[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 579 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 579

  To provide for grants from the Secretary of Education to State and 
  local educational agencies for EnergySmart schools and Energy Star 
                               programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 15, 2009

     Mr. Holt (for himself, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Lee of 
  California, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Berman, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. 
 Honda, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Sires, Mr. 
  Van Hollen, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Pallone, Mr. 
Courtney, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Polis of Colorado, Mr. Carnahan, 
   Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Wu, and Ms. Clarke) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for grants from the Secretary of Education to State and 
  local educational agencies for EnergySmart schools and Energy Star 
                               programs.

    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 ``School Building Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Education may provide grants--
            (1) to State educational agencies and local educational 
        agencies for providing intensive technical assistance for, and 
        assisting the implementation of, the EnergySmart Schools 
        Program of the Department of Energy and the Energy Star for K-
        12 School Districts program of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency;
            (2) to local educational agencies that become partners 
        through the Energy Star for K-12 School Districts program of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency; and
            (3) to State educational agencies for use in the 
        development of State-level school energy efficiency quality 
        plans, in partnership with the Department of Energy, 
        including--
                    (A) standards for school building design, 
                construction, and renovation; and
                    (B) proposals for the systematic improvement 
                (including benchmarks and timelines) of environmental 
                conditions in and around schools throughout the State, 
                including--
                            (i) environmentally preferable purchasing 
                        of products for instruction and maintenance;
                            (ii) increasing the use of alternative 
                        energy fuels in school buses; and
                            (iii) maximization of transportation 
                        choices for students, staff, and other members 
                        of the community.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL SHARE.

    The Federal share of the cost of a project or activity carried out 
using funds from a grant under this Act shall not exceed 90 percent.

SEC. 4. GRANT PRIORITY.

    In providing grants under section 2(1), the Secretary of Education 
shall give priority to projects to provide assistance to school 
districts that have a demonstrated need for energy efficiency 
improvement.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION.

    For purposes of this Act, the terms ``State educational agency'' 
and ``local educational agency'' have the meanings given those terms in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801).

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Education to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for the 
period encompassing fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
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