I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2520 To require the Secretary of Labor to carry out a pilot program to award competitive grants to eligible entities to train individuals for careers in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 6, 2023 Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To require the Secretary of Labor to carry out a pilot pro- gram to award competitive grants to eligible entities to train individuals for careers in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, 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 to as the ‘‘Renewable Energy 4 Jobs Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2520 IH SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TRAINING AND EMPLOY- 1 MENT PILOT PROGRAM. 2 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Labor shall 3 carry out a pilot program (in this section referred to as 4 the ‘‘pilot program’’) to award competitive grants to eligi- 5 ble entities to train individuals for careers in the renew- 6 able energy and energy efficiency industries. 7 (b) APPLICATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—To apply for a grant under 9 the pilot program, an eligible entity shall submit an 10 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 11 manner, and containing such information as the Sec- 12 retary may require. 13 (2) CONTENTS.—A grant application under this 14 section shall include the following: 15 (A) A proposal for a program to train indi- 16 viduals for careers in the renewable energy and 17 energy efficiency industries. 18 (B) A description of the presence of such 19 industries, and the availability of jobs in such 20 industries, in the State in which the eligible en- 21 tity will carry out the program. 22 (C) A description of the sustainability of 23 long-term careers in such industries in such 24 State, including a description of the growth of 25 such industries over the 10-year period pre- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2520 IH ceding the date of the application and the pro- 1 duction output of such industries as of the date 2 of such application. 3 (D) A plan to coordinate the efforts of the 4 eligible entity under the program with relevant 5 efforts of workforce development boards. 6 (E) A description of how the program 7 aligns with the workforce plan of such State. 8 (F) A description of how the program will 9 aid participants to attain recognized postsec- 10 ondary credentials. 11 (c) DURATION OF GRANT.—Each grant under this 12 section shall be for a period of 3 years. 13 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 14 a grant under this section may use the grant funds— 15 (1) to carry out the proposal submitted by the 16 recipient under subsection (b)(2)(A); 17 (2) to reimburse a primary entity for the cost 18 of providing on-the-job training; 19 (3) to reimburse a secondary entity for the cost 20 of providing skills training (or on-the-job training if 21 in partnership with an energy efficient employer); 22 (4) to reimburse an employer for wages associ- 23 ated with registered apprenticeship; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2520 IH (5) to conduct outreach to inform primary enti- 1 ties, secondary entities, and the public, including in- 2 dividuals in rural areas and Indian tribes, of eligi- 3 bility or potential eligibility for participation in the 4 program; and 5 (6) to conduct any other activities that the Sec- 6 retary determines appropriate. 7 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 8 (a), the Secretary shall prioritize grants to eligible entities 9 that submit a proposal to carry out a program in a State 10 that is among the 5 States with the highest installed alter- 11 native energy power capacity. 12 (f) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receipt of funds 13 under this section, the Secretary shall require an eligible 14 entity to agree— 15 (1) to repay to the Secretary any amount re- 16 ceived under the pilot program that is not used for 17 the purposes described in subsection (d) by the date 18 that is 3 years after the date on which the recipient 19 received such funds; 20 (2) to submit to the Secretary, at such times 21 and containing such information as the Secretary 22 shall require, reports on the use of grant funds; and 23 (3) to ensure that any employer or other entity 24 receiving funds through a program under this sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2520 IH tion pays each individual receiving on-the-job train- 1 ing provided by such employer or entity not less 2 than the applicable minimum wage for the State or 3 locality in which such training is provided. 4 (g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 5 (1) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—Of the 6 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization 7 of appropriations under subsection (i), 2 percent 8 shall be made available to the Secretary for adminis- 9 trative costs associated with implementing and eval- 10 uating the pilot program under this section and for 11 preparing and submitting the report required under 12 subsection (h). 13 (2) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—The Sec- 14 retary shall determine the appropriate maximum 15 amount of each grant awarded under this section 16 that may be used by the recipient for administrative 17 and reporting costs. 18 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 19 submit to Congress an annual report on the pilot program 20 for each year of the grant period containing— 21 (1) a description of activities carried out under 22 this section; 23 (2) an evaluation of the pilot program; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2520 IH (3) a description of how many participants were 1 employed by renewable energy and energy efficiency 2 employers within 6 months of completing the train- 3 ing. 4 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 6 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027, 7 for the purpose of carrying out the pilot program. 8 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 9 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 10 (A) a primary entity; or 11 (B) a consortium of entities that— 12 (i) consists of one or more primary 13 entities; and 14 (ii) may include one or more sec- 15 ondary entities. 16 (2) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 17 given that term in section 102 of the Federally Rec- 18 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 19 479a). 20 (3) The term ‘‘installed alternative energy 21 power capacity’’ means the amount of wind, solar, 22 and geothermal power generation, expressed in 23 megawatts, installed in a State. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2520 IH (4) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 1 has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 3 U.S.C. 3102). 4 (5) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ has the 5 meaning given such term in section 2 of the Na- 6 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152). 7 (6) The term ‘‘on-the-job training’’ means 8 training by renewable energy and energy efficiency 9 employers, a labor organization, a institution of 10 higher education, or a nonprofit organization that is 11 provided to a paid participant while engaged in pro- 12 ductive work that— 13 (A) provides knowledge or skills essential 14 to the full and adequate performance of the job; 15 (B) provides reimbursement to the em- 16 ployer for the costs of providing the training 17 and additional supervision related to the train- 18 ing; and 19 (C) is limited in duration as appropriate to 20 the occupation for which the participant is 21 being trained, taking into account the content 22 of the training, the prior work experience of the 23 participant, and the service strategy of the par- 24 ticipant, as appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2520 IH (7) The term ‘‘primary entity’’ means— 1 (A) a renewable energy and energy effi- 2 ciency employer; or 3 (B) a workforce development board. 4 (8) The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden- 5 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 6 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 7 U.S.C. 3102). 8 (9) The term ‘‘renewable energy and energy ef- 9 ficiency employer’’ means an employer that employs 10 individuals in a trade or business in the renewable 11 energy and energy efficiency industries. 12 (10) The term ‘‘renewable energy and energy 13 efficiency industries’’ means any of the following in- 14 dustries: 15 (A) The energy-efficient building, construc- 16 tion, or retrofits industry. 17 (B) The renewable electric power industry, 18 including the wind, solar, and geothermal en- 19 ergy industries. 20 (C) The energy efficiency assessment in- 21 dustry that serves the residential, commercial, 22 or industrial sectors. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2520 IH (D) The industries that manufacture solar 1 panels, wind turbines, geothermal generators, 2 and similar products. 3 (11) The term ‘‘secondary entity’’ means— 4 (A) a institution of higher education; 5 (B) a nonprofit organization; or 6 (C) a labor organization. 7 (12) The term ‘‘skills training’’ means training 8 by secondary entity that provides the knowledge and 9 skills essential to specific jobs in the renewable en- 10 ergy and energy efficiency industries. 11 (13) The term ‘‘State’’ includes each of the sev- 12 eral States, the District of Columbia, the Common- 13 wealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Com- 14 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 15 Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the 16 Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the ter- 17 ritories and possessions of the United States. 18 (14) The term ‘‘workforce development board’’ 19 means a State or local workforce development board 20 established under title I of the Workforce Innovation 21 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2520.IH H2520 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB