GBI has compiled a list of 49 bills undergoing congressional consideration that are designed, at least in part, to promote green buildings in the United States. By year's end, Congress will need to decide whether or not to recommend that President Obama sign these measures into law. It should be noted that congressional lawmakers introduce thousands of bills each session and that many of the bills below likely will die once the current term expires. Many of these bills prescribe discretionary spending that has become unacceptable to Obama, and there may be little, if any, movement on them until health care is pushed through via reconciliation. However, many proposals could be reintroduced in the next congressional session and possibly have a better chance of passage, depending on various factors such as public sentiment and political circumstances.

Here are summaries of the green building bills undergoing congressional review (appropriations bills to consider President Obama's proposed budgets for fiscal 2011 green building programs -- proposed budgets that GBI covered in its Feb. 15, 2010, issue -- are not included in the following list):

H.R.58 -- The Green Schools bill would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program awarding matching grants to local educational agencies for green school construction and improvement projects that "create healthy learning environments while saving natural resources and money." The legislation would amend the Internal Revenue Code to extend, through 2013, the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program, which provides tax credits to the holders of such bonds, which in turn finance low- or no-interest loans for the improvement of public schools serving low-income areas. The bill would require public school rehabilitation, repair, or equipment financed through such bonds to serve the green goals of creating healthy learning environments while saving natural resources and money. Perhaps this bill's only hope is to get inserted into the Jobs bill during conference.

Sponsor: Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)

Introduced: Jan. 6, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee as well as the House Education and Labor Committee's Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness and Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education

Number of Cosponsors: 1

S. 222 -- The Community Revitalization Energy Conservation bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to increase to $3.6 billion the national limitation on the issuance of qualified energy-conservation bonds. The legislation would expand the purposes of green community programs to include the reduction of energy consumption in privately owned buildings and the recruiting and training of local workers in green community program jobs. The bill would compel the U.S. Department of Treasury to submit to Congress and publish in the Federal Register an annual report on projects for which qualified energy-conservation bonds are issued. It should be noted that the Senate Finance Committee has been having a difficult time moving forward on most legislation and that this proposal's best hope probably would be inclusion in the Jobs bill.

Sponsor: Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)

Introduced: Jan. 13, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

S. 268 -- This authorization bill would expand the Job Corps program, awarding YouthBuild Build Green grants and Green-Collar Youth Opportunity grants to eligible entities and organizations to provide eligible youth with education, jobs, and training in green-collar industries, including the weatherization and energy retrofitting of low-income homes and buildings. This is the type of bill that could find its way into a large Jobs package during negotiations.

Sponsor: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

Introduced: Jan. 15, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 1

S. 320 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow an energy tax credit for investment in green roofs. The legislation also would repeal limitations on the energy tax credit for property financed by subsidized energy financing.

Sponsor: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)

Introduced: Jan. 26, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 426 -- The Green Roofing Energy Efficiency Tax bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to classify as 20-year property for depreciation purposes any roof system that meets the requirements of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2004 and is on nonresidential real property. The legislation also would require use of the straight line method for depreciation of such property.

Sponsor: Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.)

Introduced: Jan. 9, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 32

H.R.631 --  The Water Use Efficiency and Conservation bill would require EPA to establish a research and development program to promote water use efficiency and conservation in buildings and elsewhere. EPA would promote the following: technologies and processes that enable the collection, storage, treatment, and reuse of rainwater, stormwater, and greywater; water storage and distribution systems; and behavioral, social, and economic barriers to achieving greater water use efficiency. EPA would coordinate the development of a strategic research plan for the water use efficiency and conservation research and development program established by the legislation with all other EPA research and development strategic plans. EPA also would facilitate the adoption of technology and processes to promote water use efficiency and conservation. In addition, EPA would collect and disseminate information on technologies and processes to promote water use efficiency and conservation, including information on incentives and impediments to development and commercialization, best practices, and anticipated increases in water use efficiency and conservation resulting from the implementation of specific technologies and processes. The bill would require at least four projects under which funding is provided for the incorporation into a building (at least one residential and one commercial building) of the latest water use efficiency and conservation technologies and designs. This bill is believed to have some prospects. Rep. Matheson is considered to be very active in green building issues, so his bills tend to see action. This bill already has moved through the House and is now in a friendly Senate committee. This measure is not believed to be one that Senate Republicans would filibuster, so if it gets out of committee it could become law.

