I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2043 

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

Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 3, 2019 

Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) 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 2019’’ 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 terms ‘‘Home Energy Savings Ret7 rofit Rebate Program’’ or ‘‘Program’’ means the 

8 Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program es9 tablished under 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. 5304). 

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. 

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 website 

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

19 HOMEOWNER.—A contractor who performs retrofit work 

20 under the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program 

21 must sign a written or electronic contract with the home22 owner that includes— 

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

24 home improvement as a result of the rebates reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2043.IH H2043

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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 website 

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 of Energy or rebate aggregator and not 

20 within the 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 homeowners 


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1 or contractors participating in the Home Energy Savings 

2 Retrofit Rebate Program by— 

3 (1) reviewing the proposed rebate application 

4 for completeness and accuracy; 

5 (2) reviewing measures for eligibility in accord6 ance with this Act; 

7 (3) providing data to the Federal Rebate Proc8 essing System consistent with data protocols estab9 lished by the Secretary; and 

10 (4) not later than 30 days after the date of re11 ceipt, distributing funds received from the Depart12 ment of Energy to homeowners or contractors. 

13 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply to the Sec14 retary for approval as a rebate aggregator, an entity shall 

15 be— 

16 (1) a Home Performance with Energy Star pro17 gram sponsor; 

18 (2) an entity administering a residential or 

19 building energy efficiency retrofit program, solar 

20 program, or other such program impacting energy 

21 efficiency in homes established or approved by a 

22 State or local government; 

23 (3) a Federal power marketing administration, 

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


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1 (A) a residential energy efficiency retrofit 

2 program; and 

3 (B) a quality assurance provider or pro4 vider network; or 

5 (4) an entity that demonstrates to the Sec6 retary that the entity can perform the functions of 

7 a rebate aggregator, without disrupting existing resi8 dential retrofits in the States that are incorporating 

9 the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, 

10 including demonstration of— 

11 (A) the capability to provide electronic 

12 data to the Federal Rebate Processing System; 

13 (B) a financial system that is capable of 

14 tracking the distribution of rebates to partici15 pating contractors; and 

16 (C) coordination and cooperation by the 

17 entity with the appropriate State energy office 

18 regarding participation in the existing energy 

19 efficiency programs that will be delivering the 

20 Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Pro21 gram. 

22 (c) PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION EFFICIENCY TAR23 GETS.—The Secretary shall— 

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1 bate aggregators to count the energy savings from 

2 the participation of the utilities toward State and 

3 local level energy savings targets; and 

4 (2) work with States and local governments to 

5 assist in the adoption of those guidelines for the 

6 purposes and duration of the Home Energy Savings 

7 Retrofit Rebate Program. 

8 SEC. 6. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDERS. 

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

10 a quality assurance provider under this Act only if the en11 tity is qualified through— 

12 (1) the BPI; 

13 (2) RESNET; or 

14 (3) any other entity designated by the Secretary 

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

16 or local government-approved residential energy effi17 ciency retrofit program. 

18 (b) FUNCTIONS.—A quality assurance provider 

19 shall— 

20 (1) be independent of the contractor; 

21 (2) confirm that contractors or installers of 

22 home energy efficiency retrofits meet the qualifica23 tion requirements of this Act; and 

24 (3) perform field inspections to confirm the 

25 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 Act, subject to appropriations made avail7 able for such purpose, rebates shall be awarded for retro8 fits that achieve home energy savings in accordance with 

9 this Act. 

10 (b) AMOUNT OF REBATES.— 

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

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

13 home or a designee of the owner under this section 

14 shall be determined in accordance with the following 

15 formula: 

16 (A) Retrofits that are projected to save at 

17 least 20 percent of energy use (Home Perform18 ance Retrofits) shall receive a rebate of $2,500. 

19 (B) Retrofits that are projected to save at 

20 least 40 percent of energy use (Deep Home 

21 Performance Retrofits) shall receive a rebate of 

22 $5,000. 

23 (2) REBATE PAYMENT.— 

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

25 paid, based on energy savings as calculated 

26 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 established by an organization identi4 fied in section 4(a)(2) or equivalent guidelines 

5 approved by the Secretary for this purpose, to 

6 ensure— 

7 (i) the safe operation of all systems 

8 post retrofit; and 

9 (ii) that, except as provided in para10 graph (3), all improvements are included 

11 in, and have been installed according to— 

12 (I) standards of the applicable 

13 accrediting program established by an 

14 organization identified in section 

15 4(a)(2); 

16 (II) manufacturers installation 

17 specifications; and 

18 (III) all applicable State and 

19 local codes or equivalent standards 

20 approved by the Secretary for this 

21 purpose; 

22 (E) include only measures that have an av23 erage estimated life of 5 years or more as deter24 mined by the Secretary; 


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1 (F) not include funds paid or incurred in 

2 connection with any expansion of the square 

3 footage of the residence; and 

4 (G) not include improvements to swimming 

5 pools or hot tubs or any other expenditure spe6 cifically excluded by the Secretary. 

7 (2) APPROVED MODELING SOFTWARE.—The 

8 contractor shall use modeling software certified by 

9 RESNET as following the software verification test 

10 suites in section 4.2.1 of RESNET Publication No. 

11 13–001, or under equivalent standards approved by 

12 the Secretary for this purpose, and shall have the 

13 ability at a minimum to assess the savings associ14 ated with all the measures for Home Energy Savings 

15 Retrofit Rebate Program. 

16 (3) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of paragraph 

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

18 comply with requirements of the National Fuel Gas 

19 Code (ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54) and applicable in20 stallation requirements in lieu of performance of 

21 combustion tests outside those required by the Na22 tional Fuel Gas Code (2012 Edition) and the Inter23 national Fuel Gas Code (2012 Edition). 

24 (e) ENERGY USE REDUCTION.— 


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1 (1) DETERMINATION OF ENERGY USE REDUC2 TION.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The reduction in en4 ergy use for any residence shall be determined 

5 by modeling the annual predicted percentage re6 duction in total energy consumption or costs for 

7 heating, cooling, hot water, and permanent 

8 lighting. It shall be modeled using computer 

9 modeling software approved under subsection 

10 (d)(2) and calibrated according to subpara11 graph (C) of this paragraph. 

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

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

14 fuel for each fuel type shall be determined by 

15 dividing the total actual energy bill (subtracting 

16 taxes and fees) for the residence for that fuel 

17 type for the most recent available 12-month pe18 riod by the total energy units of that fuel type 

19 used over the same period. 

20 (C) BASELINE ENERGY USE.—For the 

21 purposes of subparagraph (A), the software 

22 model that establishes the baseline energy use 

23 and predicted energy savings shall be calibrated 

24 according to the procedures set forth in sections 

25 3 and 4 of ANSI/BPI Standard BPI–2400–S– 


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1 2012: Standard Practice for Standardized 

2 Qualification of Whole-House Energy Savings 

3 Predictions by Calibration to Energy Use His4 tory, or an equivalent standard approved by the 

5 Secretary for this purpose. 

6 (2) DOCUMENTATION.—The percent improve7 ment in energy consumption calculated under this 

8 section shall be documented through modeling soft9 ware described in subsection (d)(2). 

10 (3) MONITORING.—The Secretary— 

11 (A) shall periodically evaluate the software 

12 packages used for determining rebates under 

13 this section; 

14 (B) shall monitor and compare the pre15 dictions to the real energy data, and based on 

16 the results, create performance criteria to allow 

17 or disallow the software; and 

18 (C) may disallow the use of software pro19 grams that improperly assess energy savings. 

20 (4) CERTIFICATE OF RETROFIT PERFORM21 ANCE.—The Secretary shall establish a system for 

22 distribution of a certificate of performance in ac23 cordance with BPI–2101–S–2013: Standard Re24 quirements for a Certificate of Completion for Resi25 dential Energy Efficiency Upgrades with the 


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1 issuance of a rebate that certifies the predicted level 

2 of energy use reduction achieved by the retrofit. The 

3 certificate shall be provided to the rebate recipient. 

4 If the recipient is the contractor under the terms of 

5 section 7, the contractor shall remit the certificate to 

6 the homeowner, to be delivered or postmarked not 

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

8 the certificate. 

9 (5) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall not uti10 lize the authority provided under this Act to— 

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

12 labeling system that rates and compares the en13 ergy performance of one home with another; or 

14 (B) require the public disclosure of an en15 ergy performance evaluation or rating developed 

16 for any specific home. 

17 Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the com18 putation, collection, or use, by the Secretary, rebate 

19 aggregators, or quality assurance providers, or the 

20 States or Indian tribes, for the purposes of gath21 ering information on the rating and comparison of 

22 the energy performance of homes with and without 

23 energy efficiency retrofits. 

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

25 a claim for a retrofit rebate by a rebate aggregator, the 


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1 Secretary shall provide reimbursement to the rebate 

2 aggregator, if— 

3 (1) the retrofit is a qualified home energy effi4 ciency retrofit; 

5 (2) the amount of the reimbursement is not 

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

7 (3) documentation required to verify the claim 

8 is transmitted with the claim; and 

9 (4) any quality assurance assessment required 

10 by the Secretary or the rebate aggregator has been 

11 completed. 

12 (g) AUDITS.— 

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

14 submission under this section, the Secretary shall re15 view rebate requests to determine whether Program 

16 requirements were met in all respects. 

17 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

18 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a pay19 ment was made incorrectly to a party, not later than 

20 3 years after the payment was provided the Sec21 retary shall— 

22 (A) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

23 payment; or 


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1 (B) withhold the amount of the incorrect 

2 payment from the next payment made to the 

3 party pursuant to a subsequent request. 

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

5 Secretary may provide to quality assurance providers and 

6 rebate aggregators under this Act shall be— 

7 (1) $50 for each rebate review and submission 

8 provided under the Program; 

9 (2) $250 for each field inspection conducted 

10 under the Program; or 

11 (3) such other amounts as the Secretary con12 siders necessary to carry out the quality assurance 

13 provisions of this Act. 

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

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe that re16 ceives a grant under subsection (d) shall be permitted to 

17 use the grant for— 

18 (1) administrative costs; 

19 (2) oversight of quality assurance plans; 

20 (3) development of a quality assurance pro21 gram; 

22 (4) establishment and delivery of financing pi23 lots in accordance with this Act; 

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1 sist deployment of the Home Energy Savings Ret2 rofit Rebate Program; and 

3 (6) the costs of carrying out the responsibilities 

4 of the State or Indian tribe under the Home Energy 

5 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. 

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

7 receipt of a completed application for a grant under this 

8 section, the Secretary shall either make the grant or pro9 vide to the applicant an explanation for denying the grant. 

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

11 appropriate amount of funding made available to carry out 

12 this section for each fiscal year to make grants available 

13 to Indian tribes under this section. 

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

15 available to carry out this section for each fiscal year re16 maining after the reservation required under subsection 

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

18 in accordance with section 15. 

19 (e) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS.— 

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

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

22 quality assurance program that is— 

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

24 government approved energy conservation plan 

25 established under part D of title III of the EnVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2043.IH H2043

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1 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 6321 et seq.); 

3 (B) managed by the office or the designee 

4 of the office that is— 

5 (i) responsible for the development of 

6 the plan under section 362 of that Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 6322); and 

8 (ii) to the maximum extent practicable 

9 conducting an existing energy efficiency 

10 program; and 

11 (C) in the case of a grant made to an In12 dian tribe, managed by an entity designated by 

13 the Indian tribe to carry out a quality assur14 ance program or a national quality assurance 

15 program manager. 

16 (2) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter17 mines that a State or Indian tribe has not provided 

18 or cannot provide adequate oversight over a quality 

19 assurance program to ensure compliance with this 

20 Act, the Secretary may— 

21 (A) withhold further quality assurance 

22 funds from the State or Indian tribe; and 

23 (B) require that quality assurance pro24 viders operating in the State or by the Indian 

25 tribe be overseen by a national quality assurVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:38 Apr 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2043.IH H2043

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1 ance program manager selected by the Sec2 retary. 

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

4 receives a grant under this section may implement a qual5 ity assurance program through the State, the Indian tribe, 

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

7 including— 

8 (1) an energy service company; 

9 (2) an electric utility; 

10 (3) a natural gas utility; 

11 (4) a third-party administrator designated by 

12 the State or Indian tribe; or 

13 (5) a unit of local government. 

