1.This Act may be cited as the
Green Affordable Housing Act of
2009
.
2.Green retrofit
grant and loan program
(a)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 projectsGrants 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)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)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)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)
(A)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)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)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)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)
(1)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)
(A)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 savingsThe 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)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)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 amountsNotwithstanding
any other provision of law, assistance amounts under this section may be
treated as amounts not derived from a Federal grant.
(i)
(1)Submission of
information to SecretaryThe
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)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)For
purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)Affordability
restrictionsThe 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)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 projectThe term eligible federally assisted
housing project means a housing project described in subsection
(b).
(4)The term retrofit plan means a plan required
under subsection (f)(2).
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development.
(k)Authorization of
appropriationsThere 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)The
Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out this
section.