Good Jobs for 21st Century Energy Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2185 To provide labor standards for certain energy jobs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 18, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BROWN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide labor standards for certain energy jobs, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Good Jobs for 21st 4 Century Energy Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR CERTIFICATION OF QUALI- 6 FIED ENTITIES. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) APPLICABLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.— 9 The term ‘‘applicable construction project’’, with re- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2185 IS spect to an entity, means construction by the entity 1 of any property described in section 45L, 48D, or 2 179D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 3 (2) COVERED PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT.— 4 The term ‘‘covered project labor agreement’’ means 5 a project labor agreement that— 6 (A) binds all contractors and subcontrac- 7 tors on the construction project through the in- 8 clusion of appropriate specifications in all rel- 9 evant solicitation provisions and contract docu- 10 ments; 11 (B) allows all contractors and subcontrac- 12 tors to compete for contracts and subcontracts 13 without regard to whether they are otherwise a 14 party to a collective bargaining agreement; 15 (C) contains guarantees against strikes, 16 lockouts, and other similar job disruptions; 17 (D) sets forth effective, prompt, and mutu- 18 ally binding procedures for resolving labor dis- 19 putes arising during the covered project labor 20 agreement; and 21 (E) provides other mechanisms for labor- 22 management cooperation on matters of mutual 23 interest and concern, including productivity, 24 quality of work, safety, and health. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2185 IS (3) PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT.—The term 1 ‘‘project labor agreement’’ means a pre-hire collec- 2 tive bargaining agreement with one or more labor 3 organizations that establishes the terms and condi- 4 tions of employment for a specific construction 5 project and is described in section 8(f) of the Na- 6 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(f)). 7 (4) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 8 entity’’ means an entity that the Secretary of Labor 9 certifies as a qualified entity in accordance with sub- 10 section (b). 11 (5) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 12 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ has 13 the meaning given the term in section 171 of the 14 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 15 U.S.C. 3226). 16 (b) CERTIFICATION OF QUALIFIED ENTITIES.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall 18 establish a process for certifying entities that submit 19 an application under paragraph (2) as qualified enti- 20 ties for purposes of the amendments made by sec- 21 tions 3, 4, and 5. 22 (2) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking cer- 24 tification as a qualified entity under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2185 IS section shall submit an application to the Sec- 1 retary of Labor at such time, in such manner, 2 and containing such information as the Sec- 3 retary may reasonably require, including infor- 4 mation to demonstrate compliance with the re- 5 quirements under paragraph (3). 6 (B) REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMA- 7 TION.—Not later than 1 year after receiving an 8 application from an entity under subparagraph 9 (A)— 10 (i) the Secretary of Labor may re- 11 quest additional information from the enti- 12 ty in order to determine whether the entity 13 is in compliance with the requirements 14 under paragraph (3); and 15 (ii) the entity shall provide such addi- 16 tional information. 17 (C) DETERMINATION DEADLINE.—The 18 Secretary of Labor shall make a determination 19 on whether to certify an entity under this sub- 20 section not later than— 21 (i) in a case in which the Secretary 22 requests additional information described 23 in subparagraph (B)(i), 1 year after the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2185 IS Secretary receives such additional informa- 1 tion from the entity; or 2 (ii) in a case that is not described in 3 clause (i), 1 year after the date on which 4 the entity submits the application under 5 subparagraph (A). 6 (D) PRE-CERTIFICATION REMEDIES.—The 7 Secretary shall consider any corrective actions 8 taken by an entity seeking certification under 9 this subsection to remedy an administrative 10 merits determination, arbitral award or deci- 11 sion, or civil judgment identified under para- 12 graph (3)(A)(iv) and shall impose as a condi- 13 tion of certification any additional remedies 14 necessary to avoid further or repeated viola- 15 tions. 16 (3) LABOR STANDARDS REQUIREMENTS.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 18 shall require an entity, as a condition of certifi- 19 cation under this subsection, to satisfy each of 20 the following requirements: 21 (i) The entity shall ensure that all la- 22 borers and mechanics employed by contrac- 23 tors and subcontractors in the performance 24 of any applicable construction project shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2185 IS be paid wages at rates not less than those 1 prevailing on projects of a similar char- 2 acter in the locality as determined by the 3 Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub- 4 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 5 United States Code (commonly known as 6 the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 7 (ii) The entity shall give preference in 8 hiring to workers who— 9 (I) have been previously em- 10 ployed in the fossil fuel industry; 11 (II) are members of 12 deindustrialized communities; or 13 (III) are members of commu- 14 nities with a significant presence of 15 fossil fuel infrastructure or oper- 16 ations. 17 (iii) The entity shall be a party to, or 18 require contractors and subcontractors in 19 the performance of any applicable con- 20 struction project to consent to, a covered 21 project labor agreement. 22 (iv) The entity, and all contractors 23 and subcontractors in performance of any 24 applicable construction project, shall rep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2185 IS resent in the application submitted under 1 paragraph (2) whether there has been any 2 administrative merits determination, arbi- 3 tral award or decision, or civil judgment, 4 as defined in guidance issued by the Sec- 5 retary of Labor, rendered against the enti- 6 ty in the preceding 3 years for violations 7 of— 8 (I) the Fair Labor Standards Act 9 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.); 10 (II) the Occupational Safety and 11 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et 12 seq.); 13 (III) the Migrant and Seasonal 14 Agricultural Worker Protection Act 15 (29 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 16 (IV) the National Labor Rela- 17 tions Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.); 18 (V) subchapter IV of chapter 31 19 of title 40, United States Code (com- 20 monly known as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon 21 Act’’); 22 (VI) chapter 67 of title 41, 23 United States Code (commonly known 24 as the ‘‘Service Contract Act’’); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2185 IS (VII) Executive Order 11246 (42 1 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to equal 2 employment opportunity); 3 (VIII) section 503 of the Reha- 4 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 5 793); 6 (IX) section 4212 of title 38, 7 United States Code; 8 (X) the Family and Medical 9 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et 10 seq.); 11 (XI) title VII of the Civil Rights 12 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et 13 seq.); 14 (XII) the Americans with Dis- 15 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 16 12101 et seq.); 17 (XIII) the Age Discrimination in 18 Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 19 621 et seq.); 20 (XIV) Executive Order 13658 21 (79 Fed. Reg. 9851; relating to estab- 22 lishing a minimum wage for contrac- 23 tors); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2185 IS (XV) equivalent State laws, as 1 defined in guidance issued by the Sec- 2 retary of Labor. 3 (v) The entity, and all contractors and 4 subcontractors in the performance of any 5 applicable construction project, shall not 6 require mandatory arbitration for any dis- 7 pute involving a worker engaged in a serv- 8 ice for the entity. 9 (vi) The entity, and all contractors 10 and subcontractors in the performance of 11 any applicable construction project, shall 12 consider an individual performing any serv- 13 ice in such performance as an employee 14 (and not an independent contractor) of the 15 entity, contractor, or subcontractor, respec- 16 tively, unless— 17 (I) the individual is free from 18 control and direction in connection 19 with the performance of the service, 20 both under the contract for the per- 21 formance of the service and in fact; 22 (II) the service is performed out- 23 side the usual course of the business 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2185 IS of the entity, contractor, or subcon- 1 tractor, respectively; and 2 (III) the individual is customarily 3 engaged in an independently estab- 4 lished trade, occupation, profession, or 5 business of the same nature as that 6 involved in such service. 7 (vii) The entity shall prohibit all con- 8 tractors and subcontractors in the per- 9 formance of any applicable construction 10 project from hiring employees through a 11 temporary staffing agency unless the rel- 12 evant State workforce agency certifies that 13 temporary employees are necessary to ad- 14 dress an acute, short-term labor demand. 15 (viii) The entity shall require all con- 16 tractors, subcontractors, successors in in- 17 terest of the entity, and other entities that 18 may acquire the entity, in the performance 19 or acquisition of any applicable construc- 20 tion project, to have an explicit neutrality 21 policy on any issue involving the organiza- 22 tion of employees of the entity, and all con- 23 tractors and subcontractors in the per- 24 formance of any applicable construction 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2185 IS project, for purposes of collective bar- 1 gaining. 2 (ix) The entity shall, for each skilled 3 craft employed on any applicable construc- 4 tion project, demonstrate an ability to use 5 and commit to use individuals enrolled in 6 a registered apprenticeship program, which 7 such individuals shall, to the greatest ex- 8 tent practicable, constitute not less than 9 20 percent of the individuals working on 10 such project. 11 (x) The entity, and all contractors and 12 subcontractors in the performance of any 13 applicable construction project, shall not 14 request or otherwise consider the criminal 15 history of an applicant for employment be- 16 fore extending a conditional offer to the 17 applicant, unless— 18 (I) a background check is other- 19 wise required by law; 20 (II) the position is for a Federal 21 law enforcement officer (as defined in 22 section 115(c) of title 18, United 23 States Code) position; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2185 IS (III) the Secretary, in consulta- 1 tion with the Secretary of Energy, 2 certifies that precluding criminal his- 3 tory prior to the conditional offer 4 would pose a threat to national secu- 5 rity. 6 (B) DAVIS-BACON ACT.—The Secretary of 7 Labor shall have, with respect to the labor 8 standards described in subparagraph (A)(i), the 9 authority and functions set forth in Reorganiza- 10 tion Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 11 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 12 40, United States Code. 13 (4) PERIOD OF VALIDITY FOR CERTIFI- 14 CATIONS.—A certification made under this sub- 15 section shall be in effect for a period of 5 years. An 16 entity may reapply to the Secretary of Labor for an 17 additional certification under this subsection in ac- 18 cordance with the application process under para- 19 graph (2). 20 (5) REVOCATION OF QUALIFIED ENTITY STA- 21 TUS.—The Secretary of Labor may revoke the cer- 22 tification of an entity under this subsection as a 23 qualified entity at any time in which the Secretary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2185.IS S2185 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2185 IS determines the entity is no longer in compliance with 1 paragraph (3). 2 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 4 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year 5 thereafter. 6 SEC. 3. JOBS IN ENERGY CREDIT. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart E of part IV of sub- 8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 9 1986 is amended by inserting after section 48C the fol- 10 lowing new section: 11 ‘‘SEC. 48D. JOBS IN ENERGY CREDIT. 12 ‘‘(a) INVESTMENT CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED PROP- 13 ERTY.—For purposes of section 46, the Jobs in Energy 14 credit for any taxable year in which the taxpayer has been 15 certified as a qualified entity (as defined in subsection (e)) 16 is an amount equal to 10 percent of the qualified invest- 17 ment for such taxable year with respect to— 18 ‘‘(1) any qualified facility, 19 ‘‘(2) qualified carbon capture and sequestration 20 equipment, and 21 ‘‘(3) energy storage property. 22 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT WITH RESPECT TO 23 ANY QUALIFIED FACILITY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jul 23, 2019 Jkt 08920 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]