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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES (HR 2447 ENERGY) 08-07-07,__ ~ Agenda Item 19 ~~ Reviewed: -:~ ~~, AGENDA ~~EP O City Manager ~;_ ;F, Finance Director NIA MEETING DATE: AUGUST 7, 2007 TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: UPDATE ON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (H.R.) 2447 -ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM SUMMARY H.R. 2447 would establish an Energy and Environment Block Grant Program that would appropriate approximately 24 billion dollars over five years to the Secretary of Energy to be provided to territories, commonwealths, and possessions of the United States, states, counties, and cities in the form of block grants. These grants could be used for a variety of specified activities that promote energy efficiency and climate protection. H.R. 2447 was introduced on May 23, 2007, and was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the House Committee on Science and Technology for a period of time to be determined by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. On June 19, 2007, the City Council directed staff to monitor H.R. 2447 and provide an update to the Council within sixty (60) days. There has been no action on the bill since May 23, 2007. RECOMMENDATION: Staff will continue to monitor H.R. 2447 and will provide an update to the Council on the status of H.R. 2447, once the bill moves forward in the legislative process. FISCAL IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts associated with this action. Scott Reekstin Senior Planner ,. Elizabeth A. Binsack Community Development Director Attachment: H.R.2447 S:\Cdd\CCREPORT\H.R. 2447 August 2007 Update.doc I 11UTII CONGI~,ESS 1ST ~F.SSIO\ • • To estal~lisli aTi Euer~,~- arul ET-~-i~•onment Rlock GTRTIt Program, atui for other pttrposes. IN THE HOITSE OF REPRESENTATIVES a>~~~ z:3, zoo? 1Ir. "'1N\' (for himself, Vtr. Ti'R\~R., 11Ir. E\IUEI., :~Ir. PN.IAVE, 1~Ii•. KE\'- I~EDl, i1I1'. I\SLEF., :1Ir. Ri-TTERFIELD, VIl'. «'F.IKF.R, 1"Ir. H_~STIx(TS of Florida, acid liIr. CAR\AH:1\} iuh•ocliu~eci the follo~ting bill; «~liich was re- ferred to t.hc Committee on Fnergy atul Commerce, aTid in addition tc- the Committee on Science and Teclinulo~v, for a pcriud to be snbse- (~ttt'Iltl~' cletei•iTimecl l~v the Speaker, in each case for consideration ~~t sttch pro~~isioTis as fall within the •jTTi•isdieetiou of the eonunittee concerned A BILL Tu est~~blisll ~txi Encr~y end Environment Block Gr~int Pro~;1•~t.m, ~t.nd for ot~ler pilrpose~. 1 Be ti,t en"uctecl lry the Sev~-~~-te a-zd House ~~ f' Pe f~reserr,tu,- 2 t,'G4~es of'the rln,•r,tecl, ~~~'tutes of'A~r~e-°ieu, i~rz Co~rr~~ress c~sse-rrr"filed, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act m~~~ bE~ citc(~ d~ the "Enel•by ~ncl Enviruri- 5 mcnt Block Grant Act of X007". 