BILL REQ. #:  S-2262.2 

READ FIRST TIME 03/02/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to achieving greater energy efficiency in buildings; amending RCW 70.164.020, 70.164.040, 70.164.050, and 70.164.060; adding a new section to chapter 70.164 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.185 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   FINDINGS. (1) The legislature finds that improving energy efficiency in structures is one of the most cost-effective means to meet energy requirements, and that while there have been significant efficiency savings achieved in the state over the past quarter century, there remains enormous potential to achieve even greater savings. Increased weatherization and more extensive efficiency improvements in residential, commercial, and public buildings achieves many benefits, including reducing energy bills, avoiding the construction of new electricity generating facilities with associated climate change impacts, and creation of family-wage jobs in performing energy audits and improvements.
     (2) The legislature recognizes that the Washington State University extension energy program is uniquely qualified to implement programs consistent with the purposes of this act. Washington State University has nationally recognized experts in energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy technology, and program delivery.
     (3) It is the intent of the legislature that financial and technical assistance programs be expanded to direct municipal, state, and federal funds, as well as electric and natural gas utility funding, toward greater achievement of energy efficiency improvements. To this end, the legislature establishes a policy goal of assisting in weatherizing twenty thousand homes and businesses in the state in each of the next five years. The legislature also intends to attain this goal in part through supporting programs that rely on community organizations and that there be maximum family-wage job creation in fields related to energy efficiency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 101   DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Account" means the energy efficiency assistance account created in section 110 of this act.
     (2) "Board" means the state board for community and technical colleges.
     (3) "Credit enhancement" means instruments which enhance the security for the payment of the lender's obligations and includes, but is not limited to insurance, letters of credit, lines of credit, or other similar agreements.
     (4) "Customers" means residents, businesses, and building owners.
     (5) "Direct outreach" means:
     (a) The use of door-to-door contact, community events, and other methods of direct interaction with customers to inform them of energy efficiency and weatherization opportunities; and
     (b) The performance of energy audits.
     (6) "Director" means the director of the energy efficiency assistance program created in section 102 of this act.
     (7) "Energy audit" means an assessment of building energy efficiency opportunities, from measures that require very little investment and without any disruption to building operation, normally involving general building operational measures, to low or relatively higher cost investment, such as installing timers to turn off equipment, replacing light bulbs, installing insulation, replacing equipment and appliances with higher efficiency equipment and appliances, and similar measures. The term includes an assessment of alternatives for generation of heat and power from renewable energy resources, including installation of solar hot water heating and equipment for photovoltaic electricity generation.
     (8) "Energy efficiency and conservation block grant program" means the federal program created under the energy independence and security act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140).
     (9) "Energy efficiency services" means energy audits, weatherization, energy efficiency retrofits, energy management systems as defined in RCW 39.35.030, and other activities to reduce a customer's energy consumption, and includes assistance with paperwork, arranging for financing, program design and development, and other postenergy audit assistance and education to help customers meet their energy savings goals.
     (10) "Middle income" means household incomes that are between eighty and one hundred twenty percent of the area median income.
     (11) "President" means the president of Washington State University.
     (12) "Program" means the energy efficiency assistance program created in section 102 of this act.
     (13) "Sponsor" means any entity or group of entities that submits a proposal under section 103 of this act, including but not limited to any nongovernmental nonprofit organization, local community action agency, community service agency, public service company, county, municipality, publicly owned electric, or natural gas utility.
     (14) "Sponsor match" means the share, if any, of the cost of efficiency improvements to be paid by the sponsor.
     (15) "State energy program" means the federal program created under the energy policy and conservation act (Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6321).
     (16) "University" means Washington State University.