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

15 Indian tribe that receives a grant under this section is en16 couraged to form partnerships with utilities, energy serv17 ice companies, and other entities— 

18 (1) to assist in marketing a program; 

19 (2) to facilitate consumer financing; 

20 (3) to assist in implementation of the Home 

21 Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program, including 

22 installation of qualified home energy efficiency retro23 fits; and 

24 (4) to assist in implementing quality assurance 

25 programs. 


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1 (h) COORDINATION OF REBATE AND EXISTING

2 STATE-SPONSORED PROGRAMS.— 

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

4 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prevent 

5 duplication through coordination of a program au6 thorized under this Act with— 

7 (A) the Energy Star appliance rebates pro8 gram authorized under the American Recovery 

9 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

10 111–5; 123 Stat. 115); and 

11 (B) comparable programs planned or oper12 ated by States, political subdivisions, electric 

13 and natural gas utilities, Federal power mar14 keting administrations, and Indian tribes. 

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

16 subsection, a State or Indian tribe shall— 

17 (A) give priority to— 

18 (i) comprehensive retrofit programs in 

19 existence on the date of enactment of this 

20 Act, including programs under the super21 vision of State utility regulators; and 

22 (ii) using funds made available under 

23 this Act to enhance and extend existing 

24 programs; and 


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1 (B) seek to enhance and extend existing 

2 programs by coordinating with administrators 

3 of the programs. 

4 SEC. 10. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. 

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

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

7 the Secretary a plan to implement a quality assurance pro8 gram that covers all federally assisted residential effi9 ciency retrofit work administered, supervised, or spon10 sored by the State or Indian tribe. 

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

12 shall— 

13 (1) develop a quality assurance program in con14 sultation with industry stakeholders, including rep15 resentatives of efficiency program managers, con16 tractors, and environmental, energy efficiency, and 

17 labor organizations; and 

18 (2) implement the quality assurance program 

19 not later than 180 days after receipt of a grant 

20 under section 9. 

21 (c) COMPONENTS.—The quality assurance program 

22 established under this section shall include— 

23 (1) maintenance of a list of qualified contrac24 tors authorized to perform such retrofit work as de25 scribed in section 4; and 


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1 (2) nonbinding targets and realistic plans for— 

2 (A) the recruitment of small minority3 owned or women-owned business enterprises; 

4 and 

5 (B) the employment of graduates of train6 ing programs that primarily serve low-income 

7 populations with a median income that is below 

8 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined in 

9 section 673(2) of the Community Services 

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

11 any revision required by that section) by par12 ticipating contractors. 

13 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines 

14 that a State or Indian tribe has not taken the steps re15 quired under this section, the Secretary shall provide to 

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

17 comply before suspending the participation of the State 

18 or Indian tribe in the program. 

19 SEC. 11. EVALUATION REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

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

21 date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 

22 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

23 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

25 a report on the use of funds under this Act. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub2 section (a) shall evaluate— 

3 (1) how many eligible participants have partici4 pated in the Program; 

5 (2) how many jobs have been created through 

6 the Program, directly and indirectly; 

7 (3) what steps could be taken to promote fur8 ther deployment of energy efficiency and renewable 

9 energy retrofits; 

10 (4) the quantity of verifiable energy savings, 

11 homeowner energy bill savings, and other benefits of 

12 the Program; 

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

14 such funds; and 

15 (6) any other information the Secretary con16 siders appropriate. 

17 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall require 

18 rebate aggregators, States, and Indian tribes to provide 

19 the information required to enable the Secretary to carry 

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

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

22 information on a timely basis, the Secretary shall provide 

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

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


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1 subject to withholding of funds or reduction of future 

2 grant amounts, or decertification of rebate aggregators. 

3 SEC. 12. ADMINISTRATION. 

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

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

6 Secretary shall provide such administrative and technical 

7 support to rebate aggregators, States, and Indian tribes 

8 as is necessary to carry out this Act. 

