IB 

Union Calendar No. 268 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5019 

[Report No. 111–469, Part I] 

To provide for the establishment of the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2010 

Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, Mr. 

WAXMAN, and Mr. CARDOZA) 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 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment, 

and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for 

a period ending not later than May 3, 2010, for consideration of such 

provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of 

that Committee pursuant to clause 1(m), rule X 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

APRIL 29, 2010 

Committee on Ways and Means discharged 

MAY 3, 2010 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. 

LANGEVIN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mr. MURPHY of New York, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. 

SUTTON, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. 

WEINER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Florida, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BRALEY

of Iowa, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HARE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CONNOLLY of 

Virginia, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. POLIS

of Colorado, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Ms. NORTON, 


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Mr. CARNEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. RICHARDSON, 

Ms. HIRONO, Ms. MATSUI, and Mr. PERRIELLO

MAY 3, 2010 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform discharged; committed to 

the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 14, 2010] 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of the Home Star Retrofit 

Rebate Program, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Home Star Energy Ret5 rofit Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ACCREDITED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘ac9 credited contractor’’ means a qualified contractor— 

10 (A) that is accredited— 

11 (i) by the BPI; or 

12 (ii) under other standards approved by 

13 the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad14 ministrator; and 

15 (B) effective 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, that uses a certified workforce. 

17 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis18 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ19 mental Protection Agency. 

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

21 Performance Institute. 

22 (4) CERTIFIED WORKFORCE.—The term ‘‘cer23 tified workforce’’ means a residential energy efficiency 

24 construction workforce in which all employees perVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:21 May 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5019.RH H5019

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1 forming installation work are certified in the appro2 priate job skills under— 

3 (A) an applicable third party skills stand4 ard established by— 

5 (i) BPI; 

6 (ii) North American Technician Excel7 lence; 

8 (iii) the Laborers’ International Union 

9 of North America; 

10 (B) an applicable third party skills stand11 ard established in the State in which the work 

12 is to be performed, pursuant to a program oper13 ated by the Home Builders Institute in connec14 tion with Ferris State University, to be effective 

15 30 days after notice is provided by those organi16 zations to the Secretary that such program has 

17 been established in such State, except to the ex18 tent that the Secretary determines within 30 

19 days of such notice that the standard or certifi20 cation is incomplete; or 

21 (C) other standards approved by the Sec22 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

23 Labor and the Administrator. 

24 (5) CONDITIONED SPACE.—The term ‘‘condi25 tioned space’’ means the area of a home that is— 


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1 (A) intended for habitation; and 

2 (B) intentionally heated or cooled. 

3 (6) DOE.—The term ‘‘DOE’’ means the Depart4 ment of Energy. 

5 (7) ELECTRIC UTILITY.—The term ‘‘electric util6 ity’’ means any person, State agency, rural electric 

7 cooperative, municipality, or other governmental enti8 ty that delivers or sells electric energy at retail, in9 cluding nonregulated utilities and utilities that are 

10 subject to State regulation and Federal power mar11 keting administrations. 

12 (8) EPA.—The term ‘‘EPA’’ means the Environ13 mental Protection Agency. 

14 (9) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 

15 The term ‘‘Federal Rebate Processing System’’ means 

16 the Federal Rebate Processing System established 

17 under section 101(b). 

18 (10) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO19 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit 

20 Program’’ means the Gold Star Home Energy Ret21 rofit Program established under section 104. 

22 (11) HOME.—The term ‘‘home’’ means a prin23 cipal residential dwelling unit in a building with no 

24 more than 4 dwelling units that— 

25 (A) is located in the United States; and 


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1 (B) was constructed before the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (12) HOME STAR LOAN PROGRAM.—The term 

4 ‘‘Home Star Loan Program’’ means the Home Star 

5 Energy Efficiency Loan Program established under 

6 section 111. 

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

8 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In9 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

11 (14) NATIONAL HOME PERFORMANCE COUNCIL.— 

12 The term ‘‘National Home Performance Council’’ 

13 means the National Home Performance Council, Inc. 

14 (15) NATURAL GAS UTILITY.—The term ‘‘natural 

15 gas utility’’ means any person or State agency that 

16 transports, distributes, or sells natural gas at retail, 

17 including nonregulated utilities and utilities that are 

18 subject to State regulation. 

19 (16) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term 

20 ‘‘qualified contractor’’ means a residential energy effi21 ciency contractor meeting minimum applicable re22 quirements as determined under section 101(c). 

23 (17) QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK.—The 

24 term ‘‘quality assurance framework’’ means a policy 

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1 ards for ensuring quality in ongoing energy efficiency 

2 retrofit activities in which the State has a role, in3 cluding operation of the quality assurance program, 

4 while creating significant employment opportunities, 

5 in particular for targeted workers. 

6 (18) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘quality assur8 ance program’’ means a program authorized 

9 under this Act to oversee the delivery of home ef10 ficiency retrofit programs to ensure that work is 

11 performed in accordance with standards and cri12 teria established under this Act. 

13 (B) INCLUSIONS.—For purposes of subpara14 graph (A), delivery of retrofit programs includes 

15 field inspections required under this Act, with 

16 the consent of participating consumers and with17 out delaying rebate payments to participating 

18 contractors and vendors. 

19 (19) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDER.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘quality assur21 ance provider’’ means any entity that is author22 ized pursuant to this Act to perform field inspec23 tions and other measures required to confirm the 

24 compliance of retrofit work with the require25 ments of this Act. 


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1 (B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—To be 

2 considered a quality assurance provider under 

3 this paragraph, an entity shall be certified 

4 through— 

5 (i) the International Code Council; 

6 (ii) the BPI; 

7 (iii) the RESNET; 

8 (iv) a State; 

9 (v) a State-approved residential energy 

10 efficiency retrofit program; or 

11 (vi) any other entity designated for 

12 such purpose by the Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Administrator. 

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

15 aggregator’’ means an entity that meets the require16 ments of section 102. 

17 (21) RESNET.—The term ‘‘RESNET’’ means 

18 the Residential Energy Services Network. 

19 (22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Energy. 

21 (23) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT

22 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Silver Star Home Energy Ret23 rofit Program’’ means the Silver Star Home Energy 

24 Retrofit Program established under section 103. 

25 (24) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State; 

2 (B) the District of Columbia; 

3 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

4 (D) Guam; 

5 (E) American Samoa; 

6 (F) the United States Virgin Islands; 

7 (G) the Northern Mariana Islands; and 

8 (H) any other commonwealth, territory, or 

9 possession of the United States. 

10 (25) TARGETED WORKER.—The term ‘‘targeted 

11 worker’’ means an individual who is unemployed or 

12 underemployed and of an employable age and a resi13 dent of an area with high or chronic unemployment 

14 and low median household incomes, as defined by the 

15 Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Labor. 

16 (26) WATER UTILITY.—The term ‘‘water utility’’ 

17 means any State or local agency that delivers or sells 

18 water at wholesale or retail through an engineered 

19 distribution system. 

20 TITLE I—HOME STAR RETROFIT 

21 REBATE PROGRAM 

22 SEC. 101. HOME STAR RETROFIT REBATE PROGRAM. 

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

24 Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

25 (b) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

3 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and 

4 the Administrator, shall— 

5 (A) establish a Federal Rebate Processing 

6 System which shall serve as a database and in7 formation technology system to allow rebate 

8 aggregators to submit claims for reimbursement 

9 using standard data protocols; 

10 (B) establish a national retrofit website that 

11 provides information on the Home Star Retrofit 

12 Rebate Program, including how to determine 

13 whether particular energy efficiency measures 

14 are eligible for rebate and how to participate in 

15 the program; and 

16 (C) publish model forms and data protocols 

17 for use by contractors, vendors, and quality as18 surance providers to comply with the require19 ments of this title. 

20 (2) MODEL CERTIFICATION FORMS.—In carrying 

21 out this section, the Secretary shall consider the model 

22 certification forms developed by the National Home 

23 Performance Council. 

24 (c) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS.—A 

25 qualified contractor may perform retrofit work for which 


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1 rebates are authorized under this title only if it executes 

2 a Home Star participation agreement with a rebate 

3 aggregator affirming that it meets applicable requirements, 

4 including— 

5 (1) all applicable State contractor licensing re6 quirements or, with respect to a State that has no 

7 such requirements, any appropriate comparable re8 quirements established under paragraph (6); 

9 (2) insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 for 

10 general liability, and for such other purposes and in 

11 such other amounts as may be required by the State; 

12 (3) agreeing to provide warranties to home13 owners that completed work will— 

14 (A) be free of significant defects; 

15 (B) be installed in accordance with the 

16 specifications of the manufacturer; and 

17 (C) perform properly for a period of at least 

18 1 year after the date of completion of the work; 

19 (4) agreeing to pass through to the owner of a 

20 home, through a discount, the full economic value of 

21 all rebates received under this title with respect to the 

22 home; 

23 (5) agreeing to provide to the homeowner a no24 tice of— 


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1 (A) the amount of the rebate the contractor 

2 intends to apply for with respect to the eligible 

3 work under this title, before a contract is exe4 cuted between the contractor and a homeowner 

5 covering the eligible work; and 

6 (B) the means by which the rebate will be 

7 passed through as a discount to the homeowner; 

8 (6) all requirements of an applicable State qual9 ity assurance framework by and after the date that 

10 is one year after the date of enactment of this Act; 

11 and 

12 (7) any other appropriate requirements as deter13 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad14 ministrator. 

15 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.— 

16 Subject to section 112(b) and (c), beginning not later than 

17 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall provide such administrative and technical sup19 port to rebate aggregators and States as is necessary to 

20 carry out this title. 

21 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (1) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL.—Notwith23 standing the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

24 governing appointments in the competitive service 

25 and General Schedule classifications and pay rates, 


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1 the Secretary may appoint such professional and ad2 ministrative personnel as the Secretary considers nec3 essary to carry out this title. 

4 (2) RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay for a person 

5 appointed under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the 

6 maximum rate payable for GS–15 of the General 

7 Schedule under chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (3) CONSULTANTS.—Notwithstanding section 303 

10 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services 

11 Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253), the Secretary may re12 tain such consultants on a noncompetitive basis as 

13 the Secretary considers necessary to carry out this 

14 title. 

15 (4) CONTRACTING.—In carrying out this title, 

16 the Secretary may waive all or part of any provision 

17 of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (Public 

18 Law 98–369; 98 Stat. 1175), an amendment made by 

19 that Act, or the Federal Acquisition Regulation on a 

20 determination that circumstances make compliance 

21 with the provisions contrary to the public interest. 

22 (5) REGULATIONS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

24 553 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary 

25 may issue regulations that the Secretary, in the 


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1 sole discretion of the Secretary, determines nec2 essary to— 

3 (i) establish; 

4 (ii) achieve full operational status 

5 within 60 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act for; or 

7 (iii) carry out, 

8 the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

9 (B) TIMING.—If the Secretary determines 

10 that regulations described in subparagraph (A) 

11 are necessary, the regulations shall be issued not 

12 later than 60 days after such determination. 

13 (C) EXCEPTION.—(i) The Secretary shall 

14 not utilize the authority provided under this 

15 paragraph to— 

16 (I) develop, adopt, or implement a 

17 public labeling system that rates and com18 pares the energy performance of one home 

19 with another; or 

20 (II) require the public disclosure of an 

21 energy performance evaluation or rating de22 veloped for any specific home. 

23 (ii) Nothing in this subparagraph shall pre24 clude— 


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1 (I) the computation, collection, or use, 

2 by the Secretary, rebate aggregators, quality 

3 assurance providers, or States for the pur4 poses of carrying out sections 104 and 105, 

5 of information on the rating and compari6 son of the energy performance of homes with 

7 and without energy efficiency features or on 

8 energy performance evaluation or rating; 

9 (II) the use and publication of aggre10 gate data (without identifying individual 

11 homes or participants) based on informa12 tion referred to in subclause (I) to deter13 mine or demonstrate the performance of the 

14 Home Star program; or 

15 (III) the provision of information re16 ferred to in subclause (I) with respect to a 

17 specific home— 

18 (aa) to the State, homeowner, 

19 quality assurance provider, rebate 

20 aggregator, or contractor performing 

21 retrofit work on that home, or an enti22 ty providing Home Star services, as 

23 necessary to enable carrying out this 

24 title; or 


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1 (bb) for purposes of prosecuting 

2 fraud and abuse. 

3 (6) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—Chapter 35 of 

4 title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to any 

5 information collection requirement necessary for the 

6 implementation of the Home Star Retrofit Rebate 

7 Program. 

8 (7) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Paragraphs (1), (3), 

9 (4), (5), and (6) shall be effective only for fiscal years 

10 2010 and 2011. 

11 (f) PROGRAM REVIEW.—Not later than 180 days after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pre13 pare and transmit to Congress a State-by-State analysis 

14 and review the distribution of Home Star retrofit rebates 

15 under this title. 

16 (g) ADJUSTMENT OF REBATE AMOUNTS.—Effective be17 ginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary may, after not less than 30 

19 days public notice, prospectively adjust the rebate amounts 

20 provided for under this title as necessary to optimize the 

21 overall energy efficiency resulting from the Silver Star 

22 Home Energy Retrofit Program and the Gold Star Home 

23 Energy Retrofit Program. 

24 (h) INDIAN TRIBE PARTICIPATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe, within 30 

2 days after the date of enactment of this Act, may in3 dicate to the Secretary its intention to act in place 

4 of a State for purposes of carrying out the respon5 sibilities of the State under this title with respect to 

6 its tribal lands. If the Indian tribe so indicates, the 

7 Secretary shall treat the Indian tribe as the State for 

8 purposes of carrying out this title with respect to 

9 those tribal lands. 

10 (2) TRANSITION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

11 Secretary may permit an Indian tribe, after the expi12 ration of 30 days after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, to assume the responsibilities of a State under 

14 this title with respect to its tribal lands if the Sec15 retary finds that such assumption of responsibilities 

16 will not disrupt the ongoing administration of the 

17 program under this title. 

18 (3) COOPERATION.—An Indian tribe may co19 operate with a State or the Secretary to ensure that 

20 all of the requirements of this title are carried out 

21 with respect to the tribal lands. 

22 (i) IMPLEMENTATION BY SECRETARY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a State has not indicated 

24 to the Secretary within 30 days after the date of en25 actment of this Act that it is prepared to carry out 


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1 section 105, or if at any later time the Secretary de2 termines that a State is no longer prepared to carry 

3 out section 105, to the extent that no Indian tribe as4 sumes such responsibilities under subsection (h) the 

5 Secretary shall assume the responsibilities of that 

6 State with respect to carrying out section 105. 

7 (2) TRANSITION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

8 Secretary may permit a State, after the Secretary has 

9 assumed the responsibilities of that State under para10 graph (1), to assume the responsibilities assigned to 

11 States under section 105 with respect to that State if 

12 the Secretary finds that such assumption of respon13 sibilities will not disrupt the ongoing administration 

14 of the program under this title. 

15 (j) LIMITATION.—Rebates may not be provided under 

16 both section 103 and section 104 with respect to the same 

17 home. 

18 (k) FORMS FOR CERTIFICATION AND QUALITY ASSUR19 ANCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

22 make available on the website established under sub23 section (b)(1)(B), model certification forms for com24 pliance with quality assurance requirements under 

25 this title, to be submitted by— 


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1 (A) each qualified contractor, accredited 

2 contractor, and quality assurance provider on 

3 completion of an eligible home energy retrofit; 

4 and 

5 (B) each quality assurance provider on 

6 completion of field verification required under 

7 this section. 

8 (2) NATIONAL HOME PERFORMANCE COUNCIL.— 

9 The Secretary, States, and Indian tribes shall con10 sider and may use model certification forms developed 

11 by the National Home Performance Council to ensure 

12 compliance with quality assurance requirements 

13 under this title. 

14 (l) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—A State that re15 ceives a grant under this title is encouraged to form part16 nerships with utilities, energy service companies, and other 

17 entities— 

18 (1) to assist in marketing the Home Star Ret19 rofit Rebate Program; 

20 (2) to facilitate consumer financing; 

21 (3) to assist in implementation of the Silver 

22 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program and the Gold 

23 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program, including in24 stallation of qualified energy retrofit measures; and 


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1 (4) to assist in implementing quality assurance 

2 programs. 

3 (m) COORDINATION OF REBATE AND EXISTING STATE4 SPONSORED PROGRAMS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall, to the max6 imum extent practicable, prevent duplication through 

7 coordination of a program authorized under this title 

8 with— 

9 (A) the Energy Star appliance rebates pro10 gram authorized under section 124 of the Energy 

11 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15821), and any 

12 other Federal programs that provide funds to 

13 States for home or appliance energy efficiency 

14 purposes; and 

15 (B) comparable programs planned or oper16 ated by States, political subdivisions, electric 

17 and natural gas utilities, Federal power mar18 keting administrations, and Indian tribes. 

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

20 subsection, a State shall— 

21 (A) give priority to— 

22 (i) comprehensive retrofit programs in 

23 existence on the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, including programs under the super25 vision of State utility regulators; and 


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1 (ii) using funds made available under 

2 this title to enhance and extend existing 

3 programs; and 

4 (B) seek to enhance and extend existing pro5 grams by coordinating with administrators of 

6 the programs. 

7 (n) HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing 

8 in this title shall relieve any contractor from the obligation 

9 to comply with applicable Federal, State, and local health 

10 and safety code requirements. 

11 SEC. 102. REBATE AGGREGATORS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop a net13 work of rebate aggregators that can facilitate the delivery 

14 of rebates to participating contractors and vendors, to reim15 burse those contractors and vendors for discounts provided 

16 to homeowners for energy efficiency retrofit work. The Sec17 retary shall approve or deny an application from a person 

18 seeking to become a rebate aggregator not later than 30 days 

19 after receiving such application. The Secretary may dis20 qualify any rebate aggregator that fails to meet its obliga21 tions under this title in a timely and competent manner. 

22 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 30 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall identify 

24 at least 1 rebate aggregator in each State ready and able 

25 to accept rebate applications from any qualified contractor. 