Sponsor: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah)

Introduced: Jan. 22, 2009

Status: Passed the House Feb. 11, 2009, and was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 1

H.R. 695 -- This bill would require the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand the Energy Star program to include the certification of buildings as green buildings. DOE also would study and make recommendations concerning the streamlining of the certification process, the development of an online certification program, and the design of a program allowing certification by people without green building expertise.

Sponsor: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)

Introduced: Jan. 26, 2009

Status: Undergoing House Commerce Committee review

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R.957 -- The Green Energy Education bill would authorize DOE to contribute funds for high-performance buildings to the National Science Foundation for curriculum development to improve undergraduate or graduate interdisciplinary engineering and architecture education related to the design and construction of such buildings. This legislation is believed to have a good chance of becoming law sooner or later.  

Sponsor: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)

Introduced: Feb. 10, 2009

Status: Passed the House April 22, 2009, and is undergoing review in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Energy

Number of Cosponsors: 3

S. 1096 -- The bill would direct DOE to award competitive matching grants to consortia of institutions of higher education located in at least six regions covering all of the states to conduct research, extension, and education programs relating to the energy needs of such regions. The legislation would include among such needs accelerated deployment of efficient-energy technologies in buildings and manufacturing facilities.

Sponsor: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

Introduced: May 20, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

S. 1121 -- The bill would direct the U.S. Department of Education to allocate funds to states for competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school repair, renovation, and construction. In awarding such grants to LEAs, states would be required to consider the extent to which they would comply with certain green building standards. Because bill sponsor Sen. Harkin is considered a "political heavyweight" and because there are several cosponsors to this proposal, this measure is believed to have some potential for passage.  

Sponsor: Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)

Introduced: May 21, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 10

S. 1321 -- The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 30 percent of amounts paid for WaterSense labeled property certified by a licensed independent third party as meeting specifications of EPA's WaterSense program. The bill would limit the lifetime dollar amount of such credit to $1,500 and terminate such credit after this year.

Sponsor: Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.)

Introduced: June 23, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 7

S. 1333 -- The bill would extend the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings. This measure is believed to have some potential for inclusion in a larger tax package that may gain passage.

Sponsor: Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)

Introduced: June 24, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 6

S.1379 -- The bill would encourage efficiency and conservation and development of renewable energy sources for housing, commercial structures, and other buildings and to create sustainable communities. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would establish the following: annual energy-efficiency participation incentives for HUD programs to achieve "substantial" improvements in energy efficiency; budget-neutral incentives to encourage lenders to make energy-efficient and location-efficient mortgages; incentives for increasing the energy efficiency of multifamily housing subject to mortgages insured under the National Housing Act; and an energy-efficiency demonstration program for multifamily housing projects assisted with project-based rental assistance.

Sponsor: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Introduced: June 25, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 6

S. 1462 -- The bill would set forth provisions to establish energy-efficiency standards for lights, appliances, and buildings, and revise the Energy Star program. This bill is expected to gain congressional approval.

Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)

Introduced: July 16, 2009

Status: Placed on the Senate legislative calendar under general orders (Calendar No. 110).

Number of Cosponsors: 0

S. 1574 -- The Clean Energy for Homes and Buildings bill would direct DOE to develop and publish for review and comment near-, medium-, and long-term goals for the following: a minimum number of homes and other buildings to be retrofitted through energy-efficiency measures or to have on-site renewable energy systems added; the number of on-site solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal heat pump systems to be installed; the quantities by which use of grid-supplied electricity, natural gas, home heating oil, and other fuels, total fossil fuel dependence in the buildings sector, and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced; the number of jobs that will be created; and the estimated total energy cost savings for building owners. The bill would create a formal DOE Clean Energy for Homes and Buildings Program. DOE would establish eligibility criteria for applicants for financial assistance (including credit enhancements, debt instruments, or other financial products) and select a portfolio of investments that reaches a diversity of building owners. The measure would authorize DOE to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to promote the widespread deployment of, and mobilize private sector support of credit and investment institutions for, energy-efficiency measures and on-site renewable energy generation systems in buildings. It is believed that this bill's best chance is to be attached to a larger energy package.