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 The CoIi~7•ess finds the following: 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (1) I~asrcl nn ~, reccllt 1Tnit(xi \'~,tirnls rcl~ort, the ~vorlcl scielitific colltrrillliity now a.grecs tll~t glol~- al warming is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from hltrrlaYt behavior and activity. (2) The ITrlit(~cl States, while i•ep~•(~s(~ntin~; 1(~ss than 5 percent of the ~t'urla's popctlatiul~, l•ele~t.se5 ~~ projected 25 percent of all greenlloltse gases emitted worldwide. (3 } Local governments are particularly well po- sitioned to develop, implement, and promote ener~;•~' efficiency a.n(1 greenhouse gas reduction strategies at the conlmllnity lc~~~el, ~,s part of a, colnl~~reliensive na- tional str~.tc~;y to aclclress ~;lol~al wa,l•Itllllt~.,'. (4) The I'('1('fl.SC of slr,~'I1lflcaItt atllntlllts of grCell- house gases occurs as a result of cllergS' collsttrrie(l by bltilclings and homes, and 39,300,000 nest- biomes a,rlcl X0,000,000,000 s(lttare feet of commercial office spare are pr•~jc~ctc~d to lie cun~trlu~ted l~E~t~t~een 2007 a.ncl 2031. (5) Local govcrllments, through rep-ised building codes, buil(lin~• inspection, and the promotion of en- er~;;y efficient retrofits and conservation measures, are uniquely positioned to work with their loea.l busi- ness conilnltniti(~s to encrnira.ge ener~~' efficiency a,nd •Hft 2447 IH IJ 1 grecnhrn~sc gas rc~dtictiori stra.tegios within tllc hnilci- 2 iYlg constrl~etion a.ncl nia.na,gc~ricnt sectors. 3 (Ei) Tllc~ clevcloprncrit of comrrnzliity-based con- 4 nervation pro~rrarris that recluse the usage of crier~~ 5 in homes and traYispol•tatiort will `~iolcl irnrrlediate 6 a,~lcl s1~;Tllf1(;ilnt redl~ctions of a jilrisdiction's o~~era11 7 c~t.rbon omissions. 11la,riy cities have all•eadv signed 8 Climate Protection ~~;reemontn, including a goal of 9 all buildings boirig carbon neutral by 2030. 10 (7} Local governments control or influence land 11 use, transportation, and development planning tlla.t 12 clirectl~~ impacts the design of a eoninn~nit~~, a luajor 13 fa,etor in the alllol~llt of greenhol~sc~ gases eniittecl. 14 (8) Tlu clc~vclopnicnt of local cncr~;y alul c~Yivi- 15 ronrrirrlt con~iprchensivc plans «-ill proviclc local gov- 16 ernrnents the strategies thc;y need to establish spe- 17 cific~ enerby efficioricy and greenlloti5e ga.s eYnission 18 r•edu~tiuri goals a.nd milestones. 19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 20 For purposes of this Act- 21 (1) the term "eligible entity" means a Mate or .. 22 an eligible unit of local go`~ernment within a Mate; 23 (Z) the term "eligible unit of local government" 24 means- •HR 2447 IH 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 (A) a city «~ith a. pol~Irla,tion of a.t lca,st 50,000; and (I3) ~ colznty with a popl~lation of at least 200,000; (3) the tel•rn "~reenhottse gas" mearls- (A) car•l~on dioxide; (R) methane; (C) nitroLls OxlCle; (D) h~~clrofluorocarbolls; (E} perfluoroca,rl~on5; (F) sulfur hexa.fluoride; and (G) a,ny ot11Hr ~.nthrol~o~enicall~'-E'1r11ttE~c1 gas that is deter•lnilled 1>y the Secretary, after notice ~llcl comincnt, to corlt,rihlrtc to global warming t0 ~, 11011-11Cg11g11)le dc~;rc~c; (4) the term "Secretary" 1nea.rls the Se~ret~~ry of Enemy; a,ncl (5) thc~ term "State" means une of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Common~~'ealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the ~(Trlited States Virgin Islalids, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar•ian~, Islands, and an~~ other common- wealth, territor~~, or possession of the United States. ~~ 1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 2 The Secretaly shall establish an Energy and Environ- 3 meat Block Grant Program to make block grants to eligi- 4 ble entities as provided in this Act. S SEC. 5. ALLOCATIONS. 