9 (b) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL.—Notwith10 standing the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov11 erning appointments in the competitive service and Gen12 eral Schedule classifications and pay rates, the Secretary 

13 may appoint such professional and administrative per14 sonnel as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out 

15 this Act. 

16 (c) RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay for a person ap17 pointed under subsection (b) shall not exceed the max18 imum rate payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule 

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

20 (d) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—The Secretary 

21 shall establish, and make available to a homeowner, or the 

22 homeowner’s designated representative, seeking a rebate 

23 under this Act, release forms authorizing access by the 

24 Secretary, or a designated third-party representative to in25 formation in the utility bills of the homeowner. The form 


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1 shall not include personal identifying information such as 

2 name, address, social security number or other identifying 

3 information as defined by the Secretary. 

4 SEC. 13. TREATMENT OF REBATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev6 enue Code of 1986, rebates received for a qualified home 

7 energy efficiency retrofit under this Act— 

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

9 homeowner; and 

10 (2) shall prohibit the consumer from applying 

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

12 of that Code for the same retrofit work performed 

13 in the home of the homeowner. If the work is addi14 tional, and not included in the rebate baseline, a 

15 homeowner may claim the credit. 

16 (b) NOTICE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating contractor 

18 shall provide notice to a homeowner of the provisions 

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

20 the home of the homeowner. 

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

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

23 in the appropriate rebate form developed by the Sec24 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

25 Treasury. 


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1 SEC. 14. PENALTIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per3 son to violate this Act (including any regulation issued 

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

5 a clerical error. 

6 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to any penalty ap7 plicable under other Federal law for fraud or other crimes, 

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

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

10 that is not more than the higher of— 

11 (1) $15,000 for each violation; or 

12 (2) 3 times the value of any associated rebate 

13 under this Act. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may— 

15 (1) assess and compromise a penalty imposed 

16 under subsection (b); and 

17 (2) require from any entity the records and in18 spections necessary to enforce this Act. 

19 SEC. 15. FUNDING. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

22 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this Act 

23 $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

24 2025, to remain available until expended. 

25 (2) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—Funds pro26 vided under this section shall supplement and not 


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1 supplant any Federal and State funding provided to 

2 carry out energy efficiency programs in existence on 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

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

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

7 be used to carry out section 9. 

8 (2) DISTRIBUTION TO STATE ENERGY OF9 FICES.—Not later than 45 days after the date of en10 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall determine a 

11 formula to provide funds described in paragraph (1) 

12 to State energy offices, in accordance with the allo13 cation formula for State energy conservation plans 

14 established under part D of title III of the Energy 

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

16 seq.). 

17 (c) TRACKING OF REBATES AND EXPENDITURES.— 

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

19 than 2.5 percent are authorized to be appropriated to the 

20 Secretary to be used for costs associated with tracking re21 bates and expenditures through the Federal Rebate Proc22 essing System under this Act, technical assistance to 

23 States, and related administrative costs incurred by the 

24 Secretary. 

25 (d) PROGRAM REVIEW AND BACKSTOP FUNDING.— 


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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 shall perform a State-by-State analysis and 

4 review the distribution of rebates under this Act. 

5 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may allocate 

6 technical assistance funding to assist States that 

7 have not sufficiently benefitted from the Home En8 ergy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. 

9 SEC. 16. PILOT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

13 Residential Energy Efficiency Pay for Performance 

14 pilot program for States to encourage the use of 

15 measured energy savings, and financial payments for 

16 those energy savings, in the operation of residential 

17 energy efficiency programs. 

18 (2) CRITERIA.—Not later than 180 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 shall provide common measurement criteria, devel21 oped with input from home performance industry 

22 stakeholders, to ensure comparability among pro23 grams but allow flexibility in program design. 

24 (b) GRANTS.—In carrying out the pilot program es25 tablished under this section, the Secretary shall provide, 


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1 on a competitive basis, grants to not less than 5 State 

2 energy offices. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For fis4 cal year 2021, there are authorized to be appropriated to 

5 carry out this section $100,000,000. 

6 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘State 

7 energy office’’ means the office or agency of a State re8 sponsible for developing the State energy plan for the 

9 State under section 362 of the Energy Policy and Con10 servation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 

Æ 


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