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1 Not later than 90 days after such date of enactment, the 

2 Secretary shall ensure that rebate aggregation services are 

3 available to all homeowners in the United States at the low4 est reasonable cost. 

5 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Rebate aggregators shall— 

6 (1) review each proposed rebate application for 

7 completeness and accuracy; 

8 (2) review all measures for which rebates are 

9 sought for eligibility in accordance with this title; 

10 (3) provide data to the Secretary for inclusion in 

11 the database maintained through the Federal Rebate 

12 Processing System, consistent with data protocols es13 tablished by the Secretary; 

14 (4) not later than 30 days after the date of re15 ceipt, distribute funds received from the Secretary to 

16 contractors, vendors, or other persons in accordance 

17 with approved claims for reimbursement made to the 

18 Federal Rebate Processing System; 

19 (5) maintain appropriate accounting for rebate 

20 applications processed, and their disposition; 

21 (6) review contractor qualifications and accredi22 tation and retain documentation of such qualification 

23 and accreditation, as required for contractors to be 

24 authorized to perform residential energy efficiency 

25 retrofit work under this title; and 


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1 (7) maintain information regarding contractors’ 

2 fulfillment of the requirements of section 101(c). 

3 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply to the Sec4 retary for approval as a rebate aggregator, an entity— 

5 (1) shall be— 

6 (A) a Home Performance with Energy Star 

7 partner; 

8 (B) an entity administering a residential 

9 energy efficiency retrofit program established or 

10 approved by a State; 

11 (C) a Federal power marketing administra12 tion or the Tennessee Valley Authority; 

13 (D) an electric utility, natural gas utility, 

14 or water utility administering or offering a resi15 dential energy efficiency retrofit program; or 

16 (E) an entity— 

17 (i) with corporate status or status as a 

18 State or local government; 

19 (ii) who can demonstrate adequate fi20 nancial capability to manage a rebate 

21 aggregator program, as evidenced by au22 dited financial records; and 

23 (iii) whose participation in the pro24 gram, in the judgment of the Secretary, 

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1 rofit programs in the States that are car2 rying out the Home Star Retrofit Rebate 

3 Program under this title; 

4 (2) must be able to demonstrate— 

5 (A) a relationship with 1 or more inde6 pendent quality assurance providers that is suffi7 cient to meet the volume of contracting services 

8 delivered; 

9 (B) the capability to provide such electronic 

10 data as is required by the Secretary to the Fed11 eral Rebate Processing System; and 

12 (C) a financial system that is capable of 

13 tracking the distribution of rebates to partici14 pating contractors and vendors; and 

15 (3) shall include in its application the amount 

16 it proposes to charge for the review and processing of 

17 a rebate under this title. 

18 (e) PROMPT PROCESSING OF REBATES.—Within 10 

19 days after receiving an application for a rebate consistent 

20 with this title, a rebate aggregator shall submit a claim for 

21 that rebate to the Federal Rebate Processing System. Within 

22 10 days after the Federal Rebate Processing System receives 

23 such a submission from a rebate aggregator, the Secretary 

24 shall provide the funds to the rebate aggregator necessary 

25 to pay such rebates to the qualified contractor or vendor 


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1 who applied for them and to compensate the rebate 

2 aggregator for its services in accordance with this title. 

3 Within 10 days of being provided such funds, the rebate 

4 aggregator shall pay the rebates to the rebate applicant. 

5 (f) PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION EFFICIENCY TAR6 GETS.—The Secretary shall— 

7 (1) develop guidelines for States to use to allow 

8 utilities participating as rebate aggregators to count 

9 the energy savings from their participation toward 

10 State-level energy savings targets; and 

11 (2) work with States to assist in the adoption of 

12 these guidelines for the purposes and duration of the 

13 Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

14 SEC. 103. SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the first year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, a Silver Star Home Energy Ret17 rofit Program rebate shall be awarded, subject to the max18 imum amount limitations under subsection (d)(4), to par19 ticipating contractors and vendors, to reimburse them for 

20 discounts provided to the owner of the home for the retrofit 

21 work, for the installation of energy savings measures— 

22 (1) selected from the list of energy savings meas23 ures described in subsection (b); 

24 (2) installed after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act in the home by a qualified contractor; and 


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1 (3) carried out in compliance with this section. 

2 (b) ENERGY SAVINGS MEASURES.—Subject to sub3 section (c), a rebate shall be awarded under subsection (a) 

4 for the installation of the following energy savings measures 

5 for a home energy retrofit that meet technical standards es6 tablished under this section: 

7 (1) Whole house air sealing measures, including 

8 interior and exterior measures, utilizing sealants, 

9 caulks, polyurethane foams, gaskets, weather-strip10 ping, mastics, and other building materials in ac11 cordance with BPI standards or other procedures ap12 proved by the Secretary. 

13 (2) Attic insulation measures that— 

14 (A) include sealing of air leakage between 

15 the attic and the conditioned space, in accord16 ance with BPI standards or the attic portions of 

17 the DOE or EPA thermal bypass checklist or 

18 other procedures approved by the Secretary; 

19 (B) add at least R–19 insulation to existing 

20 insulation; 

21 (C) result in at least R–38 insulation in 

22 DOE climate zones 1 through 4 and at least R– 

23 49 insulation in DOE climate zones 5 through 8, 

24 including existing insulation, within the limits 

25 of structural capacity; and 


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1 (D) cover at least— 

2 (i) 100 percent of an accessible attic; 

3 or 

4 (ii) 75 percent of the total conditioned 

5 footprint of the house. 

6 (3) Duct seal or replacement that— 

7 (A) is installed in accordance with BPI 

8 standards or other procedures approved by the 

9 Secretary; and 

10 (B) in the case of duct replacement, replaces 

11 at least 50 percent of a distribution system of the 

12 home. 

13 (4) Wall insulation that— 

14 (A) is installed in accordance with BPI 

15 standards or other procedures approved by the 

16 Secretary; 

17 (B) is to full-stud thickness; and 

18 (C) covers at least 75 percent of the total ex19 ternal wall area of the home. 

20 (5) Crawl space insulation or basement wall and 

21 rim joist insulation that is installed in accordance 

22 with BPI standards or other procedures approved by 

23 the Secretary and— 

24 (A) covers at least 500 square feet of crawl 

25 space or basement wall and adds at least— 


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1 (i) R–19 of cavity insulation or R–15 

2 of continuous insulation to existing crawl 

3 space insulation; or 

4 (ii) R–13 of cavity insulation or R–10 

5 of continuous insulation to basement walls; 

6 and 

7 (B) fully covers the rim joist with at least 

8 R–10 of new continuous or R–13 of cavity insu9 lation. 

10 (6) Window replacement that replaces at least 8 

11 exterior windows or skylights, or 75 percent of the ex12 terior windows and skylights in a home, whichever is 

13 less, with— 

14 (A) windows that— 

15 (i) are certified by the National Fen16 estration Rating Council; and 

17 (ii) comply with criteria applicable to 

18 windows and skylights under section 25(c) 

19 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

20 (B) skylights that comply with the 2010 

21 Energy Star specification for skylights. 

22 (7) Door replacement that replaces at least 1 ex23 terior door with doors that comply with the 2010 En24 ergy Star specification for doors. 

25 (8)(A) Heating system replacement of— 


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1 (i) a natural gas or propane furnace with 

2 a furnace that has an AFUE rating of 92 or 

3 greater; 

4 (ii) a natural gas or propane boiler with a 

5 boiler that has an AFUE rating of 90 or greater; 

6 (iii) an oil furnace with a furnace that has 

7 an AFUE rating of 86 or greater and that uses 

8 an electrically commutated blower motor; 

9 (iv) an oil boiler with a boiler that has an 

10 AFUE rating of 86 or greater and that has tem11 perature reset or thermal purge controls; or 

12 (v) a wood or wood pellet furnace, boiler, or 

13 stove, if— 

14 (I) the new system— 

15 (aa) meets at least 75 percent of 

16 the heating demands of the home; 

17 (bb) in the case of a furnace or 

18 boiler, has a distribution system (such 

19 as ducts or vents) that allows heat to 

20 reach all or most parts of the home and 

21 qualifies for Phase 2 of the EPA Vol22 untary Program for Hydronic Heaters; 

23 and 

24 (cc) in the case of a stove, replaces 

25 an existing wood or wood pellet stove 


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1 and is certified by the EPA, and a 

2 voucher is provided by the installer or 

3 other responsible party certifying that 

4 the old stove has been removed and 

5 rendered inoperable or recycled at an 

6 appropriate recycling facility; and 

7 (II) an accredited independent labora8 tory recognized by the EPA certifies that the 

9 new system— 

10 (aa) has thermal efficiency (lower 

11 heating value) of at least 75 percent for 

12 stoves and at least 90 percent for fur13 naces and boilers; and 

14 (bb) has particulate emissions of 

15 less than 3.0 grams per hour for stoves, 

16 and less than 0.32 lbs/mmBTU for fur17 naces and boilers. 

18 (B) A rebate may be provided under this section 

19 for the replacement of a furnace or boiler described in 

20 clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A) only if 

21 the new furnace or boiler is installed in accordance 

22 with ANSI/ACCA Standard 5 QI–2007. 