     (17) "Weatherization" means making energy and resource conservation and energy efficiency improvements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 102   ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CREATED. (1) The energy efficiency assistance program is created within the extension energy program of Washington State University. The program must be managed by the director, who is appointed by the president. The director must:
     (a) Establish a process to award grants on a competitive basis using funds from the account;
     (i) Grants must be used to:
     (A) Conduct direct outreach;
     (B) Deliver energy efficiency services; or
     (C) Create credit enhancements, such as loan loss reserve funds as specified in section 107 of this act;
     (ii) The allocation of grants funded by state energy program funds shall be prioritized as follows:
     (A) Weatherization of residential structures for middle-income households, that are not eligible for weatherization assistance under chapter 70.164 RCW; and
     (B) Weatherization of operations of commercial, industrial, and nonprofit entities that have reported an average of less than one million dollars of gross revenue annually in the preceding five years;
     (iii) Grants must be matched, in amounts determined by the director, by resources provided by the sponsor;
     (iv) If a match is required by the director, preference must be given to those grant applicants with higher ratios of resources provided by the sponsor to grant awards;
     (b) Provide technical assistance:
     (i) To grant recipients conducting direct outreach, delivering energy efficiency services, or providing financing assistance and services; and
     (ii) For farm energy assessment activities as specified in section 109 of this act;
     (c) Cooperate and coordinate with the department of community, trade, and economic development and those entities providing energy audit and energy efficiency services and training to maximize the assistance provided in the program, avoid duplication of existing programs, and encourage:
     (i) The use of service delivery models by grant recipients that have proven effective in existing programs; and
     (ii) The development of geographic information about direct outreach to be shared between grant recipients and low-income weatherization providers to minimize duplication in targeting customers;
     (d)(i) Distribute a minimum of sixty percent of program funding as grants, at least seventy-five percent of which must be prioritized for programs that provide both direct outreach and delivery of energy efficiency services;
     (ii) Distribute a minimum of twenty percent of program funding for technical assistance and training resource moneys as specified in section 401 of this act, up to five hundred thousand dollars per year;
     (iii) Distribute a maximum of ten percent of program funding for credit enhancements, using criteria as developed in subsection (4) of this section;
     (e) Retain a maximum of five percent of program funds for program administration and the administrative overhead of the university; and
     (f) Create an appliance efficiency rebate program with available funds from the energy efficient appliances rebate program authorized under the federal energy policy act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58).
     (2) The director shall adopt guidelines addressing best practices for direct outreach and energy efficiency services and avoiding duplication of such services.
     (3) The program must offer assistance to sponsors to develop and design effective energy efficiency services programs.
     (4) The director, in consultation with the department of financial institutions, shall develop criteria regarding the extent which funds will be provided for the purposes of credit enhancements under subsection (1)(d)(iii) of this section and set forth principles for accountability for financial institutions receiving funding for credit enhancements.
     (5) The director shall require any financial institution or other entity receiving funding for credit enhancements to:
     (a) Provide books, accounts, and other records in such a form and manner as the director may require;
     (b) Identify a loan loss reserve that is sufficient to cover projected loan losses which are not guaranteed by the United States government; and
     (c) Identify any other credit enhancements.
     (6)(a) If a sponsor match is required by the director, a sponsor may elect to: (i) Pay a sponsor match as a lump sum at the time of weatherization; or (ii) make yearly payments to the account over a period not to exceed ten years. If a sponsor elects to make yearly payments, the value of the payments may not be less than the value of the lump sum payment that would have been made under (a)(i) of this subsection.
     (b) A sponsor may use its own moneys, including corporate or ratepayer moneys, or moneys provided by landlords, charitable groups, government programs, the Bonneville power administration, or other sources to pay the sponsor match.
     (c) The director may permit a sponsor to meet its match requirement in whole or in part through providing labor, materials, or other in-kind expenditures.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 103   GRANTS AUTHORIZED. (1) The director shall solicit grant applications from sponsors. The director may provide grants that fully or partially fund a sponsor's proposal. The director shall require the following in the grant application:
     (a) The amount requested from the account;
     (b) The amount of the sponsor match;
     (c) The entities participating as sponsors and any entities that will provide administrative support, direct outreach, energy efficiency services, or financing assistance and services;
     (d) A demonstration of effective fiscal accountability measures;
     (e) Performance measures by which to assess the monetary and energy savings of proposed efficiency projects following project completion;
     (f) A work plan detailing the means and methods by which the sponsor will carry out the required direct outreach or energy efficiency services;
     (g) Convincing evidence that a sponsor providing energy efficiency services will be capable of helping customers achieve a savings-to-investment ratio of at least one over a payback period of twenty years, subject to the useful life of the improvements;
     (h) Convincing evidence of a sponsor's capacity to create or maintain living-wage jobs located within the geographic area reached by the sponsor's proposal;
     (i) Convincing evidence that the sponsor will be able to efficiently and expeditiously provide direct outreach or energy efficiency services, including details on the sponsor's proposed hiring practices, means of oversight of employees or contractors, and the use of quality control measures; and
     (j) Any other information required by the director.