6 (a} ITT GENERAL.-Of the funds appropriated for 7 making grants under this Act for each fiscal year, the Sec- 8 reta.ry shall allocate 7U percent to be provided to eligibl(~ 9 units of local govc~rllmcnt a.s pro~~idccl in slibscction (b) 10 ~t,ltd ~30 percent to be 1)ro~~iclc~cl to States a.s pro~~ided in 11 slll)scctioll (c). 12 (b) Fr~IC~Ii3LE UNITS OF LUG"Are (~UVER~~1tE\T.-Th(~ 13 Secrett~ly 5ha11 provide grants to eligible t.ulits ut' local gov- 14 er~lmerit according to a forlntda ~•iving ec~tial weight to- 15 (1) popl~latlon, according to the most recent 16 available Census data.; and 17 (2) daytime population, or another similar fae- 18 for such as square footage of commercial, office, and 19 industrial space, as determined ley the Secretary. 20 (e) STI~TES.-The Secretary shall pro~-ide grants to 21 States according to a formula: ba.secl nn popnla,tion, a:ecorcl- 22 illg to the most recent available Ccllsi~s data. 23 (cl) YZTRLICATI(~\' nF AI~I~nCATIn\T F(~R11Tt?L~-ti.-Not 24 later than 9U clays before tllc be~;llllllllg of ally fiscal ,year 25 in which gr~t.nts are to made under this Act, the Secl•et~~.l;y •HR 2447 IH 1 shall pul~lisll in the Frdrral Rogistcr the fornllllas for allo- t cation descrihecl in subsoctirnl (b) (1) arlcl (l~) (2 } . 3 SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 4 Fnluls provi(led tllrol~gh a grant under this Act may 5 be used for the f~llu«'Illt~,' activities: 6 (1) Developrriellt and irrlplemeritation of an E11- 7 er~v Efficiency and tylimate Protection Strate~;;~~ g L1I1(1CI' SectlOn ~ Or 9. 9 (2) Retaining technical consultant soI'~~icos to 10 assist an eligible entity in the development of such 11 Stra.to~~~, inclluling- 12 (A) cstilria,tioll of the 1900 lovely of gr(~en- 13 hrn~sc gas emissions «~ithin tlic ,]Ilrisdictirnl of 14 the eligible entity; 15 (13) detorrrlination of l~aselillc greenhouse 16 gas emissions for 2006 or the most recant ,year 17 for best a~~ailal~le data; 18 (C) forrriulatiull of energy c~f'ficien(,y and 19 greenhouse gas omission reduction goals; 20 {D) identification of strate~;~es to moot 21 such goals through major emitters of b~I'een- 22 house gases; 23 (E) identification of strategies to encour- 24 a,ge hellaviora,l changes alrlnng file populace 2S that will help achieve such goals; •HIt 2447 IH 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (F) developnu~Ilt of Incthocls to 1rTCastirc 1~rogl•ess iIT acllievil~~; sl~ch goals; (G) dc~vcloplnent a,ncl preparation of allllual reports to the citizenry of the eligible entity's ellergy efficic~nc~,y allcl ~;reenhotTSe gas reclttctlon strategies a.nd goals, axicl pr•ogr•e5s in a.chic~~~ing them; (H) analysis of potential mitigation strate- gies to offset the Ilegatij~e environmental im- pacts of global warming on the community; anct (I) other services to assist in the imple- Illc~ntation of file Fnerg~~ Efficiency a,ncl Clinla.te Protection Strategy. (~l) CUI1ChlCtin~ energy a,lclits. (4) I)evc~loplnent allcl implerrientation of wcath- erization programs. (5) Creation of finaTU~ial inc;txntive prog•I•arrls for energy efficiency retrofits, including zeru-interest or lo~v-interest revel~'lllfr;~ loan fiends. (6) Grants to nonprofit organi7atiolTS and go~~- errimelltal agencies for ener•~;y retrofits. (7) Development anti implementation of energy