TREE Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8291 To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for tree planting to reduce residential energy consumption. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 Mr. CLEAVER (for himself and Mr. MCKINLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant pro- gram for tree planting to reduce residential energy con- sumption. 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 ‘‘Tackling Residential 4 Energy burdens Efficiently Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘TREE 5 Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. TREE PLANTING GRANT PROGRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) ELIGIBLE COST.—The term ‘‘eligible cost’’ 9 means, with respect to a project— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8291 IH (A) the cost of implementing the project, 1 including— 2 (i) planning and designing the plant- 3 ing activity; 4 (ii) purchasing trees; and 5 (iii) preparing the site and conducting 6 planting, including the labor and cost asso- 7 ciated with the use of machinery; 8 (B) the cost of maintaining and monitoring 9 planted trees for a period of up to 3 years to 10 ensure successful establishment of the trees; 11 (C) the cost of training activities associ- 12 ated with the project; and 13 (D) any other relevant cost, as determined 14 by the Secretary. 15 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 16 ty’’ means— 17 (A) a State agency; 18 (B) a local governmental entity; 19 (C) an Indian Tribe; 20 (D) a nonprofit organization; and 21 (E) a retail power provider. 22 (3) ENERGY BURDEN.—The term ‘‘energy bur- 23 den’’ means the percentage of household income 24 spent on home energy bills. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8291 IH (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 1 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 2 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 3 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 4 (5) LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term 5 ‘‘local governmental entity’’ means any municipal 6 government or county government with jurisdiction 7 over local land use decisions. 8 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 9 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization 10 that— 11 (A) is described in section 170(h)(3) of the 12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 13 (B) operates in accordance with one or 14 more of the purposes described in section 15 170(h)(4)(A) of that Code. 16 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 17 the grant program established under subsection 18 (b)(1). 19 (8) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 20 tree planting project carried out by an eligible entity 21 using grant funds awarded under the Program. 22 (9) RETAIL POWER PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘re- 23 tail power provider’’ means any entity authorized 24 under applicable State or Federal law to generate, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8291 IH distribute, or provide retail electricity, natural gas, 1 or fuel oil service. 2 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 3 means the Secretary of Energy. 4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina- 6 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 7 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall estab- 8 lish a program under which the Secretary shall 9 award grants to eligible entities to conduct tree 10 planting projects in accordance with this section. 11 (2) TREE PLANTING.—Subject to the avail- 12 ability of appropriations, in carrying out the Pro- 13 gram, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 14 practicable, award sufficient grants each year to 15 plant not less than 300,000 trees each year. 16 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that seeks 18 to receive a grant under the Program shall submit 19 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 20 form, and containing such information as the Sec- 21 retary may require, including the information de- 22 scribed in paragraph (2). 23 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 24 under paragraph (1) shall include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8291 IH (A) a description of how the project will re- 1 duce residential energy consumption; 2 (B) an estimate of the expected reduction 3 in residential energy consumption; 4 (C) a description of the total eligible costs 5 of the project and sources of funding for the 6 project; 7 (D) a description of the anticipated com- 8 munity and stakeholder engagement in the 9 project; 10 (E) a description of the tree species to be 11 planted and how that species is suitable for the 12 local environmental conditions and climate; and 13 (F) any other relevant information re- 14 quired by the Secretary. 15 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the Pro- 16 gram, the Secretary shall give priority to projects that— 17 (1) provide the largest potential reduction in 18 residential energy consumption for households with a 19 high energy burden; 20 (2) are located in a neighborhood with lower 21 tree canopy cover and higher maximum daytime 22 summer temperatures; 23 (3) are located in a neighborhood with high 24 amounts of senior citizens or children; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8291 IH (4) will collaboratively engage neighbors and 1 community members that will be closely affected by 2 the tree planting; and 3 (5) will employ a substantial percentage of the 4 workforce locally, with a focus on engaging unem- 5 ployed and underemployed persons. 6 (e) COSTS.— 7 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary shall 8 award a grant to an eligible entity under the Pro- 9 gram in an amount equal to not more than 75 per- 10 cent of the eligible costs of the project, as deter- 11 mined by the Secretary. 12 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—As a condition 13 of receiving a grant under the Program, an eligible 14 entity shall provide, in cash or through in-kind con- 15 tributions from non-Federal sources, matching funds 16 in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of 17 the eligible costs of the project, as determined by the 18 Secretary. 19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Pro- 21 gram $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 22 2025. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8291.IH H8291 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS