the price of the retrofit work, order the contractor 
or vendor to pay the amount of rebate benefit not 
previously passed through to the homeowner. 
SEC. 105. QUALITY ASSURANCE. 
(a) QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—States that elect to carry out 
a quality assurance program pursuant to subsection 
(b) shall plan, develop, and implement a quality as-
surance framework. The Secretary shall promptly so-
licit the submission of model State quality assurance 
framework plans consistent with the requirements of 
this section and, not later than 60 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, shall approve one or more 
such model plans that incorporate nationally con-
sistent high standards for optional use by States. Not 
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, each State electing to develop a quality assurance 
framework shall submit its plan to the Secretary, who 
shall then approve or reject such plan within 30 days, 
providing a detailed statement of deficiencies if the 
plan is rejected. If a State’s plan is rejected, that 
State may resubmit its plan within 30 days. 
(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—A State shall— 
(A) develop a quality assurance framework 
in consultation with industry stakeholders, in-
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cluding representatives of efficiency program 
managers, contractors, community and workforce 
organizations, and environmental, energy effi-
ciency, and labor organizations; and 
(B) implement the quality assurance frame-
work not later than one year after the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(3) COMPONENTS.—The quality assurance frame-
work established under this subsection shall include— 
(A) minimum standards for accredited con-
tractors, including— 
(i) compliance with applicable Federal, 
State, and local laws; 
(ii) use of a certified workforce; 
(iii) maintenance of records needed to 
verify compliance; and 
(iv) use of independent contractors 
only when appropriately classified as such 
pursuant to Revenue ruling 87-41 and sec-
tion 530(d) of the Revenue Act of 1978 and 
relevant State law; 
(B) maintenance of a list of accredited con-
tractors; 
(C) requirements for maintenance and de-
livery to the Federal Rebate Processing System of 
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information needed to verify compliance and en-
sure appropriate compensation for quality assur-
ance providers; 
(D) targets and realistic plans for— 
(i) the recruitment of minority and 
women-owned small business enterprises; 
(ii) the employment of graduates of 
training programs that primarily serve tar-
geted workers; 
(iii) the employment of targeted work-
ers; and 
(iv) the availability of financial assist-
ance under the Home Star Loan Program 
to— 
(I) public use microdata areas 
that have a poverty rate of 12 percent 
or more; and 
(II) homeowners served by units 
of local government in jurisdictions 
that have an unemployment rate that 
is 2 percent higher than the national 
unemployment rate; 
(E) a plan to link workforce training for 
energy efficiency retrofits with training for the 
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