efficiency progr•a.ms and technologies for buildings a,ncl facilities elf nonprofit cn•gani~a.tions and govern- rrTCllta.l agcllcics. •HR 244? IH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 lI 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (~) Dcvc~l~pn~icllt ~.ncl inlplenlentati~ll of bllilcl- illg and holler. cncr~~~ conservation pr•u~;Ta,lns, incllld- ing- . (A) (lesion ~n(1 operation of the progr~lns; (I3) researcll un the must effective lllc~thu(ls fur achieving maYilll~lrn par•ticipatiun alld effi- ciency rates; (L} public education; (D) measurement protocols; and (E} identification of ener~;;~~ efficient tecll- nologies. (y) De~•elopluent and inlplellrent~,tlun of trans- port~.tioll fi~cl eunselvation l~ro~;mallls, inclll(lillg- (A) prunlutiun of public tr~.llsit ridership; (13) car pooling; (L) reduction of vehicle miles traveled; (D) increase in trip ef'ficiencles; (E) l.lse of flex t1171e 1),y e111p1U,yers; (F) satellite work centers; and (G) other measures that have the effect of increasing fuel efficiencies and decreasing filel consumption. (1 U) De~•elopment and implementation of a.lter- native fuel tecllnulu~•ies in plzblic fleets tlla.t result in s1g111f1Cant ~,7'CC1111ntiSe gas C1nlSSln11 rC(111Ctlnlls, ln- •HR. 244? IH 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 lb 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 clucling thc~ retrofitting of clicsel hus fleets with l~i~;h tcchrtology ('Xhallst tlltcrs a.rtcl the pi~rclla.sr. of zcro- emission h~rclrogc~n fiiel cell buses. (11) De~-eloprnent arlcl irriplementatiori of alter- n~~tive fu(~l infrdstructt.~re that r(,sults in significant r•edtrctiuns in gr•cenlwuse gas emissions. (12) Development and implementation of intel- ligent transportation systems desig7iecl to reduce congestion arld related g~~eenllouse gas emissions. (13) Development and implementation of build- ing codes and inspection scr•vices for pul.~lic, commer- cial, industrial, and single ~.nd mlrltrf~aliil~- resiclen- tia,l brrilclings to prrnii~tr. crierg~r efficiency. (14) Applica.ticni and uYiplcnlent~-tion of ~.ltcl•- native erlerg~y arlcl erlerg~~ distribution techrtolo~;•ies that si~rtifrcantl~~ rncrease energy efficiency and re- cltrce g,~•eerlhotisc~ g~t.s emissions, inciu(ling sol~tx•, tivind, gc~uthc~rmal, district h(~~t.tin~ ana (~uolin~ sys- tems, and other renewable energy resoin•ces. (15 } Development and promotion of land use guidelines or requirements that result in energy effi- ciency and greenhouse gas emission reductions, in- cluding mixed use development, transit-oriented de- velop~nent, active living l~.ncl use planning, end alter- na,tivc transportat~orl ntfrastructtlre such as bike •HR. 247 IH 10 1 lanes and patllwa.~~s, pedestrian-oricritecl trailspor- 2 tation, and perking for alternative forms of trans- 3 portatiotl. 4 (16) Prorriotiuri of greater participation and uf- 5 ficiulicy rates fur material cunsur•vation l~ru~1•ams, in- 6 cslttcltYl~ suln•c~u rudtictiun, rucy~clirig, alld rec~•yc~led 7 content procurement pro~;•rams that lead to increases 8 in energy efficienc~~ and reductions in ~;reenliousc 9 gas emissions. 10 (17) Establishment of an office to assist in the 11 development and implementation of the Energy- Effi- 12 ciency a.ncl Clima,tu Protection Stra.teg~y~. 