HOPE for HOMES Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7325 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 24, 2020 Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. TONKO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7325 IH Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—HOPE TRAINING 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—GENERAL PROVISIONS 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 residential buildings, including— 8 (A) a certification provided by— 9 (i) the Building Performance Insti- 10 tute; 11 (ii) the Air Conditioning Contractors 12 of America; 13 (iii) the National Comfort Institute; 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7325 IH (iv) the North American Technician 1 Excellence; 2 (v) RESNET; 3 (vi) the United States Green Building 4 Council; or 5 (vii) Home Innovation Research Labs; 6 and 7 (B) any other certification the Secretary 8 determines appropriate for purposes of the 9 Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Pro- 10 gram. 11 (2) CONTRACTOR COMPANY.—The term ‘‘con- 12 tractor company’’ means a company— 13 (A) the business of which is to provide 14 services to residential building owners with re- 15 spect to HVAC systems, insulation, air sealing, 16 or other services that are approved by the Sec- 17 retary; 18 (B) that holds the licenses and insurance 19 required by the State in which the company 20 provides services; and 21 (C) that provides services for which a par- 22 tial system rebate, measured performance re- 23 bate, or modeled performance rebate may be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7325 IH provided pursuant to the Home Energy Savings 1 Retrofit Rebate Program. 2 (3) ENERGY AUDIT.—The term ‘‘energy audit’’ 3 means an inspection, survey, and analysis of the en- 4 ergy use of a building, including the building enve- 5 lope and HVAC system. 6 (4) HOME.—The term ‘‘home’’ means a resi- 7 dential dwelling unit in a building with no more than 8 4 dwelling units that— 9 (A) is located in the United States; 10 (B) was constructed before the date of en- 11 actment of this Act; and 12 (C) is occupied at least 6 months out of 13 the year. 14 (5) HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE 15 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Home Energy Savings Ret- 16 rofit Rebate Program’’ means the Home Energy 17 Savings Retrofit Rebate Program established under 18 section 201. 19 (6) HOMEOWNER.—The term ‘‘homeowner’’ 20 means the owner of an owner-occupied home or a 21 tenant-occupied home. 22 (7) HOME VALUATION CERTIFICATION.—The 23 term ‘‘home valuation certification’’ means the fol- 24 lowing home assessments: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7325 IH (A) Home Energy Score. 1 (B) PEARL Certification. 2 (C) National Green Building Standard. 3 (D) LEED. 4 (E) Any other assessment the Secretary 5 determines to be appropriate. 6 (8) HOPE QUALIFICATION.—The term ‘‘HOPE 7 Qualification’’ means the qualification described in 8 section 103. 9 (9) HOPE TRAINING CREDIT.—The term 10 ‘‘HOPE training credit’’ means a HOPE training 11 task credit or a HOPE training supplemental credit. 12 (10) HOPE TRAINING TASK CREDIT.—The 13 term ‘‘HOPE training task credit’’ means a credit 14 described in section 102(a). 15 (11) HOPE TRAINING SUPPLEMENTAL CRED- 16 IT.—The term ‘‘HOPE training supplemental cred- 17 it’’ means a credit described in section 102(b). 18 (12) HVAC SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘HVAC sys- 19 tem’’ means a system— 20 (A) consisting of a heating component, a 21 ventilation component, and an air-conditioning 22 component; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7325 IH (B) which components may include central 1 air conditioning, a heat pump, a furnace, a boil- 2 er, a rooftop unit, and a window unit. 3 (13) MEASURED PERFORMANCE REBATE.—The 4 term ‘‘measured performance rebate’’ means a re- 5 bate provided in accordance with section 203 and 6 described in subsection (e) of that section. 7 (14) MODELED PERFORMANCE REBATE.—The 8 term ‘‘modeled performance rebate’’ means a rebate 9 provided in accordance with section 203 and de- 10 scribed in subsection (d) of that section. 11 (15) MODERATE INCOME.—The term ‘‘mod- 12 erate income’’ means, with respect to a household, a 13 household with an annual income that is less than 14 80 percent of the area median income, as deter- 15 mined annually by the Department of Housing and 16 Urban Development. 17 (16) PARTIAL SYSTEM REBATE.—The term 18 ‘‘partial system rebate’’ means a rebate provided in 19 accordance with section 202. 20 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 21 means the Secretary of Energy. 22 (18) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes— 23 (A) a State; 24 (B) the District of Columbia; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7325 IH (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 1 (D) Guam; 2 (E) American Samoa; 3 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 4 Mariana Islands; 5 (G) the United States Virgin Islands; and 6 (H) any other territory or possession of the 7 United States. 8 (19) STATE ENERGY OFFICE.—The term ‘‘State 9 energy office’’ means the office or agency of a State 10 responsible for developing the State energy conserva- 11 tion plan for the State under section 362 of the En- 12 ergy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322). 13 TITLE I—HOPE TRAINING 14 SEC. 101. NOTICE FOR HOPE QUALIFICATION TRAINING 15 AND GRANTS. 16 Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 17 of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the Director of 18 the Building Technologies Office of the Department of 19 Energy, shall issue a notice that includes— 20 (1) criteria established under section 102 for 21 approval by the Secretary of courses for which cred- 22 its may be issued for purposes of a HOPE Qualifica- 23 tion; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7325 IH (2) a list of courses that meet such criteria and 1 are so approved; and 2 (3) information on how individuals and entities 3 may apply for grants under this title. 