Sponsor: Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)

Introduced: Aug. 4, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Number of Cosponsors: 1

S. 1590 -- The bill would authorize DOE to provide grants to organizations to conduct business competitions that provide incentives, training, and mentorship to entrepreneurs and early stage startup companies throughout the U.S. to meet high-priority economic, environmental, and energy-security goals involving green buildings, energy efficiency, renewable energy, air quality, water quality and conservation, transportation, smart grid, waste management, and other areas.

Sponsor: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

Introduced: August 6, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 1612 -- The bill would permit DOE to assist in using green building technologies and modular housing designs at certain residential facilities.

Sponsor: Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)

Introduced: March 19, 2009

Status: Placed on the Union Calendar Oct. 23, 2009 (Calendar No. 177)

Number of Cosponsors: 64

S. 1619 -- The Livable Communities bill would establish an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities within HUD. The measure also would create an independent Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities within the Obama administration.

Sponsor: Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)

Introduced: Aug. 6, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 8

S.1637 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to do the following: increase and extend for three years the new energy-efficient home tax credit; increase the rate of the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings; allow a $200 tax credit through 2011 for the cost of a home energy rating; and allow a $500 tax credit for the cost of training and certifying home performance auditors to conduct home energy ratings.

Sponsor: Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

Introduced: Aug. 6, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 2

S. 1733 -- Section 158 of the Clean Energy and American Jobs bill would direct the federal government to create an Efficient Buildings Program. The program would aim to achieve greenhouse gas reductions by providing assistance to owners of buildings in the U.S. as a reward for constructing highly efficient buildings or increasing the efficiency of existing buildings. The government would provide assistance under this section to owners of buildings on the extent to which projects relating to the buildings of the owners result in verifiable, additional, and enforceable improvements in energy performance in the following structures: new or renovated buildings that demonstrate exemplary performance by achieving a minimum score of 75 on the benchmarking tool of the Energy Star program established by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) or an equivalent score on an established energy performance benchmarking metric selected by the government; and in retrofitted existing buildings that demonstrate substantial improvement in the score or rating on the benchmarking tool described in paragraph (1)(A) by a minimum of 30 points or an equivalent improvement using an established performance benchmarking metric selected by the government.

Sponsor: Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)

Introduced: Sept. 30, 2009

Status: The bill has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders (Calendar No. 267)

Number of Cosponsors: 3

S. 1743 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code relating to the building rehabilitation tax credit to do the following: allow an increased 30 percent credit for projects involving $7.5 million or less in rehabilitation expenditures; allow rehabilitated buildings used for lodging to qualify for such credit; establish a 50-year placed-in-service requirement for non-historic rehabilitated buildings; allow such credit for certain tax-exempt use property; provide for the transferability of such credit; increase the energy-efficiency tax credit allowed to rehabilitated buildings; and exempt from taxation refunds attributable to state historic tax credits.

Sponsor: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)

Introduced: Oct. 1, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Finance Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 4

H.R. 1778 -- The Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) Program would require EPA to develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for single-family and multi-family residences. DOE would develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for commercial buildings. REEP would facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings to achieve "maximum cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements and significant improvements in water use and other environmental attributes." REEP also would provide financial assistance to states, to be administered through the State Energy Program, for management and accomplishment of the program's objectives at the individual building level. The bill would authorize states and local agencies to offer free or low-cost building audits, incentives, technical assistance, training, incentive financing, and other forms of assistance to individual building owners. With the large number of cosponsors that this bill has, the measure is expected to have action taken on it.

Sponsor: Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

Introduced: March 30, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Commerce Committee and House Financial Services Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 74

H.R.1781 -- The Renew Through Green Jobs bill would direct the U.S. Department of Labor to award grants to institutions of higher education for sustainability, workforce training, and education in industries and practices such as green construction, retrofitting, and design as well as clean energy, water and energy conservation, recycling, and waste reduction. Labor bills such as this are finding homes in the Jobs bill in the form of "green jobs" as a presidential priority. H.R. 1781 could be one of them.