23 (9) Air conditioner or air-source heat pump re24 placement with a new unit that— 


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1 (A) is installed in accordance with ANSI/ 

2 ACCA Standard 5 QI–2007; and 

3 (B) meets or exceeds— 

4 (i) in the case of an air conditioner, 

5 SEER 16 and EER 13; and 

6 (ii) in the case of an air-source heat 

7 pump, SEER 15, EER 12.5, and HSPF 

8 8.5. 

9 (10) Heating or cooling system replacement with 

10 an Energy Star qualified geothermal heat pump that 

11 meets Tier 2 efficiency requirements and that is in12 stalled in accordance with ANSI/ACCA Standard 5 

13 QI–2007. 

14 (11) Replacement of a natural gas, propane, or 

15 electric water heater with— 

16 (A) a natural gas or propane condensing 

17 storage water heater with an energy factor of 

18 0.80 or more or a thermal efficiency of 90 per19 cent or more; 

20 (B) a tankless natural gas or propane water 

21 heater with an energy factor of at least .82; 

22 (C) a natural gas or propane storage water 

23 heater with an energy factor of at least .67; 

24 (D) an indirect water heater with an insu25 lated storage tank that— 


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1 (i) has a storage capacity of at least 30 

2 gallons and is insulated to at least R–16; 

3 and 

4 (ii) is installed in conjunction with a 

5 qualifying boiler described in paragraph 

6 (8); 

7 (E) an electric water heater with an energy 

8 factor of 2.0 or more; 

9 (F) an electric tankless water heater with 

10 an efficiency factor of .96 or more, that operates 

11 on not greater than 25 kilowatts; 

12 (G) a solar hot water system that— 

13 (i) is certified by the Solar Rating and 

14 Certification Corporation; or 

15 (ii) meets technical standards estab16 lished by the State of Hawaii; or 

17 (H) a water heater installed in conjunction 

18 with a qualifying geothermal heat pump de19 scribed in paragraph (10) that provides domestic 

20 water heating through the use of a desuperheater 

21 or demand water heating capability. 

22 (12) Storm windows that— 

23 (A) are installed on at least 5 existing sin24 gle-glazed windows that do not have storm win25 dows; 


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1 (B) are installed in a home listed on or eli2 gible for listing in the National Register of His3 toric Places; and 

4 (C) comply with any procedures that the 

5 Secretary may set for storm windows and their 

6 installation. 

7 (13) Window film that is installed on at least 8 

8 exterior windows, doors, or skylights, or 75 percent of 

9 the total exterior square footage of glass in a home, 

10 whichever is less, with window films that— 

11 (A) are certified by the National Fenestra12 tion Rating Council; and 

13 (B) have— 

14 (i) a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.43 

15 or less with a visible light-to-solar heat gain 

16 coefficient of at least 1.1 in 2009 Inter17 national Energy Conservation Code climate 

18 zones 1-3; or 

19 (ii) a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.43 

20 or less with a visible light light-to-solar heat 

21 gain coefficient of at least 1.1 and a U-fac22 tor of 0.40 or less as installed in 2009 

23 International Energy Conservation Code 

24 climate zones 4-8. 


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1 (c) INSTALLATION COSTS.—Measures described in 

2 paragraphs (1) through (13) of subsection (b) shall include 

3 expenditures for labor and other installation-related costs, 

4 including venting system modification and condensate dis5 posal, properly allocable to the onsite preparation, assem6 bly, or original installation of the component. 

7 (d) AMOUNT OF REBATE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graphs (2) through (4), the amount of a rebate pro10 vided under subsection (a) shall be $1,000 per meas11 ure for the installation of energy savings measures de12 scribed in subsection (b). 

13 (2) HIGHER REBATE AMOUNT.—Except as pro14 vided in paragraph (4), the amount of a rebate pro15 vided under subsection (a) shall be $1,500 per meas16 ure for— 

17 (A) attic insulation and air sealing de18 scribed in subsection (b)(1) or (2); and 

19 (B) wall insulation described in subsection 

20 (b)(4). 

21 (3) LOWER REBATE AMOUNT.—Except as pro22 vided in paragraph (4), the amount of a rebate pro23 vided under subsection (a) shall be— 


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1 (A) $125 per door for the installation of up 

2 to a maximum of 2 Energy Star doors described 

3 in subsection (b)(7) for each home; 

4 (B) $250 for a maximum of 1 natural gas 

5 or propane storage water heater described in sub6 section (b)(11)(C) for each home; 

7 (C) $250 for rim joist insulation described 

8 in subsection (b)(5)(B); 

9 (D) $50 for each storm window described in 

10 subsection (b)(12), with a minimum of 5 storm 

11 windows and a maximum of 12; 

12 (E) $250 each for a maximum of 4 electric 

13 tankless water heaters described in subsection 

14 (b)(11)(F) for each home; and 

15 (F) $500 for window film described in sub16 section (b)(13). 

17 (4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount of re18 bates provided for a home under this section shall not 

19 exceed the lower of— 

20 (A) $3,000; 

21 (B) 50 percent of the total cost of the in22 stalled measures; or 

23 (C) if the Secretary finds that the net value 

24 to the homeowner of the rebates, as a function of 

25 the discount the contractor or vendor provides to 


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1 the homeowner for the installed measures, is less 

2 than the amount of the rebates, the actual net 

3 value to the homeowner. 

4 (e) VERIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF WORK.— 

5 (1) REIMBURSEMENT.—On submission of a 

6 claim by a rebate aggregator to the Federal Rebate 

7 Processing System, the Secretary shall provide reim8 bursement to the rebate aggregator for energy-effi9 ciency measures installed in a home, subject to para10 graphs (2) and (3). 

11 (2) VERIFICATION.— 

12 (A) PERCENTAGE OF RETROFITS

13 VERIFIED.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clause (ii), not less than— 

16 (I) 20 percent of the retrofits per17 formed by each qualified contractor 

18 under this section with respect to a re19 bate described in subsection (a) shall be 

20 randomly subject to field verification 

21 by an independent quality assurance 

22 provider of all work associated with the 

23 retrofit; and 

24 (II) in the case of a qualified con25 tractor that uses a certified workforce, 


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1 10 percent of the retrofits performed by 

2 that contractor under this section with 

3 respect to a rebate described in sub4 section (a) shall be randomly subject to 

5 field verification by an independent 

6 quality assurance provider of all work 

7 associated with the retrofit. 

8 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—In the case of a 

9 qualified contractor whose previous retrofit 

10 work— 

11 (I) the Secretary has found to fail 

12 to comply with the requirements of this 

13 section, the Secretary may establish a 

14 higher percentage of the retrofits per15 formed by that contractor under this 

16 section with respect to a rebate de17 scribed in subsection (a) to be subject 

18 to field verification by an independent 

19 quality assurance provider; and 

20 (II) the Secretary has found to 

21 successfully comply with the require22 ments of this section, the Secretary 

23 may establish a lower percentage of the 

24 retrofits performed by that contractor 

25 under this section with respect to a reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:21 May 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5019.RH H5019

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1 bate described in subsection (a) to be 

2 subject to field verification by an inde3 pendent quality assurance provider. 

4 (B) HOMEOWNER COMPLAINT.—A home5 owner may make a complaint under the quality 

6 assurance program that compliance with the 

7 quality assurance requirements of this title has 

8 not been achieved. The quality assurance pro9 gram shall provide that, upon receiving such a 

10 complaint, an independent quality assurance 

11 provider shall conduct field verification on the 

12 retrofit work performed by the contractor. 

13 Verifications under this subparagraph shall be in 

14 addition to those conducted under subparagraph 

15 (A), and shall be corrected in accordance with 

16 paragraph (3). 

17 (3) CORRECTION.—Rebates under subsection (a) 

18 shall be made subject to the following conditions: 

19 (A) The installed measures will comply 

20 with the specifications and quality standards 

21 under this section if a field verification by a 

22 quality assurance provider finds that corrective 

23 work is needed. Such compliance shall be 

24 achieved by the installing accredited contractor 

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1 tion of a defect pursuant to a warranty, pro2 vided at no additional cost to the homeowner. 

3 (B) A subsequent quality assurance visit 

4 shall be conducted to evaluate the remedy not 

5 later than 7 days after notification that the de6 fect has been corrected. 

7 (C) The quality assurance provider shall 

8 notify the contractor of the disposition of such 

9 visit not later than 7 days after the date of the 

10 visit. 

11 (4) ACCESS TO HOME.—In order to be eligible for 

12 a discount from a contractor or vendor for which a 

13 rebate is provided under subsection (a), a homeowner 

14 shall agree to permit such access to the home, upon 

15 reasonable notice and at a mutually convenient time, 

16 as is necessary to verify and correct retrofit work. 

