42 U.S.C. § 6864e — Hiring

Page 6909 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 6865 be reduced by the cost of any technical and training assistance provided by the Secretary that relates to such financial assistance. (3) Term The term of an award of financial assistance under this section shall not exceed 3 years. (4) Relationship to formula grants An entity may use financial assistance awarded to such entity under this section in conjunction with other financial assistance provided to such entity under this part. (f) Requirements Not later than 90 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall issue requirements to imple- ment this section, including, for entities receiv- ing financial assistance under this section— (1) standards for allowable expenditures; (2) a minimum saving-to-investment ratio; and (3) standards for— (A) training programs; (B) energy audits; (C) the provision of technical assistance; (D) monitoring activities carried out using such financial assistance; (E) verification of energy and cost savings; (F) liability insurance requirements; and (G) recordkeeping and reporting require- ments, which shall include reporting to the Office of Weatherization and Intergovern- mental Programs of the Department of En- ergy applicable data on each dwelling unit retrofitted or otherwise assisted pursuant to this section. (g) Compliance with State and local law Nothing in this section supersedes or other- wise affects any State or local law, to the extent that the State or local law contains a require- ment that is more stringent than the applicable requirement of this section. (h) Review and evaluation The Secretary shall review and evaluate the performance of each entity that receives an award of financial assistance under this section (which may include an audit). (i) Annual report The Secretary shall submit to Congress an an- nual report that provides a description of— (1) actions taken under this section to achieve the purposes of this section; and (2) accomplishments as a result of such ac- tions, including energy and cost savings achieved. (j) Funding (1) Amounts (A) In general For each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, of the amount made available under section 6872 of this title for such fiscal year to carry out the weatherization program under this part (not including any of such amount made available for Department of Energy headquarters training or technical assist- ance), not more than— (i) 2 percent of such amount (if such amount is $225,000,000 or more but less than $260,000,000) may be used to carry out this section; (ii) 4 percent of such amount (if such amount is $260,000,000 or more but less than $300,000,000) may be used to carry out this section; and (iii) 6 percent of such amount (if such amount is $300,000,000 or more) may be used to carry out this section. (B) Minimum For each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, if the amount made available under section 6872 of this title (not including any of such amount made available for Department of Energy headquarters training or technical assistance) for such fiscal year is less than $225,000,000, no funds shall be made available to carry out this section. (2) Limitation For any fiscal year, the Secretary may not use more than $25,000,000 of the amount made available under section 6872 of this title to carry out this section. (k) Termination The Secretary may not award financial assist- ance under this section after September 30, 2025. (Pub. L. 94–385, title IV, § 414D, as added Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title I, § 1011(e)(1), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2443.) § 6864e. Hiring The Secretary may, as the Secretary deter- mines appropriate, encourage entities receiving funding from the Federal Government or from a State through a weatherization program under section 6863 of this title or section 6864 of this title, to prioritize the hiring and retention of employees who are individuals described in sec- tion 6864d(a)(5) of this title. (Pub. L. 94–385, title IV, § 414E, as added Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title I, § 1011(f)(1), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2446.) § 6865. Limitations on financial assistance (a) Purchase of materials and administration of projects (1) Not more than an amount equal to 15 per- cent of any grant made by the Secretary under this part may be used for administrative pur- poses in carrying out duties under this part, ex- cept that not more than one-half of such amount may be used by any State for such purposes, and a State may provide in the plan adopted pursu- ant to subsection (b) for recipients of grants of less than $350,000 to use up to an additional 5 percent of such grant for administration if the State has determined that such recipient re- quires such additional amount to implement ef- fectively the administrative requirements estab- lished by the Secretary pursuant to this part. (2) The Secretary shall establish energy audit procedures and techniques which (i) meet stand- ards established by the Secretary after consulta- tion with the State Energy Advisory Board es- tablished under section 6325(g) of this title, (ii) establish priorities for selection of weatheriza- tion measures based on their cost and contribu-