HOPE for HOMES Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4052 To make grants to support online training of residential contractors and rebates for the energy efficiency upgrades of homes, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2020 Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To make grants to support online training of residential contractors and rebates for the energy efficiency up- grades of homes, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘HOPE for HOMES Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—HOPE TRAINING VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4052 IS Sec. 101. Notice for HOPE qualification training and grants. Sec. 102. Course criteria. Sec. 103. HOPE qualification. Sec. 104. Grants. Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE PROGRAM Sec. 201. Establishment of Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. Sec. 202. Partial system rebates. Sec. 203. State-administered rebates. Sec. 204. Special provisions for moderate income households. Sec. 205. Evaluation reports to Congress. Sec. 206. Administration. Sec. 207. Treatment of rebates. Sec. 208. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE III—ADMINISTRATION Sec. 301. Appointment of personnel. Sec. 302. Maintenance of funding. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION.—The term 3 ‘‘contractor certification’’ means an industry-recog- 4 nized certification that may be obtained by a resi- 5 dential contractor to advance the expertise and edu- 6 cation of the contractor in energy efficiency retrofits 7 of a residential building, including a certification 8 provided by— 9 (A) the Building Performance Institute; 10 (B) the Air Conditioning Contractors of 11 America; 12 (C) the National Comfort Institute; 13 (D) the North American Technician Excel- 14 lence; 15 (E) RESNET; 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4052 IS (F) the United States Green Building 1 Council; 2 (G) Home Innovation Research Labs; or 3 (H) any other certification body or organi- 4 zation the Secretary determines appropriate or 5 needed to support the Home Energy Savings 6 Retrofit Rebate Program in title II. 7 (2) CONTRACTOR COMPANY.—The term ‘‘con- 8 tractor company’’ means a company— 9 (A) that holds the licenses and insurance 10 required by the State in which the company 11 provides services; 12 (B) the business of which is to provide 13 services to residential building owners with re- 14 spect to HVAC systems, insulation, air sealing, 15 or other services that are approved by the Sec- 16 retary; and 17 (C) that provides services for which a par- 18 tial system rebate, measured performance re- 19 bate, or modeled performance rebate may be 20 provided pursuant to the Home Energy Savings 21 Retrofit Rebate Program in title II. 22 (3) ENERGY AUDIT.—The term ‘‘energy audit’’ 23 means an inspection, survey, and analysis of the en- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4052 IS ergy use of a building, including the building enve- 1 lope and HVAC system. 2 (4) HOME.—The term ‘‘home’’ means a resi- 3 dential dwelling unit in a building with no more than 4 4 dwelling units that— 5 (A) is located in the United States; 6 (B) was constructed before the date of en- 7 actment of this Act; and 8 (C) is occupied at least 6 months out of 9 the year. 10 (5) HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE 11 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Home Energy Savings Ret- 12 rofit Rebate Program’’ means the Home Energy 13 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program established under 14 section 201. 15 (6) HOMEOWNER.—The term ‘‘homeowner’’ 16 means the owner of an owner-occupied home or a 17 tenant-occupied home. 18 (7) HOME VALUATION CERTIFICATION.—The 19 term ‘‘home valuation certification’’ means the fol- 20 lowing home assessments: 21 (A) Home Energy Score. 22 (B) PEARL Certification. 23 (C) ICC700 National Green Building 24 Standard. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4052 IS (D) LEED. 1 (E) Any other assessment the Secretary 2 determines to be appropriate. 3 (8) HOPE QUALIFICATION.—The term ‘‘HOPE 4 qualification’’ means the qualification described in 5 section 103. 6 (9) HOPE TRAINING CREDIT.—The term 7 ‘‘HOPE training credit’’ means a HOPE training 8 task credit or a HOPE training supplemental credit. 9 (10) HOPE TRAINING TASK CREDIT.—The 10 term ‘‘HOPE training task credit’’ means a credit 11 described in section 102(a). 