17 (f) PRODUCTS PURCHASED WITHOUT INSTALLATION

18 SERVICES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Silver Star Home Energy 

20 Retrofit Program rebate shall be awarded for attic, 

21 wall, and crawl space insulation and air-sealing 

22 products that— 

23 (A)(i) in the case of insulation, qualify for 

24 a tax credit under section 25C of the Internal 

25 Revenue Code of 1986, but with respect to which 


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1 no claim for such a tax credit has been made; 

2 and 

3 (ii) in the case of air sealing products, are 

4 sealants, caulks, polyurethane foams, gaskets, 

5 weather-stripping, mastics, or other air sealing 

6 products described in subsection (b)(1); 

7 (B) are purchased by a homeowner for in8 stallation by the homeowner in a home identified 

9 by its address by the homeowner; 

10 (C) are accompanied by educational mate11 rials on proper installation of the products, in12 cluding materials emphasizing the importance of 

13 air sealing when insulating; and 

14 (D) are identified and attributed to that 

15 home in a rebate submission by the vendor to a 

16 rebate aggregator. 

17 (2) LIMITATION.—No rebate may be provided 

18 under this subsection with respect to insulation or 

19 products that are employed in energy-efficiency meas20 ures with respect to which a rebate is provided under 

21 this section or section 104. 

22 (3) AMOUNT OF REBATE.—A rebate under this 

23 subsection shall be awarded for 50 percent of the total 

24 cost of the products described in paragraph (1), not 

25 to exceed $250 per home. 


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1 (g) REVIEW.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall determine 

3 whether information submitted to the Federal Rebate 

4 Processing System with respect to a rebate was com5 plete, and on the basis of that information and other 

6 information available to the Secretary, shall deter7 mine whether the requirements of this section were 

8 met in all respects. 

9 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

10 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a payment 

11 was made incorrectly to a party, or that sufficient in12 formation was not submitted to the Federal Rebate 

13 Processing System to enable such determination, the 

14 Secretary— 

15 (A) may— 

16 (i) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

17 payment; or 

18 (ii) withhold the amount of the incor19 rect payment from a payment made to the 

20 party pursuant to a subsequent request; and 

21 (B) shall, to the extent the Secretary deter22 mines the benefit of the rebate was not passed 

23 through to the homeowner through a discount on 

24 the price of the retrofit work, order the contractor 


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1 or vendor to pay the amount of rebate benefit not 

2 previously passed through to the homeowner. 

3 SEC. 104. GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit 

5 Program rebate shall be awarded, subject to subsection (b), 

6 to participating accredited contractors and vendors, to re7 imburse them for discounts provided to the owner of the 

8 home for the retrofit work, for retrofits that achieve whole 

9 home energy savings carried out after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act in accordance with this section. 

11 (b) ELIGIBLE MEASURES.—Rebates may be provided 

12 under this section for — 

13 (1) any measure listed as eligible for Silver Star 

14 rebates in section 103; and 

15 (2) any other energy-saving measure, such as 

16 home energy management systems, high-efficiency ap17 pliances, highly reflective roofing, awnings, canopies, 

18 and similar external fenestration attachments, auto19 matic boiler water temperature controllers, and me20 chanical air circulation and heat exchangers in a 

21 passive-solar home— 

22 (A) that can be demonstrated, when in23 stalled and operated as intended, to improve en24 ergy efficiency; and 


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1 (B) for which an energy efficiency contribu2 tion can be determined with confidence. 

3 (c) ENERGY SAVINGS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Reductions in whole home en5 ergy consumption under this section shall be deter6 mined by a comparison of the simulated energy con7 sumption of the home before and after the retrofit of 

8 the home. 

9 (2) DOCUMENTATION.—The percent improvement 

10 in energy consumption of a home under this section 

11 shall be documented through— 

12 (A)(i) the use of a whole home simulation 

13 software program that has been approved under 

14 the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low15 Income Persons established under part A of title 

16 IV of the Energy Conservation and Production 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.); or 

18 (ii) a equivalent performance test estab19 lished by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

20 Administrator; or 

21 (B)(i) the use of a whole home simulation 

22 software program that has been approved under 

23 RESNET Publication No. 06–001 (or a successor 

24 publication approved by the Secretary); 


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1 (ii) an equivalent performance test estab2 lished by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

3 Administrator; 

4 (iii) a State-certified equivalent rating net5 work, as specified by IRS Notice 2008–35; or 

6 (iv) a HERS rating system approved or re7 quired by the law of the State in which the home 

8 is located. 

9 (3) MONITORING.—The Secretary— 

10 (A) shall continuously monitor the software 

11 programs used for determining rebates under 

12 this section; and 

13 (B) may disallow the use of software pro14 grams that improperly assess energy savings. 

15 (4) ASSUMPTIONS AND TESTING.—The Secretary 

16 may— 

17 (A) establish simulation software program 

18 assumptions for carrying out paragraph (2); 

19 (B) require compliance with software pro20 gram performance tests covering— 

21 (i) mechanical system performance; 

22 (ii) duct distribution system efficiency; 

23 (iii) hot water performance; or 

24 (iv) other measures; and 


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1 (C) require the simulation of pre-retrofit en2 ergy usage to be determined by metered pre-ret3 rofit energy usage. 

4 (5) RECOMMENDED MEASURES.—Software pro5 grams used under this subsection shall have the abil6 ity at a minimum to assess the savings associated 

7 with all the measures for which rebates are specifi8 cally provided under the Silver Star Home Energy 

9 Retrofit Program. 

10 (d) AMOUNT OF REBATE.—Subject to subsection (e)(2), 

11 the amount of a rebate provided under this section shall 

12 be— 

13 (1) $3,000 for a 20-percent reduction in whole 

14 home energy consumption; and 

15 (2) an additional $1,000 for each additional 5- 

16 percent reduction up to the lower of— 

17 (A) $8,000; or 

18 (B) 50 percent of the total retrofit cost. 

19 (e) VERIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF WORK.— 

20 (1) REIMBURSEMENT.—On submission of a 

21 claim by a rebate aggregator to the Federal Rebate 

22 Processing System, the Secretary shall provide reim23 bursement to the rebate aggregator for energy-effi24 ciency measures installed in a home, subject to para25 graphs (2) and (3). 


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1 (2) VERIFICATION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

3 (B), all work conducted in a home as part of a 

4 whole-home retrofit by an accredited contractor 

5 under this section shall be subject to random 

6 field verification by an independent quality as7 surance provider at a rate of— 

8 (i) 15 percent; or 

9 (ii) in the case of work performed by 

10 an accredited contractor using a certified 

11 workforce, 10 percent. 

12 (B) VERIFICATION NOT REQUIRED.—A 

13 home shall not be subject to field verification 

14 under subparagraph (A) if— 

15 (i) a post-retrofit home energy rating 

16 is conducted by an entity that is an eligible 

17 certifier in accordance with— 

18 (I) RESNET Publication No. 06– 

19 001 (or a successor publication ap20 proved by the Secretary); 

21 (II) a State-certified equivalent 

22 rating network, as specified in IRS 

23 Notice 2008–35; or 


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1 (III) a HERS rating system re2 quired by the law of the State in which 

3 the home is located; 

4 (ii) the eligible certifier is independent 

5 of the accredited contractor in accordance 

6 with RESNET Publication No. 06–001 (or 

7 a successor publication approved by the Sec8 retary); and 

9 (iii) the rating includes field 

10 verification of all measures for which re11 bates are being provided. 

12 (C) HOMEOWNER COMPLAINT.—A home13 owner may make a complaint under the quality 

14 assurance program that compliance with the 

15 quality assurance requirements of this title has 

16 not been achieved. The quality assurance pro17 gram shall provide that, upon receiving such a 

18 complaint, an independent quality assurance 

19 provider shall conduct field verification on the 

20 retrofit work performed by the contractor. 

21 Verifications under this subparagraph shall be in 

22 addition to those conducted under subparagraph 

23 (A), and shall be corrected in accordance with 

24 paragraph (3). 


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1 (D) ACCESS TO HOME.—In order to be eli2 gible for a discount from a contractor or vendor 

3 for which a rebate is provided under this section, 

4 a homeowner shall agree to permit such access to 

5 the home, upon reasonable notice and at a mutu6 ally convenient time, as is necessary to verify 

7 and correct retrofit work. 

8 (3) CORRECTION.—Rebates under this section 

9 shall be made subject to the following conditions: 

10 (A) The installed measures will comply 

11 with manufacturer and applicable code stand12 ards and the specifications and quality stand13 ards under this section if a field verification by 

14 an independent quality assurance provider finds 

15 that corrective work is needed. Such compliance 

16 shall be achieved by the installing accredited con17 tractor not later than 14 days after the date of 

18 notification of a defect pursuant to a warranty, 

19 provided at no additional cost to the homeowner. 

20 (B) A subsequent quality assurance visit 

21 shall be conducted to evaluate the remedy not 

22 later than 7 days after notification that the de23 fect has been corrected. 

24 (C) The quality assurance provider shall 

25 notify the contractor of the disposition of such 


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1 visit not later than 7 days after the date of the 

2 visit. 

3 (f) REVIEW.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall determine 

5 whether information submitted to the Federal Rebate 

6 Processing System with respect to a rebate was com7 plete, and on the basis of that information and other 

8 information available to the Secretary, shall deter9 mine whether the requirements of this section were 

10 met in all respects. 

