To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for States to provide incentives to natural gas distribution companies for the improvement of natural gas distribution systems, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5542 To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for States to provide incentives to natural gas distribution companies for the im- provement of natural gas distribution systems, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 7, 2020 Ms. SHERRILL (for herself and Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for States to provide incentives to natural gas distribution companies for the improvement of natural gas distribution systems, 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. IMPROVING THE NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION 3 SYSTEM. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 5 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 6 retary of Energy shall establish a program to award 7 grants to States, in accordance with this section, for the 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5542.IH H5542 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5542 IH purpose of improving public safety and environmental per- 1 formance of the natural gas distribution system by offset- 2 ting rate increases to low-income households and providing 3 incentives for natural gas distribution companies to accel- 4 erate, expand, or enhance improvements to the natural gas 5 distribution system. 6 (b) GRANTS TO STATES.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may apply for a 8 grant under this section to provide funds to natural 9 gas distribution companies in the State that are car- 10 rying out an eligible project described in subsection 11 (c). 12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In applying for a grant 13 under this section, a State shall demonstrate how 14 the State rate-setting commission will ensure that 15 funds provided under this section are used in accord- 16 ance with the requirements of this section. 17 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A project that is eligible 18 to be funded through a grant to a State under this section 19 is a project carried out by a natural gas distribution com- 20 pany to accelerate, expand, or enhance the implementation 21 of a plan, approved by the State before the date on which 22 an application for a grant under this section is submitted 23 to the Secretary, for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5542.IH H5542 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5542 IH (1) replacement of cast and wrought iron and 1 bare steel pipes and other leak-prone components of 2 the natural gas distribution system; or 3 (2) inspection and maintenance programs for 4 the natural gas distribution system. 5 (d) RATE ASSISTANCE.—A natural gas distribution 6 company receiving funds through a grant to a State under 7 this section may use such funds only to offset the near- 8 term incremental costs to low-income households as re- 9 flected in utility rate increases and the near-term incre- 10 mental costs of accelerating, expanding, or enhancing im- 11 provements to the natural gas distribution system included 12 in the State-approved plan. 13 (e) LIMIT TO TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—A State 14 may provide funds to a natural gas distribution company 15 under this section for a period not to exceed 4 years. 16 (f) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding grants under this 17 section, the Secretary shall prioritize applications based 18 on the expected results of an eligible project carried out 19 pursuant to the State proposal with respect to— 20 (1) quantifiable benefits for public safety; 21 (2) the magnitude of methane emissions reduc- 22 tions; 23 (3) innovation in technical or policy approaches; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5542.IH H5542 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5542 IH (4) the number of low-income households antici- 1 pated to benefit from the assistance; and 2 (5) overall cost-effectiveness of the project. 3 (g) AUDITING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 4 The Secretary shall establish auditing and reporting re- 5 quirements for States with respect to the performance of 6 eligible projects funded pursuant to grants awarded under 7 this section with respect to meeting the goals of the pro- 8 gram described in subsection (f). 9 (h) PREVAILING WAGES.—All laborers and mechan- 10 ics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the per- 11 formance of construction, alteration, or repair work as- 12 sisted, in whole or in part, by a grant under this section 13 shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing 14 on similar construction in the locality as determined by 15 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV 16 of chapter 31 of title 40. With respect to the labor stand- 17 ards in this subsection, the Secretary of Labor shall have 18 the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization 19 Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. 20 App.) and section 3145 of title 40. 21 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 (1) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 23 ‘‘low-income household’’ means a household that is 24 eligible to receive payments under section 2605(b)(2) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5542.IH H5542 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5542 IH of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(b)(2)). 2 (2) NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY.— 3 The term ‘‘natural gas distribution company’’ means 4 a person or municipality engaged in the local dis- 5 tribution of natural gas to the public. 6 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 8 $250,000,000 to carry out this section in each fiscal year 9 beginning in fiscal year 2021 and ending in fiscal year 10 2030. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5542.IH H5542 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS