II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3434 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 27 (legislative day, MAY 26), 2010 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. WARNER, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. DODD, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. CARPER, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. BEGICH, 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. HARKIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Home Star Retrofit 

Rebate Program, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—HOME STAR ENERGY RETROFITS 

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Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

Sec. 103. Contractors. 

Sec. 104. Rebate aggregators. 

Sec. 105. Quality assurance providers. 

Sec. 106. Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

Sec. 107. Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

Sec. 108. Grants to States and Indian tribes. 

Sec. 109. Quality assurance framework. 

Sec. 110. Report. 

Sec. 111. Administration. 

Sec. 112. Treatment of rebates. 

Sec. 113. Penalties. 

Sec. 114. Home Star Energy Efficiency Loan Program. 

Sec. 115. Funding. 

TITLE II—PERFORMANCE BASED ENERGY IMPROVEMENT TAX 

CREDITS 

Sec. 201. Performance based energy improvements for nonbusiness property. 

1 TITLE I—HOME STAR ENERGY 

2 RETROFITS 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) ACCREDITED CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘‘ac6 credited contractor’’ means a residential energy effi7 ciency contractor that meets the minimum applicable 

8 requirements established under section 103. 

9 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ11 mental Protection Agency. 

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

13 Performance Institute. 

14 (4) CERTIFIED WORKFORCE.—The term ‘‘cer15 tified workforce’’ means a residential energy effi16 ciency construction workforce that is entirely cermstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 tified in the appropriate job skills for all employees 

2 performing installation work under— 

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

5 (i) by the BPI; 

6 (ii) by the North American Technician 

7 Excellence; 

8 (iii) by the Laborers’ International 

9 Union of North America; or 

10 (iv) in the State in which the work is 

11 to be performed, pursuant to a program 

12 operated by the Home Builders Institute in 

13 connection with Ferris State University, to 

14 be effective beginning on the date that is 

15 30 days after the date notice is provided 

16 by those organizations to the Secretary 

17 that the program has been established in 

18 the State unless the Secretary determines, 

19 not later than 30 days after the date of the 

20 notice, that the standard or certification is 

21 incomplete; or 

22 (B) other standards approved by the Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Labor and the Administrator. 

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1 (5) CONDITIONED SPACE.—The term ‘‘condi2 tioned space’’ means the area of a home that is— 

3 (A) intended for habitation; and 

4 (B) intentionally heated or cooled. 

5 (6) DOE.—The term ‘‘DOE’’ means the De6 partment of Energy. 

7 (7) ELECTRIC UTILITY.—The term ‘‘electric 

8 utility’’ means any person or State agency that de9 livers or sells electric energy at retail, including non10 regulated utilities and utilities that are subject to 

11 State regulation and Federal power marketing ad12 ministrations. 

13 (8) EPA.—The term ‘‘EPA’’ means the Envi14 ronmental Protection Agency. 

15 (9) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 

16 The term ‘‘Federal Rebate Processing System’’ 

17 means the Federal Rebate Processing System estab18 lished under section 102(b). 

19 (10) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO20 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit 

21 Program’’ means the Gold Star Home Energy Ret22 rofit Program established under section 107. 

23 (11) HOME.—The term ‘‘home’’ means a prin24 cipal residential dwelling unit in a building with no 

25 more than 4 dwelling units that— 

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

2 (B) was constructed before the date of en3 actment of this Act. 

4 (12) HOMEOWNER.—The term ‘‘homeowner’’ 

5 means the resident or non-resident owner of record 

6 of a home. 

7 (13) HOME STAR LOAN PROGRAM.—The term 

8 ‘‘Home Star loan program’’ means the Home Star 

9 energy efficiency loan program established under 

10 section 114(a). 

11 (14) HOME STAR RETROFIT REBATE PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Home Star Retrofit Rebate Pro13 gram’’ means the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Pro14 gram established under section 102(a). 

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

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

17 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

19 (16) NATURAL GAS UTILITY.—The term ‘‘nat20 ural gas utility’’ means any person or State agency 

21 that transports, distributes, or sells natural gas at 

22 retail, including nonregulated utilities and utilities 

23 that are subject to State regulation. 

24 (17) QUALIFIED CONTRACTOR.—The term 

25 ‘‘qualified contractor’’ means a residential energy efmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 ficiency contractor that meets minimum applicable 

2 requirements established under section 103. 

3 (18) QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK.—The 

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

5 adopted by a State to develop high standards for en6 suring quality in ongoing energy efficiency retrofit 

7 activities in which the State has a role, including op8 eration of the quality assurance program and cre9 ating significant employment opportunities, in par10 ticular for targeted workers. 

11 (19) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘quality as13 surance program’’ means a program established 

14 under this title or recognized by the Secretary 

15 under this title, to oversee the delivery of home 

16 efficiency retrofit programs to ensure that work 

17 is performed in accordance with standards and 

18 criteria established under this title. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—For purposes of sub20 paragraph (A), delivery of retrofit programs in21 cludes delivery of quality assurance reviews of 

22 rebate applications and field inspections for a 

23 portion of customers receiving rebates and con24 ducted by a quality assurance provider, with the 

25 consent of participating consumers and without 

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1 delaying rebate payments to participating con2 tractors. 

3 (20) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDER.—The 

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

5 that meets the minimum applicable requirements es6 tablished under section 105. 

7 (21) REBATE AGGREGATOR.—The term ‘‘rebate 

8 aggregator’’ means an entity that meets the require9 ments of section 104. 

10 (22) RESNET.—The term ‘‘RESNET’’ means 

11 the Residential Energy Services Network, which is a 

12 nonprofit certification and standard setting organi13 zation for home energy raters that evaluate the en14 ergy performance of a home. 

15 (23) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

16 means the Secretary of Energy. 

17 (24) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT

18 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Silver Star Home Energy 

19 Retrofit Program’’ means the Silver Star Home En20 ergy Retrofit Program established under section 

21 106. 

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

23 (A) a State; 

24 (B) the District of Columbia; 

25 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

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1 (D) Guam; 

2 (E) American Samoa; 

3 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

4 Mariana Islands; 

5 (G) the United States Virgin Islands; and 

6 (H) any other territory or possession of the 

7 United States. 

8 (26) VENDOR.—The term ‘‘vendor’’ means any 

9 retailer that sells directly to homeowners and con10 tractors the materials used for the energy savings 

11 measures under section 106. 

12 SEC. 102. HOME STAR RETROFIT REBATE PROGRAM. 

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

14 Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

15 (b) FEDERAL REBATE PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 

16 (1) REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury and the Administrator, shall— 

21 (i) establish a Federal Rebate Proc22 essing System which shall serve as a data23 base and information technology system 

24 that will allow rebate aggregators to submstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 mit claims for reimbursement using stand2 ard data protocols; 

3 (ii) establish a national retrofit 

4 website that provides information on the 

5 Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program, in6 cluding— 

7 (I) how to determine whether 

8 particular efficiency measures are eli9 gible for rebates; and 

10 (II) how to participate in the 

11 program; 

12 (iii) make available, on a designated 

13 website, model forms for compliance with 

14 all applicable requirements of this title, to 

15 be submitted by— 

16 (I) each qualified contractor on 

17 completion of an eligible home energy 

18 retrofit; and 

19 (II) each quality assurance pro20 vider on completion of field 

21 verification; and 

22 (iv) subject to section 115, provide 

23 such administrative and technical support 

24 to rebate aggregators and States as is nec25 essary to carry out this title. 

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1 (B) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Not later 

2 than 10 days after the date of receipt of bun3 dled rebate applications from a rebate 

4 aggregator, the Secretary shall distribute funds 

5 to the rebate aggregator on approved claims for 

6 reimbursement made to the Federal Rebate 

7 Processing System. 

8 (C) FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—The Sec9 retary shall post, on a weekly basis, on the na10 tional retrofit website established under sub11 paragraph (A)(ii) information on— 

12 (i) the number of rebate claims ap13 proved for reimbursement; and 

14 (ii) the total amount of funds dis15 bursed for rebates. 

16 (D) PROGRAM ADJUSTMENT OR TERMI17 NATION.—Based on the information described 

18 in subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall an19 nounce a termination date and reserve funding 

20 to process the rebate applications that are in 

21 the Federal Rebate Processing System prior to 

22 the termination date. 

23 (2) MODEL FORMS.—In carrying out this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall consider the model forms 

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1 developed by the National Home Performance Coun2 cil. 

3 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.— 

4 Effective beginning not later than 30 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide such 

6 administrative and technical support to rebate aggregators 

7 and States as is necessary to carry out this title. 

