Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2022”.
Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2022
A BILL
To amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a weatherization readiness program, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Weatherization
Enhancement and innovation— Section 414D of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6864d) is amended by striking subsection (k).
Average cost per dwelling unit— Section 415(c)(1) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6865(c)(1)) is amended by striking “$6,500” and inserting “$12,000”.
Clarification of reweatherization limitation— Section 415(c)(2) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6865(c)(2)) is amended—
by striking “, or under other Federal programs”;
by striking “, may ” and inserting “may”; and
by striking “or under other Federal programs, or from receiving non-Federal assistance for weatherization”.
Renewable energy systems— Section 415(c) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6865(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (4).
Weatherization readiness program—
In general— The Energy Conservation and Production Act is amended by adding after section 414E (42 U.S.C. 6864e) the following section:
“414F. Weatherization readiness program
“(a) In general—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a weatherization readiness program to provide grants to States and tribal organizations to implement measures to make dwelling units occupied by low-income persons ready to receive weatherization measures pursuant to the weatherization program conducted under this part by addressing structural, plumbing, roofing, and electrical issues and environmental hazards, and implementing other measures that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, to reduce the frequency of deferrals of such weatherization measures when the condition of a dwelling unit renders delivery of weatherization measures unsafe or ineffective.
“(b) Alignment of requirements—Except as otherwise provided in this section, to the extent possible, the Secretary shall, in establishing the weatherization readiness program under this section—
“(1) align the requirements of such weatherization readiness program with the requirements of the weatherization program conducted under this part; and
“(2) seek to reduce barriers to leveraging other sources of funding for weatherization readiness measures.
“(c) Savings-to-Investment ratio—The weatherization readiness program established under this section shall not include a savings-to-investment ratio requirement.
“(d) Previous weatherization—Weatherization readiness measures implemented pursuant to the weatherization readiness program established under this section shall not be considered previous weatherization for purposes of section 415(c)(2).
“(e) Average cost per dwelling unit—The Secretary may establish, or require a State grantee to establish, a limit for expenditures for weatherization readiness measures, including labor, materials, and related matters, to be implemented with respect to a dwelling unit, on an average cost per unit basis, pursuant to the weatherization readiness program established under this section.
“(f) Allocation of funds
“(1) In general—The Secretary shall allocate funding made available under this section to States and tribal organizations in a manner consistent with the allocation of financial assistance for weatherization assistance under the weatherization program conducted under this part.
“(2) Updated allocation—Not sooner than October 1, 2026, the Secretary, in consultation with States and tribal organizations, may, by rule, update the method to allocate funding to States and tribal organizations under this section to more accurately reflect the relative need for funding for weatherization readiness measures among low-income persons throughout the States and Indian tribes.
“(g) Administrative expenses—Not more than an amount equal to 15 percent of any grant made by the Secretary under this section may be used for administrative purposes, except that not more than one-half of such amount may be used by any State for such purposes.
“(h) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated $90,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this section.”
Table of contents amendment— The table of contents for the Energy Conservation and Production Act is amended by adding after the item relating to section 414E the following: