[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4270 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4270

  To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize State 
  energy conservation plans to include programs to provide grants for 
 planning, designing, and installing green roofs on elementary school 
        and secondary school buildings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2023

  Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Lynch, Ms. 
 Barragan, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Schrier, Ms. Crockett, Mr. 
   Bowman, Ms. Strickland, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Carson, and Mrs. 
   Ramirez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize State 
  energy conservation plans to include programs to provide grants for 
 planning, designing, and installing green roofs on elementary school 
        and secondary school buildings, 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 ``Public School Green Rooftop 
Program''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of Energy recognizes green roof 
        technology is an effective, practical way to increase the 
        energy performance of buildings.
            (2) The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges green 
        roofs can reduce building energy use compared to conventional 
        roofs.
            (3) Greater weatherization and insulation offered by green 
        roofs reduce the demand for electrical power needed to moderate 
        the temperature of a building, as roofs can be the source of 
        the greatest heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the 
        summer in buildings.
            (4) Green roofs can produce greater energy efficiency on 
        elementary school and secondary school buildings than on other 
        structures because the dimensions of school buildings are 
        unique and often have a significantly greater width than 
        height.
            (5) The General Services Administration recognizes green 
        roofs can last 40 years or more before requiring replacement 
        compared to 10 to 15 years for a conventional roof.
            (6) The General Services Administration (GSA), Department 
        of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency all recognize 
        the integral role of maintenance in a green roof's continued 
        energy efficiency benefits and cost savings, and the GSA Public 
        Buildings Service accordingly provides ongoing maintenance 
        training to maximize the benefits of green roofs.
            (7) Green roofs can provide economic benefits, including 
        decreased energy costs, water use, stormwater runoff, landfill 
        waste, and building operating expenses that can save taxpayers 
        money.
            (8) Green roofs can provide annual cost savings per square 
        foot of the roof's surface.
            (9) Green roofs on educational facilities can provide 
        accessible sites to teach students at all levels of education 
        about various subjects including science, technology, 
        engineering, and math (STEM), biodiversity, ecology, urban 
        agriculture, stormwater management, sustainability, art, 
        technology, and more.
            (10) Planning, designing, installing, and maintaining green 
        roofs can generate employment opportunities for properly 
        trained personnel, while specialized green roofs can also 
        provide employment opportunities for urban agriculture 
        operations.
            (11) The Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration 
        with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, acknowledges landscape 
        architects as leaders in planning and designing green roofs.
            (12) Green roofs can help stabilize neighborhoods by 
        providing community-wide benefits, including those that address 
        public health, food security, urban development, and economic 
        growth.
            (13) By improving air and water quality and mitigating 
        excess heat, among other benefits, green roofs can improve 
        public health and lessen healthcare system stressors.
            (14) Green roofs can help reduce the impacts of climate 
        change, including extreme heat and poor air quality, by 
        sequestering harmful carbon and other pollutants in the 
        atmosphere.
            (15) Green roofs can reduce the urban heat island effect 
        and city-wide ambient temperatures by up to 5F because green 
        roof temperatures can be 30 to 40F lower than those of 
        conventional roofs.
            (16) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        determined indoor summer building temperatures were cooler for 
        buildings with green roofs.
            (17) As living systems, green roofs retain rainwater in the 
        soil, plants, and drainage layer and therefore can reduce 
        stormwater runoff rates by up to 65 percent and delay the time 
        at which runoff occurs, resulting in decreased stress on sewer 
        systems and streams at peak flow periods and decreased 
        pollution in United States waterways.
            (18) Green roofs can enhance environmental justice by 
        addressing the disproportionate impacts of excess heat and 
        adding much-needed green space to the built environment in 
        underserved communities.
            (19) Green roofs can enhance biodiversity by providing and 
        creating habitats for various plants and wildlife such as 
        pollinators and migratory birds.

SEC. 3. GREEN ROOF GRANT PROGRAMS.

