42 U.S.C. § 8626a — Incentive program for leveraging non-

Page 7640 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 8626a year following the fiscal year of the original al- lotment in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection. (3) During the 30-day period described in para- graph (1)(B), comments may be submitted to the Secretary. After considering such comments, the Secretary shall notify the chief executive of- ficer of the State of any decision to reallot funds, and shall publish such decision in the Federal Register. (Pub. L. 97–35, title XXVI, § 2607, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 900; Pub. L. 98–558, title VI, § 606, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2892; Pub. L. 101–501, title VII, § 706, Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1260; Pub. L. 103–252, title III, § 310, May 18, 1994, 108 Stat. 661; Pub. L. 105–285, title III, § 307, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2758.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In subsec. (a)(1), ‘‘section 6503(a) of title 31’’ sub- stituted for ‘‘section 203 of the Intergovernmental Co- operation Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 4213]’’ on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Fi- nance. AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 105–285 struck out ‘‘and not transferred pursuant to section 8623(f) of this title’’ after ‘‘such prior fiscal year’’ in first sentence and ‘‘but not transferred by the State’’ after ‘‘the amount payable to a State’’ in second sentence. 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–252 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 1990—Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 101–501 substituted ‘‘10 percent’’ for ‘‘15 percent’’. 1984—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 98–558, § 606(a), in- serted ‘‘Such request shall include a statement of the reasons that the amount allotted to such State for a fiscal year will not be used by such State during such fiscal year and a description of the types of assistance to be provided with the amount held available for the following fiscal year.’’ and ‘‘or the amount payable to’’ after ‘‘computing the allotment of’’. Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 98–558, § 606(b), substituted ‘‘15 percent’’ for ‘‘25 percent’’, ‘‘payable to such State for such prior fiscal year and not transferred pursuant to section 8623(f) of this title’’ for ‘‘allotted to such State for such prior fiscal year’’, and ‘‘payable to a State but not transferred by the State’’ for ‘‘allotted to a State’’ in second sentence. Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 98–558, § 606(c), added subpar. (C). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103–252 effective Oct. 1, 1994, see section 314 of Pub. L. 103–252, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 101–501 effective Oct. 1, 1990, see section 1001(a) of Pub. L. 101–501, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1984 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 98–558 applicable to amounts held available for fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1985, see section 609(c) of Pub. L. 98–558, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title. § 8626a. Incentive program for leveraging non- Federal resources (a) Allotment of funds Beginning in fiscal year 1992, the Secretary may allocate amounts appropriated under sec- tion 8621(d) of this title to provide supple- mentary funds to States that have acquired non- Federal leveraged resources for the program es- tablished under this subchapter. (b) ‘‘Leveraged resources’’ defined For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘lever- aged resources’’ means the benefits made avail- able to the low-income home energy assistance program of the State, or to federally qualified low-income households, that— (1) represent a net addition to the total en- ergy resources available to State and federally qualified households in excess of the amount of such resources that could be acquired by such households through the purchase of en- ergy at commonly available household rates; and (2)(A) result from the acquisition or develop- ment by the State program of quantifiable benefits that are obtained from energy ven- dors through negotiation, regulation or com- petitive bid; or (B) are appropriated or mandated by the State for distribution— (i) through the State program; or (ii) under the plan referred to in section 8624(c)(1)(A) of this title to federally quali- fied low-income households and such bene- fits are determined by the Secretary to be integrated with the State program. (c) Formula for distribution of amounts (1) Distribution of amounts made available under this section shall be based on a formula developed by the Secretary that is designed to take into account the success in leveraging ex- isting appropriations in the preceding fiscal year as measured under subsection (d). Such for- mula shall take into account the size of the allo- cation of the State under this subchapter and the ratio of leveraged resources to such alloca- tion. (2) A State may expend funds allocated under this subchapter as are necessary, not to exceed 0.08 percent of such allocation or $35,000 each fis- cal year, whichever is greater, to identify, de- velop, and demonstrate leveraging programs. Funds allocated under this section shall only be used for increasing or maintaining benefits to households. (d) Dollar value of leveraged resources Each State shall quantify the dollar value of leveraged resources received or acquired by such State under this section by using the best avail- able data to calculate such leveraged resources less the sum of any costs incurred by the State to leverage such resources and any cost imposed on the federally eligible low-income households in such State. (e) Report to Secretary Not later than 2 months after the close of the fiscal year during which the State provided le- veraged resources to eligible households, as de- Page 7641 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 8626b scribed in subsection (b), each State shall pre- pare and submit, to the Secretary, a report that quantifies the leveraged resources of such State in order to qualify for assistance under this sec- tion for the following fiscal year. (f) Determination of State share; regulations; documentation The Secretary shall determine the share of each State of the amounts made available under this section based on the formula described in subsection (c) and the State reports. The Sec- retary shall promulgate regulations for the cal- culation of the leveraged resources of the State and for the submission of supporting docu- mentation. The Secretary may request any doc- umentation that the Secretary determines nec- essary for the verification of the application of the State for assistance under this section. (Pub. L. 97–35, title XXVI, § 2607A, as added Pub. L. 101–501, title VII, § 707(a), Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1260; amended Pub. L. 103–252, title III, § 311(a)(2), (c)(6), May 18, 1994, 108 Stat. 661, 662.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 103–252, § 311(c)(6), sub- stituted ‘‘0.08 percent’’ for ‘‘.0008 percent’’. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–252, § 311(a)(2), substituted ‘‘2 months after the close of the fiscal year during which the State provided leveraged resources to eligible households, as described in subsection (b) of this sec- tion’’ for ‘‘July 31, of each year’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1994 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 103–252 effective Oct. 1, 1994, see section 314 of Pub. L. 103–252, set out as a note under section 8621 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1990, see section 1001(a) of Pub. L. 101–501, set out as an Effective Date of 1990 Amendment note under section 8621 of this title. § 8626b. Residential Energy Assistance Challenge option (R.E.A.Ch.) (a) Purpose The purpose of the Residential Energy Assist- ance Challenge (in this section referred to as ‘‘R.E.A.Ch.’’) program is to— (1) minimize health and safety risks that re- sult from high energy burdens on low-income Americans; (2) prevent homelessness as a result of in- ability to pay energy bills; (3) increase the efficiency of energy usage by low-income families; and (4) target energy assistance to individuals who are most in need. (b) Funding (1) Allocation For each fiscal year, the Secretary may allo- cate not more than 25 percent of the amount made available pursuant to section 8621(d) of this title for such fiscal year to a R.E.A.Ch. fund for the purpose of making incentive grants to States that submit qualifying plans that are approved by the Secretary as R.E.A.Ch. initiatives. States may use such grants for the costs of planning, imple- menting, and evaluating the initiative. (2) Reservation The Secretary shall reserve from any funds allocated under this subsection, funds to make additional payments to State R.E.A.Ch. pro- grams that— (A) have energy efficiency education serv- ices plans that meet quality standards es- tablished by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Energy; and (B) have the potential for being replicable model designs for other programs. States shall use such supplemental funds for the implementation and evaluation of the en- ergy efficiency education services. (c) Criteria (1) In general Not later than May 31, 1995, the Secretary shall establish criteria for approving State plans required by subsection (a), for energy ef- ficiency education quality standards described in subsection (b)(2)(A), and for the distribution of funds to States with approved plans. (2) Documentation Notwithstanding the limitations of section 8624(b) of this title regarding the authority of the Secretary with respect to plans, the Sec- retary may require a State to provide appro- priate documentation that its R.E.A.Ch. ac- tivities conform to the State plan as approved by the Secretary. (d) Focus The State may designate all or part of the State, or all or part of the client population, as a focus of its R.E.A.Ch. initiative. (e) State plans (1) In general Each State plan shall include each of the elements described in paragraph (2), to be met by State and local agencies. (2) Elements of State plans Each State plan shall include— (A) an assurance that such State will de- liver services through community-based nonprofit entities in such State, by— (i) awarding grants to, or entering into contracts with, such entities for the pur- pose of providing such services and pay- ments directly to individuals eligible for benefits; or (ii) if a State makes payments directly to eligible individuals or energy suppliers, making contracts with such entities to ad- minister such programs, including— (I) determining eligibility; (II) providing outreach services; and (III) providing benefits other than pay- ments; (B) an assurance that, in awarding grants or entering into contracts to carry out its R.E.A.Ch. initiative, the State will give pri- ority to organizations that— (i) are described in section 9902(1) of this title, except where significant geographic