Sponsor: Rep. Zachary Space (D-Ohio)

Introduced: March 30, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Education and Labor Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

S. 1830 -- The bill would require each federal agency to designate a chief conservation officer. Among the officer's duties would be the following: providing assistance to enhance the agency's conservation efforts; collecting data to determine the energy consumption of each building owned or operated by the agency and of major equipment located within each building and providing the results to the Chief Conservation Officers Council; increasing energy efficiency and maintaining or increasing energy security and cost savings; and developing, facilitating, and maintaining the implementation of a sound energy-efficiency information technology architecture.

Sponsor: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Introduced: Oct. 21, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 2

H.R. 1876 -- The bill would require the incorporation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles in military construction projects carried out in the U.S. or overseas. The measure also would require a specific goal regarding the use of renewable energy sources on all military installations. The measure could be included in a larger energy bill.

Sponsor: Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam)

Introduced: April 2, 2009

Status: Undergoing review in the House Committee on Armed Services' Subcommittee on Readiness

Number of Cosponsors: 1

H.R. 1908 -- The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 30 percent of amounts paid for WaterSense program property certified by EPA. The bill would limit the dollar amount of such credit to $1,500 and terminate the credit after this year.

Sponsor: Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.)

Introduced: April 2, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 31

H.R. 2080 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to extend the credit for non-business energy property and to include biomass heating appliances in energy-efficient building property. Specifically, the bill would extend through 2013 the tax credit for non-business energy property, expand the definition of energy-efficient building property for purposes of such credit to include boilers and furnaces, and increase the limit on such credit from $1,500 to $6,000.

Sponsor: Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.)

Introduced: April 23, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 9

H.R. 2187 -- The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities bill would direct the U.S. Department of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them "safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date." Sec. 309 of the bill would direct LEA grantees to use a percentage of their grant, rising in 10 percent increments from 50 percent in fiscal 2010 to 100 percent in FY'15, for public school modernization, renovation, repairs, or construction that meets LEED green building rating standards, Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over such LEAs.

Sponsor: Rep. Ben Chandler (D-Ky.)

Introduced: April 30, 2009

Status: The bill passed the House May 14, 2009, and is undergoing consideration in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 25

H.R. 2222 -- The Green Communities bill would direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to make grants to municipalities to promote community greening initiatives (defined as programs increasing economic development through environmental improvements). The department would select 80 municipalities to receive grants. The bill would require an eligible program partner to develop and plan such an initiative, which may include revitalizing municipal parks and public spaces, tree plantings, green roof construction, and vacant lot management.

Sponsor: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.)

Introduced: April 30, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management and Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment as well as the House Financial Services Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 18

H.R. 2227 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2018 the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings. It is believed that this bill "could have some legs."

Sponsor: Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.)

Introduced: May 4, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources; House Oversight and Government Reform Committee; House Energy and Commerce Committee; House Ways and Means Committee; House Science and Technology Committee; House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, and Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment; House Education and Labor Committee's Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities; House Budget Committee; House Rules Committee; and House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy.

Number of Cosponsors: 39

H.R.2300 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, including the extension of income tax credits for the production of electricity from renewable resources, for energy-efficient home expenditures, and for the conversion of motor vehicles to natural-gas-powered vehicles. The bill also would extend the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings.

Sponsor: Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah)

Introduced: May 7, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee, House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, House Rules Committee, and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 2336 -- The bill is designed to encourage energy efficiency and conservation and development of renewable energy sources for housing, commercial structures, and other buildings, and to create sustainable communities. The measure would establish basic HUD energy-efficiency and conservation standards, including green building standards for residential single-family or multi-family structures. The bill additionally would create an energy-efficiency and conservation demonstration program for multi-family housing projects assisted with project-based rental assistance. HUD would be prohibited from making a site revitalization grant unless the applicant's proposed revitalization plan meets specified Green Developments, Green Communities, and Green Buildings certification requirements.