    Section 362 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
6322) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (17), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (18) as paragraph 
                (19); and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (17) the 
                following:
            ``(18) in accordance with subsection (h), programs to 
        provide financial assistance, including grants, for planning, 
        designing, installing, maintaining, and monitoring green roofs 
        on elementary school and secondary school buildings; and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Green Roof Grant Programs.--
            ``(1) Grants for planning assistance.--
                    ``(A) Grant programs.--Under a program to provide 
                financial assistance as provided for under subsection 
                (d)(18), a State may make grants to eligible entities 
                to pay the costs of planning and design assistance for 
                a green roof as described in subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Allowable use of funds for grants for 
                planning assistance.--An eligible entity receiving a 
                grant pursuant to subparagraph (A) may use the grant 
                for any of the following purposes:
                            ``(i) Identification of opportunities to 
                        use green roofs on elementary school and 
                        secondary school buildings, including 
                        performing site analyses for locating green 
                        roofs.
                            ``(ii) Determination of, and plans to 
                        obtain, permits relating to a green roof on an 
                        elementary school or secondary school building.
                            ``(iii) Architectural, landscape 
                        architectural, and engineering analysis for a 
                        green roof on an elementary school or secondary 
                        school building, including--
                                    ``(I) plans for assessing the 
                                structural loading capacity of the 
                                elementary school or secondary school 
                                building, accounting for vegetation; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) design services, including 
                                the creation of design plans and 
                                construction documents for a green roof 
                                on the elementary school or secondary 
                                school building.
                            ``(iv) Cost estimation of the planning, 
                        designing, installing, and maintaining of a 
                        green roof on an elementary school or secondary 
                        school building, including an energy savings 
                        analysis.
                            ``(v) Administrative costs, including 
                        reimbursement for grant writing services used 
                        to obtain a grant under this paragraph.
            ``(2) Public school green roof installation grant 
        program.--
                    ``(A) Public school green roof installation 
                program.--Under a program to provide financial 
                assistance as provided for under subsection (d)(18), a 
                State may award grants, on a competitive basis, to 
                eligible entities to carry out projects to install a 
                green roof on an elementary school or secondary school 
                building.
                    ``(B) Application.--To receive a grant pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A), an eligible entity shall submit to a 
                State an application--
                            ``(i) at such time, and in such manner, as 
                        the State may require;
                            ``(ii) that includes--
                                    ``(I) a strategy for increasing 
                                energy efficiency and reducing heat 
                                reflection of the applicable elementary 
                                school or secondary school building;
                                    ``(II) a description and 
                                methodology of the eligible entity's 
                                plan for the installation, operation, 
                                and maintenance of a green roof on an 
                                elementary school or secondary school 
                                building, including a plan to meet the 
                                requirements of title III of the 
                                Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
                                (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq);
                                    ``(III) a letter of compliance from 
                                each applicable local regulatory body 
                                that documents the green roof is 
                                planned and designed, and will be 
                                constructed in accordance with local 
                                standards and regulations, including 
                                occupancy, fire, stormwater compliance, 
                                and building codes;
                                    ``(IV) cost estimation of the 
                                planning, designing, installing, and 
                                maintaining of the green roof on the 
                                elementary school or secondary school 
                                building, including an energy savings 
                                analysis; and
                                    ``(V) the hiring criteria and 
                                qualifications for personnel to design, 
                                construct, install, and maintain the 
                                green roof, including a plan for 
                                hiring--
                                            ``(aa) local workforce 
                                        trainees;
                                            ``(bb) at least one Green 
                                        Roof Professional as accredited 
                                        by the Green Roof Industry 
                                        Association, or a professional 
                                        licensed by a State or an 
                                        appropriate accreditation; and
                                            ``(cc) low-income 
                                        individuals, individuals 
                                        registered with a one-stop 
                                        center, and returning citizens.
                    ``(C) Priority.--In awarding grants pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A), a State shall give priority to--
                            ``(i) projects to install a green roof on 
                        buildings of elementary schools and secondary 
                        schools in which not fewer than 30 percent of 
                        students are from households with incomes below 
                        the poverty line;
                            ``(ii) projects that meet minimum 
                        performance and nationally recognized standards 
                        for green roofs and walls, including--
                                    ``(I) the Living Architecture 
                                Performance Tool;
                                    ``(II) The Sustainable SITES 
                                Initiative; and
                                    ``(III) other nationally recognized 
                                standards; and
                            ``(iii) projects to install a green roof on 
                        buildings of elementary schools and secondary 
                        schools located in a nonattainment area (as 
                        defined in section 171(2) of the Clean Air Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 7501(2)).
                    ``(D) Installation.--Not later than 4 years after 
                receiving a grant pursuant to subparagraph (A), an 
                eligible entity shall complete installation of a green 
                roof.
                    ``(E) Maintenance and monitoring of 
                infrastructure.--Under a program described in 
                subparagraph (A), in addition to receiving a grant 
                under to install a green roof under such program, each 
                eligible entity that meets the installation 
                requirements of subparagraph (D) may receive additional 
                funding for a 5-year period for maintenance and 
                monitoring activities relating to the green roof, which 
                activities may include the following:
                            ``(i) Monitoring and evaluating energy 
                        performance and cost savings of the green roof.
                            ``(ii) Monitoring and evaluating air 
                        temperature of the green roof.
                            ``(iii) Conducting routine inspections 
                        throughout the year to assess the condition of 
                        the green roof, including plant health and 
                        replanting alternatives in consultation with a 
                        landscape architect, horticulturalist, 
                        agronomist, or other landscape professional as 
                        appropriate.
            ``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Elementary school.--The term `elementary 
                school' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 7801).
                    ``(B) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' 
                means--
                            ``(i) a public elementary school or 
                        secondary school;
                            ``(ii) a local educational agency; or
                            ``(iii) a partnership between a nonprofit 
                        organization and an entity described in clause 
                        (i) or (ii).
                    ``(C) Green roof.--The term `green roof' means a 
                layer of vegetation planted over a waterproofing system 
                or waterproof management practice that is installed on 
                top of a flat or slightly-sloped roof that may support 
                plant growth, including--
                            ``(i) an extensive green roof with a 
                        growing media layer that is up to 6 inches 
                        thick; or
                            ``(ii) an intensive green roof with a 
                        growing media layer that is 6 to 48 inches 
                        thick.
                    ``(D) Local educational agency.--The term `local 
                educational agency' has the meaning given the term in 
                section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
                    ``(E) Low-income individual.--The term `low-income 
                individual' means, with respect to any calendar year, 
                any individual who lives in a household that has a 
                gross income that does not exceed 300 percent of the 
                poverty line.
                    ``(F) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit 
                organization' means an organization described in 
                section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 
                such Code.
                    ``(G) One-stop center.--The term `one-stop center' 
                has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 
                Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
                3102).
                    ``(H) Poverty line.--The term `poverty line' has 
                the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the 
                Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 7801).
                    ``(I) Secondary school.--The term `secondary 
                school' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 
                of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
                (20 U.S.C. 7801).''.
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