42 U.S.C. § 13458 — Energy efficient lighting and building centers

(a) Purpose. This section aims to encourage energy efficiency in buildings by setting up regional centers that promote efficient lighting, heating and cooling, and building design.

(b) Grants for establishment. Within 18 months after October 24, 1992, the Secretary^* had to give grants to nonprofit institutions — or to groups that might include nonprofits, state^* and local governments, universities, and utilities — to set up or improve one regional building energy efficiency center ("regional center") in each of the 10 regions served by a Department of Energy regional support office.

(c) Permitted activities. Each regional center may: (1) give information, training, and technical help to building professionals like architects, designers, engineers, contractors, and code officials, on building energy-efficiency methods and technology, including lighting, heating and cooling, and passive solar; (2) run outreach telling those professionals about the benefits of energy efficiency and the center's services; (3) show displays demonstrating energy-efficiency methods and technology such as lighting, windows, and heating and cooling equipment; (4) coordinate with other regional institutions — state and local governments, utilities, schools — to support their own energy-efficiency efforts; (5) act as a clearinghouse, passing new building energy-efficiency information, including case studies, to people who can use it in the region; (6) study the region's building energy needs and share region-specific information to help adopt cost-effective improvements; (7) help schools set up building energy-efficiency engineering and technical courses; and (8) evaluate how well the center is promoting building energy efficiency.

(d) Application. Any nonprofit or group wanting a grant must apply to the Secretary in the form and with the information the Secretary requires. A lighting or building energy center that already existed on October 24, 1992, and was owned and run by a nonprofit or group as described in (b), qualifies for a grant.

(e) Selection criteria. The Secretary picks grant recipients based on: (1) the applicant's ability to set up a board of directors for the center made up of representatives from utilities, state and local governments, building trade and professional organizations, manufacturers, and nonprofit energy and environmental groups; (2) the resources the applicant has or could get to carry out this work; (3) the applicant's demonstrated or potential ability to promote building energy efficiency through the activities in (c); and (4) what activities the applicant proposes to carry out with the grant.

(f) Requirement of matching funds. The federal government's share of a grant can't exceed 50 percent of the cost of setting up a center, and can't exceed 25 percent of the cost of running it. No grant can be made in any year unless the recipient agrees, in whatever way the Secretary requires, to provide the needed non-federal funding — which can come from utilities, state and local governments, nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and other non-federal sources.

(g) Task force. The Secretary must set up a task force to (1) advise the Secretary on what grant recipients should do, (2) review and evaluate what grant recipients actually do, and (3) recommend improvements to the grant program.

(h) Membership, terms, and administration of task force. The task force must have about 20 members, appointed by the Secretary, with expertise in building energy efficiency, drawn from: state or local energy offices; utilities; building construction trade or professional groups; architecture, engineering, or professional groups; building component or equipment manufacturers; national laboratories; building code officials or their professional groups; and nonprofit energy or environmental organizations. The Secretary must make sure members are spread out geographically. Members serve 3-year terms; a vacancy is filled the same way the original appointment was made. Members don't get paid, but do get travel expenses, including a daily allowance, under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5. The members elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. The task force meets twice a year and whenever the Chairperson calls a meeting. The usual law that automatically ends federal advisory committees (section 1013 of title 5) does not apply to this task force.

(i) Omitted. This subsection was left out of the published text.

(j) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorized up to $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994, 1995, and 1996 to carry out this section, with the money remaining available until spent.