8 (d) PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.—Not later 

9 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

10 Administrator shall develop and implement a public edu11 cation campaign that describes, at a minimum— 

12 (1) the benefits of home energy retrofits; 

13 (2) the availability of rebates for— 

14 (A) the installation of qualifying efficiency 

15 measures; and 

16 (B) whole home efficiency improvements; 

17 and 

18 (3) the requirements for qualified contractors 

19 and accredited contractors. 

20 (e) LIMITATION.—Silver Star rebates provided under 

21 section 106 and Gold Star rebates provided under section 

22 107 may be provided for the same home only if— 

23 (1) Silver Star rebates are awarded prior to 

24 Gold Star rebates; 

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1 (2) energy savings obtained from measures 

2 under the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Pro3 gram are not counted towards the simulated energy 

4 savings that determine the value of a rebate under 

5 the Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program; and 

6 (3) the combined Silver Star and Gold Star re7 bates provided to the individual homeowner do not 

8 exceed $8,000. 

9 (f) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 90 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall ensure 

11 that Home Star retrofit rebates are available to all home12 owners in the United States to the maximum extent prac13 ticable. 

14 SEC. 103. CONTRACTORS. 

15 (a) CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR SILVER STAR

16 HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM.—A contractor may 

17 perform retrofit work under the Silver Star Home Energy 

18 Retrofit Program in a State for which rebates are provided 

19 under this title only if the contractor meets or provides— 

20 (1) all applicable contractor licensing require21 ments established by the State or, if none exist at 

22 the State level, the Secretary; 

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

24 for general liability, and for such other purposes and 

25 in such other amounts as required by the State; 

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1 (3) warranties to homeowners that completed 

2 work will— 

3 (A) be free of significant defects; 

4 (B) be installed in accordance with the 

5 specifications of the manufacturer; and 

6 (C) perform properly for a period of at 

7 least 1 year after the date of completion of the 

8 work; 

9 (4) an agreement to provide the owner of a 

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

11 all rebates received under this title with respect to 

12 the home; and 

13 (5) an agreement to provide the homeowner, be14 fore a contract is executed between the contractor 

15 and a homeowner covering the eligible work, a notice 

16 of— 

17 (A) the rebate amount the contractor in18 tends to apply for with respect to eligible work 

19 under this title; and 

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

21 passed through as a discount to the homeowner. 

22 (b) CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR GOLD STAR

23 HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM.—A contractor may 

24 perform retrofit work under the Gold Star Home Energy 

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1 Retrofit Program in a State for which rebates are provided 

2 under this title only if the contractor— 

3 (1) meets the requirements for qualified con4 tractors under subsection (a); and 

5 (2) is accredited— 

6 (A) by the BPI; or 

7 (B) under other standards approved by the 

8 Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis9 trator. 

10 (c) HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing 

11 in this title relieves any contractor from the obligation to 

12 comply with applicable Federal, State, and local health 

13 and safety code requirements. 

14 SEC. 104. REBATE AGGREGATORS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop a net16 work of rebate aggregators that can facilitate the delivery 

17 of rebates to participating contractors and vendors for dis18 counts provided to homeowners for energy efficiency ret19 rofit work. 

20 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Rebate aggregators shall— 

21 (1) review the proposed rebate application for 

22 completeness and accuracy; 

23 (2) review measures under the Silver Star 

24 Home Energy Retrofit Program and energy savings 

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1 under the Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program 

2 for eligibility in accordance with this title; 

3 (3) provide data to the Federal Data Processing 

4 Center consistent with data protocols established by 

5 the Secretary; and 

6 (4) distribute funds received from DOE to con7 tractors, vendors, or other persons. 

8 (c) PROCESSING REBATE APPLICATIONS.—A rebate 

9 aggregator shall— 

10 (1) submit the rebate application to the Federal 

11 Rebate Processing Center not later than 10 days 

12 after the date of receipt of a rebate application from 

13 a contractor; and 

14 (2) distribute funds to the contractor not later 

15 than 10 days after the date of receipt from the Fed16 eral Rebate Processing System. 

17 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to apply to the Sec18 retary for approval as a rebate aggregator, an entity shall 

19 be— 

20 (1) a Home Performance with Energy Star 

21 partner; 

22 (2) an entity administering a residential energy 

23 efficiency retrofit program established or approved 

24 by a State; 

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1 (3) a Federal Power Marketing Administration, 

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

3 (A) an approved residential energy effi4 ciency retrofit program; and 

5 (B) an established quality assurance pro6 vider network; or 

7 (4) an entity that demonstrates to the Sec8 retary that the entity can perform the functions of 

9 an rebate aggregator, without disrupting existing 

10 residential retrofits in the States that are incor11 porating the Home Star Program, including dem12 onstration of— 

13 (A) corporate status or status as a State 

14 or local government; 

15 (B) the capability to provide electronic 

16 data to the Federal Rebate Processing System; 

17 (C) a financial system that is capable of 

18 tracking the distribution of rebates to partici19 pating contractors; and 

20 (D) coordination and cooperation by the 

21 entity with the appropriate State energy office 

22 regarding participation in the existing energy 

23 efficiency programs that will be delivering the 

24 Home Star Program. 

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1 (e) APPLICATION TO BECOME A REBATE

2 AGGREGATOR.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

3 receipt of an application of an entity seeking to become 

4 a rebate aggregator, the Secretary shall approve or deny 

5 the application on the basis of the eligibility criteria under 

6 subsection (d). 

7 (f) APPLICATION PRIORITY.—In reviewing applica8 tions from entities seeking to become rebate aggregators, 

9 the Secretary shall give priority to entities that commit— 

10 (1) to reviewing applications for participation in 

11 the program from all qualified contractors within a 

12 defined geographic region; and 

13 (2) to processing rebate applications more rap14 idly than the minimum requirements established 

15 under the program. 

16 (g) PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION EFFICIENCY TAR17 GETS.—The Secretary shall— 

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

19 utilities participating as rebate aggregators to count 

20 the energy savings from the participation of the util21 ities toward State-level energy savings targets; and 

22 (2) work with States to assist in the adoption 

23 of the guidelines for the purposes and duration of 

24 the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

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1 SEC. 105. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVIDERS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An entity shall be considered a 

3 quality assurance provider under this title if the entity— 

4 (1) is independent of the contractor; 

5 (2) confirms the qualifications of contractors or 

6 installers of home energy efficiency retrofits; 

7 (3) confirms compliance with the requirements 

8 of a ‘‘certified workforce’’; and 

9 (4) performs field inspections and other meas10 ures required to confirm the compliance of the ret11 rofit work under the Silver Star program, and the 

12 retrofit work and the simulated energy savings 

13 under the Gold Star program, based on the require14 ments of this title. 

15 (b) INCLUSIONS.—An entity shall be considered a 

16 quality assurance provider under this title if the entity is 

17 qualified through— 

18 (1) the International Code Council; 

19 (2) the BPI; 

20 (3) the RESNET; 

21 (4) a State; 

22 (5) a State-approved residential energy effi23 ciency retrofit program; or 

24 (6) any other entity designated by the Sec25 retary, in consultation with the Administrator. 

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1 SEC. 106. SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the energy efficiency retrofit of 

4 a home is carried out after the date of enactment of this 

5 Act in accordance with this section, a rebate shall be 

6 awarded for the energy retrofit of a home for the installa7 tion of energy savings measures— 

8 (1) selected from the list of energy savings 

9 measures described in subsection (b); 

10 (2) installed in the home by a qualified con11 tractor not later than 1 year after the date of enact12 ment of this Act; 

13 (3) carried out in compliance with this section; 

14 and 

15 (4) subject to the maximum amount limitations 

16 established under subsection (d)(4). 

17 (b) ENERGY SAVINGS MEASURES.—Subject to sub18 section (c), a rebate shall be awarded under this section 

19 for the installation of the following energy savings meas20 ures for a home energy retrofit that meet technical stand21 ards established under this section: 

22 (1) Whole house air-sealing measures, in ac23 cordance with BPI standards or other procedures 

24 approved by the Secretary. 

25 (2) Attic insulation measures that— 

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1 (A) include sealing of air leakage between 

2 the attic and the conditioned space, in accord3 ance with BPI standards or the attic portions 

4 of the DOE or EPA thermal bypass checklist or 

5 other procedures approved by the Secretary; 

6 (B) add at least R–19 insulation to exist7 ing insulation; 

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

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

10 49 insulation in DOE climate zones 5 through 

11 8, including existing insulation, within the lim12 its of structural capacity; and 

13 (D) cover at least— 

14 (i) 100 percent of an accessible attic; 

15 or 

16 (ii) 75 percent of the total conditioned 

17 footprint of the house. 

18 (3) Duct seal or replacement that— 

19 (A) is installed in accordance with BPI 

20 standards or other procedures approved by the 

21 Secretary; and 

22 (B) in the case of duct replacement, re23 places and seals at least 50 percent of a dis24 tribution system of the home. 

