42 U.S.C. § 6372 — Definitions

Page 6812 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6372 loan guarantees) available in or from the De- partment of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, the De- partment of the Treasury, the Internal Rev- enue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other appropriate Federal agen- cies with jurisdiction over energy financing and facilitation that are currently used or may be used to help initiate, develop, and fi- nance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retrofitting projects for schools; (2) establish a Federal cross-departmental collaborative coordination, education, and outreach effort to streamline communication and promote available Federal opportunities and assistance described in paragraph (1), for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and en- ergy retrofitting projects that enables States, local educational agencies, and schools— (A) to use existing Federal opportunities more effectively; and (B) to form partnerships with Governors, State energy programs, local educational, fi- nancial, and energy officials, State and local government officials, nonprofit organiza- tions, and other appropriate entities, to sup- port the initiation of the projects; (3) provide technical assistance for States, local educational agencies, and schools to help develop and finance energy efficiency, renew- able energy, and energy retrofitting projects— (A) to increase the energy efficiency of buildings or facilities; (B) to install systems that individually generate energy from renewable energy re- sources; (C) to establish partnerships to leverage economies of scale and additional financing mechanisms available to larger clean energy initiatives; or (D) to promote— (i) the maintenance of health, environ- mental quality, and safety in schools, in- cluding the ambient air quality, through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retrofit projects; and (ii) the achievement of expected energy savings and renewable energy production through proper operations and mainte- nance practices; (4) develop and maintain a single online re- source website with contact information for relevant technical assistance and support staff in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew- able Energy for States, local educational agen- cies, and schools to effectively access and use Federal opportunities and assistance described in paragraph (1) to develop energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy retrofitting projects; and (5) establish a process for recognition of schools that— (A) have successfully implemented energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy ret- rofitting projects; and (B) are willing to serve as resources for other local educational agencies and schools to assist initiation of similar efforts. (d) Report Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the implementation of this section. (Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title I, § 1001, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2420.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Defense Dependents’ Education Act of 1978, re- ferred to in subsec. (a)(4), is title XIV of Pub. L. 95–561, Nov. 1, 1978, 92 Stat. 2365, which is classified principally to chapter 25A (§ 921 et seq.) of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 921 of Title 20 and Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Energy Act of 2020, and not as part of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act which comprises this chapter. PART F—ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM FOR BUILDINGS OWNED BY UNITS OF LOCAL GOV- ERNMENT AND PUBLIC CARE INSTITUTIONS Editorial Notes CODIFICATION This part was, in the original, designated part H and has been changed to part F for purposes of codification. § 6372. Definitions For purposes of this part— (1) The terms ‘‘hospital’’, ‘‘State’’, ‘‘school’’, ‘‘Governor’’, ‘‘State energy agency’’, ‘‘energy conservation measure’’, ‘‘energy conservation maintenance and operating procedure’’, ‘‘pre- liminary energy audit’’, ‘‘technical assistance costs’’, ‘‘energy audit’’ and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings provided in section 6371 of this title. (2) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means the government of a county, munici- pality, or township, which is a unit of general purpose government below the State (deter- mined on the basis of the same principles as are used by the Bureau of the Census for gen- eral statistical purposes) and the District of Columbia. Such term also means the recog- nized governing body of an Indian tribe (as de- fined in section 6862 of this title) which gov- erning body performs substantial govern- mental functions. (3) The term ‘‘building’’ has the meaning provided in section 6371 of this title except that for purposes of this part such term in- cludes only buildings which are owned and pri- marily occupied by offices or agencies of a unit of local government or by a public care institution and does not include any building intended for seasonal use or any building uti- lized primarily by a school or hospital. (4) The term ‘‘public care institution’’ means a public or nonprofit institution which owns— (A) a facility for long term care, a reha- bilitation facility, or a public health center, as described in section 300s–3 of this title, or (B) a residential child care center. (5) The term ‘‘public or nonprofit institu- tion’’ means an institution owned and oper- ated by— Page 6813 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6372b (A) a State, a political subdivision of a State or an agency or instrumentality of ei- ther, or (B) an organization exempt from income tax under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of title 26. (6) The term ‘‘technical assistance program costs’’ means the costs of carrying out a tech- nical assistance program. (7) The term ‘‘technical assistance’’ means assistance under rules, promulgated by the Secretary, to States, units of local govern- ment and public care institutions— (A) to conduct specialized studies identi- fying and specifying energy savings and re- lated cost savings that are likely to be real- ized as a result of (i) modification or mainte- nance and operating procedures in a build- ing, (ii) the acquisition and installation of one or more specified energy conservation measures in such building or (iii) both, or (B) the planning or administration of such specialized studies. (Pub. L. 94–163, title III, § 400A, as added Pub. L. 95–619, title III, § 311(a), Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3248; amended Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1986—Par. (5)(B). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’, which for purposes of codification was translated as ‘‘title 26’’ thus requiring no change in text. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SEPARABILITY For separability of provisions of title III of Pub. L. 95–619, see section 302(c) of Pub. L. 95–619, set out as a note under section 6371 of this title. CONGRESSIONAL STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSES Pub. L. 95–619, title III, § 310, Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3248, provided that: ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) the Nation’s nonrenewable energy resources are being rapidly depleted; ‘‘(2) buildings owned by units of local government and public care institutions are major consumers of energy, and such units and institutions have been es- pecially burdened by rising energy prices and fuel shortages; ‘‘(3) substantial energy conservation can be achieved in buildings owned by units of local govern- ment and public care institutions through the imple- mentation of energy conservation maintenance and operating procedures; and ‘‘(4) units of local government and public care insti- tutions in many instances need financial assistance in order to conduct energy audits and to identify en- ergy conservation maintenance and operating proce- dures and to evaluate the potential benefits of acquir- ing and installing energy conservation measures. ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part [part 2 (§§ 310–312) of title III of Pub. L. 95–619, enacting sec- tions 6371j and 6372 to 6372i of this title] to authorize grants to States and units of local government and public care institutions to assist them in conducting preliminary energy audits and energy audits in identi- fying and implementing energy conservation mainte- nance and operating procedures and in evaluating en- ergy conservation measures to reduce the energy use and anticipated energy costs of buildings owned by units of local government and public care institu- tions.’’ APPLICATION OF SECTIONS 3141–3144, 3146, AND 3147 OF TITLE 40 For application of sections 3141–3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40 to grants made by the Secretary under this part, see section 6371j of this title. § 6372a. Guidelines (a) Energy audits The Secretary shall, by rule, not later than sixty days after November 9, 1978— (1) prescribe guidelines for the conduct of the preliminary energy audits for buildings owned by units of local government and public care institutions, including a description of the type, number and distribution of prelimi- nary energy audits of such buildings that will provide a reasonably accurate evaluation of the energy conservation needs of all such buildings in each State, and (2) prescribe guidelines for the conduct of en- ergy audits. (b) Implementation of technical assistance pro- grams The Secretary shall, by rule, not later than 90 days after November 9, 1978, prescribe guidelines for State plans for the implementation of tech- nical assistance programs for buildings owned by units of local government and public care in- stitutions. The guidelines shall include— (1) a description of the factors to be consid- ered in determining which technical assist- ance programs will be given priority in mak- ing grants pursuant to this part, including such factors as cost, energy consumption, en- ergy savings, and energy conservation goals; (2) a description of the suggested criteria to be used in establishing a State program to identify persons qualified to undertake tech- nical assistance work; and (3) a description of the types of energy con- servation measures deemed appropriate for each region of the Nation. (c) Revisions Guidelines prescribed under this part may be revised from time to time after notice and op- portunity for comment. (Pub. L. 94–163, title III, § 400B, as added Pub. L. 95–619, title III, § 311(a), Nov. 9, 1978, 92 Stat. 3249.) § 6372b. Preliminary energy audits and energy audits (a) Application by Governor The Governor of any State may apply to the Secretary at such time as the Secretary may specify after promulgation of the guidelines under section 6372a(a) of this title for grants to conduct preliminary energy audits of buildings owned by units of local government and public care institutions in such State under this part. (b) Grants for conduct of preliminary energy au- dits Upon application under subsection (a), the Secretary may make grants to States to assist