12 (11) HOPE TRAINING SUPPLEMENTAL CRED- 13 IT.—The term ‘‘HOPE training supplemental cred- 14 it’’ means a credit described in section 102(b). 15 (12) HVAC SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘HVAC sys- 16 tem’’ means a system— 17 (A) consisting of a heating component, a 18 ventilation component, and an air-conditioning 19 component; and 20 (B) which components may include central 21 air conditioning, a heat pump, a furnace, a boil- 22 er, a rooftop unit, or a window unit. 23 (13) MEASURED PERFORMANCE REBATE.—The 24 term ‘‘measured performance rebate’’ means a re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4052 IS bate provided in accordance with section 203 and 1 described in subsection (e) of that section. 2 (14) MODELED PERFORMANCE REBATE.—The 3 term ‘‘modeled performance rebate’’ means a rebate 4 provided in accordance with section 203 and de- 5 scribed in subsection (d) of that section. 6 (15) MODERATE INCOME.—The term ‘‘mod- 7 erate income’’, with respect to a household, means a 8 household with an annual income less than 80 per- 9 cent of the area median income as determined annu- 10 ally by the Department of Housing and Urban De- 11 velopment. 12 (16) PARTIAL SYSTEM REBATE.—The term 13 ‘‘partial system rebate’’ means a rebate provided in 14 accordance with section 202. 15 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 16 means the Secretary of Energy. 17 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes— 18 (A) a State; 19 (B) the District of Columbia; 20 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 21 (D) Guam; 22 (E) American Samoa; 23 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 24 Mariana Islands; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4052 IS (G) the United States Virgin Islands; and 1 (H) any other territory or possession of the 2 United States. 3 (19) STATE ENERGY OFFICE.—The term ‘‘State 4 energy office’’ means the office or agency of a State 5 responsible for developing the State energy conserva- 6 tion plan for the State under section 362 of the En- 7 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 8 TITLE I—HOPE TRAINING 9 SEC. 101. NOTICE FOR HOPE QUALIFICATION TRAINING 10 AND GRANTS. 11 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 12 of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Building 13 Technologies Office of the Department of Energy, shall 14 issue a notice that includes— 15 (1) criteria established under section 102 for 16 approval by the Secretary of courses for which cred- 17 its may be issued for purposes of a HOPE Qualifica- 18 tion; 19 (2) a list of courses that meet such criteria and 20 are so approved; and 21 (3) information on how individuals and entities 22 may apply for grants under this title. 23 SEC. 102. COURSE CRITERIA. 24 (a) HOPE TRAINING TASK CREDIT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4052 IS (1) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish 1 criteria for approval of a course for which a credit, 2 to be known as a ‘‘HOPE training task credit’’, may 3 be issued, including that such course— 4 (A) is equivalent to at least 30 hours in 5 total course time; 6 (B) is accredited by the Interstate Renew- 7 able Energy Council or is determined to be 8 equivalent by the Secretary; 9 (C) is, with respect to a particular job, 10 aligned with the relevant National Renewable 11 Energy Laboratory Job Task Analysis, or other 12 credentialing program foundation that helps 13 identify the necessary core knowledge areas, 14 critical work functions, or skills, as approved by 15 the Secretary; 16 (D) has established learning objectives; 17 and 18 (E) includes, as the Secretary determines 19 appropriate, an appropriate assessment of such 20 learning objectives that may include a final 21 exam, to be proctored on-site or through remote 22 proctoring, or an in-person field exam. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4052 IS (2) INCLUDED COURSES.—The Secretary shall 1 approve one or more courses that meet the criteria 2 described in paragraph (1) for training related to— 3 (A) contractor certification; 4 (B) energy auditing or assessment; 5 (C) home energy systems (including HVAC 6 systems); 7 (D) insulation installation and air leakage 8 control; 9 (E) health and safety regarding the instal- 10 lation of energy efficiency measures or health 11 and safety impacts associated with energy effi- 12 ciency retrofits; and 13 (F) indoor air quality. 14 (b) HOPE TRAINING SUPPLEMENTAL CREDIT CRI- 15 TERIA.