11 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

12 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a payment 

13 was made incorrectly to a party, or that sufficient in14 formation was not submitted to the Federal Rebate 

15 Processing System to enable such determination, the 

16 Secretary— 

17 (A) may— 

18 (i) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

19 payment; or 

20 (ii) withhold the amount of the incor21 rect payment from a payment made to the 

22 party pursuant to a subsequent request; and 

23 (B) shall, to the extent the Secretary deter24 mines the benefit of the rebate was not passed 

25 through to the homeowner through a discount on 


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1 the price of the retrofit work, order the contractor 

2 or vendor to pay the amount of rebate benefit not 

3 previously passed through to the homeowner. 

4 SEC. 105. QUALITY ASSURANCE. 

5 (a) QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—States that elect to carry out 

7 a quality assurance program pursuant to subsection 

8 (b) shall plan, develop, and implement a quality as9 surance framework. The Secretary shall promptly so10 licit the submission of model State quality assurance 

11 framework plans consistent with the requirements of 

12 this section and, not later than 60 days after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, shall approve one or more 

14 such model plans that incorporate nationally con15 sistent high standards for optional use by States. Not 

16 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, each State electing to develop a quality assurance 

18 framework shall submit its plan to the Secretary, who 

19 shall then approve or reject such plan within 30 days, 

20 providing a detailed statement of deficiencies if the 

21 plan is rejected. If a State’s plan is rejected, that 

22 State may resubmit its plan within 30 days. 

23 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State shall— 

24 (A) develop a quality assurance framework 

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1 cluding representatives of efficiency program 

2 managers, contractors, community and workforce 

3 organizations, and environmental, energy effi4 ciency, and labor organizations; and 

5 (B) implement the quality assurance frame6 work not later than one year after the date of en7 actment of this Act. 

8 (3) COMPONENTS.—The quality assurance frame9 work established under this subsection shall include— 

10 (A) minimum standards for accredited con11 tractors, including— 

12 (i) compliance with applicable Federal, 

13 State, and local laws; 

14 (ii) use of a certified workforce; 

15 (iii) maintenance of records needed to 

16 verify compliance; and 

17 (iv) use of independent contractors 

18 only when appropriately classified as such 

19 pursuant to Revenue ruling 87-41 and sec20 tion 530(d) of the Revenue Act of 1978 and 

21 relevant State law; 

22 (B) maintenance of a list of accredited con23 tractors; 

24 (C) requirements for maintenance and de25 livery to the Federal Rebate Processing System of 


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1 information needed to verify compliance and en2 sure appropriate compensation for quality assur3 ance providers; 

4 (D) targets and realistic plans for— 

5 (i) the recruitment of minority and 

6 women-owned small business enterprises; 

7 (ii) the employment of graduates of 

8 training programs that primarily serve tar9 geted workers; 

10 (iii) the employment of targeted work11 ers; and 

12 (iv) the availability of financial assist13 ance under the Home Star Loan Program 

14 to— 

15 (I) public use microdata areas 

16 that have a poverty rate of 12 percent 

17 or more; and 

18 (II) homeowners served by units 

19 of local government in jurisdictions 

20 that have an unemployment rate that 

21 is 2 percent higher than the national 

22 unemployment rate; 

23 (E) a plan to link workforce training for 

24 energy efficiency retrofits with training for the 


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1 broader range of skills and occupations in con2 struction or emerging clean energy industries; 

3 (F) quarterly reports to the Secretary on the 

4 progress of implementation of the quality assur5 ance framework and its success in meeting its 

6 targets and plans; and 

7 (G) maintenance of a list of qualified qual8 ity assurance providers and minimum standards 

9 for such quality assurance providers. 

10 (4) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter11 mines that a State that has elected to implement a 

12 quality assurance program, but has failed to plan, de13 velop, or implement a quality assurance framework 

14 in accordance with this section, the Secretary shall 

15 suspend further grants for State administration pur16 suant to section 112(b)(1). 

17 (b) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may carry out a 

19 quality assurance program— 

20 (A) as part of a State energy conservation 

21 plan established under part D of title III of the 

22 Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 6321 et seq.); 

24 (B) to be managed by the office or the des25 ignee of the office— 


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1 (i) that is responsible for the develop2 ment of the plan under section 362 of that 

3 Act (42 U.S.C. 6322); and 

4 (ii) to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, that is conducting an existing en6 ergy efficiency program; and 

7 (C) in the case of a grant made to an In8 dian tribe, to be managed by an entity des9 ignated by the Indian tribe to carry out a qual10 ity assurance program or a national quality as11 surance program manager. 

12 (2) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter13 mines that a State has not provided or cannot pro14 vide adequate oversight over a quality assurance pro15 gram to ensure compliance with this title, the Sec16 retary may— 

17 (A) withhold further quality assurance 

18 funds from the State; and 

19 (B) require that quality assurance providers 

20 operating in the State be overseen by a national 

21 quality assurance program manager selected by 

22 the Secretary. 

23 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State that receives a 

24 grant under this title may implement a quality as25 surance program through the State or an independent 


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1 quality assurance provider designated by the State, 

2 including— 

3 (A) an energy service company; 

4 (B) an electric utility; 

5 (C) a natural gas utility; 

6 (D) an independent administrator des7 ignated by the State; or 

8 (E) a unit of local government. 

9 SEC. 106. REPORTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

12 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

13 of Representatives a report on this title— 

14 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enact15 ment of this Act; and 

16 (2) not later than the earlier of— 

17 (A) 2 years after the date of enactment of 

18 this Act; or 

19 (B) December 31, 2012. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include a description 

21 of— 

22 (1) the energy savings produced as a result of 

23 this title; 

24 (2) the direct and indirect employment created 

25 as a result of the programs supported under this title; 


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1 (3) the specific entities implementing the energy 

2 efficiency programs; 

3 (4) the beneficiaries who received the efficiency 

4 improvements; 

5 (5) the manner in which funds provided under 

6 this title were used; 

7 (6) the sources (such as mortgage lenders, utility 

8 companies, and local governments) and types of fi9 nancing used by the beneficiaries to finance the ret10 rofit expenses that were not covered by rebates pro11 vided under this title; and 

12 (7) the results of verification requirements; and 

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

15 (c) REQUIRED INFORMATION.— 

16 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Rebate aggregators and 

17 States participating in the Home Star Retrofit Re18 bate Program shall provide to the Secretary such in19 formation as the Secretary requires to prepare the re20 port required under this section. 

21 (2) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter22 mines that a rebate aggregator or State has not pro23 vided the information required under paragraph (1), 

24 the Secretary shall provide to the rebate aggregator or 

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1 essary information, subject to withholding of funds or 

2 reduction of future grant amounts. 

3 SEC. 107. TREATMENT OF REBATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986, rebates received under this title— 

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

7 homeowner; and 

8 (2) shall supplant any credit allowed under sec9 tion 25C or 25D of that Code for eligible work per10 formed in the home of the homeowner. 

11 (b) NOTICE.—A participating contractor shall provide 

12 notice to a homeowner of the provisions of subsection (a) 

13 before eligible work is performed in the home of the home14 owner. 

15 SEC. 108. HEATING AND COOLING EFFICIENCY STUDY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

18 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

19 of Representatives a study not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) CONTENTS.—The study shall include a description 

22 of— 

23 (1) the efficiency through the life-cycle of air con24 ditioning and heat pump products eligible under sec25 tion 103; and 


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1 (2) a comparison of the efficiency through the 

2 life-cycle of air conditioning and heat pump products 

3 eligible under section 103 to the efficiency through the 

4 life-cycle of air conditioning and heat pump products 

5 not eligible under section 103. 

6 SEC. 109. PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN. 

7 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of 

8 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the States 

9 and the Secretary, shall develop and implement a public 

10 education campaign that describes— 

11 (1) the benefits of home energy retrofits; and 

12 (2) the availability of rebates for the installation 

13 of qualifying energy savings measures under the Sil14 ver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program and for 

15 whole home energy savings under the Gold Star Home 

16 Energy Retrofit Program. 

17 SEC. 110. PENALTIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

19 (1) assess and compromise a civil penalty 

20 against a person who violates this title (or any regu21 lation issued under this title); and 

22 (2) require from any entity the records and in23 spections necessary to enforce this title. 


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1 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—A civil penalty assessed under 

2 subsection (a) shall be in an amount not greater than the 

3 higher of— 

4 (1) $15,000 for each violation; or 

5 (2) 3 times the value of any associated rebate 

6 under this title. 

7 SEC. 111. HOME STAR ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOAN PRO8 GRAM. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 participant’’ means a homeowner who receives finan12 cial assistance from a qualified financing entity to 

13 carry out qualifying energy savings measures under 

14 the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program or 

15 whole home energy savings under the Gold Star Home 

16 Energy Retrofit Program. 

17 (2) QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTITY.—The term 

18 ‘‘qualified financing entity’’ means a State, political 

19 subdivision of a State, tribal government, electric 

20 utility, natural gas utility, nonprofit or community21 based organization, energy service company, retailer, 

22 or any other entity that— 

23 (A) meets the eligibility requirements of this 

24 section; and 


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1 (B) is designated by the Governor of a State 

2 in accordance with subsection (e)(1). 