25 (4) Wall insulation that— 

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1 (A) is installed in accordance with BPI 

2 standards or other procedures approved by the 

3 Secretary; 

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

5 (C) covers at least 75 percent of the total 

6 external wall area of the home. 

7 (5) Crawl space insulation or basement wall 

8 and rim joist insulation that is installed in accord9 ance with BPI standards or other procedures ap10 proved by the Secretary— 

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

12 space or basement wall and adds at least— 

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

14 of continuous insulation to existing crawl 

15 space insulation; or 

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

17 of continuous insulation to basement walls; 

18 and 

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

20 R–10 of new continuous or R–13 of cavity insu21 lation. 

22 (6) Window replacement that replaces at least 

23 8 exterior windows, or 75 percent of the exterior 

24 windows in a home, whichever is less, with windows 

25 that— 

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1 (A) are certified by the National Fenestra2 tion Rating Council; and 

3 (B) comply with criteria applicable to win4 dows under section 25(c) of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986. 

6 (7) Door replacement that replaces at least 1 

7 exterior door with doors that comply with criteria 

8 applicable to doors under the 2010 Energy Star 

9 specification for doors. 

10 (8) Skylight replacement that replaces at least 

11 1 skylight with skylights that comply with criteria 

12 applicable to skylights under the 2010 Energy Star 

13 specification for skylights. 

14 (9)(A) Heating system replacement with— 

15 (i) a natural gas or propane furnace with 

16 an AFUE rating of 92 or greater; 

17 (ii) a natural gas or propane boiler with an 

18 AFUE rating of 90 or greater; 

19 (iii) an oil furnace with an AFUE rating 

20 of 86 or greater and that uses an electrically 

21 commutated blower motor; 

22 (iv) an oil boiler with an AFUE rating of 

23 86 or greater and that has temperature reset or 

24 thermal purge controls; or 

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

2 or stove, if— 

3 (I) the new system— 

4 (aa) meets at least 75 percent of 

5 the heating demands of the home; and 

6 (bb) in the case of a wood stove, 

7 replaces an existing wood stove with a 

8 stove that is EPA-certified, if a 

9 voucher is provided by the installer or 

10 other responsible party certifying that 

11 the old stove has been removed and 

12 made inoperable; 

13 (II) the home has a distribution sys14 tem (such as ducts, vents, blowers, or af15 fixed fans) that allows heat from the wood 

16 stove, furnace, or boiler to reach all or 

17 most parts of the home; and 

18 (III) an independent test laboratory 

19 approved by the Secretary or the Adminis20 trator certifies that the new system— 

21 (aa) has thermal efficiency (with 

22 a lower heating value) of at least 75 

23 percent for stoves and 80 percent for 

24 furnaces and boilers; and 

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1 (bb) has particulate emissions of 

2 less than 3.0 grams per hour for wood 

3 stoves or pellet stoves, and less than 

4 0.32 lbs per million BTU for outdoor 

5 boilers and furnaces. 

6 (B) A rebate may be provided under this sec7 tion for the replacement of a furnace or boiler de8 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph 

9 (A) only if the new furnace or boiler is installed in 

10 accordance with ANSI/ACCA Standard 5 QI–2007. 

11 (10) Automatic water temperature controllers 

12 that vary boiler water temperature in response to 

13 changes in outdoor temperature or the demand for 

14 heat, if the retrofit is to an existing boiler and not 

15 in conjunction with a new boiler. 

16 (11) Air-conditioner or heat-pump replacement 

17 with a new unit that— 

18 (A) is installed in accordance with ANSI/ 

19 ACCA Standard 5 QI–2007; and 

20 (B) meets or exceeds— 

21 (i) in the case of an air-source condi22 tioner, SEER 16 and EER 13; 

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

24 pump, SEER 15, EER 12.5, and HSPF 

25 8.5; and 

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1 (iii) in the case of a geothermal heat 

2 pump, Energy Star tier 2 efficiency re3 quirements. 

4 (12) Replacement of or with— 

5 (A) a natural gas or propane water heater 

6 with a condensing storage water heater with an 

7 energy factor of 0.80 or more or a condensing 

8 storage water heater or tankless water heater 

9 with a thermal efficiency of 90 percent or more; 

10 (B) a tankless natural gas or propane 

11 water heater with an energy factor of at least 

12 .82; 

13 (C) a natural gas or propane storage water 

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

15 (D) an indirect water heater with an insu16 lated storage tank that— 

17 (i) has a storage capacity of at least 

18 30 gallons and is insulated to at least R– 

19 16; and 

20 (ii) is installed in conjunction with a 

21 qualifying boiler described in paragraph 

22 (7); 

23 (E) an electric water heater with an energy 

24 factor of 2.0 or more; 

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1 (F) a water heater with a solar hot water 

2 system that— 

3 (i) is certified by the Solar Rating and 

4 Certification Corporation under specifica5 tion SRCC–OG–300; or 

6 (ii) meets technical standards estab7 lished by the State of Hawaii; or 

8 (G) a water heater installed in conjunction 

9 with a qualifying geothermal heat pump de10 scribed in paragraph (11) that provides domes11 tic water heating through the use of— 

12 (i) year-round demand water heating 

13 capability; or 

14 (ii) a desuperheater. 

15 (13) Storm windows that— 

16 (A) are installed on a least 5 single-glazed 

17 windows that do not have storm windows; 

18 (B) are installed in a home listed on or eli19 gible for listing in the National Register of His20 toric Places; and 

21 (C) comply with any procedures that the 

22 Secretary may establish for storm windows (in23 cluding installation). 

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1 (14) Roof replacement that replaces at least 75 

2 percent of the roof area with energy-saving roof 

3 products certified under the Energy Star program. 

4 (15) Window films that are installed on at least 

5 8 exterior windows, doors, or skylights, or 75 per6 cent of the total exterior square footage of glass, 

7 whichever is more, in a home with window films 

8 that— 

9 (A) are certified by the National Fenestra10 tion Rating Council; 

11 (B) have a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of 

12 0.40 or less with a visible light-to-solar heat 

13 gain ratio of at least 1.1 in 2009 International 

14 Energy Conservation Code climate zones 1 

15 through 8; and 

16 (C) are certified to reduce the U-factor of 

17 the National Fenestration Rating Council dual 

18 pane reference window by 0.05 or greater and 

19 are only applied to nonmetal frame dual pane 

20 windows in 2009 International Energy Con21 servation Code climate zones 4 through 8. 

22 (c) INSTALLATION COSTS.—Measures described in 

23 paragraphs (1) through (15) of subsection (b) shall in24 clude expenditures for labor and other installation-related 

25 costs (including venting system modification and condenmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 sate disposal) properly allocable to the onsite preparation, 

2 assembly, or original installation of the component. 

3 (d) AMOUNT OF REBATE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graphs (2) through (4), the amount of a rebate pro6 vided under this section shall be $1,000 per measure 

7 for the installation of energy savings measures de8 scribed in subsection (b). 

9 (2) HIGHER REBATE AMOUNT.—Except as pro10 vided in paragraph (4), the amount of a rebate pro11 vided to the owner of a home or designee under this 

12 section shall be $1,500 per measure for— 

13 (A) attic insulation and air sealing de14 scribed in subsection (b)(2); 

15 (B) wall insulation described in subsection 

16 (b)(4); 

17 (C) a heating system described in sub18 section (b)(9); and 

19 (D) an air-conditioner or heat-pump re20 placement described in subsection (b)(11). 

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

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

2 up to a maximum of 2 Energy Star doors de3 scribed in subsection (b)(7) for each home; 

4 (B) $125 per skylight for the installation 

5 of up to a maximum of 2 Energy Star skylights 

6 described in subsection (b)(8) for each home; 

7 (C) $750 for a maximum of 1 natural gas 

8 or propane tankless water heater described in 

9 subsection (b)(12)(B) for each home; 

10 (D) $450 for a maximum of 1 natural gas 

11 or propane storage water heater described in 

12 subsection (b)(12)(C) for each home; 

13 (E) $250 for rim joist insulation described 

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

15 (F) $50 for each storm window described 

16 in subsection (b)(13); 

17 (G) $500 for a desuperheater described in 

18 subsection (b)(12)(G)(ii); 

19 (H) $500 for a wood or pellet stove that 

20 has a heating capacity of at least 28,000 BTU 

21 per hour (using the upper end of the range list22 ed in the EPA list of Certified Wood Stoves) 

23 and meets all of the requirements of subsection 

24 (b)(9)(v) other than the requirements in items 

25 (aa) and (bb) of subsection (b)(9)(v)(I); 

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1 (I) $250 for an automatic water tempera2 ture controller described in subsection (b)(10); 

3 (J) $500 for a roof described in subsection 

4 (b)(14); and 

5 (K) $500 for window films described in 

6 subsection (b)(15). 