     (2) The director shall allocate funds appropriated from the account among proposals accepted or accepted in part so as to achieve the greatest possible expected monetary and energy savings by energy consumers and shall, to the extent feasible, ensure a balance of participation for (a) geographic regions in the state; (b) types of fuel used for heating; (c) owner-occupied and rental residences; and (d) single-family and multifamily dwellings. The director may allocate funds to a nonutility sponsor without requiring a sponsor match if the director determines that such an allocation is necessary to provide the greatest benefits to middle-income residents of the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 104   EXPEDITED GRANTS IN 2009. (1) The legislature finds that conducting energy audits and performing efficiency improvements in residences and commercial structures creates family-wage jobs and will stimulate local economies where this work is conducted. Therefore, the legislature directs that where appropriations are made to the account specifically for the purpose of expedited grants, the director shall accord priority to making such grants over all other duties in the program. The director shall award grants within the time frame set by the federal government under the programs providing the funding for these activities. The director shall develop and utilize expedited grant procedures to ensure both compliance with federal program requirements and the legislature's goal of providing prompt stimulation to local economies.
     (2) By November 1, 2009, the director shall report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees in the senate and house of representatives on the status of grant awards under this section. The report may be combined with that made by the department of community, trade, and economic development under section 206 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 105   PILOT GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY-WIDE URBAN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL EFFICIENCY UPGRADES. (1) The legislature finds that comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits in the residential and smaller commercial markets are significantly underutilized due in part to the complex set of decisions that property owners face when securing an energy audit, arranging for financing, and obtaining a contractor to perform the retrofit work. While these retrofits have previously been viewed as primarily benefiting the property owner with energy cost savings, the additional benefits of the avoided costs of new energy generation and the environmental and climate benefits of reduced carbon emissions call for new ways of reaching residential and business building owners to deliver energy efficiency services. Therefore, the purpose of this section is to encourage programs that will combine utility, government, and private investments in residential and commercial building energy efficiency upgrades, with a community-based outreach component to overcome the hurdles that property owners face in considering these upgrades.
     (2)(a) The director shall award not less than three grants for programs that:
     (i) Provide assistance for energy audits and energy efficiency related improvements to structures owned by or used for residential, commercial, or nonprofit purposes in specified urban neighborhoods where the objective is to achieve a high rate of participation among building owners within the pilot area;
     (ii) Utilize volunteer support to reach out to potential customers through the use of community-based institutions;
     (iii) Employ qualified energy auditors to perform the energy audits using recognized retrofit measures that are cost-effective;
     (iv) Select and provide oversight of contractors to perform retrofit work. The contractors must agree to participate in quality control and efficiency training, pay prevailing wages, meet minimum apprentice utilization standards, and hire from the community in which the program is located; and
     (v) Work with customers to secure financing for their portion of the project and apply for and administer utility, public, and charitable funding provided for energy audits and retrofits.
     (b) Priority must be given to grant applicants that can secure a sponsor match of at least one dollar for each dollar awarded.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 106   PROMOTING THE INVOLVEMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN FINANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS--FINDINGS AND INTENT. (1) The legislature finds that the creation and use of risk reduction mechanisms will promote greater involvement of local financial institutions and other financing mechanisms in funding energy efficiency improvements and will achieve greater leverage of state and federal dollars. Risk reduction mechanisms will allow financial institutions to lend to a broader pool of applicants on more attractive terms, such as potentially lower rates and longer loan terms. Placing a portion of funds in long-term risk reduction mechanisms will support a sustained level of energy efficiency investment by financial institutions while providing funding to projects quickly.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature to leverage new federal funding aimed at promoting energy efficiency projects, improving energy efficiency, and increasing family wage jobs. To this end, the legislature intends to invest a portion of all federal funding, subject to federal requirements, for energy efficiency projects in financial mechanisms that will provide for maximum leverage of financing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 107   PROMOTING THE INVOLVEMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN FINANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS. (1) Local municipalities receiving federal stimulus moneys through the federal energy efficiency and conservation block grant program are authorized to use those funds, subject to federal requirements, to establish loan loss reserves or toward risk reduction mechanisms, such as loan loss reserves, to leverage financing for energy efficiency projects.
     (2) Interest rate subsidies, financing transaction cost subsidies, capital grants to energy users, and other forms of grants and incentives that support financing energy efficiency projects are authorized uses of federal energy efficiency funding.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 108   PROMOTING THE INVOLVEMENT OF STATE-CHARTERED BOND AUTHORITIES IN FINANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS.       (1) The legislature finds that the state bond authorities have capacities that can be applied to financing energy efficiency projects for their respective eligible borrowers: Washington economic development finance authority for industry; Washington state housing finance commission for single-family and multifamily housing, and nonprofit facilities; Washington higher education facilities authority for private, nonprofit higher education; and Washington health care facilities authority for hospitals and all types of health clinics.