13 SEC. 7. INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 14 Funds provided through ~. gra.nt under this Act rila~, 15 be not used for the following a.cti~~tics: 16 (1) Yurcha.sc or leasing of equipment or vchi- 17 plus fur the pri~•atu sector. 18 (~) Pilrcllasu of pollution writrul uq~~il~tnurit fur 19 private' ulecstric utilities. 2O SEC. 8. REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBLE UNITS OF LOCAL 21 GOVERNMENT. 22 (a} PROPOSED ~TRATEUY.-Not later than 1 ,year 23 after being a~~~arded a ~mant under this Act, an eligible 24 unit of local government shall submit to the Secretar~~ a 25 proposed Enur~;y Efficiunc~~ and C]irr~ate Protection ~trat- •HR 2447 IH 11 1 cg~~ ~vhich csta,l~>lishrs goals fir illcrca,secl cncrg~• efficicncy~ 2 a.nd rccll~ctioli of grerllllollsc gas cnllsslolls In the ~llrls(~1C- 3 Lion of the cliglblc Units of local govcrllmcnt. Thc~ Strategy' 4 shall include plans for the nse of fiends received lender the 5 grant t~ assist the eligible unit of local government in the 6 a~hievelnent ~f s~iull g~a1s, consistent ~ritll secstiuns 6 a.llcl 7 7. In developing such a Strategy, an eligible unlit of local 8 go~'erllment shall take into account ar>.y plans for the use 9 of f1.lncls b~~ adjoining eligible Lllllts of local goverlimellts 10 filnded under this Act. 11 (b) APPROVAL.-Tllc Secretalyy .'hall approve or dis- 12 approve a proposed Strategy submitted under subsection 13 (a) not later than 90 da,3~s after receiving it. It' flee Sc~c- 14 reta.ry clisa,ppr~ves a, pr~p~secl Stra.teg~~, the Secretary- 15 shall proviclc to flee cligiblc~ unit of local govcrnnlcllt flee 16 reasons for slxcll disapproval. The eligible unit of local gov- 17 ernrnent may revise and resubmit the Strategy, as lYiany 18 tilr~c-s as rey~lired, tlrltil approval is g~l•anted. 19 (~) FiTNDI~TG FOR PREPARATIO\' OF STR,ATEC~F.- 20 (1) I~ cIE\TERAI~.-Until the Secretary has ap- 21 proved a proposed Energy Efficieric;y and Climate 22 Protection Strategy under subsection (b), the Sec- 23 rotary shall onl~~ disburse to an eligible unit of local 24 government ~Z00,000 or ZO percent of the grant, •HR 2447 IH 12 1 wllichevcr is greater, which play tx' rased uri13~ fir 2 prepar~.tion of the Stra,te~;y. 3 (2) REMAINDER OF FL?\'DS.-Thc~ rernairulcr of 4 a.n eligible unit of local government's ~r~tnt fiznds 5 ~iwarclc~cl blot nut clisbLirsecl lulcler par~~raph (1) 6 shall relnalrl a.vailal~lc' alld shall be disbtlrsecl by tllc~ 7 Secreta ly upon appro~~al of the Strate~;~~. $ (Cl) I~Ii11ITATI()NS O\' jJSE OF FT1\'DS.-Of the 9 amounts provided tllroLlgh a grant under this Act, an eligi- 10 ble unit of local go~~ernment ma.~' Llse- 11 (1) not more than lU percent, or ~7~~,000, 12 ~vlliellever is greater, for acllninistrati~~e e~}~enses, 13 not including c~~penses neE~ded to meet reporting re- 14 cluirc'111CIlts unclcr this Act; 15 (2) not more than ?U prrecnt, or ~2~U,000, 16 ~vhichevrr is ~;rr,atc~r, for the establishment of revoli•- 17 ing lu~t.n fiends; and 18 (3) not more than 20 perc~ellt, ur ~2~O,000, 19 ~vhiehever is greater, for subgl•a.ntil~g to nongovern- 20 mental or~•ani~ations for the purpose of assisting in 21 the implementation of the Energy Efficiency and 22 Climate Protection Strategy. 23 (e) A1~rNi~11L REPORT.-Not later than ~ ,years after 24 receipt of the first disbursement of• funds from a grant 25 awarded lmcler this Act, and annuall~~ thereafter, an eligi- •HA 2447 IH 13 1 blc uliit of local govcrrliiicnt shall snb~ltit ~, report to the 2 Sccrcta,ry on tlic~ sta.tlxs of tllc Stra,tc~;y's clc~~clopmcnt a.rlci 3 irrlplc~1nc17tation, ailcl, where practicable, a. best available 4 assessn~ieYlt of ener~~r c~fficiencv wins and greenholxse gas 5 red~:u~tiuris within the j~xrisdictiun of the eligible unit of 6 local ~;o~~f~rnmE~nt. 7 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES. $ {a) ALLOCATION' OF GRANT FiT\'DS. A State receiv- 9 ing a ~raiit under this Act shall use at least 70 percent 10 of the filncls received to provide subgr'ants to units of local 11 go~~ernment in the. State that are not eligible units of local 12 go~~ernment. The State shall make such subgrant awards 13 nut later than 6 ~iiontlls after appr~va,l of the Sta.te's 14 Stratc~;~~ under subsection (c). 15 (b) PROPO~EI~ STRL~TEC7I .-Not later than 1 ? 0 cla.~~s 16 tlic elate of cliactmcllt of this Act, r.ach State shall s~xbrriit 17 to thc~ Secrc~ta.Yy a proposed EnE~r~,y Efficiency and Cli- 18 mate Protection Strategy which establishes a 1u'ucE~ss fur 19 making stibgrants described in sc.tbsec~tiun (a), ar-d estab- 20 lishes goals for inereasecl encr~;Sr efficiency and redlxetion 21 of greenhouse gas emissions in the jurisdiction of tlic 22 State. The Strategy shall include plans for the use of 23 funds received under a grant under this Act to assist the 24 State in the a,chie~~ement of such goals, consistent with 25 sections 6 and 7. •HIt 2447 IH 14 1 (c) APYROti'AI..-The Secrctar~T sll~.ll a.l~provc~ or clis- 2 app~•o~yc a proposal Strategy sl1bn11ttCCl under sttbseetioll 3 (b) not later than JO days after recciviti~ it. If the Sec- 4 retary disa.pt~roves a, proposed Strate~~, the Seorc~tary 5 shell provide to the State the re~i-sons fur such disrtppruval. 6 The State rria~~ revise acid resubrriit the Strategy, as izi~tm' 7 tunes as required, until approval is granted. $ ((~) Ft?\'DI\U FOR PRFPr1RATIO~ OF STR.ATF(xY.- 9 (1) I~ GE\'ERAL.-~[lntil the Secretar•~T has ap- 10 proved a proposed Enemy Efficiency and Climate 11 Yroteetion Strate~•~' under subsection (b), the Sec- 12 rotary shall only disburse to a State X200,000 or ~0 13 percent of the ~mant, whichever is ~;rea.ter, which 14 ma3~ be used only for prcl~~,ratioll of the Stratr.~y. 15 (~) RE:VIAINI~ER OF FI?Nnti.-The remainder of 16 a. State's ~~raYlt fiends awarded but not clisliursecl 17 sander para~ra.pll (1) shall remain available alid shill 18 be disbursed by the Secretary «pun al~pruval of the 19 Strategy. 20 (e) LI:v1ITATIO\~ oN ~ ITsE of Fi~NDS.-Uf' the 21 amounts pro«dea tllrounh a grant under this Acct, a State 22 may use not more than 10 percetlt for administrative ex- 23 penses. •HR 244? IH 15 1 (f) ANNUAL REPORTS.-A Sta.tc shall anmzally rc- 2 Dort to the Secretary on the devcloplnent a.ilcl implernclita- 3 Lion of its Stra,te~y. Each such report shall include- 4 (1) a stat~zs report on the State's sub~ra.nt pro- s ~;rarri described in sicbsection (<<); 6 (2} a, best ava.ila.ble a,ssessY~zent of onor~;y c~f'fi- 7 ciericy ~;•aitzs a11d ~;•reenholzse ~;•as reductions achieved 8 throu~li the State's Strate~;~T; and 9 (3} specific erier~y efficiency and greenllousc 10 ~;as reduction goals for future ,years. 11 SEC. 10. REVIEW AND EVALUATION. 