7 (4) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The total amount of a 

8 rebate provided to the owner of a home or designee 

9 under this section shall not exceed the lower of— 

10 (A) $3,000; 

11 (B) the sum of the amounts per measure 

12 specified in paragraphs (1) through (3); 

13 (C) 50 percent of the total cost of the in14 stalled measures; or 

15 (D) the reduction in the price paid by the 

16 owner of the home, relative to the price of the 

17 installed measures in the absence of the Silver 

18 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

19 (e) INSULATION PRODUCTS PURCHASED WITHOUT

20 INSTALLATION SERVICES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A rebate shall be awarded 

22 under this section for attic, wall, or crawl space in23 sulation or air sealing product if— 

24 (A) the product— 

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1 (i) qualifies for a credit under section 

2 25C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

3 but is not the subject of a claim for the 

4 credit; 

5 (ii) is purchased by a homeowner for 

6 installation by the homeowner in a home 

7 identified by the address of the home8 owner; 

9 (iii) is identified and attributed to a 

10 specific home in a submission by the ven11 dor to a rebate aggregator; 

12 (iv) is not part of— 

13 (I) an energy savings measure 

14 described in paragraphs (6) through 

15 (11) of subsection (b); and 

16 (II) a retrofit for which a rebate 

17 is provided under the Gold Star Home 

18 Energy Retrofit Program; and 

19 (v) is not part of an energy savings 

20 measure described in paragraphs (1) 

21 through (5) in subsection (b) for which the 

22 homeowner received or will receive con23 tracting services; and 

24 (B) educational material on proper instal25 lation of the product is provided to the homemstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 owner, including material on air sealing while 

2 insulating. 

3 (2) AMOUNT.—A rebate under this subsection 

4 shall be awarded in an amount equal to 50 percent 

5 of the total cost of the products described in para6 graph (1), but not to exceed $250 per home. 

7 (f) QUALIFICATION FOR REBATE UNDER SILVER

8 STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM.—On submis9 sion of a claim by a rebate aggregator to the system estab10 lished under section 104, the Secretary shall provide reim11 bursement to the rebate aggregator for reduced-cost en12 ergy-efficiency measures installed in a home, if— 

13 (1) the measures undertaken for the retrofit 

14 are— 

15 (A) eligible measures described on the list 

16 established under subsection (b); 

17 (B) installed properly in accordance with 

18 applicable technical specifications; and 

19 (C) installed by a qualified contractor; 

20 (2) the amount of the rebate does not exceed 

21 the maximum amount described in subsection (d)(4); 

22 (3) not less than— 

23 (A) 20 percent of the retrofits performed 

24 by each qualified contractor under this section 

25 are randomly subject to a third-party field 

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1 verification of all work associated with the ret2 rofit by a quality assurance provider; or 

3 (B) in the case of qualified contractor that 

4 uses a certified workforce, 10 percent of the 

5 retrofits performed under this section are ran6 domly subject to a third-party field verification 

7 of all work associated with the retrofit by a 

8 quality assurance provider; and 

9 (4)(A) the installed measures will be brought 

10 into compliance with the specifications and quality 

11 standards for the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Pro12 gram, by the installing qualified contractor, at no 

13 additional cost to the homeowner, not later than 14 

14 days after the date of notification of a defect, if a 

15 field verification by a quality assurance provider 

16 finds that corrective work is needed; 

17 (B) a subsequent quality assurance visit is con18 ducted to evaluate the remedy not later than 7 days 

19 after notification by the contractor that the defect 

20 has been corrected; and 

21 (C) notification of disposition of the visit occurs 

22 not later than 7 days after the date of that visit. 

23 (g) HOMEOWNER COMPLAINTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 1-year warranty 

25 period, a homeowner may make a complaint under 

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1 the quality assurance program that compliance with 

2 the quality assurance requirements of this section 

3 has not been achieved. 

4 (2) VERIFICATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The quality assurance 

6 program shall provide that, on receiving a com7 plaint under paragraph (1), an independent 

8 quality assurance provider shall conduct field 

9 verification on the retrofit work performed by 

10 the contractor. 

11 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—A verification 

12 under this paragraph shall be— 

13 (i) in addition to verifications con14 ducted under subsection (f)(3); and 

15 (ii) corrected in accordance with sub16 section (f)(4). 

17 (h) AUDITS.— 

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

19 submission under this section, the Secretary shall re20 view rebate requests to determine whether program 

21 requirements were met in all respects. 

22 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

23 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a pay24 ment was made incorrectly to a party, the Secretary 

25 may— 

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1 (A) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

2 payment; or 

3 (B) withhold the amount of the incorrect 

4 payment from the next payment made to the 

5 party pursuant to a subsequent request. 

6 SEC. 107. GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the energy efficiency retrofit of 

8 a home is carried out after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act by an accredited contractor in accordance with this 

10 section, a rebate shall be awarded for retrofits that achieve 

11 whole home energy savings. 

12 (b) AMOUNT OF REBATE.—Subject to subsection (e), 

13 the amount of a rebate provided to the owner of a home 

14 or a designee of the owner under this section shall be— 

15 (1) $3,000 for a 20-percent reduction in whole 

16 home energy consumption; and 

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

18 percent reduction up to the lower of— 

19 (A) $8,000; or 

20 (B) 50 percent of the total retrofit cost 

21 (including the cost of audit and diagnostic pro22 cedures). 

23 (c) ENERGY SAVINGS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Reductions in whole home 

25 energy consumption under this section shall be demstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 termined by a comparison of the simulated energy 

2 consumption of the home before and after the ret3 rofit of the home. 

4 (2) DOCUMENTATION.—The percent improve5 ment in energy consumption under this section shall 

6 be documented through— 

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

8 software program that has been approved as a 

9 commercial alternative under the Weatheriza10 tion Assistance Program for Low-Income Per11 sons established under part A of title IV of the 

12 Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.); or 

14 (ii) a equivalent performance test estab15 lished by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

16 Administrator; or 

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

18 software program that has been approved under 

19 RESNET Publication No. 06–001 (or a suc20 cessor publication approved by the Secretary); 

21 (ii) an equivalent performance test estab22 lished by the Secretary; or 

23 (iii) a State-certified equivalent rating net24 work, as specified by IRS Notice 2008–35; or 

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1 (iv) a HERS rating system required by 

2 State law. 

3 (3) MONITORING.—The Secretary— 

4 (A) shall continuously monitor the software 

5 packages used for determining rebates under 

6 this section; and 

7 (B) may disallow the use of software pro8 grams that improperly assess energy savings. 

9 (4) ASSUMPTIONS AND TESTING.—The Sec10 retary may— 

11 (A) establish simulation tool assumptions 

12 for the establishment of the pre-retrofit energy 

13 use; 

14 (B) require compliance with software per15 formance tests covering— 

16 (i) mechanical system performance; 

17 (ii) duct distribution system efficiency; 

18 (iii) hot water performance; or 

19 (iv) other measures; and 

20 (C) require the simulation of pre-retrofit 

21 energy usage to be bounded by metered pre-ret22 rofit energy usage. 

23 (5) RECOMMENDED MEASURES.—The simula24 tion tool shall have the ability at a minimum to as25 sess the savings associated with all the measures for 

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1 which incentives are specifically provided under the 

2 Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

3 (d) QUALIFICATION FOR REBATE UNDER GOLD

4 STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM.—On submis5 sion of a claim by a rebate aggregator to the system estab6 lished under section 104, the Secretary shall provide reim7 bursement to the rebate aggregator for reduced-cost 

8 whole-home retrofits, if— 

9 (1) the retrofit is performed by an accredited 

10 contractor; 

11 (2) the amount of the reimbursement is not 

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

13 (3) documentation described in subsection (c) is 

14 transmitted with the claim; 

15 (4) a home receiving a whole-home retrofit is 

16 subject to random third-party field verification by a 

17 quality assurance provider in accordance with sub18 section (e); and 

19 (5)(A) the installed measures will be brought 

20 into compliance with the specifications and quality 

21 standards for the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Pro22 gram, by the installing qualified contractor, at no 

23 additional cost to the homeowner, not later than 14 

24 days after the date of notification of a defect if a 

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1 field verification by a quality assurance provider 

2 finds that corrective work is needed; 

3 (B) a subsequent quality assurance visit is con4 ducted to evaluate the remedy not later than 7 days 

5 after notification by the contractor that the defect 

6 has been corrected; and 

7 (C) notification of disposition of the visit occurs 

8 not later than 7 days after the date of that visit. 

9 (e) VERIFICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), all 

11 work installed in a home receiving a whole-home ret12 rofit by an accredited contractor under this section 

13 shall be subject to random third-party field 

14 verification by a quality assurance provider at a rate 

15 of— 

16 (A) 15 percent; or 

17 (B) in the case of work performed by an 

18 accredited contractor using a certified work19 force, 10 percent. 

20 (2) VERIFICATION NOT REQUIRED.—A home 

21 shall not be subject to random third-party field 

22 verification under this section if— 

23 (A) a post-retrofit home energy rating is 

24 conducted by an eligible certifier in accordance 

25 with— 

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1 (i) RESNET Publication No. 06–001 

2 (or a successor publication approved by the 

3 Secretary); 

4 (ii) a State-certified equivalent rating 

5 network, as specified in IRS Notice 2008– 

6 35; or 

7 (iii) a HERS rating system required 

8 by State law; 

9 (B) the eligible certifier is independent of 

10 the qualified contractor or accredited contractor 

11 in accordance with RESNET Publication No. 

12 06–001 (or a successor publication approved by 

13 the Secretary); and 

14 (C) the rating includes field verification of 

15 measures. 

16 (f) HOMEOWNER COMPLAINTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A homeowner may make a 

18 complaint under the quality assurance program dur19 ing the 1-year warranty period that compliance with 

20 the quality assurance requirements of this section 

21 has not been achieved. 

22 (2) VERIFICATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The quality assurance 

24 program shall provide that, on receiving a com25 plaint under paragraph (1), an independent 

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1 quality assurance provider shall conduct field 

2 verification on the retrofit work performed by 

3 the contractor. 

4 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—A verification 

5 under this paragraph shall be— 

6 (i) in addition to verifications con7 ducted under subsection (e)(1); and 

8 (ii) corrected in accordance with sub9 section (e). 

10 (g) AUDITS.— 

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

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

14 requirements were met in all respects. 

15 (2) INCORRECT PAYMENT.—On a determination 

16 of the Secretary under paragraph (1) that a pay17 ment was made incorrectly to a party, the Secretary 

18 may— 

19 (A) recoup the amount of the incorrect 

20 payment; or 

21 (B) withhold the amount of the incorrect 

22 payment from the next payment made to the 

23 party pursuant to a subsequent request. 

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1 SEC. 108. GRANTS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or Indian tribe that re3 ceives a grant under subsection (d) shall use the grant 

4 for— 

5 (1) administrative costs; 

6 (2) oversight of quality assurance plans; 

7 (3) development of ongoing quality assurance 

8 framework; 

9 (4) establishment and delivery of financing pi10 lots in accordance with this title; 

11 (5) coordination with existing residential ret12 rofit programs and infrastructure development to as13 sist deployment of the Home Star program; 

14 (6) assisting in the delivery of services to rental 

15 units; and 

16 (7) the costs of carrying out the responsibilities 

17 of the State or Indian tribe under the Silver Star 

18 Home Energy Retrofit Program and the Gold Star 

19 Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

20 (b) INITIAL GRANTS.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

22 make the initial grants available under this section. 

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

24 appropriate amount of funding to be made available to 

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

26 available to Indian tribes under this section. 

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

2 available to carry out this section for each fiscal year re3 maining after the reservation required under subsection 

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

5 in accordance with section 115. 

6 (e) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS.— 

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

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

9 quality assurance program that is— 

10 (A) operated as part of a State energy con11 servation plan established under part D of title 

12 III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.); 

14 (B) managed by the office or the designee 

15 of the office that is— 

16 (i) responsible for the development of 

17 the plan under section 362 of that Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 6322); and 

19 (ii) to the maximum extent prac20 ticable, conducting an existing energy effi21 ciency program; and 

22 (C) in the case of a grant made to an In23 dian tribe, managed by an entity designated by 

24 the Indian tribe to carry out a quality assurmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 ance program or a national quality assurance 

2 program manager. 

3 (2) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter4 mines that a State or Indian tribe has not provided 

5 or cannot provide adequate oversight over a quality 

6 assurance program to ensure compliance with this 

7 title, the Secretary may— 

8 (A) withhold further quality assurance 

9 funds from the State or Indian tribe; and 

10 (B) require that quality assurance pro11 viders operating in the State or by the Indian 

12 tribe be overseen by a national quality assur13 ance program manager selected by the Sec14 retary. 

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

16 receives a grant under this section may implement a qual17 ity assurance program through the State, the Indian tribe, 

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

19 including— 

20 (1) an energy service company; 

21 (2) an electric utility; 

22 (3) a natural gas utility; 

23 (4) a third-party administrator designated by 

24 the State or Indian tribe; or 

25 (5) a unit of local government. 

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

2 Indian tribe that receives a grant under this section are 

3 encouraged to form partnerships with utilities, energy 

4 service companies, and other entities— 

5 (1) to assist in marketing a program; 

6 (2) to facilitate consumer financing; 

7 (3) to assist in implementation of the Silver 

8 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program and the Gold 

9 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program, including in10 stallation of qualified energy retrofit measures; and 

11 (4) to assist in implementing quality assurance 

12 programs. 

13 (h) COORDINATION OF REBATE AND EXISTING

14 STATE-SPONSORED PROGRAMS.— 

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

16 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prevent 

17 duplication through coordination of a program au18 thorized under this title with— 

19 (A) the Energy Star appliance rebates pro20 gram authorized under the American Recovery 

21 and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 

22 111–5; 123 Stat. 115); and 

23 (B) comparable programs planned or oper24 ated by States, political subdivisions, electric 

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1 and natural gas utilities, Federal power mar2 keting administrations, and Indian tribes. 

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

4 subsection, a State or Indian tribe shall— 

5 (A) give priority to— 

6 (i) comprehensive retrofit programs in 

7 existence on the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, including programs under the super9 vision of State utility regulators; and 

10 (ii) using Home Star funds made 

11 available under this title to enhance and 

12 extend existing programs; and 

13 (B) seek to enhance and extend existing 

14 programs by coordinating with administrators 

15 of the programs. 

16 SEC. 109. QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date that the Secretary initially provides funds to a State 

19 under this title, the State shall submit to the Secretary 

20 a plan to implement a quality assurance program that cov21 ers all federally assisted residential efficiency retrofit work 

22 administered, supervised, or sponsored by the State. 

23 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The State shall— 

24 (1) develop a quality assurance framework in 

25 consultation with industry stakeholders, including 

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1 representatives of efficiency program managers, con2 tractors, and environmental, energy efficiency, and 

3 labor organizations; and 

4 (2) implement the quality assurance framework 

5 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 (c) COMPONENTS.—The quality assurance framework 

8 established under this section shall include— 

9 (1) a requirement that contractors be 

10 prequalified in order to be authorized to perform 

11 federally assisted residential retrofit work; 

12 (2) maintenance of a list of prequalified con13 tractors authorized to perform federally assisted res14 idential retrofit work; and 

15 (3) minimum standards for prequalified con16 tractors that include— 

17 (A) accreditation; 

18 (B) legal compliance procedures; 

19 (C) proper classification of employees; and 

20 (D) maintenance of records needed to 

21 verify compliance; 

22 (4) targets and realistic plans for— 

23 (A) the recruitment of small minority or 

24 women-owned business enterprises; 

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

3 populations with a median income that is below 

4 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined in 

5 section 673(2) of the Community Services 

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

7 any revision required by that section)) by par8 ticipating contractors; and 

9 (5) a plan to link workforce training for energy 

10 efficiency retrofits with training for the broader 

11 range of skills and occupations in construction or 

12 emerging clean energy industries. 

13 (d) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines 

14 that a State has not taken the steps required under this 

15 section, the Secretary shall provide to the State a period 

16 of at least 90 days to comply before suspending the par17 ticipation of the State in the program. 

18 SEC. 110. REPORT. 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

21 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 

22 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

23 of the House of Representatives a report on the use of 

24 funds under this title. 

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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include a descrip2 tion of— 

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

4 this title; 

5 (2) the direct and indirect employment created 

6 as a result of the programs supported by the funds 

7 provided under this title; 

8 (3) the specific entities implementing the en9 ergy efficiency programs; 

10 (4) the beneficiaries who received the efficiency 

11 improvements; 

12 (5) the manner in which funds provided under 

13 this title were used; 

14 (6) the sources (such as mortgage lenders, util15 ity companies, and local governments) and types of 

16 financing used by the beneficiaries to finance the 

17 retrofit expenses that were not covered by grants 

18 provided under this title; 

19 (7) the results of verification requirements; and 

20 (8) any other information the Secretary con21 siders appropriate. 

22 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary determines 

23 that a rebate aggregator, State, or Indian tribe has not 

24 provided the information required under this section, the 

25 Secretary shall provide to the rebate aggregator, State, or 

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1 Indian tribe a period of at least 90 days to provide any 

2 necessary information, subject to penalties imposed by the 

3 Secretary for entities other than States and Indian tribes, 

4 which may include withholding of funds or reduction of 

5 future grant amounts. 

6 SEC. 111. ADMINISTRATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 115(b), not 

8 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretary shall provide such administrative and tech10 nical support to rebate aggregators, States, and Indian 

11 tribes as is necessary to carry out the functions designated 

12 to States under this title. 

13 (b) APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL.—Notwith14 standing the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov15 erning appointments in the competitive service and Gen16 eral Schedule classifications and pay rates, the Secretary 

17 may appoint such professional and administrative per18 sonnel as the Secretary considers necessary to carry out 

19 this title. 

20 (c) RATE OF PAY.—The rate of pay for a person ap21 pointed under subsection (a) shall not exceed the max22 imum rate payable for GS–15 of the General Schedule 

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

24 (d) CONSULTANTS.—Notwithstanding section 303 of 

25 the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

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1 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253), the Secretary may retain such con2 sultants on a noncompetitive basis as the Secretary con3 siders necessary to carry out this title. 

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

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

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

7 369; 98 Stat. 1175), an amendment made by that Act, 

8 or the Federal Acquisition Regulation on a determination 

9 that circumstances make compliance with the provisions 

10 contrary to the public interest. 

11 (f) REGULATIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 553 

13 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary may 

14 issue regulations that the Secretary, in the sole dis15 cretion of the Secretary, determines necessary to 

16 carry out the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

17 (2) DEADLINE.—If the Secretary determines 

18 that regulations described in paragraph (1) are nec19 essary, the regulations shall be issued not later than 

20 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (g) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—Chapter 35 of title 

22 44, United States Code, shall not apply to any information 

23 collection requirement necessary for the implementation of 

24 the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program. 

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1 (h) ADJUSTMENT OF REBATE AMOUNTS.—Effective 

2 beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act, the Secretary may, after not less 

4 than 30 days public notice, prospectively adjust the rebate 

5 amounts provided in this section based on— 

6 (1) the use of the Silver Star Home Energy 

7 Retrofit Program and the Gold Star Home Energy 

8 Retrofit Program; and 

9 (2) other program data. 

10 SEC. 112. TREATMENT OF REBATES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the Internal Rev12 enue Code of 1986, rebates received for eligible measures 

13 under this title— 

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

15 homeowner; 

16 (2) shall prohibit the consumer from applying 

17 for a tax credit allowed under section 25C, 25D, or 

18 25E of that Code for the same eligible measures per19 formed in the home of the homeowner; and 

20 (3) shall be considered a credit allowed under 

21 section 25C, 25D, or 25E of that Code for purposes 

22 of any limitation on the amount of the credit under 

23 that section. 

24 (b) NOTICE.— 

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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating contractor 

2 shall provide notice to a homeowner of the provisions 

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

4 the home of the homeowner. 

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

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

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

9 Treasury. 

10 (3) AVAILABILITY OF REBATE FORM.—A par11 ticipating contractor shall obtain the rebate form on 

12 a designated website in accordance with section 

13 102(b)(1)(A)(iii). 

14 SEC. 113. PENALTIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per16 son to violate this title (including any regulation issued 

17 under this title), other than a violation as the result of 

18 a clerical error. 

19 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person who commits a vio20 lation of this title shall be liable to the United States for 

21 a civil penalty in an amount that is not more than the 

22 higher of— 

23 (1) $15,000 for each violation; or 

24 (2) 3 times the value of any associated rebate 

25 under this title. 

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1 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may— 

2 (1) assess and compromise a penalty imposed 

3 under subsection (b); and 

4 (2) require from any entity the records and in5 spections necessary to enforce this title. 

6 (d) FRAUD.—In addition to any civil penalty, any 

7 person who commits a fraudulent violation of this title 

8 shall be subject to criminal prosecution. 

9 SEC. 114. HOME STAR ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOAN PRO10 GRAM. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘eligi13 ble participant’’ means a homeowner who receives fi14 nancial assistance from a qualified financing entity 

15 to carry out energy efficiency or renewable energy 

16 improvements to an existing home or other residen17 tial building of the homeowner in accordance with 

18 the Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program or 

19 the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

20 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

21 the Home Star Energy Efficiency Loan Program es22 tablished under subsection (b). 

23 (3) QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTITY.—The term 

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

25 subdivision of a State, tribal government, electric 

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1 utility, natural gas utility, nonprofit or community2 based organization, energy service company, retailer, 

3 or any other qualified entity that— 

4 (A) meets the eligibility requirements of 

5 this section; and 

6 (B) is designated by the Governor of a 

7 State in accordance with subsection (e). 

8 (4) QUALIFIED LOAN PROGRAM MECHANISM.— 

9 The term ‘‘qualified loan program mechanism’’ 

10 means a loan program that is— 

11 (A) administered by a qualified financing 

12 entity; and 

13 (B) principally funded— 

14 (i) by funds provided by or overseen 

15 by a State; or 

16 (ii) through the energy loan program 

17 of the Federal National Mortgage Associa18 tion. 

19 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

20 a Home Star Energy Efficiency Loan Program under 

21 which the Secretary shall make funds available to States 

22 to support financial assistance provided by qualified fi23 nancing entities for making, to existing homes, energy effi24 ciency improvements that qualify under the Gold Star 

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1 Home Energy Retrofit Program or the Silver Star Home 

2 Energy Retrofit Program. 

3 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTI4 TIES.—To be eligible to participate in the program, a 

5 qualified financing entity shall— 

6 (1) offer a financing product under which eligi7 ble participants may pay over time for the cost to 

8 the eligible participant (after all applicable Federal, 

9 State, local, and other rebates or incentives are ap10 plied) of making improvements described in sub11 section (b); 

12 (2) require all financed improvements to be per13 formed by contractors in a manner that meets min14 imum standards that are at least as stringent as the 

15 standards provided under sections 106 and 107; and 

16 (3) establish standard underwriting criteria to 

17 determine the eligibility of program applicants, 

18 which criteria shall be consistent with— 

19 (A) with respect to unsecured consumer 

20 loan programs, standard underwriting criteria 

21 used under the energy loan program of the 

22 Federal National Mortgage Association; or 

23 (B) with respect to secured loans or other 

24 forms of financial assistance, commercially rec25 ognized best practices applicable to the form of 

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1 financial assistance being provided (as deter2 mined by the designated entity administering 

3 the program in the State). 

4 (d) ALLOCATION.—In making funds available to 

5 States for each fiscal year under this section, the Sec6 retary shall use the formula used to allocate funds to 

7 States to carry out State energy conservation plans estab8 lished under part D of title III of the Energy Policy and 

9 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.). 

10 (e) QUALIFIED FINANCING ENTITIES.—Before mak11 ing funds available to a State under this section, the Sec12 retary shall require the Governor of the State to provide 

13 to the Secretary a letter of assurance that the State— 

14 (1) has 1 or more qualified financing entities 

15 that meet the requirements of this section; 

16 (2) has established a qualified loan program 

17 mechanism that— 

18 (A) includes a methodology to ensure cred19 ible energy savings or renewable energy genera20 tion; 

21 (B) incorporates an effective repayment 

22 mechanism, which may include— 

23 (i) on-utility-bill repayment; 

24 (ii) tax assessment or other form of 

25 property assessment financing; 

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1 (iii) municipal service charges; 

2 (iv) energy or energy efficiency serv3 ices contracts; 

4 (v) energy efficiency power purchase 

5 agreements; 

6 (vi) unsecured loans applying the un7 derwriting requirements of the energy loan 

8 program of the Federal National Mortgage 

9 Association; or 

10 (vii) alternative contractual repayment 

11 mechanisms that have been demonstrated 

12 to have appropriate risk mitigation fea13 tures; and 

14 (C) will provide, in a timely manner, all in15 formation regarding the administration of the 

16 program as the Secretary may require to permit 

17 the Secretary to meet the reporting require18 ments of subsection (h). 

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

20 under the program may be used to support financing prod21 ucts offered by qualified financing entities to eligible par22 ticipants for eligible energy efficiency work, by pro23 viding— 

24 (1) interest rate reductions; 

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1 (2) loan loss reserves or other forms of credit 

2 enhancement; 

3 (3) revolving loan funds from which qualified fi4 nancing entities may offer direct loans; or 

5 (4) other debt instruments or financial products 

6 necessary— 

7 (A) to maximize leverage provided through 

8 available funds; and 

9 (B) to support widespread deployment of 

10 energy efficiency finance programs. 

11 (g) USE OF REPAYMENT FUNDS.—In the case of a 

12 revolving loan fund established by a State described in 

13 subsection (f)(3), a qualified financing entity may use 

14 funds repaid by eligible participants under the program 

15 to provide financial assistance for additional eligible par16 ticipants to make improvements described in subsection 

17 (b) in a manner that is consistent with this section or 

18 other such criteria as are prescribed by the State. 

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

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

21 submit to Congress a program evaluation that describes— 

22 (1) how many eligible participants have partici23 pated in the program; 

24 (2) how many jobs have been created through 

25 the program, directly and indirectly; 

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1 (3) what steps could be taken to promote fur2 ther deployment of energy efficiency and renewable 

3 energy retrofits; 

4 (4) the quantity of verifiable energy savings, 

5 homeowner energy bill savings, and other benefits of 

6 the program; and 

7 (5) the performance of the programs carried 

8 out by qualified financing entities under this section, 

9 including information on the rate of default and re10 payment. 

11 (i) CREDIT SUPPORT FOR FINANCING PROGRAMS.— 

12 Section 1705 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

13 16516) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(4) Energy efficiency projects, including 

17 projects to retrofit residential, commercial, and in18 dustrial buildings, facilities, and equipment, includ19 ing financing programs that finance the retrofitting 

20 of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, 

21 facilities, and equipment.’’. 

22 (2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub23 section (f); and 

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol25 lowing: 

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1 ‘‘(e) CREDIT SUPPORT FOR FINANCING PRO2 GRAMS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of programs 

4 that finance the retrofitting of residential, commer5 cial, and industrial buildings, facilities, and equip6 ment described in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary 

7 may— 

8 ‘‘(A) offer loan guarantees for portfolios of 

9 debt obligations; and 

10 ‘‘(B) purchase or make commitments to 

11 purchase portfolios of debt obligations. 

12 ‘‘(2) TERM.—Notwithstanding section 1702(f), 

13 the term of any debt obligation that receives credit 

14 support under this subsection shall require full re15 payment over a period not to exceed the lesser of— 

16 ‘‘(A) 30 years; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the projected weighted average useful 

18 life of the measure or system financed by the 

19 debt obligation or portfolio of debt obligations 

20 (as determined by the Secretary). 

21 ‘‘(3) UNDERWRITING.—The Secretary may— 

22 ‘‘(A) delegate underwriting responsibility 

23 for portfolios of debt obligations under this sub24 section to financial institutions that meet quali25 fications determined by the Secretary; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) determine an appropriate percentage 

2 of loans in a portfolio to review in order to con3 firm sound underwriting. 

4 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—Subsections (c) and 

5 (d)(3) of section 1702 and subsection (c) of this sec6 tion shall not apply to loan guarantees made under 

7 this subsection.’’. 

8 (j) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The author9 ity provided by this section and the amendments made by 

10 this section terminates effective on the date that is 2 years 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 115. FUNDING. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

15 there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this title $5,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

17 years 2010 through 2012. 

18 (2) MAINTENANCE OF FUNDING.—Funds pro19 vided under this section shall supplement and not 

20 supplant any Federal and State funding provided to 

21 carry out energy efficiency programs in existence on 

22 the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 

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

25 under subsection (a), $380,000,000 or not more 

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1 than 6 percent, whichever is less, shall be used to 

2 carry out section 108. 

3 (2) DISTRIBUTION TO STATE ENERGY OF4 FICES.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary shall— 

8 (i) provide to State energy offices 25 

9 percent of the funds described in para10 graph (1); and 

11 (ii) determine a formula to provide 

12 the balance of funds to State energy offices 

13 through a performance-based system. 

14 (B) ALLOCATION.— 

15 (i) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—Funds 

16 described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall be 

17 made available in accordance with the allo18 cation formula for State energy conserva19 tion plans established under part D of title 

20 III of the Energy Policy and Conservation 

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

22 (ii) PERFORMANCE-BASED SYSTEM.— 

23 The balance of the funds described in sub24 paragraph (A)(ii) shall be made available 

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1 in accordance with the performance-based 

2 system described in subparagraph (A)(ii). 

3 (c) QUALITY ASSURANCE COSTS.— 

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

5 under subsection (a), not more than 5 percent shall 

6 be used to carry out the quality assurance provisions 

7 of this title. 

8 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Funds provided under this 

9 subsection shall be overseen by— 

10 (A) State energy offices described in sub11 section (b)(2); or 

12 (B) other entities determined by the Sec13 retary to be eligible to carry out quality assur14 ance functions under this title. 

15 (3) DISTRIBUTION TO QUALITY ASSURANCE

16 PROVIDERS OR REBATE AGGREGATORS.—The Sec17 retary shall use funds provided under this subsection 

18 to compensate quality assurance providers, or rebate 

19 aggregators, for services under the Silver Star Home 

20 Energy Retrofit Program or the Gold Star Home 

21 Energy Retrofit Program through the Federal Re22 bate Processing Center based on the services pro23 vided to contractors under a quality assurance pro24 gram and rebate aggregation. 

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1 (4) INCENTIVES.—The amount of incentives 

2 provided to quality assurance providers or rebate 

3 aggregators shall be— 

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

5 Energy Retrofit Program— 

6 (I) $25 per rebate review and submis7 sion provided under the program; and 

8 (II) $150 for each field inspection 

9 conducted under the program; and 

10 (ii) in the case of the Gold Star Home En11 ergy Retrofit Program— 

12 (I) $35 for each rebate review and 

13 submission provided under the program; 

14 and 

15 (II) $300 for each field inspection 

16 conducted under the program; or 

17 (B) such other amounts as the Secretary 

18 considers necessary to carry out the quality as19 surance provisions of this title. 

20 (d) TRACKING OF REBATES AND EXPENDITURES.— 

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

22 than $150,000,000 shall be used for costs associated with 

23 database systems to track rebates and expenditures under 

24 this title and related administrative costs incurred by the 

25 Secretary. 

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1 (e) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COORDINATION.—Of 

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

3 $10,000,000 shall be used for costs associated with public 

4 education and coordination with the Federal Energy Star 

5 program incurred by the Administrator. 

6 (f) INDIAN TRIBES.—Of the amount provided under 

7 subsection (a), the Secretary shall reserve not more than 

8 3 percent to make grants available to Indian tribes under 

9 this section. 

10 (g) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO11 GRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the Silver 

13 Star Home Energy Retrofit Program, of the amount 

14 provided under subsection (a) after funds are pro15 vided in accordance with subsections (b) through (e), 

16 $2,751,000,000 for the 1-year period beginning on 

17 the date of enactment of this Act (less any amounts 

18 required under subsection (f)) shall be used by the 

19 Secretary to provide rebates and incentives author20 ized under the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit 

21 Program. 

22 (2) PRODUCTS PURCHASED WITHOUT INSTAL23 LATION SERVICES.—Of the amounts made available 

24 for the Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program 

25 under this section, not more than $250,000,000 

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1 shall be made available for rebates under section 

2 106(e). 

3 (h) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO4 GRAM.—In the case of the Gold Star Home Energy Ret5 rofit Program, of the amount provided under subsection 

6 (a) after funds are provided in accordance with sub7 sections (b) through (e), $1,349,000,000 for the 2-year 

8 period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act (less 

9 any amounts required under subsection (f)) shall be used 

10 by the Secretary to provide rebates and incentives author11 ized under the Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

12 (i) PROGRAM REVIEW AND BACKSTOP FUNDING.— 

13 (1) REVIEW AND ANALYSIS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 the Secretary shall perform a State-by-State 

17 analysis and review the distribution of Home 

18 Star retrofit rebates under this title. 

19 (B) RENTAL UNITS.—Not later than 120 

20 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary shall perform a review and anal22 ysis, with input and review from the Secretary 

23 of Housing and Urban Development, of the pro24 cedures for delivery of services to rental units. 

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1 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary may allocate 

2 technical assistance funding to assist States that, as 

3 determined by the Secretary— 

4 (A) have not sufficiently benefitted from 

5 the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program; or 

6 (B) in which rental units have not been 

7 adequately served. 

8 (j) RETURN OF UNDISBURSED FUNDS.— 

9 (1) SILVER STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT

10 PROGRAM.—If the Secretary has not disbursed all 

11 the funds available for rebates under the Silver Star 

12 Home Energy Retrofit Program by the date that is 

13 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, any 

14 undisbursed funds shall be made available to the 

15 Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program. 

16 (2) GOLD STAR HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PRO17 GRAM.—If the Secretary has not disbursed all the 

18 funds available for rebates under the Gold Star 

19 Home Energy Retrofit Program by the date that is 

20 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, any 

21 undisbursed funds shall be returned to the Treasury. 

22 (k) FINANCING.—Of the amounts allocated to the 

23 States under subsection (b), not less than $200,000,000 

24 shall be used to carry out the financing provisions of this 

25 title in accordance with section 114. 

