II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 765 

To appropriately determine the budgetary effects of energy savings 

performance contracts and utility energy service contracts. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2015 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. GARDNER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget 

A BILL 

To appropriately determine the budgetary effects of energy 

savings performance contracts and utility energy service 

contracts. 

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

3 SECTION 1. CERTAIN ENERGY CONTRACTS. 

4 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

5 energy savings contract’’ means— 

6 (1) an energy savings performance contract au7 thorized under section 801 of the National Energy 

8 Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8287); and 

9 (2) a utility energy service contract, as de10 scribed in the Office of Management and Budget 


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1 Memorandum on Federal use of energy savings per2 formance contracting, dated July 25, 1998 (M–98– 

3 13), and the Office of Management and Budget 

4 Memorandum on the Federal use of energy saving 

5 performance contracts and utility energy service con6 tracts, dated September 28, 2012 (M–12–21), or 

7 any successor to either memorandum. 

8 (b) ESTIMATES.—In the Senate, for purposes of en9 forcing any point of order established under the Congres10 sional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) or any 

11 concurrent resolution on the budget, any estimate by the 

12 Congressional Budget Office of the changes in budget au13 thority, outlays, and revenues of a provision in a bill, joint 

14 resolution, amendment, conference report, or amendment 

15 between the Houses modifying the authority to enter, the 

16 scope or terms of, or the use of covered energy savings 

17 contracts shall— 

18 (1) record in the first year in which the author19 ity would become effective, the changes in budget 

20 authority, outlays, and revenues (as estimated in ac21 cordance with paragraph (2)) of any modifications to 

22 the authority to enter the covered energy savings 

23 contracts; 

24 (2) in estimating the changes in budget author25 ity, outlays, and revenues of the legislation, calculate 


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1 the costs and savings arising from covered contracts 

2 on a net present value basis by adding market risk 

3 over the useful life of the services or product to the 

4 discount rate in section 502(5)(E) of the Federal 

5 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)(E)); 

6 and 

7 (3) classify the effects of the provision to be 

8 changes in spending subject to the availability of ap9 propriations. 

10 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub11 section (b) shall be construed to modify the methodology 

12 for estimating the changes in budget authority, outlays, 

13 and revenues of a provision that does not relate to covered 

14 energy savings contracts in a bill, joint resolution, amend15 ment, conference report, or amendment between the 

16 Houses that contains a provision described in subsection 

17 (b). 

18 (d) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—Congress 

19 adopts the provisions of this section— 

20 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

21 the Senate, and as such they shall be considered as 

22 part of the rules of the Senate and such rules shall 

23 supersede other rules only to the extent that they 

24 are inconsistent with such other rules; and 


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1 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

2 right of the Senate to change those rules at any 

3 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

4 as is the case of any other rule of the Senate. 

Æ 


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