME OWNERS OR EMPLOYEES.—

10 Other than the public members, Alliance members

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

12 the oilheat industry, except that members described

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

14 may be employees of the qualified industry organiza15 tion or an industry trade association.

16 (d) COMPENSATION.—Alliance members shall receive

17 no compensation for their service, nor shall Alliance mem18 bers be reimbursed for expenses relating to their service,

19 except that public members, on request, may be reim20 bursed for reasonable expenses directly related to partici21 pation in meetings of the Alliance.

22 (e) TERMS.—

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

24 member of the Alliance shall serve a term of 3 years,
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1 except that a member filling an unexpired term may

2 serve a total of 7 consecutive years.

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

4 more than 2 full consecutive terms.

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

6 the Alliance may be returned to the Alliance if the

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

8 years.

9 (4) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Initial appoint10 ments to the Alliance shall be for terms of 1, 2, and

11 3 years, as determined by the qualified industry or12 ganization, staggered to provide for the subsequent

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

14 SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) PROGRAMS, PROJECTS; CONTRACTS AND

17 OTHER AGREEMENTS.—The Alliance—

18 (A) shall develop programs and projects

19 and enter into contracts or other agreements

20 with other persons and entities for implement21 ing this Act, including programs—

22 (i) to enhance consumer and employee

23 safety and training;
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1 (ii) to provide for research, develop2 ment, and demonstration of clean and effi3 cient oilheat utilization equipment; and

4 (iii) for consumer education; and

5 (B) may provide for the payment of the

6 costs of carrying out subparagraph (A) with as7 sessments collected under section 7.

8 (2) COORDINATION.—The Alliance shall coordi9 nate its activities with industry trade associations

10 and other persons as appropriate to provide efficient

11 delivery of services and to avoid unnecessary dupli12 cation of activities.

13 (3) ACTIVITIES.—

14 (A) EXCLUSIONS.—Activities under clause

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

16 advertising, promotions, or consumer surveys in

17 support of advertising or promotions.

18 (B) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEM19 ONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.—

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Research, develop21 ment, and demonstration activities under

22 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall include—

23 (I) all activities incidental to re24 search, development, and demonstra-
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1 tion of clean and efficient oilheat utili2 zation equipment; and

3 (II) the obtaining of patents, in4 cluding payment of attorney’s fees for

5 making and perfecting a patent appli6 cation.

7 (ii) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—Re8 search, development, and demonstration

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

10 not include research, development, and

11 demonstration of oilheat utilization equip12 ment with respect to which technically fea13 sible and commercially feasible operations

14 have been verified, except that funds may

15 be provided for improvements to existing

16 equipment until the technical feasibility

17 and commercial feasibility of the operation

18 of those improvements have been verified.

19 (b) PRIORITIES.—In the development of programs

20 and projects, the Alliance shall give priority to issues relat21 ing to—

22 (1) research, development, and demonstration;

23 (2) safety;

24 (3) consumer education; and

25 (4) training.
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1 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—

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

3 Alliance—

4 (A) shall select from among its members a

5 chairperson and other officers as necessary;

6 (B) may establish and authorize commit7 tees and subcommittees of the Alliance to take

8 specific actions that the Alliance is authorized

9 to take; and

10 (C) shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of

11 business and the implementation of this Act.

12 (2) SOLICITATION OF OILHEAT INDUSTRY COM13 MENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Alliance shall

14 establish procedures for the solicitation of oilheat in15 dustry comment and recommendations on any sig16 nificant contracts and other agreements, programs,

17 and projects to be funded by the Alliance.

18 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Alliance may

19 establish advisory committees consisting of persons

20 other than Alliance members.

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

22 shall have 1 vote in matters before the Alliance.

23 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The administrative expenses

25 of operating the Alliance (not including costs in-
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1 curred in the collection of assessments under section

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

3 exceed 7 percent of the amount of assessments col4 lected in any calendar year, except that during the

5 first year of operation of the Alliance such expenses

6 and amounts shall not exceed 10 percent of the

7 amount of assessments.

8 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF THE SECRETARY.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance shall an10 nually reimburse the Secretary for costs in11 curred by the Federal Government relating to

12 the Alliance.

13 (B) LIMITATION.—Reimbursement under

14 subparagraph (A) for any calendar year shall

15 not exceed the amount that the Secretary deter16 mines is twice the average annual salary of 1

17 employee of the Department of Energy.

18 (e) BUDGET.—

19 (1) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED BUDGET.—Be20 fore August 1 of each year, the Alliance shall pub21 lish for public review and comment a proposed budg22 et for the next calendar year, including the probable

23 costs of all programs, projects, and contracts and

24 other agreements.
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1 (2) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY AND CON2 GRESS.—After review and comment under para3 graph (1), the Alliance shall submit the proposed

4 budget to the Secretary and Congress.

5 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE SECRETARY.—

6 The Secretary may recommend for inclusion in the

7 budget programs and activities that the Secretary

8 considers appropriate.

9 (4) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Alliance shall not

10 implement a proposed budget until the expiration of

11 60 days after submitting the proposed budget to the

12 Secretary.

13 (f) RECORDS; AUDITS.—

14 (1) RECORDS.—The Alliance shall—

15 (A) keep records that clearly reflect all of

16 the acts and transactions of the Alliance; and

17 (B) make the records available to the pub18 lic.

19 (2) AUDITS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The records of the Alli21 ance (including fee assessment reports and ap22 plications for refunds under section 7(b)(4))

23 shall be audited by a certified public accountant

24 at least once each year and at such other times

25 as the Alliance may designate.
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1 (B) AVAILABILITY OF AUDIT REPORTS.—

2 Copies of each audit report shall be provided to

3 the Secretary, the members of the Alliance, and

4 the qualified industry organization, and, on re5 quest, to other members of the oilheat industry.

6 (C) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance shall

8 establish policies and procedures for audit9 ing compliance with this Act.

10 (ii) CONFORMITY WITH GAAP.—The

11 policies and procedures established under

12 clause (i) shall conform with generally

13 accepted accounting principles.

14 (g) PUBLIC ACCESS TO ALLIANCE PROCEEDINGS.—

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

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

17 Alliance.

18 (2) MEETINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.—Each

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

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

21 the Alliance shall be made available to and readily

22 accessible by the public.

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

24 prepare and make publicly available a report that—
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1 (1) includes a description of all programs,

2 projects, and contracts and other agreements under3 taken by the Alliance during the previous year and

4 those planned for the current year; and

5 (2) details the allocation of Alliance resources

6 for each such program and project.

7 SEC. 7. ASSESSMENTS.

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

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

10 dyed distillate.

11 (b) COLLECTION RULES.—

12 (1) COLLECTION AT POINT OF SALE.—The as13 sessment shall be collected at the point of sale of

14 No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate by a whole15 sale distributor to a person other than a wholesale

16 distributor, including a sale made pursuant to an

17 exchange.

18 (2) RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT.—A whole19 sale distributor—

20 (A) shall be responsible for payment of an

21 assessment to the Alliance on a quarterly basis;

22 and

23 (B) shall provide to the Alliance certifi24 cation of the volume of fuel sold.
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1 (3) NO OWNERSHIP INTEREST.—A person that

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

3 2 dyed distillate shall not be responsible for payment

4 of an assessment under this section.

5 (4) FAILURE TO RECEIVE PAYMENT.—

6 (A) REFUND.—A wholesale distributor

7 that does not receive payments from a pur8 chaser for No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed dis9 tillate within 1 year of the date of sale may

10 apply for a refund from the Alliance of the as11 sessment paid.

12 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a refund

13 shall not exceed the amount of the assessment

14 levied on the No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed dis15 tillate for which payment was not received.

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

17 owner of No. 1 distillate or No. 2 dyed distillate im18 ported after the point of sale—

19 (A) shall be responsible for payment of the

20 assessment to the Alliance at the point at which

21 the product enters the United States; and

22 (B) shall provide to the Alliance certifi23 cation of the volume of fuel imported.

24 (6) LATE PAYMENT CHARGE.—The Alliance

25 may establish a late payment charge and rate of in-
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1 terest to be imposed on any person who fails to

2 remit or pay to the Alliance any amount due under

3 this Act.

4 (7) ALTERNATIVE COLLECTION RULES.—The

5 Alliance may establish, or approve a request of the

6 oilheat industry in a State for, an alternative means

7 of collecting the assessment if another means is de8 termined to be more efficient or more effective.

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

10 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate sold for uses other

11 than as oilheat are excluded from the assessment.

12 (d) INVESTMENT OF FUNDS.—Pending disbursement

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

14 the Alliance may invest funds collected through assess15 ments, and any other funds received by the Alliance,

16 only—

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

18 agency of the United States;

19 (2) in general obligations of any State or any

20 political subdivision of a State;

21 (3) in any interest-bearing account or certifi22 cate of deposit of a bank that is a member of the

23 Federal Reserve System; or

24 (4) in obligations fully guaranteed as to prin25 cipal and interest by the United States.
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1 (e) STATE, LOCAL, AND REGIONAL PROGRAMS.—

2 (1) COORDINATION.—The Alliance shall estab3 lish a program coordinating the operation of the Al4 liance with the operator of any similar State, local,

5 or regional program created under State law (includ6 ing a regulation), or similar entity.

7 (2) FUNDS MADE AVAILABLE TO QUALIFIED

8 STATE ASSOCIATIONS.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—

10 (i) BASE AMOUNT.—The Alliance

11 shall make available to the qualified State

12 association of each State an amount equal

13 to 15 percent of the amount of assess14 ments collected in the State.

15 (ii) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT.—

16 (I) IN GENERAL.—A qualified

17 State association may request that the

18 Alliance provide to the association any

19 portion of the remaining 85 percent of

20 the amount of assessments collected

21 in the State.

22 (II) REQUEST REQUIREMENTS.—

23 A request under this clause shall—

24 (aa) specify the amount of

25 funds requested;
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1 (bb) describe in detail the

2 specific uses for which the re3 quested funds are sought;

4 (cc) include a commitment

5 to comply with this Act in using

6 the requested funds; and

7 (dd) be made publicly avail8 able.

9 (III) DIRECT BENEFIT.—The Al10 liance shall not provide any funds in

11 response to a request under this

12 clause unless the Alliance determines

13 that the funds will be used to directly

14 benefit the oilheat industry.

15 (IV) MONITORING; TERMS, CON16 DITIONS, AND REPORTING REQUIRE17 MENTS.—The Alliance shall—

18 (aa) monitor the use of

19 funds provided under this clause;

20 and

21 (bb) impose whatever terms,

22 conditions, and reporting require23 ments that the Alliance considers

24 necessary to ensure compliance

25 with this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. COMPLIANCE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Alliance may bring a civil ac3 tion in United States district court to compel payment of

4 an assessment under section 7.

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

6 this section may also require payment by the defendant

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

8 SEC. 9. LOBBYING RESTRICTIONS.

9 No funds derived from assessments under section 7

10 collected by the Alliance shall be used to influence legisla11 tion or elections, except that the Alliance may use such

12 funds to formulate and submit to the Secretary rec13 ommendations for amendments to this Act or other laws

14 that would further the purposes of this Act.

15 SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE.

16 Any consumer education activity undertaken with

17 funds provided by the Alliance shall include a statement

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

19 the Alliance.

20 SEC. 11. VIOLATIONS.

21 (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per22 son to conduct a consumer education activity, undertaken

23 with funds derived from assessments collected by the Alli24 ance under section 7, that includes—

25 (1) a reference to a private brand name;
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1 (2) a false or unwarranted claim on behalf of

2 oilheat or related products; or

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

4 use of any competing product.

5 (b) COMPLAINTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A public utility that is ag7 grieved by a violation described in subsection (a)

8 may file a complaint with the Alliance.

9 (2) TRANSMITTAL TO QUALIFIED STATE ASSO10 CIATION.—A complaint shall be transmitted concur11 rently to any qualified State association undertaking

12 the consumer education activity with respect to

13 which the complaint is made.

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

15 a complaint under this subsection, the Alliance, and

16 any qualified State association undertaking the con17 sumer education activity with respect to which the

18 complaint is made, shall cease that consumer edu19 cation activity until—

20 (A) the complaint is withdrawn; or

21 (B) a court determines that the conduct of

22 the activity complained of does not constitute a

23 violation of subsection (a).

24 (c) RESOLUTION BY PARTIES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 10 days after

2 a complaint is filed and transmitted under sub3 section (b), the complaining party, the Alliance, and

4 any qualified State association undertaking the con5 sumer education activity with respect to which the

6 complaint is made shall meet to attempt to resolve

7 the complaint.

8 (2) WITHDRAWAL OF COMPLAINT.—If the

9 issues in dispute are resolved in those discussions,

10 the complaining party shall withdraw its complaint.

11 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A public utility filing a com13 plaint under this section, the Alliance, a qualified

14 State association undertaking the consumer edu15 cation activity with respect to which a complaint

16 under this section is made, or any person aggrieved

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

18 relief in United States district court.

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

20 under this section shall be entitled to temporary and

21 injunctive relief enjoining the consumer education

22 activity with respect to which a complaint under this

23 section is made until—

24 (A) the complaint is withdrawn; or
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1 (B) the court has determined that the con2 sumer education activity complained of does not

3 constitute a violation of subsection (a).

4 (e) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—

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

6 court in which the court grants a public utility in7 junctive relief under subsection (d), the public utility

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

9 the Alliance and any qualified State association un10 dertaking the consumer education activity with re11 spect to which a complaint under this section is

12 made.

13 (2) NONMERITORIOUS CASE.—In any case

14 under subsection (d) in which the court determines

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

16 without merit, the prevailing party shall be entitled

17 to recover an attorney’s fee.

18 SEC. 12. SUNSET.

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

20 is 4 years after the date on which the Alliance is estab21 lished.

Æ