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1 TITLE II—PERFORMANCE BASED 

2 ENERGY IMPROVEMENT TAX 

3 CREDITS 

4 SEC. 201. PERFORMANCE BASED ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS 

5 FOR NONBUSINESS PROPERTY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 is amended by inserting after section 25D the fol9 lowing new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 25E. PERFORMANCE BASED ENERGY IMPROVE11 MENTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

13 there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed 

14 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to 

15 50 percent of the amount of qualified home energy effi16 ciency expenditures paid or incurred by the taxpayer dur17 ing the taxable year. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DOLLAR LIMITATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the 

21 credit allowed under subsection (a) with respect 

22 to any individual for any taxable year shall not 

23 exceed the amount determined under subpara24 graph (B) with respect to the principal resi25 dence of such individual. 

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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT DETERMINED.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

3 (iv), the amount determined under this 

4 subparagraph is the base amount increased 

5 by the amount determined under clause 

6 (iii). 

7 ‘‘(ii) BASE AMOUNT.—For purposes of 

8 this subparagraph, the base amount is— 

9 ‘‘(I) $3,000, in the case of a resi10 dence the construction of which is 

11 completed before January 1, 2000, 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) $2,000, in the case of a res14 idence the construction of which is 

15 completed after December 31, 1999. 

16 ‘‘(iii) INCREASE AMOUNT.—The 

17 amount determined under this clause is— 

18 ‘‘(I) in the case of a residence de19 scribed in clause (ii)(I) which has a 

20 rating system score equal to the rat21 ing system score which corresponds to 

22 the IECC Standard Reference Design 

23 for a home of the size and in the cli24 mate zone of such residence, $1,000, 

25 and 

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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of any residence 

2 with a rating system score which is 

3 lower than that which corresponds to 

4 such IECC Standard Reference De5 sign by not less than 5 points, $500 

6 for each 5 points by which the rating 

7 system score which corresponds to 

8 such IECC Standard Reference De9 sign exceeds the rating system score 

10 of such residence (in addition to the 

11 amount provided under clause (i), if 

12 applicable). 

13 ‘‘(iv) LIMITATION.—In no event shall 

14 the amount determined under this sub15 paragraph exceed $8,000 with respect to 

16 any individual. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION BASED ON AMOUNT OF

18 TAX.—In the case of taxable years to which section 

19 26(a)(2) does not apply, the credit allowed under 

20 subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed 

21 the excess of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the sum of the regular tax liability 

23 (as defined in section 26(b)) plus the tax im24 posed by section 55, over 

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1 ‘‘(B) the sum of the credits allowable 

2 under this subpart (other than this section and 

3 sections 23, 24, and 25B) and section 27 for 

4 the taxable year. 

5 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY EX6 PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified home 

8 energy efficiency expenditures’ means any amount 

9 paid or incurred for a qualified whole home energy 

10 efficiency retrofit, including the cost of audit diag11 nostic procedures, of a principal residence of the tax12 payer which is located in the United States. 

13 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED WHOLE HOME ENERGY EFFI14 CIENCY RETROFIT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

16 whole home energy efficiency retrofit’ means a 

17 retrofit of an existing residence if, after such 

18 retrofit, such residence— 

19 ‘‘(i) has a rating system score of not 

20 greater than— 

21 ‘‘(I) 100, determined under the 

22 HERS Index, in the case of a resi23 dence the construction of which is 

24 completed before January 1, 2000, 

25 and 

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1 ‘‘(II) the rating system score 

2 which corresponds to the IECC 

3 Standard Reference Design for a 

4 home of the size and in the climate 

5 zone of such residence, in the case of 

6 a residence the construction of which 

7 is completed after December 31, 

8 1999, or 

9 ‘‘(ii) achieves a degree of energy effi10 ciency improvement which is equivalent to 

11 the standard applicable to such residence 

12 under clause (i), as determined by the Sec13 retary. 

14 For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 

15 HERS Index is the HERS Index established by 

16 the Residential Energy Services Network, as in 

17 effect on January 1, 2011. 

18 ‘‘(B) ACCREDITATION RULE.—A retrofit 

19 shall not be treated as a qualified whole home 

20 energy efficiency retrofit unless such retrofit is 

21 conducted by a company which is accredited by 

22 the Building Performance Institute, or which 

23 fulfills an equivalent standard as determined by 

24 the Secretary. 

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1 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF RATING SYSTEM

2 SCORE OR EQUIVALENT.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

4 (ii), the rating system score of a residence, 

5 or the equivalent described in subpara6 graph (A)(ii), shall be determined by an 

7 auditor or rater certified by the Residential 

8 Energy Services Network or the Building 

9 Performance Institute. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SECRETARIAL DETERMINA11 TION.—At the discretion of the Secretary, 

12 the Secretary may, in consultation with the 

13 Secretary of Energy, determine an alter14 native standard for certification of an 

15 auditor or rater for purposes of deter16 mining the rating system score (or equiva17 lent described in subparagraph (A)(ii)) of 

18 a residence. If the Secretary establishes 

19 such an alternative standard, clause (i) 

20 shall cease to apply unless the Secretary 

21 determines otherwise. 

22 ‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—Not later than De23 cember 31, 2011, in consultation with the Sec24 retary, the Secretary of Energy shall prescribe 

25 regulations which specify the costs with respect 

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1 to energy improvements which may be taken 

2 into account under this paragraph as part of a 

3 qualified whole home energy efficiency retrofit. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be al6 lowed under this section for any taxable year in 

7 which the taxpayer elects the credit under sec8 tion 25C. 

9 ‘‘(B) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT FOR CERTAIN

10 EXPENDITURES.—The term ‘qualified home en11 ergy efficiency expenditures’ shall not include 

12 any expenditure for which a deduction or credit 

13 is otherwise allowed to the taxpayer under this 

14 chapter for the taxable year or with respect to 

15 which the taxpayer receives any Federal rebate. 

16 ‘‘(4) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘prin17 cipal residence’ has the same meaning as when used 

18 in section 121, except that— 

19 ‘‘(A) no ownership requirement shall be 

20 imposed, and 

21 ‘‘(B) the period for which a building is 

22 treated as used as a principal residence shall 

23 also include the 60-day period ending on the 1st 

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1 graph) first be treated as used as a principal 

2 residence. 

3 ‘‘(d) RATING SYSTEM SCORE.—For purposes of this 

4 section— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 the rating system score shall be the score assigned 

7 under the HERS Index established by the Residen8 tial Energy Services Network. 

9 ‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL DETERMINATION.—At the 

10 discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may, in 

11 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, determine 

12 an alternative rating system (including an alter13 native system based on the HERS Index established 

14 by the Residential Energy Services Network). If the 

15 Secretary establishes such an alternative rating sys16 tem, the rating system score with respect to any res17 idence shall be the score assigned under such alter18 native rating system. 

19 ‘‘(e) IECC STANDARD REFERENCE DESIGN.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘IECC Standard 

21 Reference Design’ means the Standard Reference 

22 Design determined under the International Energy 

23 Conservation Code in effect for the taxable year in 

24 which the credit under this section is determined. 

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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION TO RESIDENCES CON2 STRUCTED AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE OF MOST RE3 CENT CODE.—No credit shall be allowed under this 

4 section with respect to a principal residence the con5 struction of which is completed after the effective 

6 date of the International Energy Conservation Code 

7 in effect for the taxable year for which such credit 

8 would otherwise be determined. 

9 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section, 

10 rules similar to the rules under paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 

11 (7), and (8) of section 25D(e) and section 25C(e)(2) shall 

12 apply. 

13 ‘‘(g) BASIS ADJUSTMENTS.—For purposes of this 

14 subtitle, if a credit is allowed under this section with re15 spect to any expenditure with respect to any property, the 

16 increase in the basis of such property which would (but 

17 for this subsection) result from such expenditure shall be 

18 reduced by the amount of the credit so allowed. 

19 ‘‘(h) ELECTION NOT TO CLAIM CREDIT.—This sec20 tion shall not apply to a taxpayer for any taxable year 

21 if such taxpayer elects to have this section not apply for 

22 such taxable year. 

23 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply 

24 with respect to any costs paid or incurred after December 

25 31, 2013.’’. 

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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) Section 26(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘25E,’’ after 

4 ‘‘25D’’. 

5 (2) Section 1016(a) of such Code is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (36), by 

7 striking the period at the end of paragraph (37) and 

8 inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(38) to the extent provided in section 

11 25E(g).’’. 

12 (3) Section 6501(m) of such Code is amended 

13 by inserting ‘‘25E(h),’’ after ‘‘section’’. 

14 (4) The table of sections for subpart A of part 

15 IV of subchapter A chapter 1 of such Code is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Performance based energy improvements.’’. 

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax20 able years beginning after December 31, 2010. 

Æ 

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