[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1129 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1129

To establish the High Performance Schools Program in the Department of 
                     Energy and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2001

Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. George Miller of 
 California, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Etheridge, and Mr. Honda) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                             the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the High Performance Schools Program in the Department of 
                     Energy and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High Performance Schools Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) American K-12 schools spend over $6 billion annually on 
        energy costs, which is more than is spent on books and 
        computers combined.
            (2) Educators teach and students learn best in an 
        environment that is comfortable, healthy, naturally lit where 
        possible, and in good repair, and studies have indicated that 
        student achievement is greater and attendance higher when those 
        conditions are met.
            (3) Over half of our Nation's K-12 schools are more than 40 
        years old and in need of renovation to reach such standard of 
        efficiency and comfort, and 6,000 new schools will be required 
        over the next 10 years to accommodate the growing number of 
        students.
            (4) Inadequate ventilation in school buildings, poor 
        lighting and acoustical quality, and uncomfortable temperatures 
        can diminish students' capacity to concentrate and excel.
            (5) Inefficient use of water, either in consumption or from 
        poorly maintained systems, is prevalent in older schools.
            (6) Using a whole building approach in the design of new 
        schools and the renovation of existing schools--considering how 
        materials, systems, and products connect and overlap and also 
        how a school is integrated on its site and within the 
        surrounding community--will result in high performance school 
        buildings.
            (7) Adoption of whole building concepts has been shown to 
        result in dramatic improvements in student and teacher 
        performance.
            (8) Adopting a whole building approach usually results in a 
        lower life cycle cost for the school building than for a 
        conventionally designed and built building.
            (9) Systematic use of energy conservation in school 
        construction and renovation projects can save at least one 
        quarter of current energy costs, leaving more money for 
        teachers and educational materials.
            (10) The use of renewable energy sources such as 
        daylighting, passive solar heating, photovoltaics, wind, 
        geothermal, hydropower, and biomass power in a building already 
        designed to be low-energy can help meet the building's energy 
        needs without added emissions.
            (11) Using environmentally preferable products and 
        providing for adequate supplies of fresh air will improve 
        indoor air quality and provide healthful school buildings.
            (12) Most school districts do not have the knowledge of 
        cutting-edge design and technologies to implement optimum 
        efficiency into new school construction or into school 
        renovations.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to assist school 
districts in the production, through construction or renovation, of 
high performance elementary and secondary school buildings that are 
healthful, productive, energy efficient, and environmentally sound.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of 
Energy the High Performance Schools Program (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Program'').
    (b) In General.--The Secretary of Energy may, through the Program, 
make grants--
            (1) to be provided to school districts to implement the 
        purpose of this Act for new and existing school buildings;
            (2) to State energy offices to administer the program of 
        assistance to school districts pursuant to this Act; and
            (3) to State energy offices to promote participation by 
        school districts in the program established by this Act.
    (c) Grants To Assist School Districts.--Grants under subsection 
(b)(1) for new school buildings shall be used to achieve energy 
efficiency performance that reduces energy use at least 30 percent 
below that of a school constructed in compliance with standards 
prescribed in Chapter 8 of the 2000 International Energy Conservation 
Code, or a similar State code intended to achieve substantially 
equivalent results. Grants under subsection (b)(1) for existing school 
buildings shall be used to achieve energy efficiency performance that 
reduces energy use below the school's baseline consumption, assuming a 
3-year, weather-normalized average for calculating such baseline. 
Grants under subsection (b)(1) shall be made to school districts that 
have--
            (1) demonstrated a need for such grants in order to respond 
        appropriately to increasing elementary and secondary school 
        enrollments or to make major investments in renovation of 
        school facilities; and
            (2) made a commitment to use the grant funds to develop 
        high performance school buildings in accordance with the plan 
        developed and approved pursuant to subsection (e)(1).
    (d) Other Grants.--
            (1) Grants for administration.--Grants under subsection 
        (b)(2) shall be used to evaluate compliance by school districts 
        with requirements of this Act and in addition may be used for--
                    (A) distributing information and materials to 
                clearly define and promote the development of high 
                performance school buildings for both new and existing 
                facilities;
                    (B) organizing and conducting programs for school 
                board members, school district personnel, architects, 
                engineers, and others to advance the concepts of high 
                performance school buildings;
                    (C) obtaining technical services and assistance in 
                planning and designing high performance school 
                buildings; and
                    (D) collecting and monitoring data and information 
                pertaining to the high performance school building 
                projects.
            (2) Grants to promote participation.--Grants under 
        subsection (b)(3) may be used for promotional and marketing 
        activities, including facilitating private and public 
        financing, promoting the use of energy service companies, 
        working with school administrations, students, and communities, 
        and coordinating public benefit programs.
    (e) Implementation.--
            (1) Plans.--Grants under subsection (b)(1) shall be 
        provided only to school districts that, in consultation with 
        State offices of energy and education, have developed plans 
        that the State energy office determines to be feasible and 
        appropriate in order to achieve the purposes for which such 
        grants are made.
            (2) Supplementing grant funds.--The State energy office 
        shall encourage qualifying school districts to supplement their 
        grant funds with funds from other sources in the implementation 
        of their plans.

SEC. 4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (c), funds 
appropriated to carry out this Act shall be provided to State energy 
offices.
    (b) Purposes.--Except as provided in subsection (c), funds 
appropriated to carry out this Act shall be allocated as follows:
            (1) Seventy percent shall be used to make grants under 
        section 3(b)(1).
            (2) Fifteen percent shall be used to make grants under 
        section 3(b)(2).
            (3) Fifteen percent shall be used to make grants under 
        section 3(b)(3).
    (c) Other Funds.--The Secretary of Energy may retain not to exceed 
$300,000 per year from amounts appropriated under section 5 to assist 
State energy offices in coordinating and implementing the Program. Such 
funds may be used to develop reference materials to further define the 
principles and criteria to achieve high performance school buildings.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy 
to carry out this Act $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 
through 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
years 2006 through 2011.

SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    The Secretary of Energy shall conduct a biennial review of State 
actions implementing this Act, and the Secretary shall report to 
Congress on the results of such reviews. In conducting such reviews, 
the Secretary shall assess the effectiveness of the calculation 
procedures used by the States in establishing eligibility of schools 
for funding under this Act, and may assess other aspects of the program 
to determine whether they have been effectively implemented.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Elementary and secondary school.--The terms 
        ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' shall have the 
        same meaning given such terms in paragraphs (14) and (26) of 
        section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801(14), (26)).
            (2) High performance school building.--The term ``high 
        performance school building'' means a school building which, in 
        its design, construction, operation, and maintenance, maximizes 
        use of renewable energy and energy efficient practices, is 
        cost-effective on a life cycle basis, uses affordable, 
        environmentally preferable, durable materials, enhances indoor 
        environmental quality, protects and conserves water, and 
        optimizes site potential.
            (3) Renewable energy.--The term ``renewable energy'' means 
        energy produced by solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, or 
        biomass power.
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