3 (3) QUALIFIED LOAN PROGRAM MECHANISM.— 

4 The term ‘‘qualified loan program mechanism’’ means 

5 a mechanism for the establishment and operation of 

6 a loan program that is— 

7 (A) administered by a qualified financing 

8 entity; and 

9 (B) funded in significant part— 

10 (i) by funds provided by or overseen by 

11 a State; or 

12 (ii) through the energy loan program 

13 of the Federal National Mortgage Associa14 tion. 

15 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a 

16 Home Star Energy Efficiency Loan Program under which 

17 the Secretary shall make funds available to States to sup18 port financial assistance provided by qualified financing 

19 entities for the installation of qualifying energy savings 

20 measures under the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Pro21 gram or whole home energy savings under the Gold Star 

22 Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

23 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTI24 TIES.—To be eligible to participate in the Home Star Loan 

25 Program, a qualified financing entity shall— 


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1 (1) offer a financing product under which eligi2 ble participants may pay over time for the cost to the 

3 eligible participant (after all applicable Federal, 

4 State, local, and other rebates or incentives are ap5 plied) of installations described in subsection (b); 

6 (2) require all financed installations to be per7 formed by contractors in a manner that meets min8 imum standards provided under sections 103 and 

9 104; 

10 (3) establish standard underwriting criteria to 

11 determine the eligibility of Home Star Loan Program 

12 applicants, which criteria shall be consistent with— 

13 (A) with respect to unsecured consumer loan 

14 programs, standard underwriting criteria used 

15 under the energy loan program of the Federal 

16 National Mortgage Association; or 

17 (B) with respect to secured loans or other 

18 forms of financial assistance, commercially rec19 ognized best practices applicable to the form of 

20 financial assistance being provided (as deter21 mined by the designated entity administering the 

22 Home Star Loan Program in the State); and 

23 (4) undertake particular efforts to make such 

24 loans available in public use microdata areas that 

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1 portion of total loans made at least equal to the pro2 portion the number of residents in such areas bears 

3 to the total population of the area served by that 

4 qualified financing entity. 

5 (d) ALLOCATION.—In allocating 75 percent of the 

6 funds made available to States for each fiscal year under 

7 this section, the Secretary shall use the formula used to allo8 cate funds to States to carry out State energy conservation 

9 plans established under part D of title III of the Energy 

10 Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). In 

11 allocating the remaining 25 percent of the funds made 

12 available to States for each fiscal year under this section, 

13 the Secretary may vary the result of the formula to recog14 nize and reward those States that make the best progress 

15 in providing loans to low-income areas pursuant to sub16 section (c)(4). 

17 (e) QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTITIES.—Before making 

18 funds available to a State under this section, the Secretary 

19 shall require the Governor of the State to provide to the 

20 Secretary a letter of assurance that the State— 

21 (1) has 1 or more qualified financing entities 

22 that meet the requirements of this section; 

23 (2) has established, or has required its designated 

24 qualified financing entities to establish, a qualified 

25 loan program mechanism that— 


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1 (A) will use a quality assurance program 

2 established under this title or another appro3 priate methodology to ensure energy savings; 

4 (B) incorporates an effective repayment 

5 mechanism, which may include— 

6 (i) on-utility-bill repayment; 

7 (ii) tax assessment or other form of 

8 property assessment financing; 

9 (iii) municipal service charges; 

10 (iv) energy or energy efficiency services 

11 contracts; 

12 (v) energy efficiency power purchase 

13 agreements; 

14 (vi) unsecured loans applying the un15 derwriting requirements of the energy loan 

16 program of the Federal National Mortgage 

17 Association; or 

18 (vii) alternative contractual repayment 

19 mechanisms that have been demonstrated to 

20 have appropriate risk mitigation features; 

21 and 

22 (3) will provide, in a timely manner, all infor23 mation regarding the administration of the Home 

24 Star Loan Program as the Secretary may require to 


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1 permit the Secretary to meet the program evaluation 

2 requirements of subsection (h). 

3 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to States 

4 for carrying out the Home Star Loan Program may be used 

5 to support financing mechanisms offered by qualified fi6 nancing entities to eligible participants, including— 

7 (1) interest rate reductions to interest rates as 

8 low as 0 percent; 

9 (2) loan loss reserves or other forms of credit en10 hancement; 

11 (3) revolving loan funds from which qualified fi12 nancing entities may offer direct loans; or 

13 (4) other debt instruments (excluding 

14 securitization instruments) necessary— 

15 (A) to use available funds to obtain appro16 priate leverage through private investment; and 

17 (B) to support widespread deployment of 

18 energy efficiency programs. 

19 (g) USE OF REPAID FUNDS.—In the case of a revolv20 ing loan fund described in subsection (f)(3), a qualified fi21 nancing entity may use funds repaid by eligible partici22 pants under the Home Star Loan Program to provide fi23 nancial assistance for additional eligible participants for 

24 installations described in subsection (b) in a manner that 

25 is consistent with this section. 


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1 (h) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

3 submit to Congress a program evaluation that describes— 

4 (1) how many eligible participants have partici5 pated in the Home Star Loan Program; 

6 (2) how many jobs have been created through the 

7 Home Star Loan Program, directly and indirectly; 

8 (3) what steps could be taken to promote further 

9 deployment of energy efficiency retrofits; 

10 (4) the quantity of verifiable energy savings, 

11 homeowner energy bill savings, and other benefits of 

12 the Home Star Loan Program; and 

13 (5) the performance of the programs carried out 

14 by qualified financing entities under this section, in15 cluding information on the rate of default and repay16 ment. 

17 SEC. 112. FUNDING. 

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (j), there 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

21 title $6,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2010 

22 and 2011, to remain available until expended. 

23 (2) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—Funds pro24 vided under this section shall supplement and not 

25 supplant any prior or planned Federal and State 


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1 funding provided to carry out energy efficiency pro2 grams. To the extent the Secretary finds that a State 

3 has supplanted other such programs with funding 

4 under this section, the Secretary may withhold an 

5 equivalent amount of funding from allocations for the 

6 State under this title. 

7 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

9 in this subsection, of the amount provided under sub10 section (a), not more than 9 percent is authorized to 

11 be appropriated to the Secretary for providing grants 

12 to States, to be used for— 

13 (A) administrative costs of carrying out this 

14 title; 

15 (B) development and implementation of 

16 quality assurance frameworks; 

17 (C) oversight of quality assurance pro18 grams; 

19 (D) establishment and delivery of financing 

20 mechanisms, in accordance with paragraph (2); 

21 and 

22 (E) coordination with existing residential 

23 retrofit programs and infrastructure development 

24 to assist deployment of the Home Star Retrofit 

25 Rebate Program. 


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1 (2) FINANCING.—Of the amounts allocated to the 

2 States under paragraph (1), not less than 60 percent 

3 shall be used to carry out section 111. 

4 (3) DISTRIBUTION TO STATES.— 

5 (A) PROVISION OF FUNDS.—Not later than 

6 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

7 the Secretary shall provide to the State energy 

8 offices, or such other State entities as are des9 ignated by the Governor, of States that are car10 rying out responsibilities under section 105, 25 

11 percent of the funds described in paragraph (1). 

12 (B) ALLOCATION.—Funds described in sub13 paragraph (A) shall be made available in ac14 cordance with the allocation formula for State 

15 energy conservation plans established under part 

16 D of title III of the Energy Policy and Conserva17 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

18 (C) FUND ALLOCATION PROCESS.—The Sec19 retary shall allocate the remaining 75 percent of 

20 the funds described in paragraph (1) in a man21 ner that may vary from the formula described in 

22 subparagraph (B) as necessary to best support 

23 the objectives of achieving energy efficiency 

24 gains, employment of underemployed workers, 


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1 and implementing quality assurance programs 

2 and frameworks in participating States. 

3 (4) WITHHOLDING OF FUNDS.—To the extent 

4 that the Secretary assumes the responsibilities of a 

5 State under section 101(i), the Secretary shall with6 hold the portion of the funds otherwise transferrable 

7 to the State under this section that are attributable 

8 to those State responsibilities. 

9 (5) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an Indian tribe acts 

11 in place of a State for purposes of carrying out 

12 the responsibilities of the State under this title 

13 with respect to its tribal lands pursuant to sec14 tion 101(h), the Secretary shall transfer to that 

15 Indian tribe, instead of the State, the propor16 tionate share of funds otherwise transferrable to 

17 the State under this section. 

18 (B) PROPORTIONATE SHARE.—For purposes 

19 of subparagraph (A), the proportionate share 

20 shall be calculated on the basis of the percentage 

21 of the population of the State that resides within 

22 the tribal lands. 

23 (c) QUALITY ASSURANCE COSTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount provided 

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1 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to be 

2 used as provided in paragraph (2), in accordance 

3 with information provided by the State offices or enti4 ties described in subsection (b)(3)(B) with respect to 

5 services provided by quality assurance providers. 

6 (2) DISTRIBUTION TO QUALITY ASSURANCE PRO7 VIDERS OR REBATE AGGREGATORS.—The Secretary 

8 shall use funds provided under this subsection to com9 pensate quality assurance providers and rebate 

10 aggregators for services provided under this title. 