     (2)(a) Subject to federal requirements, the state bond authorities may accept and administer an allocation of the state's share of the federal energy efficiency funding for designing energy efficiency finance loan products and for developing and operating energy efficiency finance programs. The state bond authorities shall coordinate with the program on the design of the bond authorities' program.
     (b) The director of the program may make allocations of the federal funding to the state bond authorities and may direct and administer funding for outreach, marketing, and delivery of energy services to support the programs by the state bond authorities.
     (c) The legislature authorizes a portion of the federal energy efficiency funds to be used by the state bond authorities for credit enhancements and reserves for such programs.
     (3) The Washington state housing finance commission may:
     (a) Issue revenue bonds as the term "bond" is defined in RCW 43.180.020 for the purpose of financing loans for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvement projects in accordance with RCW 43.180.150;
     (b) Establish eligibility criteria for financing that will enable it to choose applicants who are likely to repay loans made or acquired by the commission and funded from the proceeds of federal funds or commission bonds; and
     (c) Participate fully in federal and other governmental programs and take such actions as are necessary and consistent with chapter 43.180 RCW to secure to itself and the people of the state the benefits of programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 109   FARM ENERGY ASSESSMENTS. (1) The legislature finds that increasing energy costs put farm viability and competitiveness at risk and that energy efficiency improvements on the farm are the most cost-effective way to manage these costs. The legislature further finds that current on-farm energy efficiency programs often miss opportunities to evaluate and conserve all types of energy, including fuels and fertilizers.
     (2) The director, in consultation with the department of agriculture, shall form an interdisciplinary team of agricultural and energy extension agencies to develop and offer new methods to help agricultural producers assess their opportunities to increase energy efficiency in all aspects of their operations. The interdisciplinary team must develop and deploy:
     (a) Online energy self-assessment software tools to allow agricultural producers to assess whole-farm energy use and to identify the most cost-effective efficiency opportunities;
     (b) Energy auditor training curricula specific to the agricultural sector and designed for use by agricultural producers, conservation districts, agricultural extensions, and commodity groups;
     (c) An effective infrastructure of trained energy auditors available to assist agricultural producers with on-farm energy audits and identify cost-share assistance for efficiency improvements; and
     (d) Measurement systems for cost savings, energy savings, and carbon emission reduction benefits resulting from efficiency improvements identified by the interdisciplinary team.
     (3) The director shall seek to obtain additional resources for this section from federal and state agricultural assistance programs and from other sources.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 110   ACCOUNT CREATED. The energy efficiency assistance account is created in the state treasury. Except for appropriations and federal funds that must be used for low-income weatherization assistance pursuant to chapter 70.164 RCW, a minimum of thirty million dollars of all federal funds received pursuant to the federal American recovery and reinvestment act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5), the federal energy independence and security act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140), the federal energy policy and conservation act (Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6321), and the energy efficient appliance rebate program authorized by the federal energy policy act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58), and any other future appropriations in excess of levels of federal fiscal year 2008 for these programs, for the purpose of assisting with energy efficiency assessments, audits, or improvements must be deposited in the account. Other funds, gifts, grants, and endowments from public or private sources, in trust or otherwise, may be directed into the account. Any moneys received from sponsor match payments must be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purposes of this chapter.

Sec. 201   RCW 70.164.020 and 1995 c 399 s 199 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,)) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development.
     (2) "Energy ((assessment)) audit" means an analysis of a dwelling unit to determine the need for cost-effective energy conservation measures as determined by the department.
     (3) "Household" means an individual or group of individuals living in a dwelling unit as defined by the department.
     (4) "Low income" means household income ((that is at or below one hundred twenty-five percent of the federally established poverty level)) as defined by the department, provided that the definition does not exceed eighty percent of median household income, adjusted for household size for the county where the dwelling unit to be weatherized is located.
     (5) "Nonutility sponsor" means any sponsor other than a public service company, municipality, public utility district, mutual or cooperative, furnishing gas or electricity used to heat low-income residences.
     (6) "Residence" means a dwelling unit as defined by the department.