—The Secretary shall establish criteria for approval 16 of a course for which a credit, to be known as a ‘‘HOPE 17 training supplemental credit’’, may be issued, including 18 that such course provides— 19 (1) training related to— 20 (A) small business success, including man- 21 agement, home energy efficiency software, or 22 general accounting principles; 23 (B) the issuance of a home valuation cer- 24 tification as defined in section 2(7); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4052 IS (C) the use of wifi-enabled technology in 1 an energy efficiency upgrade; or 2 (D) understanding and being able to par- 3 ticipate in the Home Energy Savings Retrofit 4 Rebate Program in title II; and 5 (2) as the Secretary determines appropriate, an 6 appropriate assessment of such training that may in- 7 clude a final exam, to be proctored on-site or 8 through remote proctoring, or an in-person field 9 exam. 10 (c) EXISTING APPROVED COURSES.—The Secretary 11 may approve a course that meets the applicable criteria 12 established under this section that is approved by the ap- 13 plicable State energy office or relevant State agency with 14 oversight authority for residential energy efficiency pro- 15 grams. 16 (d) IN-PERSON AND ONLINE TRAINING.—An online 17 course approved pursuant to this section may be con- 18 ducted in person or online as long as the training can be 19 done remotely. 20 SEC. 103. HOPE QUALIFICATION. 21 (a) ISSUANCE OF CREDITS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, or an entity 23 authorized by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph 24 (2), may issue— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4052 IS (A) a HOPE training task credit to any 1 individual that completes a course that meets 2 applicable criteria under section 102; and 3 (B) a HOPE training supplemental credit 4 to any individual that completes a course that 5 meets the applicable criteria under section 102. 6 (2) OTHER ENTITIES.—The Secretary may au- 7 thorize a State energy office, an organization de- 8 scribed in section 104(b), and any other entity the 9 Secretary determines appropriate, to issue HOPE 10 training credits in accordance with paragraph (1). 11 (b) HOPE QUALIFICATION.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may certify 13 that an individual has achieved a qualification, to be 14 known as a ‘‘HOPE qualification’’, that indicates 15 that the individual has received at least 3 HOPE 16 training credits, of which at least 2 shall be HOPE 17 training task credits. 18 (2) STATE ENERGY OFFICES.—The Secretary 19 may approve a program run by a State energy office 20 to provide HOPE qualifications. 21 SEC. 104. GRANTS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the extent 23 amounts are made available in appropriations Acts for 24 such purposes, provide grants to support the training of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4052 IS individuals toward the completion of a HOPE qualifica- 1 tion. 2 (b) PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide a 4 grant of up to $20,000 under this section to an or- 5 ganization to provide training online, including es- 6 tablishing, modifying, or maintaining the online sys- 7 tems, staff time, and software and online program 8 management, through a course that meets the appli- 9 cable criteria established under section 102. 10 (2) CRITERIA.—In order to receive a grant 11 under this subsection, an organization shall be— 12 (A) a nonprofit organization; 13 (B) an educational institution; or 14 (C) an organization that has experience 15 providing training to contractors that work with 16 the weatherization assistance program imple- 17 mented under part A of title IV of the Energy 18 Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 19 6861 et seq.) or equivalent experience, as deter- 20 mined by the Secretary. 21 (3) ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATIONS.—In addition 22 to any grant provided under paragraph (1), the Sec- 23 retary may provide an organization up to $5,000 for 24 each additional course for which a HOPE training 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:09 Jul 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4052.IS S4052 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4052 IS credit may be issued that is offered by the organiza- 1 tion. 2 (c) CONTRACTOR COMPANY.—The Secretary may 3 provide a grant of $1, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]