11 (3) COMPENSATION.—The amount of compensa12 tion provided under this subsection shall be— 

13 (A)(i) in the case of the Silver Star Home 

14 Energy Retrofit Program— 

15 (I) not more than $25 to rebate 

16 aggregators per rebate review and proc17 essing under the program; and 

18 (II) $150 to quality assurance pro19 viders for each field inspection conducted 

20 under the program; and 

21 (ii) in the case of the Gold Star Home En22 ergy Retrofit Program— 

23 (I) not more than $35 to rebate 

24 aggregators for each rebate review and proc25 essing under the program; and 


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1 (II) $300 to quality assurance pro2 viders for each field inspection conducted 

3 under the program; or 

4 (B) such other amounts as the Secretary 

5 considers necessary to carry out the quality as6 surance provisions of this title to optimize the 

7 overall energy efficiency resulting from the Silver 

8 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program and the 

9 Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

10 (d) TRACKING OF REBATES AND EXPENDITURES.—Of 

11 the amount provided under subsection (a), not more than 

12 2.5 percent are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary to be used for costs associated with tracking rebates 

14 and expenditures through the Federal Rebate Processing 

15 System under this title, technical assistance to States, and 

16 related administrative costs incurred by the Secretary. 

17 (e) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COORDINATION.—Of the 

18 amount provided under subsection (a), not more than 0.2 

19 percent are authorized to be appropriated to the Adminis20 trator to be used for costs associated with public education 

21 and coordination with the Federal Energy Star program. 

22 (f) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO23 GRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount provided 

25 under subsection (a), after subtracting the amounts 


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1 authorized in subsections (b), (d), and (e) of this sec2 tion, two-thirds of the remainder are authorized to be 

3 appropriated to the Secretary to be used to provide 

4 rebates and other payments authorized under the Sil5 ver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

6 (2) PRODUCTS PURCHASED WITHOUT INSTALLA7 TION SERVICES.—Of the amounts appropriated pur8 suant to this subsection for the Silver Star program, 

9 7.5 percent shall be made available for rebates under 

10 section 103(f). 

11 (g) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO12 GRAM.—Of the amount provided under subsection (a), after 

13 subtracting the amounts authorized in subsections (b), (d), 

14 and (e) of this section, one-third of the remainder is author15 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary to be used to pro16 vide rebates and other payments authorized under the Gold 

17 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

18 (h) RETURN OF UNDISBURSED FUNDS.— 

19 (1) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO20 GRAM.—If the Secretary has not disbursed all the 

21 funds available for rebates under the Silver Star 

22 Home Energy Retrofit Program by the date that is 1 

23 year after the date of enactment of this Act, any 

24 undisbursed funds shall be made available to the Gold 

25 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 


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1 (2) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO2 GRAM.—If the Secretary has not disbursed all the 

3 funds available for rebates under the Gold Star Home 

4 Energy Retrofit Program by the date that is 2 years 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, any 

6 undisbursed funds shall be returned to the Treasury. 

7 (i) SUNSET.—With the exception of the provisions of 

8 section 102(c)(5), (6), and (7), sections 107, 110, and 111, 

9 this subsection, and the relevant definitions in section 2 to 

10 those provisions, this title shall cease to be effective after 

11 December 31, 2012. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent 

12 a State from continuing to implement a quality assurance 

13 framework established pursuant to section 105. 

14 TITLE II—ENERGY EFFICIENT 

15 MANUFACTURED HOMES 

16 SEC. 201. ENERGY EFFICIENT MANUFACTURED HOMES. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) MANUFACTURED HOME.—The term ‘‘manu19 factured home’’ has the meaning given such term in 

20 section 603 of the National Manufactured Housing 

21 Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 

22 U.S.C. 5402). 

23 (2) ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED MANUFACTURED

24 HOME.—The term ‘‘Energy Star qualified manufac25 tured home’’ means a manufactured home that has 


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1 been designed, produced, and installed in accordance 

2 with Energy Star’s guidelines by an Energy Star cer3 tified plant. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to assist 

5 low-income households residing in manufactured homes 

6 constructed prior to 1976 to save energy and energy expend7 itures by providing funding for the purchase of new Energy 

8 Star qualified manufactured homes. 

9 (c) GRANTS TO STATE AGENCIES.— 

10 (1) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make grants 

11 to State agencies responsible for developing State en12 ergy conservation plans under section 362 of the En13 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322) 

14 (or such other existing State agency that exercises 

15 similar functions as the Governor of a State may des16 ignate), to provide owners of manufactured homes 

17 constructed prior to 1976 funding to use to purchase 

18 new Energy Star qualified manufactured homes. 

19 (2) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.—Grants under 

20 paragraph (1) shall be distributed to State agencies 

21 in States on the basis of their proportionate share of 

22 all manufactured homes constructed prior to 1976 

23 that are occupied as primary residences in the United 

24 States, based on the most recent and accurate data 

25 available. 


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1 (3) FUNDING.— 

2 (A) PRIMARY RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT.— 

3 Funding described under paragraph (1) may 

4 only be made to an owner of a manufactured 

5 home constructed prior to 1976 that has been 

6 used by the owner as a primary residence on a 

7 year-round basis for at least the previous 12 

8 months. 

9 (B) DESTRUCTION AND REPLACEMENT.— 

10 Funding described under paragraph (1) may be 

11 provided only if the manufactured home con12 structed prior to 1976 will be— 

13 (i) destroyed (including appropriate 

14 recycling); and 

15 (ii) replaced, in an appropriate area, 

16 as determined by the applicable State agen17 cy, with an Energy Star qualified manufac18 tured home. 

19 (C) LIMITATION.—Funding described under 

20 paragraph (1) may not be provided to any 

21 owner of a manufactured home constructed prior 

22 to 1976 that was or is a member of a household 

23 for which any member of the household was pro24 vided funding pursuant to this section. 


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1 (D) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.—To be eligi2 ble to receive funding described under paragraph 

3 (1), an owner of a manufactured home con4 structed prior to 1976 shall demonstrate to the 

5 applicable State agency that the total income of 

6 all members the owner’s household does not ex7 ceed 80 percent of the area median income in the 

8 applicable area, as determined by the Secretary. 

9 (E) LEASES.—To be eligible to receive fund10 ing described under paragraph (1), an owner of 

11 a manufactured home constructed prior to 1976 

12 who intends to place the new Energy Star quali13 fied manufactured home on property leased from 

14 another person shall hold a lease to such prop15 erty of at least 3 years in duration. 

16 (4) FUNDING AMOUNT.—Funding provided by 

17 State agencies under this subsection shall not exceed 

18 $7,500 per manufactured home from any funds ap19 propriated pursuant to this section. 

20 (5) USE OF STATE FUNDS.—A State agency pro21 viding funding under this section may supplement the 

22 amount of such funding under paragraph (4) by any 

23 amount such agency approves if such additional 

24 amount is from State funds and other sources, includVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:21 May 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5019.RH H5019

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1 ing private donations and grants or loans from chari2 table foundations. 

3 (6) SIMILAR PROGRAMS.— 

4 (A) STATE PROGRAMS.—A State agency 

5 conducting a program that has the purpose of re6 placing manufactured homes constructed prior to 

7 1976 with Energy Star qualified manufactured 

8 homes may use funds provided under this section 

9 to support such a program, provided such fund10 ing does not exceed the funding limitation 

11 amount under paragraph (4). 

12 (B) FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—The Secretary 

13 shall seek to achieve the purpose of this section 

14 through similar Federal programs including— 

15 (i) the Weatherization Assistance Pro16 gram under part A of title IV of the Energy 

17 Conservation and Production Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.); and 

19 (ii) the program under part D of title 

20 III of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

22 (7) ADMINISTRATION.— 

23 (A) CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.—Each 

24 State agency receiving funds under this section 

25 shall establish fiscal controls and accounting proVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:21 May 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5019.RH H5019

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1 cedures sufficient, as determined by the Sec2 retary, to ensure proper accounting for disburse3 ments made from such funds and fund balances. 

4 Such procedures shall conform to generally ac5 cepted Government accounting principles. 

6 (B) COORDINATION WITH OTHER STATE

7 AGENCIES.—A State agency receiving funds 

8 under this section may coordinate its efforts, and 

9 share funds for administration, with other State 

10 agencies or nonprofit organizations involved in 

11 low-income housing programs. 

12 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A State 

13 agency receiving funds under this section may 

14 expend not more than 10 percent of such funds 

15 for administrative expenses. 

16 (d) DECOMMISSIONING.—A person receiving funding 

17 under subsection (c) may also be provided not to exceed 

18 $2,500 for the decommissioning of the manufactured home 

19 being replaced. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap22 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this section 

23 $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $400,000,000 

24 for fiscal year 2011, to remain available until ex25 pended. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

2 amounts available each fiscal year to carry out this 

3 section, the Secretary may expend not more than 5 

4 percent to pay administrative expenses. 


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Union Calendar No. 268 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5019 

[Report No. 111–469, Part I] 

A BILL 

Retrofit Rebate Program, and for other purposes. 

To provide for the establishment of the Home Star 

MAY 3, 2010 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS