II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1526 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to develop standards for general service 

lamps that will operate more efficiently and assist in reducing costs 

to consumers, business concerns, government entities, and other users, 

to require that general service lamps and related products manufactured 

or sold in interstate commerce after 2013 meet those standards, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. CARPER, Ms. 

MURKOWSKI, and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to develop standards for 

general service lamps that will operate more efficiently 

and assist in reducing costs to consumers, business concerns, government entities, and other users, to require 

that general service lamps and related products manufactured or sold in interstate commerce after 2013 meet 

those standards, 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, 


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•S 1526 IS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bright Idea Act of 

3 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR GENERAL SERVICE 

5 LAMPS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.—As soon 

8 as practicable after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, the Secretary of Energy shall initiate a project 

10 to establish technical standards for general service 

11 lamps. 

12 (2) CONSULTATION WITH INTERESTED PAR13 TIES.—In carrying out the project, the Secretary 

14 shall consult with representatives of environmental 

15 organizations, labor organizations, general service 

16 lamp manufacturers, consumer organizations, and 

17 other interested parties. 

18 (3) MINIMUM INITIAL STANDARDS; DEAD19 LINE.—The initial technical standards established 

20 shall be standards that enable those general service 

21 lamps to provide levels of illumination equivalent to 

22 the levels of illumination provided by general service 

23 lamps generally available in 2007, but with— 

24 (A) a lumens per watt rating of not less 

25 than 30 by calendar year 2013; and 


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•S 1526 IS 

1 (B) a lumens per watt rating of not less 

2 than 45 by calendar year 2018. 

3 (b) MANUFACTURE AND DISTRIBUTION IN INTER4 STATE COMMERCE.—If the Secretary of Energy, after 

5 consultation with the interested parties described in sub6 section (a)(2), determines that general service lamps meet7 ing the standards established under subsection (a) are 

8 generally available for purchase throughout the United 

9 States at costs that are substantially equivalent (taking 

10 into account useful life, lifecycle costs, domestic manufac11 turing capabilities, energy consumption, and such other 

12 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate) to the cost 

13 of the general service lamps they would replace, then the 

14 Secretary shall take such action as may be necessary to 

15 require that at least 95 percent of general service lamps 

16 sold, offered for sale, or otherwise made available in the 

17 United States meet the standards established under sub18 section (a), except for those general service lamps de19 scribed in subsection (c). 

20 (c) EXCEPTION.—The standards established by the 

21 Secretary under subsection (a) shall not apply to general 

22 service lamps used in applications in which compliance 

23 with those standards is not feasible, as determined by the 

24 Secretary. 


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1 (d) REVISED STANDARDS.—After the initial stand2 ards are established under subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 shall consult periodically with the interested parties de4 scribed in subsection (a)(2) with respect to whether those 

5 standards should be changed. The Secretary may change 

6 the standards, and the dates and percentage of lamps to 

7 which the changed standards apply under subsection (b), 

8 if after such consultation the Secretary determines that 

9 such changes are appropriate. 

10 (e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit reports pe11 riodically to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Technology, the Senate Committee on Energy and 

13 Natural Resources, and the House of Representatives 

14 Committee on Energy and Commerce with respect to the 

15 development and promulgation of standards for lamps and 

16 lamp-related technology, such as switches, dimmers, bal17 last, and non-general service lighting, that includes the 

18 Secretary’s findings and recommendations with respect to 

19 such standards. 

20 SEC. 3. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy may 

22 carry out a lighting technology research and development 

23 program— 

24 (1) to support the research, development, dem25 onstration, and commercial application of lamps and 


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1 related technologies sold, offered for sale, or other2 wise made available in the United States; and 

3 (2) to assist manufacturers of general service 

4 lamps in the manufacturing of general service lamps 

5 that, at a minimum, achieve the lumens per watt 

6 ratings described in section 2(a). 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 

10 (c) SUNSET.—The program under this section shall 

11 terminate on September 30, 2015. 

12 SEC. 4. CONSUMER EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in con14 sultation with the Commissioner of the Federal Trade 

15 Commission, shall carry out a comprehensive national pro16 gram to educate consumers about the benefits of using 

17 light bulbs that have improved efficiency ratings. 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2014. 

21 SEC. 5. REPORT ON MERCURY USE AND RELEASE. 

22 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with 

24 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen25 cy, shall submit to Congress a report describing recVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:08 May 27, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1526.IS S1526

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1 ommendations relating to the means by which the Federal 

2 Government may reduce or prevent the release of mercury 

3 during the manufacture, transportation, storage, or dis4 posal of light bulbs. 

5 SEC. 6. REPORT ON LAMP LABELING. 

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Commissioner of the Federal Trade Com8 mission, in cooperation with the Administrator of the En9 vironmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of En10 ergy, shall submit to Congress a report describing current 

11 lamp labeling practices by lamp manufacturers and rec12 ommendations for a national labeling standard. 

Æ 


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