I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2073 

To provide for the establishment of a Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate 

Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2015 

Mr. MCKINLEY (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Home Energy Savings 

Retrofit Rebate Program, 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 ‘‘Home Owner Man5 aging Energy Savings Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘HOMES 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 


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1 (1) BPI.—The term ‘‘BPI’’ means the Building 

2 Performance Institute. 

3 (2) ENERGY AUDIT.—The term ‘‘energy audit’’ 

4 means an inspection, survey, and analysis of energy 

5 flows for energy conservation in a building, process, 

6 or system to reduce the amount of energy input into 

7 the system without negatively affecting the output. 

8 An energy audit is the first step in identifying op9 portunities to reduce energy expense and carbon 

10 footprints. 

11 (3) ELECTRIC UTILITY.—The term ‘‘electric 

12 utility’’ means any company, person, cooperative, 

13 State, or Indian tribe agency that delivers or sells 

14 electric energy at retail, including nonregulated utili15 ties, utilities that are subject to State or Indian tribe 

16 rate regulation, and Federal power marketing ad17 ministrations. 

18 (4) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 

19 The term ‘‘Federal Rebate Processing System’’ 

20 means the Federal Rebate Processing System estab21 lished under section 3(b). 

22 (5) HOME.—The term ‘‘home’’ means a resi23 dential dwelling unit in a building with no more than 

24 4 dwelling units that— 

25 (A) is located in the United States; 


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1 (B) was constructed before the date of en2 actment of this Act; and 

3 (C) is occupied at least six months out of 

4 the year. 

5 (6) HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE

6 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Home Energy Savings Ret7 rofit Rebate Program’’ means the Home Energy 

8 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program established under 

9 section 3(a). 

10 (7) HOMEOWNER.—The term ‘‘homeowner’’ 

11 means the owner of an owner-occupied home or a 

12 tenant-occupied home. 

13 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

15 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

16 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

17 (9) NATURAL GAS UTILITY.—The term ‘‘nat18 ural gas utility’’ means any company, person, coop19 erative, State or local governmental agency or in20 strumentality, or Indian tribe that transports, dis21 tributes, or sells natural gas at retail. 

22 (10) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term 

23 ‘‘qualified contractor’’ means a residential energy ef24 ficiency contractor that meets minimum applicable 

25 requirements established under section 4. 


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1 (11) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY

2 RETROFIT.—The term ‘‘qualified home energy effi3 ciency retrofit’’ means a retrofit described in section 

4 8(d). 

5 (12) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘‘quality assurance program’’ means a program 

7 established under this Act, or recognized by the Sec8 retary under this Act, to oversee the delivery of 

9 home efficiency retrofit programs to ensure that 

10 work is performed in accordance with standards and 

11 criteria established under this Act. Delivery of ret12 rofit programs includes delivery of quality assurance 

13 reviews of rebate applications and field inspections. 

14 Individuals performing quality assurance work under 

15 a quality assurance program must be certified under 

16 an ANSI accredited quality control inspection certifi17 cation designation. 

18 (13) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDER.—The 

19 term ‘‘quality assurance provider’’ means any entity 

20 that meets the minimum applicable requirements es21 tablished under section 6(b). 

22 (14) REBATE AGGREGATOR.—The term ‘‘rebate 

23 aggregator’’ means an entity that meets the require24 ments of section 5. 


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1 (15) RESNET.—The term ‘‘RESNET’’ means 

2 the Residential Energy Services Network, which is a 

3 nonprofit certification and standard setting organi4 zation for home energy raters that evaluate the en5 ergy performance of a home and Energy Smart Con6 tractors that make energy improvements to the 

7 home. 

8 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means the Secretary of Energy. 

10 (17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

11 (A) a State; 

12 (B) the District of Columbia; 

13 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

14 (D) Guam; 

15 (E) American Samoa; 

16 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands; 

18 (G) the United States Virgin Islands; and 

19 (H) any other territory or possession of the 

20 United States. 

21 SEC. 3. HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE PRO22 GRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish the 

24 Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. 

25 (b) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury, shall— 

5 (A) establish a Federal Rebate Processing 

6 System which shall serve as a database and in7 formation technology system that will allow re8 bate aggregators to submit claims for reim9 bursement using standard data protocols; 

10 (B) establish a national retrofit Web site 

11 that provides information on the Home Energy 

12 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, including— 

13 (i) how to determine whether par14 ticular efficiency measures are eligible for 

15 rebates; and 

16 (ii) how to participate in the program; 

17 and 

18 (C) make available model forms for dem19 onstrating compliance with all applicable re20 quirements of this Act, which shall be required 

21 to be submitted by— 

22 (i) each qualified contractor on com23 pletion of an eligible home energy retrofit; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) each quality assurance provider on 

2 completion of field verification. 

3 (2) MODEL FORMS.—In carrying out paragraph 

4 (1)(C), the Secretary shall convene a group of stake5 holders that are directly and materially affected by 

6 the Program to develop the final forms. 

7 SEC. 4. CONTRACTORS. 

8 (a) CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS.—A contractor 

9 may perform retrofit work under the Home Energy Sav10 ings Retrofit Rebate Program in a State if the con11 tractor— 

12 (1) meets all applicable contractor licensing re13 quirements established by the State; 

14 (2) is— 

15 (A) accredited by— 

16 (i) BPI as a BPI GoldStar Con17 tractor; 

18 (ii) RESNET as an Energy Smart 

19 Home Performance Team; 

20 (iii) ACCA as a QA Home Perform21 ance Contractor; 

22 (iv) a State-based certification pro23 gram established to carry out State energy, 

24 clean air, or environmental programs; or 


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1 (v) an equivalent accreditation pro2 gram approved by the Secretary for this 

3 purpose; or 

4 (B) the general contractor, and— 

5 (i) subjects the energy efficiency ret6 rofit to a third-party review by a party ap7 proved by the Secretary and a quality as8 surance inspection authorized by the Sec9 retary; and 

10 (ii) employs, or utilizes subcontractors 

11 who employ, individuals to complete indi12 vidual or comprehensive scopes of work re13 lated to the energy efficiency retrofit who 

14 are certified by— 

15 (I) BPI; 

16 (II) RESNET; 

17 (III) NATE; 

18 (IV) ACCA; 

19 (V) LIUNA; 

20 (VI) the Regional and State De21 partment of Energy Weatherization 

22 Training Centers; or 

23 (VII) other contractor or worker 

24 certification programs approved by 

25 the Secretary; 


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1 (3) holds insurance coverage of at least 

2 $1,000,000 for general liability, and for such other 

3 purposes and in such other amounts as required by 

4 the State; 

5 (4) provides warranties to the homeowner that 

6 completed work will— 

7 (A) be free of significant defects; 

8 (B) be installed in accordance with the 

9 specifications of the manufacturer, and all ap10 plicable State and local codes; and 

11 (C) perform properly for a period of at 

12 least 1 year after the date of completion of the 

13 work; and 

14 (5) completes an energy audit to determine the 

15 impact of the proposed energy efficiency measures in 

16 accordance with an ANSI accredited energy auditing 

17 standard. 

18 (b) AGREEMENT BETWEEN CONTRACTOR AND HOME

19 OWNER.—A contractor who performs retrofit work under 

20 the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program must 

21 sign a written or electronic contract with the homeowner 

22 that includes— 

23 (1) an agreement to not increase the cost of the 

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1 ceived under this Act with respect to physical im2 provements made to the home; 

3 (2) if the contractor and homeowner choose the 

4 transferable rebate option authorized under section 

5 7, an agreement to provide the homeowner, before a 

6 contract is executed between the contractor and the 

7 homeowner covering the eligible work, a notice of the 

8 rebate amount the contractor intends to apply for 

9 with respect to eligible work under this Act; and 

10 (3) a notice that the homeowner acknowledges 

11 that they— 

12 (A) reviewed the national retrofit Web site 

13 for the program; 

14 (B) understand the scope of work intended 

15 to be completed and that such work may be eli16 gible for a rebate under the program; and 

17 (C) understand that the rebate funds are 

18 fully subject to availability from the Depart19 ment or Rebate Aggregator and not within the 

20 control of the contractor. 

21 SEC. 5. REBATE AGGREGATORS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop a net23 work of rebate aggregators or a national rebate aggregator 

24 that can facilitate the delivery of rebates to participating 

25 homeowners or contractors by— 


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1 (1) reviewing the proposed rebate application 

2 for completeness and accuracy; 

3 (2) reviewing measures for eligibility in accord4 ance with this Act; 

5 (3) providing data to the Federal Rebate Proc6 essing System consistent with data protocols estab7 lished by the Secretary; and 

8 (4) not later than 30 days after the date of re9 ceipt, distributing funds received from the Depart10 ment of Energy to homeowners or contractors. 

11 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply to the Sec12 retary for approval as a rebate aggregator, an entity shall 

13 be— 

14 (1) a Home Performance with Energy Star pro15 gram sponsor; 

16 (2) an entity administering a residential or 

17 building energy efficiency retrofit program, solar 

18 program, or other such program impacting energy 

19 efficiency in homes established or approved by a 

20 State or local government; 

21 (3) a Federal power marketing administration, 

22 an electric utility, or a natural gas utility that has— 

23 (A) a residential energy efficiency retrofit 

24 program; and 


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1 (B) a quality assurance provider or pro2 vider network; or 

3 (4) an entity that demonstrates to the Sec4 retary that the entity can perform the functions of 

5 a rebate aggregator, without disrupting existing resi6 dential retrofits in the States that are incorporating 

7 the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, 

8 including demonstration of— 

9 (A) the capability to provide electronic 

10 data to the Federal Rebate Processing System; 

11 (B) a financial system that is capable of 

12 tracking the distribution of rebates to partici13 pating contractors; and 

14 (C) coordination and cooperation by the 

15 entity with the appropriate State energy office 

16 regarding participation in the existing energy 

17 efficiency programs that will be delivering the 

18 Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Pro19 gram. 

20 (c) PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION EFFICIENCY TAR21 GETS.—The Secretary shall— 

22 (1) develop guidelines for States and local gov23 ernments to use to allow utilities participating as re24 bate aggregators to count the energy savings from 


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1 the participation of the utilities toward State and 

2 local level energy savings targets; and 

3 (2) work with States and local governments to 

4 assist in the adoption of those guidelines for the 

5 purposes and duration of the Home Energy Savings 

6 Retrofit Rebate Program. 

7 SEC. 6. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDERS. 

8 (a) QUALIFICATIONS.—An entity shall be considered 

9 a quality assurance provider under this Act only if the en10 tity is qualified through— 

11 (1) the BPI; 

12 (2) RESNET; or 

13 (3) any other entity designated by the Secretary 

14 such as a State, local government, or State-approved 

15 or local government-approved residential energy effi16 ciency retrofit program. 

17 (b) FUNCTIONS.—A quality assurance provider 

18 shall— 

19 (1) be independent of the contractor; 

20 (2) confirm that contractors or installers of 

21 home energy efficiency retrofits meet the qualifica22 tion requirements of this Act; and 

23 (3) perform field inspections to confirm the 

24 compliance of the retrofit work and the simulated 


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1 energy savings under the Home Energy Savings Ret2 rofit Rebate Program. 

3 SEC. 7. TRANSFERABILITY OF HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RE4 BATE. 

5 A homeowner may transfer the rebate provided under 

6 the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program to the 

7 contractor performing the retrofit work if the contractor 

8 completes a form that accompanies the rebate form devel9 oped under section 3(b). This form, to be made publically 

10 available by the Secretary 90 days after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, must be approved by paper signature 

12 or electronically by the homeowner and include— 

13 (1) the amount of the rebate the contractor will 

14 submit for disbursement to the contractor; 

15 (2) the level of energy use reduction of the 

16 home retrofit certified under section 8(e)(4), and as17 surance that the contractor will provide the certifi18 cate to the homeowner within 30 days of receipt 

19 from the Department of Energy; 

20 (3) a documentation report of the retrofit per21 formed and paid by the homeowner; and 

22 (4) confirmation from the homeowner that they 

23 understand they have the right to submit directly for 

24 the rebate and have chosen to transfer the credit in 

25 full to the contractor. 


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1 SEC. 8. HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified home energy effi4 ciency retrofit of a home is carried out after the date of 

5 enactment of this Act by a qualified contractor in accord6 ance with this section, rebates shall be awarded for retro7 fits that achieve home energy savings in accordance with 

8 this Act. 

9 (b) AMOUNT OF REBATES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (e), 

11 the amount of a rebate provided to the owner of a 

12 home or a designee of the owner under this section 

13 shall be determined in accordance with the following 

14 formula: 

15 (A) Retrofits that are projected to save at 

16 least 20 percent of energy use (Home Perform17 ance Retrofits) shall receive a rebate of $2,500. 

18 (B) Retrofits that are projected to save at 

19 least 40 percent of energy use (Deep Home 

20 Performance Retrofits) shall receive a rebate of 

21 $5,000. 

22 (2) REBATE PAYMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The rebate shall be 

24 paid, based on energy savings as calculated 

25 under subsection (e), within 60 days after— 


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1 (i) submission of the required rebate 

2 forms; and 

3 (ii) the completion of any quality as4 surance assessment required under sub5 paragraph (B). 

6 (B) QUALITY ASSURANCE ASSESSMENTS.— 

7 The Secretary shall establish a schedule of re8 quired quality assurance assessments. In the 

9 first year of the program, the first 10 homes 

10 retrofit by each contractor and then 60 percent 

11 of all future homes shall be required to have a 

12 quality assurance assessment. The Secretary 

13 shall establish a cost effective schedule of re14 quired quality assurance assessments for subse15 quent years based on performance under the 

16 program. 

17 (C) BONUS INCENTIVE.—Recipients of 

18 grants under section 9 and rebate aggregators 

19 are encouraged to present a proposal to the 

20 Secretary for an incentive bonus for contractors 

21 who have delivered services to consumers and 

22 who have achieved a 70 percent or greater real23 ization rate for predicted gross energy cost sav24 ings achieved by their portfolio of participating 

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1 posal may be up to 20 percent of the rebate 

2 paid to the homeowner. 

3 (3) LIMITATION.—In no event shall the amount 

4 of rebates under this subsection exceed— 

5 (A) $10,000 with respect to any individual; 

6 or 

7 (B) 50 percent of the qualified home en8 ergy efficiency expenditures paid or incurred by 

9 the homeowner under subsection (c). 

10 (c) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY EX11 PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section, the term 

12 ‘‘qualified home energy efficiency expenditures’’— 

13 (1) means any amount paid or incurred by a 

14 homeowner for a qualified home energy efficiency 

15 retrofit, including the cost of diagnostic procedures, 

16 labor, reporting, and modeling; and 

17 (2) does not include— 

18 (A) improvements to swimming pools or 

19 hot tubs; or 

20 (B) any amount paid or incurred to pur21 chase or install a biomass, wood, or wood pellet 

22 furnace, boiler, or stove, unless the system— 

23 (i) is designed to meet at least 70 per24 cent of the heating demands of the home; 


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1 (ii) in the case of woodstoves, is cer2 tified by the Environmental Protection 

3 Agency; 

4 (iii) in the case of a wood stove re5 placement, replaces an existing wood stove 

6 with a stove that is certified by the Envi7 ronmental Protection Agency, if a voucher 

8 is provided by the installer or other respon9 sible party certifying that the old stove has 

10 been removed and made inoperable; 

11 (iv) in the case of a furnace or boiler, 

12 is in a home with a distribution system 

13 (such as piping, ducts, vents, blowers, or 

14 affixed fans) that allows heat from the fur15 nace or boiler to reach all or most parts of 

16 the home; and 

17 (v) is certified by an independent test 

18 laboratory approved by the Secretary as 

19 having— 

20 (I) thermal efficiency (with a 

21 high heating value) of at least 75 per22 cent for stoves and 80 percent for fur23 naces and boilers; 


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1 (II) particulate emissions of less 

2 than 3.0 grams per hour for wood 

3 stoves or pellet stoves; and 

4 (III) less than 0.07 lbs per mil5 lion BTU for outdoor boilers and fur6 naces. 

7 (d) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY RET8 ROFIT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A qualified home energy ef10 ficiency retrofit is a retrofit that implements meas11 ures, during a rebate-eligible year in the existing 

12 principal residence of the homeowner which is lo13 cated in the United States, intended to reduce the 

14 energy use of such residence. A qualified home en15 ergy efficiency retrofit shall— 

16 (A) be implemented and installed by a 

17 qualified contractor; 

18 (B) install a set of measures modeled to 

19 achieve a reduction in home energy use of 20 

20 percent or more from the baseline established 

21 under subparagraph (C), using computer mod22 eling software approved under paragraph (2); 

23 (C) establish the baseline energy use as 

24 provided in subsection (e)(1)(C); 


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1 (D) implement a test-out procedure, fol2 lowing guidelines of the applicable accrediting 

3 program described in section 4(a)(2) (A), (B), 

4 or (C), or equivalent guidelines approved by the 

5 Secretary for this purpose, to ensure— 

6 (i) the safe operation of all systems 

7 post retrofit; and 

8 (ii) that, except as provided in para9 graph (3), all improvements are included 

10 in, and have been installed according to— 

11 (I) standards of the applicable 

12 accrediting program described in sec13 tion 4(a)(2) (A), (B), or (C); 

14 (II) manufacturers installation 

15 specifications; and 

16 (III) all applicable State and 

17 local codes or equivalent standards 

18 approved by the Secretary for this 

19 purpose; 

20 (E) include only measures that have an av21 erage estimated life of 5 years or more as deter22 mined by the Secretary; 

23 (F) not include any amount which is paid 

24 or incurred in connection with any expansion of 

25 the square footage of the residence; and 


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1 (G) not include improvements to swimming 

2 pools or hot tubs or any other expenditure spe3 cifically excluded by the Secretary. 

4 (2) APPROVED MODELING SOFTWARE.—The 

5 contractor shall use modeling software certified by 

6 RESNET as following the software verification test 

7 suites in section 4.2.1 of RESNET Publication No. 

8 13–001, or under equivalent standards approved by 

9 the Secretary for this purpose, and shall have the 

10 ability at a minimum to assess the savings associ11 ated with all the measures for Home Energy Savings 

12 Retrofit Rebate Program. 

13 (3) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of paragraph 

14 (1)(D)(ii), installation of gas-fired appliances shall 

15 comply with requirements of the National Fuel Gas 

16 Code (ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54) and applicable in17 stallation requirements in lieu of performance of 

18 combustion tests outside those required by the Na19 tional Fuel Gas Code (2012 Edition) and the Inter20 national Fuel Gas Code (2012 Edition). 

21 (e) ENERGY USE REDUCTION.— 

22 (1) DETERMINATION OF ENERGY USE REDUC23 TION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The reduction in en25 ergy use for any residence shall be determined 


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1 by modeling the annual predicted percentage re2 duction in total energy consumption or costs for 

3 heating, cooling, hot water, and permanent 

4 lighting. It shall be modeled using computer 

5 modeling software approved under subsection 

6 (d)(2) and calibrated according to subpara7 graph (C) of this paragraph. 

8 (B) ENERGY COSTS.—For the purposes of 

9 subparagraph (A), the energy cost per unit of 

10 fuel for each fuel type shall be determined by 

11 dividing the total actual energy bill (subtracting 

12 taxes and fees) for the residence for that fuel 

13 type for the most recent available 12-month pe14 riod by the total energy units of that fuel type 

15 used over the same period. 

16 (C) BASELINE ENERGY USE.—For the 

17 purposes of subparagraph (A), the software 

18 model that establishes the baseline energy use 

19 and predicted energy savings shall be calibrated 

20 according to the procedures set forth in sections 

21 3 and 4 of ANSI/BPI Standard BPI–2400–S– 

22 2012: Standard Practice for Standardized 

23 Qualification of Whole-House Energy Savings 

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1 tory, or an equivalent standard approved by the 

2 Secretary for this purpose. 

3 (2) DOCUMENTATION.—The percent improve4 ment in energy consumption calculated under this 

5 section shall be documented through modeling soft6 ware described in subsection (d)(2). 

7 (3) MONITORING.—The Secretary— 

8 (A) shall periodically evaluate the software 

9 packages used for determining rebates under 

10 this section; 

11 (B) shall monitor and compare the pre12 dictions to the real energy data, and based on 

13 the results, create performance criteria to allow 

14 or disallow the software; and 

15 (C) may disallow the use of software pro16 grams that improperly assess energy savings. 

17 (4) CERTIFICATE OF RETROFIT PERFORM18 ANCE.—The Secretary shall establish a system for 

19 distribution of a certificate of performance in ac20 cordance with BPI–2101–S–2013: Standard Re21 quirements for a Certificate of Completion for Resi22 dential Energy Efficiency Upgrades with the 

23 issuance of a rebate that certifies the predicted level 

24 of energy use reduction achieved by the retrofit. The 

25 certificate shall be provided to the rebate recipient. 


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1 If the recipient is the contractor under the terms of 

2 section 7, the contractor shall remit the certificate to 

3 the homeowner, to be delivered or postmarked not 

4 later than 30 days after the contractor’s receipt of 

5 the certificate. 

6 (5) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall not uti7 lize the authority provided under this Act to— 

8 (A) develop, adopt, or implement a public 

9 labeling system that rates and compares the en10 ergy performance of one home with another; or 

11 (B) require the public disclosure of an en12 ergy performance evaluation or rating developed 

13 for any specific home. 

14 Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the com15 putation, collection, or use, by the Secretary, rebate 

16 aggregators, or quality assurance providers, or the 

17 States or Indian tribes, for the purposes of gath18 ering information on the rating and comparison of 

19 the energy performance of homes with and without 

20 energy efficiency retrofits. 

21 (f) QUALIFICATION FOR REBATE.—On submission of 

22 a claim for a retrofit rebate by a rebate aggregator to the 

23 system established under section 5, the Secretary shall 

24 provide reimbursement to the rebate aggregator, if— 


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1 (1) the retrofit is a qualified home energy effi2 ciency retrofit; 

3 (2) the amount of the reimbursement is not 

4 more than the amount described in subsection (b); 

5 (3) documentation required to verify the claim 

6 is transmitted with the claim; and 

7 (4) any quality assurance assessment required 

8 by the Secretary or the rebate aggregator has been 

9 completed. 

10 (g) AUDITS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—On making payment for a 

12 submission under this section, the Secretary shall re13 view rebate requests to determine whether program 

14 requirements were met in all respects. 

15 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

16 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a pay17 ment was made incorrectly to a party, not later than 

18 3 years after the payment was provided the Sec19 retary shall— 

20 (A) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

21 payment; or 

22 (B) withhold the amount of the incorrect 

23 payment from the next payment made to the 

24 party pursuant to a subsequent request. 


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1 (h) INCENTIVES.—The amount of incentives that the 

2 Secretary may provide to quality assurance providers and 

3 rebate aggregators under this Act shall be— 

4 (1) $50 for each rebate review and submission 

5 provided under the program; 

6 (2) $250 for each field inspection conducted 

7 under the program; or 

8 (3) such other amounts as the Secretary con9 siders necessary to carry out the quality assurance 

10 provisions of this Act. 

11 SEC. 9. GRANTS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe that re13 ceives a grant under subsection (d) shall be permitted to 

14 use the grant for— 

15 (1) administrative costs; 

16 (2) oversight of quality assurance plans; 

17 (3) development of a quality assurance pro18 gram; 

19 (4) establishment and delivery of financing pi20 lots in accordance with this Act; 

21 (5) coordination with existing residential ret22 rofit programs and infrastructure development to as23 sist deployment of the Home Energy Savings Ret24 rofit Rebate Program; and 


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1 (6) the costs of carrying out the responsibilities 

2 of the State or Indian tribe under the Home Energy 

3 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. 

4 (b) INITIAL GRANTS.—Not later than 60 days after 

5 receipt of a completed application for a grant under this 

6 section, the Secretary shall either make the grant or pro7 vide to the applicant an explanation for denying the grant. 

8 (c) INDIAN TRIBES.—The Secretary shall reserve an 

9 appropriate amount of funding to be made available to 

10 carry out this section for each fiscal year to make grants 

11 available to Indian tribes under this section. 

12 (d) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—From the amounts made 

13 available to carry out this section for each fiscal year re14 maining after the reservation required under subsection 

15 (c), the Secretary shall make grants available to States 

16 in accordance with section 15. 

17 (e) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe may 

19 use a grant made under this section to carry out a 

20 quality assurance program that is— 

21 (A) operated as part of a State or local 

22 government approved energy conservation plan 

23 established under part D of title III of the En24 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 6321 et seq.); 


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1 (B) managed by the office or the designee 

2 of the office that is— 

3 (i) responsible for the development of 

4 the plan under section 362 of that Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 6322); and 

6 (ii) to the maximum extent practicable 

7 conducting an existing energy efficiency 

8 program; and 

9 (C) in the case of a grant made to an In10 dian tribe, managed by an entity designated by 

11 the Indian tribe to carry out a quality assur12 ance program or a national quality assurance 

13 program manager. 

14 (2) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter15 mines that a State or Indian tribe has not provided 

16 or cannot provide adequate oversight over a quality 

17 assurance program to ensure compliance with this 

18 Act, the Secretary may— 

19 (A) withhold further quality assurance 

20 funds from the State or Indian tribe; and 

21 (B) require that quality assurance pro22 viders operating in the State or by the Indian 

23 tribe be overseen by a national quality assur24 ance program manager selected by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State or Indian tribe that 

2 receives a grant under this section may implement a qual3 ity assurance program through the State, the Indian tribe, 

4 or a third party designated by the State or Indian tribe, 

5 including— 

6 (1) an energy service company; 

7 (2) an electric utility; 

8 (3) a natural gas utility; 

9 (4) a third-party administrator designated by 

10 the State or Indian tribe; or 

11 (5) a unit of local government. 

12 (g) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—A State or 

13 Indian tribe that receives a grant under this section is en14 couraged to form partnerships with utilities, energy serv15 ice companies, and other entities— 

16 (1) to assist in marketing a program; 

17 (2) to facilitate consumer financing; 

18 (3) to assist in implementation of the Home 

19 Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, including 

20 installation of qualified home energy efficiency retro21 fits; and 

22 (4) to assist in implementing quality assurance 

23 programs. 

24 (h) COORDINATION OF REBATE AND EXISTING

25 STATE-SPONSORED PROGRAMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe 

2 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prevent 

3 duplication through coordination of a program au4 thorized under this Act with— 

5 (A) the Energy Star appliance rebates pro6 gram authorized under the American Recovery 

7 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

8 111–5; 123 Stat. 115); and 

9 (B) comparable programs planned or oper10 ated by States, political subdivisions, electric 

11 and natural gas utilities, Federal power mar12 keting administrations, and Indian tribes. 

13 (2) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—In carrying out this 

14 subsection, a State or Indian tribe shall— 

15 (A) give priority to— 

16 (i) comprehensive retrofit programs in 

17 existence on the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, including programs under the super19 vision of State utility regulators; and 

20 (ii) using funds made available under 

21 this Act to enhance and extend existing 

22 programs; and 

23 (B) seek to enhance and extend existing 

24 programs by coordinating with administrators 

25 of the programs. 


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1 SEC. 10. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. 

2 (a) PLAN.—As part of a grant application described 

3 in section 9(b), a State or Indian tribe shall submit to 

4 the Secretary a plan to implement a quality assurance pro5 gram that covers all federally assisted residential effi6 ciency retrofit work administered, supervised, or spon7 sored by the State or Indian tribe. 

8 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The State or Indian tribe 

9 shall— 

10 (1) develop a quality assurance program in con11 sultation with industry stakeholders, including rep12 resentatives of efficiency program managers, con13 tractors, and environmental, energy efficiency, and 

14 labor organizations; and 

15 (2) implement the quality assurance program 

16 not later than 180 days after receipt of a grant 

17 under section 9. 

18 (c) COMPONENTS.—The quality assurance program 

19 established under this section shall include— 

20 (1) maintenance of a list of qualified contrac21 tors authorized to perform such retrofit work as de22 scribed in section 4; and 

23 (2) nonbinding targets and realistic plans for— 

24 (A) the recruitment of small minority25 owned or women-owned business enterprises; 

26 and 


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1 (B) the employment of graduates of train2 ing programs that primarily serve low-income 

3 populations with a median income that is below 

4 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined in 

5 section 673(2) of the Community Services 

6 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including 

7 any revision required by that section) by par8 ticipating contractors. 

9 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines 

10 that a State or Indian tribe has not taken the steps re11 quired under this section, the Secretary shall provide to 

12 the State or Indian tribe a period of at least 90 days to 

13 comply before suspending the participation of the State 

14 or Indian tribe in the program. 

15 SEC. 11. EVALUATION REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter until 

18 the termination of the program under this Act, the Sec19 retary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat20 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on En21 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re22 port on the use of funds under this Act. 

23 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub24 section (a) shall evaluate— 


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1 (1) how many eligible participants have partici2 pated in the program; 

3 (2) how many jobs have been created through 

4 the program, directly and indirectly; 

5 (3) what steps could be taken to promote fur6 ther deployment of energy efficiency and renewable 

7 energy retrofits; 

8 (4) the quantity of verifiable energy savings, 

9 homeowner energy bill savings, and other benefits of 

10 the program; 

11 (5) any waste, fraud, or abuse with respect to 

12 such funds; and 

13 (6) any other information the Secretary con14 siders appropriate. 

15 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall require 

16 rebate aggregators, States, and Indian tribes to provide 

17 the information required to enable the Secretary to carry 

18 out this section. If the Secretary determines that a rebate 

19 aggregator, State, or Indian tribe has not provided such 

20 information on a timely basis, the Secretary shall provide 

21 to the rebate aggregator, State, or Indian tribe a period 

22 of at least 90 days to provide any necessary information, 

23 subject to withholding of funds or reduction of future 

24 grant amounts, or decertification of rebate aggregators. 


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1 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 15(b), not later 

3 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

4 Secretary shall provide such administrative and technical 

5 support to rebate aggregators, States, and Indian tribes 

6 as is necessary to carry out this Act. 

7 (b) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL.—Notwith8 standing the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov9 erning appointments in the competitive service and Gen10 eral Schedule classifications and pay rates, the Secretary 

11 may appoint such professional and administrative per12 sonnel as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out 

13 this Act. 

14 (c) RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay for a person ap15 pointed under subsection (b) shall not exceed the max16 imum rate payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule 

17 under chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (d) CONSULTANTS.—Notwithstanding section 303 of 

19 the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

20 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253), the Secretary may retain such con21 sultants on a noncompetitive basis as the Secretary con22 siders necessary to carry out this Act. 

23 (e) CONTRACTING.—In carrying out this Act, the 

24 Secretary may waive all or part of any provision of the 

25 Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (Public Law 98– 

26 369; 98 Stat. 1175), an amendment made by that Act, 


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1 or the Federal Acquisition Regulation on a determination 

2 that circumstances make compliance with the provisions 

3 contrary to the public interest. 

4 (f) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The Secretary shall 

5 establish, and make available to a homeowner, or the 

6 homeowner’s designated representative, seeking a rebate 

7 under this Act, release forms authorizing access by the 

8 Secretary, or a designated third-party representative to in9 formation in the utility bills of the homeowner. The form 

10 shall not include personal identifying information such as 

11 name, address, social security number or other identifying 

12 information as defined by the Secretary. 

13 SEC. 13. TREATMENT OF REBATES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev15 enue Code of 1986, rebates received for a qualified home 

16 energy efficiency retrofit under this Act— 

17 (1) shall not be considered taxable income to a 

18 homeowner; and 

19 (2) shall prohibit the consumer from applying 

20 for a tax credit allowed under section 25C or 25D 

21 of that Code for the same retrofit work performed 

22 in the home of the homeowner. If the work is addi23 tional, and not included in the rebate baseline, a 

24 homeowner may claim the credit. 

25 (b) NOTICE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating contractor 

2 shall provide notice to a homeowner of the provisions 

3 of subsection (a) before eligible work is performed in 

4 the home of the homeowner. 

5 (2) NOTICE IN REBATE FORM.—A homeowner 

6 shall be notified of the provisions of subsection (a) 

7 in the appropriate rebate form developed by the Sec8 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

9 Treasury. 

10 SEC. 14. PENALTIES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per12 son to violate this Act (including any regulation issued 

13 under this Act), other than a violation as the result of 

14 a clerical error. 

15 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to any penalty ap16 plicable under other Federal law for fraud or other crimes, 

17 any person who commits a violation of this Act shall be 

18 liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount 

19 that is not more than the higher of— 

20 (1) $15,000 for each violation; or 

21 (2) 3 times the value of any associated rebate 

22 under this Act. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may— 

24 (1) assess and compromise a penalty imposed 

25 under subsection (b); and 


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1 (2) require from any entity the records and in2 spections necessary to enforce this Act. 

3 SEC. 15. FUNDING. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

6 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act 

7 $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 

8 2019, to remain available until expended. 

9 (2) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—Funds pro10 vided under this section shall supplement and not 

11 supplant any Federal and State funding provided to 

12 carry out energy efficiency programs in existence on 

13 the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts provided 

16 under subsection (a), not more than 6 percent shall 

17 be used to carry out section 9. 

18 (2) DISTRIBUTION TO STATE ENERGY OF19 FICES.—Not later than 45 days after the date of en20 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall determine a 

21 formula to provide funds described in paragraph (1) 

22 to State energy offices, in accordance with the allo23 cation formula for State energy conservation plans 

24 established under part D of title III of the Energy 


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1 Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (c) TRACKING OF REBATES AND EXPENDITURES.— 

4 Of the amount provided under subsection (a), not more 

5 than 2.5 percent are authorized to be appropriated to the 

6 Secretary to be used for costs associated with tracking re7 bates and expenditures through the Federal Rebate Proc8 essing System under this Act, technical assistance to 

9 States, and related administrative costs incurred by the 

10 Secretary. 

11 (d) PROGRAM REVIEW AND BACKSTOP FUNDING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary shall perform a State-by-State analysis and 

15 review the distribution of Home Energy Savings 

16 Retrofit Rebates under this Act. 

17 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may allocate 

18 technical assistance funding to assist States that 

19 have not sufficiently benefitted from the Home En20 ergy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. 

21 (e) RETURN OF UNDISBURSED FUNDS.—If the Sec22 retary has not disbursed all the funds available for rebates 

23 under the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program 

24 by September 30, 2019, any undisbursed funds shall be 

25 returned to the Treasury. 


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1 SEC. 16. PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding any other 

3 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a Resi4 dential Energy Efficiency Pay for Performance pilot pro5 gram for States to encourage the use of measured energy 

6 savings, and financial payments for those energy savings, 

7 in the operation of residential energy efficiency programs. 

8 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act, the Secretary shall provide common measure10 ment criteria, developed with the input from home per11 formance industry stakeholders, to ensure comparability 

12 among programs but allow flexibility in program design. 

13 The Secretary shall establish a competitive program with 

14 grants to be provided to no less than 5 State energy offices 

15 with a total authorization of appropriations of 

16 $100,000,000. 

17 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘State 

18 energy office’’ means the office or agency of a State re19 sponsible for developing the State energy plan for the 

20 State under section 362 of the Energy Policy and Con21 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 

Æ 


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