12 The Secretary ma,•y review and eva.lua,te the perform- 13 ante of riTa.nt recipients, incllzclin~ by perforillin~; audits, 14 a~zd niay deny fizllclin~ to slzcll grant rccil~icrits for ta.illzrc 15 to properly acllierc to- • 16 (1) tlic Secretary's ~~zidclincs and rc~~;ulatioizs 17 relating to the 1~ru~•arri lznder this Ac,t, includiri~; the 18 mistlsc~ ur misappropriation of fic~ids; or 19 (2) the ~•rant recipient's Strategy. ZO SEC. 11. OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BLOCK 21 GRAN'rs. 22 (a) EsTARLISxi~tE~'T.-The Secretary shall establish 23 an Office of Energy and En~~ironmental Block Grants to 24 administer the program under this Act. Tlie Director of •HR 2447 IH 16 1 the Office sl~~,ll have the title ~f Assistant Secretary fc~r 2 Ener~;~~ Efficiency a.Ilcl Cliln~,tc Protection. 3 (b) STATE A\'v LO(~I~ AlltirISORY (yO1~I1~TITTEE.-The 4 Officse shall establish a St~l.te and Local Advisory Com- S llllttt'E' to provide it ~i.clvicc~ re~~trdin~; the <<.clministratiurl, 6 clir•c~ctiun, and eva.liiatiuil ~f. thc~ l~ru~rarn antler this Act, 7 and to assist iri clevelopirYg~ priorities for the Research, 8 Technical Assi.~tance, and Educ~atiori Program established 9 under section 12. 10 {c) AI?THORIZ.'~TION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-There 11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for acl- 12 ministra,tive expenses of the Office established antler sub- 13 section (a)- 14 (1) X20,000,000 for fisc~ yc~.r 200; 15 (2) X20,000,000 for fiscal jTcar 2009; 16 (3) X25,000,000 for fiscal ,year 2010; 17 (4) X25,000,000 fur fiscal ,year 2011; and 18 {5) ~30,000,U00 fur fiscal ,year 2012. 19 SEC. 12. RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND EDU- 2O CATION PROGRAM. 21 (a) ESTABI~ISIIDTENT.-The Office of Energy and 22 Environmental Block Grants shall establish and carry out 23 a Research, Technical Assistance, and Education Program 24 to pro~~ide- •xx ~7 ~ 17 1 (1) tccllnica,l a.ssista,ncc to Sta.tc and local gov- t errinlcrlts; 3 (2) p~xl~lic ccilxcation prograrris; 4 (3} derrioristration of inno~•ative .ener~,y effi- 5 clen(sy an(l ~Tec'nhulise ~~i~ redU('t1Un ~y~tt'Ills, tt'(;11- 6 nologies, and ln•actic~es; and 7 (4) research and development of effective meas- 8 urement methodologies, methods for changing or in- 9 fluencing public participation in ener~~r efficiency 10 and greenhouse gas reduction programs, and other 11 methods to increase public awareness of, and action 12 on, the global warming crisis. 13 (b) ELI(xIKLE RECIPIENTS.-Eligible recipients of as- 14 sista.nce ixriclcr this section shall inelucle Sta.tc~ aiicl local 15 go~~ernTncnts, Sta.tc~ aYicl local government associations, 16 public and private nonprofit orga.xiizations, aYicl colleges 17 and xxnivc~rsitic,s. 18 (~) 11i?THORIZATION OF .E~.PPROPRIATIONS.-Tht'1'e 19 are a~xtliuri~ed to be appropria,tecl to the Secrc~taYy fur car- 20 eying ont this section X150,000,000 for each of the fiscal 21 years 200 tllrougli 2012. 22 -SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 23 Tllere are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 24 rotary for grants antler this ~let- 25 {1) X4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 200; .~ ~~ ~ 1~ 1 (2) X4,000,000,000 for fisc~.l year 200y; 2 (3) ~~,000,000,000 for fiscal yc~,r 2010; 3 (4) ~S,000,OOU,000 for fiscal ,year 2011; a.71c1 4 (5) $6,000,000,000 for fiscal ,year 2012. O •HR, 2447 IH