     (7) "Sponsor" means any entity that submits a proposal under RCW 70.164.040, including but not limited to any local community action agency, tribal nation, community service agency, or any other participating agency or any public service company, municipality, public utility district, mutual or cooperative, or any combination of such entities that jointly submits a proposal.
     (8) "Sponsor match" means the share((, if any,)) of the cost of weatherization to be paid by the sponsor.
     (9) "Sustainable residential weatherization" or "weatherization" means ((materials or measures, and their installation, that are used to improve the thermal efficiency of a residence)) using moneys administered by the department to preserve a dwelling unit occupied by a low-income household for activities and materials that result in energy and resource conservation and energy efficiency improvements; repair, indoor air quality, and health and safety investments; and client education. To the extent feasible, moneys must be used to support and advance sustainable technologies.
     (10) "Weatherizing agency" means any approved department grantee, tribal nation, or any public service company, municipality, public utility district, mutual or cooperative, or other entity that bears the responsibility for ensuring the performance of weatherization of residences under this chapter and has been approved by the department.

Sec. 202   RCW 70.164.040 and 1987 c 36 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall solicit proposals for low-income weatherization programs from potential sponsors. A proposal shall state the amount of the sponsor match, the amount requested ((from the low-income weatherization assistance account)), the name of the weatherizing agency, and any other information required by the department.
     (2)(a) A sponsor may use its own moneys, including corporate or ratepayer moneys, or moneys provided by landlords, charitable groups, government programs, the Bonneville power administration, or other sources to pay the sponsor match.
     (b) Moneys provided by a sponsor pursuant to requirements in this section shall be in addition to and shall not supplant any funding for low-income weatherization that would otherwise have been provided by the sponsor or any other entity enumerated in (a) of this subsection.
     (c) No proposal may require any contribution as a condition of weatherization from any household whose residence is weatherized under the proposal.
     (d) Proposals shall provide that full levels of all cost-effective, structurally feasible, sustainable residential weatherization materials, measures, and practices, as determined by the department, shall be installed when a low-income residence is weatherized.
     (3)(a) The department may in its discretion accept, accept in part, or reject proposals submitted. The department shall allocate funds appropriated from the low-income weatherization assistance account among proposals accepted or accepted in part so as to:
     (i) Achieve the greatest possible expected monetary and energy savings by low-income households and other energy consumers ((and)) over the longest period of time;
     (ii) Identify and correct, to the extent practical, health and safety problems for residents of low-income households; and
     (iii) Leverage, to the extent feasible, environmentally friendly sustainable technologies, practices, and designs.
     (b) The department shall, to the extent feasible, ensure a balance of participation in proportion to population among low-income households for: (((a))) (i) Geographic regions in the state; (((b))) (ii) types of fuel used for heating, except that the department shall encourage the use of energy efficient sustainable technologies; (((c))) (iii) owner-occupied and rental residences; and (((d))) (iv) single-family and multifamily dwellings.
     (c) The department shall give priority to weatherize dwelling units occupied by low-income households with incomes at or below one hundred twenty-five percent of the federally established poverty level.
     (d) The department may allocate funds to a nonutility sponsor without requiring a sponsor match if the department determines that such an allocation is necessary to provide the greatest benefits to low-income residents of the state.
     (4)(a) A sponsor may elect to: (i) Pay a sponsor match as a lump sum at the time of weatherization, or (ii) make yearly payments to the low-income weatherization assistance account over a period not to exceed ten years. If a sponsor elects to make yearly payments, the value of the payments shall not be less than the value of the lump sum payment that would have been made under (a)(i) of this subsection.
     (b) The department may permit a sponsor to meet its match requirement in whole or in part through providing labor, materials, or other in-kind expenditures.
     (5) The department shall adopt rules to carry out this section.

Sec. 203   RCW 70.164.050 and 1987 c 36 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department is responsible for ensuring that sponsors and weatherizing agencies comply with the state laws, the department's rules, and the sponsor's proposal in carrying out proposals.
     (2) Before a residence is weatherized, the department shall require that an energy ((assessment)) audit be conducted.
     (3) To the extent possible, the department shall maximize available federal funding for weatherization projects.

