II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 523 

To coordinate the provision of energy retrofitting assistance to schools. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. WARNER, Ms. AYOTTE, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To coordinate the provision of energy retrofitting assistance 

to schools. 

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

3 SECTION 1. COORDINATION OF ENERGY RETROFITTING AS4 SISTANCE FOR SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means— 

7 (A) an elementary school or secondary 

8 school (as defined in section 9101 of the Ele9 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 


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1 (B) an institution of higher education (as 

2 defined in section 102(a) of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)); 

4 (C) a school of the defense dependents’ 

5 education system under the Defense Depend6 ents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et 

7 seq.) or established under section 2164 of title 

8 10, United States Code; 

9 (D) a school operated by the Bureau of In10 dian Affairs; 

11 (E) a tribally controlled school (as defined 

12 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 

13 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)); and 

14 (F) a Tribal College or University (as de15 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))). 

17 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Energy. 

19 (b) DESIGNATION OF LEAD AGENCY.—The Sec20 retary, acting through the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

21 Renewable Energy, shall act as the lead Federal agency 

22 for coordinating and disseminating information on exist23 ing Federal programs and assistance that may be used 

24 to help initiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Feb 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S523.IS S523

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1 newable energy, and energy retrofitting projects for 

2 schools. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out coordination 

4 and outreach under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 

5 (1) in consultation and coordination with the 

6 appropriate Federal agencies, carry out a review of 

7 existing programs and financing mechanisms (in8 cluding revolving loan funds and loan guarantees) 

9 available in or from the Department of Agriculture, 

10 the Department of Energy, the Department of Edu11 cation, the Department of the Treasury, the Internal 

12 Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection 

13 Agency, and other appropriate Federal agencies with 

14 jurisdiction over energy financing and facilitation 

15 that are currently used or may be used to help ini16 tiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, renew17 able energy, and energy retrofitting projects for 

18 schools; 

19 (2) establish a Federal cross-departmental col20 laborative coordination, education, and outreach ef21 fort to streamline communication and promote avail22 able Federal opportunities and assistance described 

23 in paragraph (1) for energy efficiency, renewable en24 ergy, and energy retrofitting projects that enables 

25 States, local educational agencies, and schools— 


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1 (A) to use existing Federal opportunities 

2 more effectively; and 

3 (B) to form partnerships with Governors, 

4 State energy programs, local educational, finan5 cial, and energy officials, State and local gov6 ernment officials, nonprofit organizations, and 

7 other appropriate entities to support the initi8 ation of the projects; 

9 (3) provide technical assistance for States, local 

10 educational agencies, and schools to help develop 

11 and finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and 

12 energy retrofitting projects— 

13 (A) to increase the energy efficiency of 

14 buildings or facilities; 

15 (B) to install systems that individually 

16 generate energy from renewable energy re17 sources; 

18 (C) to establish partnerships to leverage 

19 economies of scale and additional financing 

20 mechanisms available to larger clean energy ini21 tiatives; or 

22 (D) to promote— 

23 (i) the maintenance of health, environ24 mental quality, and safety in schools, in25 cluding the ambient air quality, through 


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1 energy efficiency, renewable energy, and 

2 energy retrofit projects; and 

3 (ii) the achievement of expected en4 ergy savings and renewable energy produc5 tion through proper operations and main6 tenance practices; 

7 (4) develop and maintain a single online re8 source website with contact information for relevant 

9 technical assistance and support staff in the Office 

10 of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for 

11 States, local educational agencies, and schools to ef12 fectively access and use Federal opportunities and 

13 assistance described in paragraph (1) to develop en14 ergy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retro15 fitting projects; and 

16 (5) establish a process for recognition of schools 

17 that— 

18 (A) have successfully implemented energy 

19 efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retro20 fitting projects; and 

21 (B) are willing to serve as resources for 

22 other local educational agencies and schools to 

23 assist initiation of similar efforts. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 


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1 Congress a report describing the implementation of this 

2 section. 

Æ 


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