Sponsor: Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)

Introduced: May 7, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Financial Services Committees' Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity

Number of Cosponsors: 20

H.R. 2454 -- Title II (Sec. 201) of this climate-change bill would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish national building code energy-efficiency targets to achieve the following: a 30 percent reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code; a 50 percent reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code by 2014 for residential buildings and by 2015 for commercial buildings; a 5 percent additional reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code for residential buildings by 2017 and by every three years thereafter through 2028; and a 5 percent additional reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code for commercial buildings by 2018 and by every three years thereafter through 2029. The bill is awaiting a partner in the Senate.

Sponsor: Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)

Introduced: May 15, 2009

Status: Passed the House June 26, 2009, and has been placed on the Senate legislative calendar under general orders.

Number of Cosponsors: 1

H.R. 2615 -- The Energy-Efficient Commercial Roofs bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow, through 2013, a tax credit for 30 percent of expenditures for the installation of commercial roofing that meets certain energy-efficiency standards established by ASHRAE.

Sponsor: Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.)

Introduced: May 21, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 2

H.R. 2828 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, including an extension of the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings.

Sponsor: Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah)

Introduced: June 11, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee, House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, House Rules Committee, and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 72

H.R. 2847 -- The bill would allow federal loan guarantees to be applied to energy-efficiency projects funded through Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bonds (GBI, Feb. 1, 2010). The PACE bonds provision is part of the House-passed $75-billion Jobs for Main Street bill. PACE bonds allow property owners to finance energy-efficiency retrofits through a loan voluntarily attached to the borrower's property tax bill. These long-term loans could be transferred along with the sale of the property in order to accelerate investment in energy-efficiency retrofits. Fifteen states have enacted bills that allow this type of municipal financing while several more are considering such bills or running pilot projects. It is believed that this bill is poised to pass if a clear work period comes up for congressional lawmakers, perhaps after health care legislation is resolved.

Sponsor: Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.)

Introduced: June 12, 2009

Status: Resolving differences -- House actions. Status: On motion that the House agree with an amendment to the Senate amendment agreed to by recorded vote: 217 - 212 (Roll no. 991)

Number of Cosponsors: 0  

H.R.2895 -- The bill would amend the  Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to promote energy independence and self-sufficiency by providing for the use of net metering by certain small electric energy generation systems. HUD would issue regulations prohibiting any restriction impairing the ability of the owner or lessee of a one-family residential structure to install or use a solar energy system upon such property. This bill is believed to have a realistic potential for passage.

Sponsor: Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.)

Introduced: June 16, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Financial Services Committee, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

Number of Cosponsors: 1

S. 2897 -- The bill would establish incentives to increase the energy efficiency of federally assisted housing.

Sponsor: Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.)

Introduced: Dec. 17, 2009

Status: Under review in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

S.2993 -- The bill would increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by providing rebates for the purchase and installation of an additional 10 million solar roofs and additional solar water heating systems with a cumulative capacity of 10 million gallons by 2019 (GBI, Feb. 15, 2010).

Sponsor: Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.)

Introduced: Feb. 4, 2010

Status: Under review in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 10

H.R.3221 -- Sec. 339 of the bill would direct LEA grantees to use at least 50 percent of their grant in fiscal 2010 and 75 percent in FY'11 for public school modernization, renovation, repair, or construction that meets LEED green building rating standards, Energy Star standards, CHPS criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over such LEAs. Sec. 343 would require an Advisory Council on Green, High-Performing Public School Facilities to provide advice on the academic, health, energy, and environmental impact of such schools and assistance in facilitating their creation. Given Rep. Miller's political stature, this bill is believed to have a decent opportunity to move.

Sponsor: Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.)

Introduced: July 15, 2009

Status: Passed House Sept. 17, 2009, and is undergoing Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee review

Number of Cosponsors: 41

H.R. 3659 -- The Building Energy Tax Credit bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 35 percent of the cost of energy-conservation commercial building property installed as part of a commercial building energy project within the jurisdiction of a state energy credit agency. The bill would require a building, to be eligible for such credit, to achieve an energy-consumption rate of no more than 60 percent of the rate established by ASHRAE Standard 90.11-2207 for commercial buildings. If this bill does not pass into law during this congressional session, there is believed to be a decent chance of reintroduction in the next session.

Sponsor: Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.)

Introduced: Sept. 29, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R.3715 -- The Community Restoration and Revitalization bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code relating to the building rehabilitation tax credit to do the following: allow an increased 30 percent credit for projects involving $7.5 million or less in rehabilitation expenditures; allow rehabilitated buildings used for lodging to qualify for such credit; establish a 50-year placed-in-service requirement for non-historic rehabilitated buildings; allow such credit for certain tax-exempt use property; provide for the transferability of such credit; increase the energy-efficiency tax credit allowed to rehabilitated buildings; and exempt from taxation refunds attributable to state historic tax credits.

Sponsor: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.)

Introduced: Oct. 1, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 65

H.R. 3836 -- The bill would authorize DOE, for the purpose of enhancing the availability of private financing for clean energy technology development, to provide credit support and facilitate financing transactions to enable owners and users of buildings and industrial facilities to increase energy efficiency and generate electricity from renewable energy resources.

Sponsor: . Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)

Introduced: Oct. 15, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Energy and Commerce Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 2

H.R. 3891 -- Under this bill, HUD would promote the incorporation of healthy housing principles in post-disaster environments as well as ongoing practices and systems, and of health considerations into green and energy-efficient construction and rehabilitation.

Sponsor: Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.)

Introduced: Oct. 21, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Financial Services Committee, and Agriculture Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 0

H.R.3919 -- The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of clean energy business zones and for tax incentives for the construction of, and employment at, energy-efficient buildings and clean energy facilities. The bill would allow financing of any qualified green building or clean energy facility with clean renewable energy bonds. The legislation would waive loan fees for qualified green building and clean energy facility loans made before 2020.

Sponsor: Rep. Daniel Maffei (D-N.Y.)

Introduced: Oct. 23, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee and House Small Business Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 5

H.R. 4099 -- The Energy Efficiency Modernization bill would establish incentives to increase the energy efficiency of federally assisted housing.

Sponsor: Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio)

Introduced: Nov. 18, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Financial Services Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 16

H.R.4155 -- The Property Assessed Clean Energy Tax Benefits bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to finance state and local government programs for "clean energy improvements" in buildings. The measure would define "clean energy improvements" as any distributed generation renewable energy sources, energy-efficiency improvements, or water-efficiency improvements that are permanently affixed to a building and result in a 20 percent savings in energy consumption.

Sponsor: Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.)

Introduced: Nov. 19, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 10

H.R.4226 -- The Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to do the following: increase and extend through 2015 the new energy-efficient home tax credit; increase the rate of the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings; increase to $5,000 the limit on the tax credit for non-business energy property expenditures and extend such credit through 2015; allow a $200 tax credit through 2011 for the cost of a home energy rating; and allow a $500 tax credit for the cost of training and certifying home-performance auditors to conduct home energy ratings (GBI, December 2009).

Sponsor: Rep. David Reichert (R-Wash.)

Introduced: Dec. 8, 2009

Status: Under review in the House Ways and Means Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 11

H.R.4597 -- The bill would increase the quantity of solar photovoltaic electricity by providing rebates for the purchase and installation of an additional 10 million solar roofs and additional solar water heating systems with a cumulative capacity of 10 million gallons by 2019 (GBI, Feb. 15, 2010). It is believed that this bill only could be approved if it is attached to a larger energy package.

Sponsor: Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)

Introduced: Feb. 4, 2010

Status: Under review in the House Energy and Commerce Committee

Number of Cosponsors: 9

Upcoming Legislation

In addition to these bills, there are others involving green construction that could be introduced soon. They include the following:

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) soon could introduce the Livable Communities bill, which would create an Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities. The measure also would authorize funding for HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and permit up to $4 billion in grants to spur integrated community planning and implementation of sustainable projects.

Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) could propose legislation to ensure the effectiveness of federal high-performance green buildings and invest in the training of federal personnel to operate and maintain high-performance buildings at peak efficiency. The measure additionally would promote federal leadership in defining core skill sets for green jobs that can be replicated in the private sector.

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) this month are expected to unveil a climate-change plan that would create different mechanisms for the electric utility, transportation, and manufacturing sectors to reduce pollution. There could be an emissions cap for electric utilities and a carbon tax for the transportation sector. It is uncertain at this point what specific green-building language could be included in the measure.