4 SEC. 102. COURSE CRITERIA. 5 (a) HOPE TRAINING TASK CREDIT.— 6 (1) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall establish 7 criteria for approval of a course for which a credit, 8 to be known as a HOPE training task credit, may 9 be issued, including that such course— 10 (A) is equivalent to at least 30 hours in 11 total course time; 12 (B) is accredited by the Interstate Renew- 13 able Energy Council or is determined to be 14 equivalent by the Secretary; 15 (C) is, with respect to a particular job, 16 aligned with the relevant National Renewable 17 Energy Laboratory Job Task Analysis, or other 18 credentialing program foundation that helps 19 identify the necessary core knowledge areas, 20 critical work functions, or skills, as approved by 21 the Secretary; 22 (D) has established learning objectives; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7325 IH (E) includes, as the Secretary determines 1 appropriate, an appropriate assessment of such 2 learning objectives that may include a final 3 exam, to be proctored on-site or through remote 4 proctoring, or an in-person field exam. 5 (2) INCLUDED COURSES.—The Secretary shall 6 approve one or more courses that meet the criteria 7 described in paragraph (1) for training related to— 8 (A) contractor certification; 9 (B) energy auditing or assessment; 10 (C) home energy systems (including HVAC 11 systems); 12 (D) insulation installation and air leakage 13 control; 14 (E) health and safety regarding the instal- 15 lation of energy efficiency measures or health 16 and safety impacts associated with energy effi- 17 ciency retrofits; and 18 (F) indoor air quality. 19 (b) HOPE TRAINING SUPPLEMENTAL CREDIT CRI- 20 TERIA.—The Secretary shall establish criteria for approval 21 of a course for which a credit, to be known as a HOPE 22 training supplemental credit, may be issued, including 23 that such course provides— 24 (1) training related to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7325 IH (A) small business success, including man- 1 agement, home energy efficiency software, or 2 general accounting principles; 3 (B) the issuance of a home valuation cer- 4 tification; 5 (C) the use of wifi-enabled technology in 6 an energy efficiency upgrade; or 7 (D) understanding and being able to par- 8 ticipate in the Home Energy Savings Retrofit 9 Rebate Program; and 10 (2) as the Secretary determines appropriate, an 11 appropriate assessment of such training that may in- 12 clude a final exam, to be proctored on-site or 13 through remote proctoring, or an in-person field 14 exam. 15 (c) EXISTING APPROVED COURSES.—The Secretary 16 may approve a course that meets the applicable criteria 17 established under this section that is approved by the ap- 18 plicable State energy office or relevant State agency with 19 oversight authority for residential energy efficiency pro- 20 grams. 21 (d) IN-PERSON AND ONLINE TRAINING.—An online 22 course approved pursuant to this section may be con- 23 ducted in-person, but may not be offered exclusively in- 24 person. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7325 IH SEC. 103. HOPE QUALIFICATION. 1 (a) ISSUANCE OF CREDITS.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, or an entity 3 authorized by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph 4 (2), may issue— 5 (A) a HOPE training task credit to any 6 individual that completes a course that meets 7 applicable criteria under section 102; and 8 (B) a HOPE training supplemental credit 9 to any individual that completes a course that 10 meets the applicable criteria under section 102. 11 (2) OTHER ENTITIES.—The Secretary may au- 12 thorize a State energy office implementing an au- 13 thorized program under subsection (b)(2), an organi- 14 zation described in section 104(b), and any other en- 15 tity the Secretary determines appropriate, to issue 16 HOPE training credits in accordance with para- 17 graph (1). 18 (b) HOPE QUALIFICATION.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may certify 20 that an individual has achieved a qualification, to be 21 known as a HOPE Qualification, that indicates that 22 the individual has received at least 3 HOPE training 23 credits, of which at least 2 shall be HOPE training 24 task credits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7325 IH (2) STATE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary may au- 1 thorize a State energy office to implement a pro- 2 gram to provide HOPE Qualifications in accordance 3 with this title. 4 SEC. 104. GRANTS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the extent 6 amounts are made available in appropriations Acts for 7 such purposes, provide grants to support the training of 8 individuals toward the completion of a HOPE Qualifica- 9 tion. 10 (b) PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide a 12 grant of up to $20,000 under this section to an or- 13 ganization to provide training online, including es- 14 tablishing, modifying, or maintaining the online sys- 15 tems, staff time, and software and online program 16 management, through a course that meets the appli- 17 cable criteria established under section 102. 18 (2) CRITERIA.—In order to receive a grant 19 under this subsection, an organization shall be— 20 (A) a nonprofit organization; 21 (B) an educational institution; or 22 (C) an organization that has experience 23 providing training to contractors that work with 24 the weatherization assistance program imple- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jul 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7325.IH H7325 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7325 IH mented under part A of title IV of the Energy 1 Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 2 6861 et seq.) or equivalent experience, as deter- 3 mined by the Secretary. 4 (3) ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATIONS. 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