Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act

II Calendar No. 207 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 253 [Report No. 116–107] To coordinate the provision of energy retrofitting assistance to schools. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 29, 2019 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. WARNER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. HASSAN, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To coordinate the provision of energy retrofitting assistance to schools. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlining Energy 4 Efficiency for Schools Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 253 RS SEC. 2. COORDINATION OF ENERGY RETROFITTING ASSIST- 1 ANCE FOR SCHOOLS. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means— 4 (A) an elementary school or secondary 5 school (as defined in section 8101 of the Ele- 6 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 7 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 8 (B) an institution of higher education (as 9 defined in section 102(a) of the Higher Edu- 10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a))); 11 (C) a school of the defense dependents’ 12 education system under the Defense Depend- 13 ents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et 14 seq.) or established under section 2164 of title 15 10, United States Code; 16 (D) a school operated by the Bureau of In- 17 dian Affairs Education; 18 (E) a tribally controlled school (as defined 19 in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled 20 Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511)); and 21 (F) a Tribal College or University (as de- 22 fined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education 23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))). 24 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 25 the Secretary of Energy. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 253 RS (b) DESIGNATION OF LEAD AGENCY.—The Sec- 1 retary, acting through the Office of Energy Efficiency and 2 Renewable Energy, shall act as the lead Federal agency 3 for coordinating and disseminating information on exist- 4 ing Federal programs and assistance that may be used 5 to help initiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, re- 6 newable energy, and energy retrofitting projects for 7 schools. 8 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out coordination 9 and outreach under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 10 (1) in consultation and coordination with the 11 appropriate Federal agencies, carry out a review of 12 existing programs and financing mechanisms (in- 13 cluding revolving loan funds and loan guarantees) 14 available in or from the Department of Agriculture, 15 the Department of Energy, the Department of Edu- 16 cation, the Department of the Treasury, the Internal 17 Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection 18 Agency, and other appropriate Federal agencies with 19 jurisdiction over energy financing and facilitation 20 that are currently used or may be used to help ini- 21 tiate, develop, and finance energy efficiency, renew- 22 able energy, and energy retrofitting projects for 23 schools schools, and identify programs that are dupli- 24 cative; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 253 RS (2) establish a Federal cross-departmental col- 1 laborative coordination, education, and outreach ef- 2 fort to streamline communication and promote avail- 3 able Federal opportunities and assistance described 4 in paragraph (1) for energy efficiency, renewable en- 5 ergy, and energy retrofitting projects that enables 6 States, local educational agencies, and schools— 7 (A) to use existing Federal opportunities 8 more effectively; and 9 (B) to form partnerships with Governors, 10 State energy programs, local educational, finan- 11 cial, and energy officials, State and local gov- 12 ernment officials, nonprofit organizations, and 13 other appropriate entities to support the initi- 14 ation of the projects; 15 (3) provide technical assistance for States, local 16 educational agencies, and schools to help develop 17 and finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and 18 energy retrofitting projects— 19 (A) to increase the energy efficiency of 20 buildings or facilities; 21 (B) to install systems that individually 22 generate energy from renewable energy re- 23 sources; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 253 RS (C) to establish partnerships to leverage 1 economies of scale and additional financing 2 mechanisms available to larger clean energy ini- 3 tiatives; or 4 (D) to promote— 5 (i) the maintenance of health, environ- 6 mental quality, and safety in schools, in- 7 cluding the ambient air quality, through 8 energy efficiency, renewable energy, and 9 energy retrofit projects; and 10 (ii) the achievement of expected en- 11 ergy savings and renewable energy produc- 12 tion through proper operations and main- 13 tenance practices; 14 (4) develop and maintain a single online re- 15 source website with contact information for relevant 16 technical assistance and support staff in the Office 17 of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for 18 States, local educational agencies, and schools to ef- 19 fectively access and use Federal opportunities and 20 assistance described in paragraph (1) to develop en- 21 ergy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retro- 22 fitting projects; and 23 (5) establish a process for recognition of schools 24 that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 253 RS (A) have successfully implemented energy 1 efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retro- 2 fitting projects; and 3 (B) are willing to serve as resources for 4 other local educational agencies and schools to 5 assist initiation of similar efforts. 6 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 7 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 8 Congress a report describing the implementation of this 9 section. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 207 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 253 [Report No. 116–107] A BILL To coordinate the provision of energy retrofitting assistance to schools. SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Reported with amendments VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Sep 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S253.RS S253 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS