II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1657 

To establish a small business energy efficiency program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2007 

Mr. KERRY (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To establish a small business energy efficiency program, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Small Business Energy Efficiency Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Implementation of small business energy efficiency program. 

Sec. 5. Small business energy efficiency. 

Sec. 6. Small business telecommuting. 


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Sec. 7. Encouraging innovation in energy efficiency. 

Sec. 8. Express loans for renewable energy and energy efficiency. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that: 

3 (1) Small business concerns represent roughly 

4 50 percent of the economy of the United States, em5 ploying 50 percent of all private sector employees, 

6 and producing more than 50 percent of nonfarm pri7 vate gross domestic product. 

8 (2) The Environmental Protection Agency esti9 mates that, based on data from the 2003 Commer10 cial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey of the 

11 Department of Energy, small business concerns con12 sume roughly 2,000,000,000,000 kBtu of energy per 

13 year, costing small business concerns approximately 

14 $29,000,000,000. 

15 (3) The Environmental Protection Agency esti16 mate does not include additional energy that is used 

17 by small business concerns located outside of com18 mercial buildings, such as home-based small business 

19 concerns. Additional, peer-reviewed research studies 

20 must be conducted to assess the amount of energy 

21 consumed by small business concerns. 

22 (4) A recent survey conducted by the National 

23 Small Business Association revealed that 75 percent 

24 of small business concerns believe that energy effiVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jun 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.IS S1657

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1 ciency can make a significant contribution to reduc2 ing greenhouse gas emissions. And yet, only 33 per3 cent of those small business concerns had success4 fully invested in energy efficiency programs for their 

5 businesses. 

6 (5) Small business concerns have demonstrated 

7 that they are capable of achieving realistic energy 

8 consumption reductions of 30 percent as a result of 

9 implementing the recommendations of targeted en10 ergy audits. These reductions have been dem11 onstrated by clients of the Pennsylvania Small Busi12 ness Development Centers and are supported by the 

13 national experience of the ENERGY STAR Small 

14 Business program of the Environmental Protection 

15 Agency. 

16 (6) Small business concerns are a source for the 

17 technological innovations at the heart of the effort to 

18 find a solution to the challenge of climate change 

19 and to establish energy independence for the United 

20 States. 

21 (7) On-bill financing arrangements, involving 

22 small business concerns, utilities, banks, and cer23 tified energy efficiency professionals, have dem24 onstrated success in reducing energy usage by small 

25 business concerns across the country, and greater 


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1 use of on-bill financing agreements should be en2 couraged. 

3 (8) Telecommuting represents an established 

4 method for reducing fuel consumption, and informa5 tion regarding the benefits of telecommuting should 

6 be made available to owners of small business con7 cerns. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act— 

10 (1) the terms ‘‘Administration’’ and ‘‘Adminis11 trator’’ mean the Small Business Administration 

12 and the Administrator thereof, respectively; 

13 (2) the term ‘‘association’’ means the associa14 tion of small business development centers estab15 lished under section 21(a)(3)(A) of the Small Busi16 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 648(a)(3)(A)); 

17 (3) the term ‘‘disability’’ has the meaning given 

18 that term in section 3 of the Americans with Dis19 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 

20 (4) the term ‘‘electric utility’’ has the meaning 

21 given that term in section 3 of the Public Utility 

22 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602); 

23 (5) the term ‘‘on-bill financing’’ means a low in24 terest or no interest financing agreement between a 

25 small business concern and an electric utility for the 


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1 purchase or installation of equipment, under which 

2 the regularly scheduled payment of that small busi3 ness concern to that electric utility is not reduced by 

4 the amount of the reduction in cost attributable to 

5 the new equipment and that amount is credited to 

6 the electric utility, until the cost of the purchase or 

7 installation is repaid; 

8 (6) the term ‘‘small business concern’’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 3 of the Small 

10 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636); 

11 (7) the term ‘‘small business development cen12 ter’’ means a small business development center de13 scribed in section 21 of the Small Business Act (15 

14 U.S.C. 648); 

15 (8) the term ‘‘telecommuting’’ means the use of 

16 telecommunications to perform work functions under 

17 circumstances which reduce or eliminate the need to 

18 commute; and 

19 (9) the term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

20 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

21 Code. 

22 SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY 

23 EFFICIENCY PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall proVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jun 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.IS S1657

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1 mulgate final rules establishing the Government-wide pro2 gram authorized under subsection (d) of section 337 of 

3 the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6307) 

4 that ensure compliance with that subsection by not later 

5 than 6 months after such date of enactment. 

6 (b) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall publish a 

8 detailed plan regarding how the Administrator will— 

9 (1) assist small business concerns in becoming 

10 more energy efficient; and 

11 (2) build on the Energy Star for Small Busi12 ness Program of the Department of Energy and the 

13 Environmental Protection Agency. 

14 (c) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR SMALL BUSI15 NESS ENERGY POLICY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is in the Administra17 tion an Assistant Administrator for Small Business 

18 Energy Policy, who shall be appointed by, and re19 port to, the Administrator. 

20 (2) DUTIES.—The Assistant Administrator for 

21 Small Business Energy Policy shall— 

22 (A) oversee and administer the require23 ments under this section and section 337(d) of 

24 the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 

25 U.S.C. 6307(d)); and 


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1 (B) promote energy efficiency efforts for 

2 small business concerns and reduce energy costs 

3 of small business concerns. 

4 (d) REPORTS.—The Administrator shall submit to 

5 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

6 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

7 the House of Representatives an annual report on the 

8 progress of the Administrator in encouraging small busi9 ness concerns to become more energy efficient, including 

10 data on the rate of use of the Small Business Energy 

11 Clearinghouse established under section 337(d)(4) of the 

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

13 6307(d)(4)). 

14 SEC. 5. SMALL BUSINESS ENERGY EFFICIENCY. 

15 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall establish 

16 a Small Business Energy Efficiency Pilot Program (in this 

17 section referred to as the ‘‘Efficiency Pilot Program’’) to 

18 provide energy efficiency assistance to small business con19 cerns through small business development centers. 

20 (b) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Effi22 ciency Pilot Program, the Administrator shall enter 

23 into agreements with small business development 

24 centers under which such centers shall— 


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1 (A) provide access to information and re2 sources on energy efficiency practices, including 

3 on-bill financing options; 

4 (B) conduct training and educational ac5 tivities; 

6 (C) offer confidential, free, one-on-one, in7 depth energy audits to the owners and opera8 tors of small business concerns regarding en9 ergy efficiency practices; 

10 (D) give referrals to certified professionals 

11 and other providers of energy efficiency assist12 ance who meet such standards for educational, 

13 technical, and professional competency as the 

14 Administrator shall establish; and 

15 (E) act as a facilitator between small busi16 ness concerns, electric utilities, lenders, and the 

17 Administration to facilitate on-bill financing ar18 rangements. 

19 (2) REPORTS.—Each small business develop20 ment center participating in the Efficiency Pilot 

21 Program shall submit to the Administrator and the 

22 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

23 Agency an annual report that includes— 


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1 (A) a summary of the energy efficiency as2 sistance provided by that center under the Effi3 ciency Pilot Program; 

4 (B) the number of small business concerns 

5 assisted by that center under the Efficiency 

6 Pilot Program; 

7 (C) statistics on the total amount of en8 ergy saved as a result of assistance provided by 

9 that center under the Efficiency Pilot Program; 

10 and 

11 (D) any additional information determined 

12 necessary by the Administrator, in consultation 

13 with the association. 

14 (3) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

15 60 days after the date on which all reports under 

16 paragraph (2) relating to a year are submitted, the 

17 Administrator shall submit to the Committee on 

18 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate 

19 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

20 of Representatives a report summarizing the infor21 mation regarding the Efficiency Pilot Program sub22 mitted by small business development centers par23 ticipating in that program. 

24 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—A small business development cen25 ter shall be eligible to participate in the Efficiency Pilot 


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1 Program only if that center is certified under section 

2 21(k)(2) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(k)(2)). 

3 (d) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATE PRO4 GRAMS.— 

5 (1) GROUPINGS.— 

6 (A) SELECTION OF PROGRAMS.—The Ad7 ministrator shall select the small business devel8 opment center programs of 2 States from each 

9 of the groupings of States described in subpara10 graphs (B) through (K) to participate in the 

11 pilot program established under this section. 

12 (B) GROUP 1.—Group 1 shall consist of 

13 Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Con14 necticut, Vermont, and Rhode Island. 

15 (C) GROUP 2.—Group 2 shall consist of 

16 New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the 

17 Virgin Islands. 

18 (D) GROUP 3.—Group 3 shall consist of 

19 Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Vir20 ginia, the District of Columbia, and Delaware. 

21 (E) GROUP 4.—Group 4 shall consist of 

22 Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Caro23 lina, Mississippi, Florida, Kentucky, and Ten24 nessee. 


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1 (F) GROUP 5.—Group 5 shall consist of Il2 linois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and 

3 Minnesota. 

4 (G) GROUP 6.—Group 6 shall consist of 

5 Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and 

6 Louisiana. 

7 (H) GROUP 7.—Group 7 shall consist of 

8 Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. 

9 (I) GROUP 8.—Group 8 shall consist of 

10 Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Da11 kota, Montana, and Utah. 

12 (J) GROUP 9.—Group 9 shall consist of 

13 California, Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii, 

14 Nevada, and Arizona. 

15 (K) GROUP 10.—Group 10 shall consist of 

16 Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. 

17 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) of section 21(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 648(a)(4)) shall apply to assistance made available 

20 under the Efficiency Pilot Program. 

21 (f) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Each small business develop22 ment center selected to participate in the Efficiency Pilot 

23 Program under subsection (d) shall be eligible to receive 

24 a grant in an amount equal to— 


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1 (1) not less than $100,000 in each fiscal year; 

2 and 

3 (2) not more than $300,000 in each fiscal year. 

4 (g) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—The Comptroller 

5 General of the United States shall— 

6 (1) not later than 30 months after the date of 

7 disbursement of the first grant under the Efficiency 

8 Pilot Program, initiate an evaluation of that pilot 

9 program; and 

10 (2) not later than 6 months after the date of 

11 the initiation of the evaluation under paragraph (1), 

12 submit to the Administrator, the Committee on 

13 Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, 

14 and the Committee on Small Business of the House 

15 of Representatives, a report containing— 

16 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

17 (B) any recommendations regarding 

18 whether the Efficiency Pilot Program, with or 

19 without modification, should be extended to in20 clude the participation of all small business de21 velopment centers. 

22 (h) GUARANTEE.—The Administrator may guarantee 

23 the timely payment of a loan made to a small business 

24 concern through an on-bill financing agreement on such 

25 terms and conditions as the Administrator shall establish 


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1 through a formal rule making, after providing notice and 

2 an opportunity for comment. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

5 appropriated to carry out this section— 

6 (A) $5,000,000 for the first fiscal year be7 ginning after the date of enactment of this Act; 

8 and 

9 (B) $5,000,000 for each of the 3 fiscal 

10 years following the fiscal year described in sub11 paragraph (A). 

12 (2) LIMITATION ON USE OF OTHER FUNDS.— 

13 The Administrator may carry out the Efficiency 

14 Pilot Program only with amounts appropriated in 

15 advance specifically to carry out this section. 

16 (j) TERMINATION.—The authority under this section 

17 shall terminate 4 years after the date of disbursement of 

18 the first grant under the Efficiency Pilot Program. 

19 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS TELECOMMUTING. 

20 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this sec22 tion, the Administrator shall conduct, in not more 

23 than 5 of the regions of the Administration, a pilot 

24 program to provide information regarding telecom25 muting to employers that are small business conVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jun 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.IS S1657

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1 cerns and to encourage such employers to offer tele2 commuting options to employees (in this section re3 ferred to as the ‘‘Telecommuting Pilot Program’’). 

4 (2) SPECIAL OUTREACH TO INDIVIDUALS WITH

5 DISABILITIES.—In carrying out the Telecommuting 

6 Pilot Program, the Administrator shall make a con7 certed effort to provide information to— 

8 (A) small business concerns owned by or 

9 employing individuals with disabilities, particu10 larly veterans who are individuals with disabil11 ities; 

12 (B) Federal, State, and local agencies hav13 ing knowledge and expertise in assisting indi14 viduals with disabilities, including veterans who 

15 are individuals with disabilities; and 

16 (C) any group or organization, the primary 

17 purpose of which is to aid individuals with dis18 abilities or veterans who are individuals with 

19 disabilities. 

20 (3) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out 

21 the Telecommuting Pilot Program, the Adminis22 trator may— 

23 (A) produce educational materials and con24 duct presentations designed to raise awareness 


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1 in the small business community of the benefits 

2 and the ease of telecommuting; 

3 (B) conduct outreach— 

4 (i) to small business concerns that are 

5 considering offering telecommuting op6 tions; and 

7 (ii) as provided in paragraph (2); and 

8 (C) acquire telecommuting technologies 

9 and equipment to be used for demonstration 

10 purposes. 

11 (4) SELECTION OF REGIONS.—In determining 

12 which regions will participate in the Telecommuting 

13 Pilot Program, the Administrator shall give priority 

14 consideration to regions in which Federal agencies 

15 and private-sector employers have demonstrated a 

16 strong regional commitment to telecommuting. 

17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

18 after the date on which funds are first appropriated to 

19 carry out this section, the Administrator shall transmit to 

20 the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

21 of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of 

22 the House of Representatives a report containing the re23 sults of an evaluation of the Telecommuting Pilot Pro24 gram and any recommendations regarding whether the 

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1 tended to include the participation of all regions of the 

2 Administration. 

3 (c) TERMINATION.—The Telecommuting Pilot Pro4 gram shall terminate 4 years after the date on which funds 

5 are first appropriated to carry out this section. 

6 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Administration 

8 $5,000,000 to carry out this section. 

9 SEC. 7. ENCOURAGING INNOVATION IN ENERGY EFFI10 CIENCY. 

11 Section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638) 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(z) ENCOURAGING INNOVATION IN ENERGY EFFI14 CIENCY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL AGENCY ENERGY-RELATED PRI16 ORITY.—In carrying out its duties under this section 

17 to SBIR and STTR solicitations by Federal agen18 cies, the Administrator shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensure that such agencies give high 

20 priority to small business concerns that partici21 pate in or conduct energy efficiency or renew22 able energy system research and development 

23 projects; and 

24 ‘‘(B) include in the annual report to Con25 gress under subsection (b)(7) a determination 


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1 of whether the priority described in subpara2 graph (A) is being carried out. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The Adminis4 trator shall consult with the heads of other Federal 

5 agencies and departments in determining whether 

6 priority has been given to small business concerns 

7 that participate in or conduct energy efficiency or 

8 renewable energy system research and development 

9 projects, as required by this section. 

10 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—The Administrator shall, as 

11 soon as is practicable after the date of enactment of 

12 this subsection, issue guidelines and directives to as13 sist Federal agencies in meeting the requirements of 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

16 ‘‘(A) the term ‘biomass’— 

17 ‘‘(i) means any organic material that 

18 is available on a renewable or recurring 

19 basis, including— 

20 ‘‘(I) agricultural crops; 

21 ‘‘(II) trees grown for energy pro22 duction; 

23 ‘‘(III) wood waste and wood resi24 dues; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) plants (including aquatic 

2 plants and grasses); 

3 ‘‘(V) residues; 

4 ‘‘(VI) fibers; 

5 ‘‘(VII) animal wastes and other 

6 waste materials; and 

7 ‘‘(VIII) fats, oils, and greases 

8 (including recycled fats, oils, and 

9 greases); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

11 ‘‘(I) paper that is commonly re12 cycled; or 

13 ‘‘(II) unsegregated solid waste; 

14 ‘‘(B) the term ‘energy efficiency project’ 

15 means the installation or upgrading of equip16 ment that results in a significant reduction in 

17 energy usage; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the term ‘renewable energy system’ 

19 means a system of energy derived from— 

20 ‘‘(i) a wind, solar, biomass (including 

21 biodiesel), or geothermal source; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) hydrogen derived from biomass 

23 or water using an energy source described 

24 in clause (i).’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. EXPRESS LOANS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AND EN2 ERGY EFFICIENCY. 

3 Section 7(a)(31) of the Small Business Act (15 

4 U.S.C. 636(a)(31)) is amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(F) EXPRESS LOANS FOR RENEWABLE

7 ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY.— 

8 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara9 graph, the terms ‘energy efficiency project’ 

10 and ‘renewable energy system’ have the 

11 meanings given those terms in section 9(z). 

12 ‘‘(ii) LOANS.—Loans may be made 

13 under the ‘Express Loan Program’ for the 

14 purpose of— 

15 ‘‘(I) purchasing a renewable en16 ergy system; or 

17 ‘‘(II) an energy efficiency project 

18 for an existing business.’’. 

Æ 


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