§ 7628 — Demonstration Grant Program For Local Governments

(1) The Administrator shall establish a demonstration program under which the Administrator shall provide competitive grants to assist local governments (such as municipalities and counties), with respect to local government buildings— (A) to deploy cost-effective technologies and practices; and (B) to achieve operational cost savings, through the application of cost-effective technologies and practices, as verified by the Administrator. (A) The Federal share of the cost of an activity carried out using a grant provided under this section shall be 40 percent. (B) The Administrator may waive up to 100 percent of the local share of the cost of any grant under this section should the Administrator determine that the community is economically distressed, pursuant to objective economic criteria established by the Administrator in published guidelines. (3) The amount of a grant provided under this subsection shall not exceed $1,000,000. (1) Not later than 1 year after December 19, 2007, the Administrator shall issue guidelines to implement the grant program established under subsection (a). (2) The guidelines under paragraph (1) shall establish— (A) standards for monitoring and verification of operational cost savings through the application of cost-effective technologies and practices reported by grantees under this section; (B) standards for grantees to implement training programs, and to provide technical assistance and education, relating to the retrofit of buildings using cost-effective technologies and practices; and (C) a requirement that each local government that receives a grant under this section shall achieve facility-wide cost savings, through renovation of existing local government buildings using cost-effective technologies and practices, of at least 40 percent as compared to the baseline operational costs of the buildings before the renovation (as calculated assuming a 3-year, weather-normalized average). (c) Nothing in this section or any program carried out using a grant provided under this section supersedes or otherwise affects any State or local law, to the extent that the State or local law contains a requirement that is more stringent than the relevant requirement of this section. (d) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012. (1) The Administrator shall provide annual reports to Congress on cost savings achieved and actions taken and recommendations made under this section, and any recommendations for further action. (2) The Administrator shall issue a final report at the conclusion of the program, including findings, a summary of total cost savings achieved, and recommendations for further action. (f) The program under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2012. (g) cost savings” shall have the meanings defined in section 17061 of this title.