[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4106 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4106

  To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make 
 grants and loans to owners of federally assisted housing projects for 
     costs of making green retrofit improvements to such projects.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2009

   Mr. Himes (for himself, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Olver) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make 
 grants and loans to owners of federally assisted housing projects for 
     costs of making green retrofit improvements to such projects.

    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 ``Green Affordable Housing Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. GREEN RETROFIT GRANT AND LOAN PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall carry out a program to make grants and loans under this section 
to owners of eligible federally assisted housing projects for making 
eligible green retrofit improvements to such projects.
    (b) Eligible Federally Assisted Housing Projects.--Grants and loans 
under this section may be provided only for eligible green retrofit 
improvements under subsection (c) for--
            (1) housing for which project-based assistance is provided 
        under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437f);
            (2) housing that is assisted under section 202 of the 
        Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
            (3) housing that is assisted under section 202 of the 
        Housing Act of 1959, as such section existed before the 
        enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
        Act (Public Law 101-625);
            (4) housing that is assisted under section 811 of the 
        Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
        8013);
            (5) housing financed by a loan or mortgage insured under 
        section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
        1715l(d)(3)) that bears interest at a rate determined under the 
        proviso of section 221(d)(5) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 
        1715l(d)(5));
            (6) housing insured, assisted, or held by the Secretary or 
        a State or State agency under section 236 of the National 
        Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1);
            (7) housing constructed or substantially rehabilitated 
        pursuant to assistance provided under section 8(b)(2) of the 
        United States Housing Act of 1937, as in effect before October 
        1, 1983, that is assisted under a contract for assistance under 
        such section;
            (8) housing assisted or formerly assisted under section 101 
        of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 
        1701s);
            (9) multifamily housing projects assisted with amounts made 
        available under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 
        12721 et seq.);
            (10) housing for which a loan is made or insured under 
        section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485); and
            (11) housing for which a low-income housing tax credit is 
        provided pursuant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 (26 U.S.C. 42).
    (c) Eligible Green Retrofit Improvements.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of this section, eligible 
        green retrofit improvements are improvements to an eligible 
        federally assisted housing project that are approved by the 
        Secretary as having one or more of the following attributes, as 
        compared with the comparable component that would normally be 
        used by owners of similar properties in the same market area:
                    (A) Materially lower electric, heating fuel, or 
                water consumption.
                    (B) Materially lower emissions of chemicals thought 
                to be harmful to humans.
                    (C) Materially longer useful life.
                    (D) Materially more biodegradable.
                    (E) Materially more easily recycled.
                    (F) Materially lower use of raw materials or use of 
                materially more recycled content.
                    (G) Materially lower transportation costs of 
                products delivered to the project.
        For purposes of this paragraph, determinations of materiality 
        shall be made by the Secretary in the sole discretion of the 
        Secretary.
            (2) Related improvements.--For purposes of this section, 
        eligible green retrofit improvements shall include improvements 
        approved by the Secretary as related or collateral to the 
        undertaking or provision of eligible green retrofit 
        improvements approved pursuant to paragraph (1) for an eligible 
        federally assisted housing project.
            (3) Verification.--For purposes of verifying improvements 
        as eligible green retrofit improvements under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall, by regulation, provide for the following:
                    (A) Certification of building energy and 
                environment auditors, inspectors, and raters by the 
                Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), or an 
                equivalent certification system as determined by the 
                Secretary.
                    (B) Certification or licensing of building energy 
                and environmental retrofit contractors by the Building 
                Performance Institute (BPI), or an equivalent 
                certification or licensing system as determined by the 
                Secretary.
                    (C) Use of equipment and procedures of the Building 
                Performance Institute, Residential Energy Services 
                Network, or other appropriate equipment and procedures 
                (such as infrared photography and pressurized testing, 
                and tests for water use and indoor air quality), as 
                determined by the Secretary, to test the energy and 
                environmental efficiency of buildings effectively.
                    (D) Determination of energy savings by comparison 
                of scores on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index 
                before and after retrofit, with the final score 
                produced by an objective third party.
    (d) Extension of Affordability Restrictions.--
            (1) Grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may provide a grant 
                under this section for an eligible federally assisted 
                housing project only if the owner of the project enters 
                into such binding commitments as the Secretary shall 
                require, which shall be applicable to any subsequent 
                owner, to ensure that the project will be operated, 
                until the expiration of the period specified in 
                subparagraph (B), in accordance with all affordability 
                restrictions that are applicable to the project under 
                the federal assistance program referred to in 
                subsection (b) under which assistance is provided for 
                the project.
                    (B) Period.--The period specified in this paragraph 
                for an eligible federally assisted housing project is 
                the period that--
                            (i) begins upon the date of the expiration 
                        of applicability, to the project, of the 
                        affordability restrictions under the federal 
                        assistance program referred to in subsection 
                        (b) under which assistance is provided for the 
                        project;
                            (ii) has such duration, as determined by 
                        the Secretary, as commensurate with the amount 
                        of the loan or grant assistance provided under 
                        this section for the project; and
                            (iii) in no case exceeds 30 years.
                The Secretary may make such adjustments to such period 
                as may be necessary to take into consideration any more 
                significant restrictions accompanying other subsidies 
                for the project.
            (2) Loans.--In providing loans under this section for 
        eligible federally assisted housing projects, the Secretary may 
        require the project to comply with affordability restrictions 
        as the Secretary may establish, the terms of which shall be 
        commensurate with the term and amount of the loan.
    (e) Limitation on Amount.--The amount of a grant or loan under this 
section for an eligible federally assisted housing project may not 
exceed--
            (1) a percentage, as determined by the Secretary, of the 
        cost of the eligible green retrofit improvements for the 
        project described in the retrofit plan under subsection (f)(2) 
        for the project; and
            (2) a dollar amount limitation, as the Secretary may 
        establish.
    (f) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for owners of 
        eligible federally assisted housing project to submit 
        applications to the Secretary for grants and loans under this 
        subsection. The Secretary shall require each such application 
        to include a retrofit plan under paragraph (2).
            (2) Retrofit plan.--
                    (A) Requirements.--The Secretary may not make any 
                grant or loan under this section for any eligible green 
                retrofit improvements for an eligible federally 
                assisted housing project unless the owner of the 
                project has submitted to the Secretary, and the 
                Secretary has approved (pursuant to any amendments or 
                changes as the Secretary may require), a detailed 
                written plan regarding such improvements that complies 
                with such requirements as the Secretary shall 
                establish, which shall include the following:
                            (i) The plan shall set forth the current 
                        utility costs for the project, including costs 
                        for water, heat, and electricity.
                            (ii) The plan shall describe the eligible 
                        green retrofit improvements to be made for the 
                        project, setting forth--
                                    (I) a schedule for completing each 
                                such improvement;
                                    (II) the cost of and sources of 
                                funding for each such improvement;
                                    (III) the amount of anticipated 
                                cost savings resulting from each such 
                                improvement; and
                                    (IV) a schedule for such savings 
                                for each such improvement based on the 
                                current utility costs for the project 
                                set forth pursuant to clause (i), 
                                except that such cost-savings schedule 
                                may not have a term exceeding 10 years.
                    (B) Cost-efficiency; cost savings.--The Secretary 
                may approve a retrofit plan under this subsection only 
                if the Secretary determines that--
                            (i) the total present value of the cost 
                        savings resulting from the eligible green 
                        retrofit improvements specified in the plan and 
                        to be recovered over the term of the cost-
                        savings schedule included in the plan will 
                        exceed the cost of making such improvements; 
                        and
                            (ii) the eligible green retrofit 
                        improvements specified in the plan will result 
                        in savings in utility or other operating costs 
                        for the eligible federally assisted housing 
                        project of not less than 20 percent, in 
                        comparison to utility and operating costs of 
                        such project absent the eligible green retrofit 
                        improvements to be undertaken under the plan.
            (3) Selection priorities.--In selecting applications for 
        loans and grants under this section the Secretary may--
                    (A) give priority to applications providing for 
                eligible green retrofit improvements that are funded in 
                part with amounts from sources other than grants and 
                loans under this section, and the extent of such 
                priority provided may be based on the ratio of such 
                funding from other sources; and
                    (B) give priority to applications based on the net 
                amount of energy efficiency savings resulting from the 
                eligible green retrofit improvements to be funded by 
                such loans and grants.
    (g) Loans.--In such circumstances as the Secretary may provide, the 
Secretary may provide assistance under this section in the form of a 
loan, which shall have such term to maturity, shall bear interest, and 
shall have such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may 
establish.
    (h) Treatment of Grant Amounts.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, assistance amounts under this section may be treated 
as amounts not derived from a Federal grant.
    (i) Monitoring.--
            (1) Submission of information to secretary.--The Secretary 
        shall require each owner of an eligible federally assisted 
        housing project for which a grant or loan under this section is 
        made to submit to the Secretary such information, on a regular 
        basis during the term of the cost savings schedule included in 
        the retrofit plan for project for which such grant or loan is 
        made or during such other term, and in such form and manner, as 
        the Secretary considers appropriate to determine the cost 
        savings resulting from the eligible green retrofit improvements 
        funded with such grant or loan and to provide such other 
        information as the Secretary considers necessary.
            (2) Other monitoring.--With respect to eligible federally 
        assisted housing projects for which eligible green retrofit 
        improvements have been made with assistance under this section, 
        the Secretary shall--
                    (A) establish guidelines for obtaining 
                certification of such projects, after retrofit, as 
                Energy Star buildings, for assigning Home Energy Rating 
                System (HERS) rating for such projects, and for 
                completing applicable building performance labels; and
                    (B) establish processes for tracking the numbers 
                and locations of such projects and obtaining 
                information on projected and actual savings of energy 
                and its value over time.
    (j) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Affordability restrictions.--The term ``affordability 
        restrictions'' means, with respect to an eligible federally 
        assisted housing project, limits imposed by statute, 
        regulation, or regulatory agreement on tenant rents, rent 
        contributions, or income eligibility.
            (2) Cost-savings schedule.--The term ``cost-savings 
        schedule'' means, with respect to a retrofit plan for an 
        eligible federally assisted housing project, the schedule 
        included in such plan pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(A)(ii)(IV).
            (3) Eligible federally assisted housing project.--The term 
        ``eligible federally assisted housing project'' means a housing 
        project described in subsection (b).
            (4) Retrofit plan.--The term ``retrofit plan'' means a plan 
        required under subsection (f)(2).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, 
which shall be available for--
            (1) grants under this section; and
            (2) costs (as such term in defined in section 502 of the 
        Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a) of loans 
        under this section.
    (l) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue any regulations 
necessary to carry out this section.
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