Sec. 204   RCW 70.164.060 and 1987 c 36 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     Before a leased or rented residence is weatherized, written permission shall be obtained from the owner of the residence for the weatherization. The department shall adopt rules to ensure that: (1) The benefits of weatherization assistance ((in connection with a leased or rented residence)), including utility bill reduction and preservation of affordable housing stock, accrue primarily to low-income tenants occupying a leased or rented residence; (2) as a result of weatherization provided under this chapter, the rent on the residence is not increased and the tenant is not evicted; and (3) as a result of weatherization provided under this chapter, no undue or excessive enhancement occurs in the value of the residence. This section is in the public interest and any violation by a landlord of the rules adopted under this section shall be an act in trade or commerce violating chapter 19.86 RCW, the consumer protection act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 205   A new section is added to chapter 70.164 RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall coordinate with the Washington State University energy efficiency assistance program created in section 102 of this act in order to maximize the extension of weatherization assistance across low-income and middle-income households. To the extent allowable under federal requirements, the department shall maximize the amount of funding directed to weatherization services of low-income housing. The department may solicit proposals for low and middle-income weatherization projects, if providing funding specifically for additional projects. The department shall determine a priority ranking system for determining the order of preference for projects for low and middle-income households. In determining the ranking, the department must give first priority to low-income households that are at or below eighty percent of the state area median income.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 206   EXPEDITED LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD ENERGY AUDIT PROGRAM GRANTS IN 2009. (1) The legislature finds that conducting energy audits and performing efficiency improvements in low-income households creates family-wage jobs and will stimulate local economies where this work is conducted. Therefore, the legislature directs that where appropriations are made to the low-income weatherization assistance program as part of a federal economic stimulus, the department of community, trade, and economic development shall award grants as quickly as practical for maximum community economic benefit within the parameters stipulated with the funding.
     (2) By November 1, 2009, the department of community, trade, and economic development shall report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees in the senate and house of representatives on the status of grant awards under this section. The report may be combined with that made by the director of the energy efficiency assistance program under section 104 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 301   It is the intent of the legislature that all state administered building weatherization programs are conducted to provide the greatest efficiency in terms of administrative processes, economies of scale, institutional memory, and institutional competence. The legislature also intends by this act to expand state administered building weatherization programs to provide services not only to low-income residents in the state, but also to middle-income residences, farms, commercial buildings, public buildings, public agencies, and other institutions.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 302   (1) The department of community, trade, and economic development and the Washington State University energy extension program shall review:
     (a) Low-income weatherization programs, as authorized under chapter 70.164 RCW, weatherization, weatherization services, and energy efficiency programs administered by the state;
     (b) The low-income energy assistance program funded by the federal government pursuant to the federal low-income energy assistance act (Title 42 U.S.C. 8623 et seq.);
     (c) Weatherization and energy efficiency programs funded by private entities, utilities, the federal government, and other entities; and
     (d) Administrative and overhead costs incurred by weatherization and energy efficiency programs.
     (2) By July 1, 2010, the department of community, trade, and economic development and the Washington State University energy extension program shall provide to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature a report with findings from the review required in subsection (1) of this section and recommendations for one unified and coordinated program, that at a minimum, includes the low-income energy assistance and low-income weatherization programs under chapter 70.164 RCW, administered with the energy efficiency assistance program created in section 102 of this act at the Washington State University energy extension program. The recommendations must include:
     (a) Identification of statutory changes necessary to ensure the least programmatic disruption and an expeditious and efficient transition;
     (b) A timeline for the transition that includes methods to phase and synchronize the transition of administrative processes, records, files, and staff into one program administering the state's weatherization services in accordance with the goals and intent of this chapter;
     (c) Identification of best practices and opportunities to consolidate and create efficiencies and economies of scale;
     (d) Identification of legislative action necessary to maximize the state's receipt of funding for weatherization and energy efficiency purposes; and
     (e) Identification of methods to minimize costs through consolidation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 401   WORKFORCE TRAINING FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF ENERGY AUDITS AND RETROFITS. (1) The legislature finds that it is in the interest of building owners, building residents, and the state that energy audits and energy efficiency services be performed in a manner that is both consistent with current best practices and that provides increased occupational skills, education, and training to workers in the state. The director, in collaboration with the board, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the employment security department, the Washington state building and construction trades council, the Washington state apprenticeship and training council, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall identify the necessary skills and qualifications required to perform the energy audits and energy efficiency services authorized under this act.
     (2) The board shall work with the Washington state apprenticeship and training council and the office of the superintendent of public instruction, to jointly develop, by June 30, 2010, curricula and training programs, to include on-the-job training, classroom training, and safety and health training, for the development of the skills and qualifications identified by the director under subsection (1) of this section.
     (3) Training resource moneys may be provided from the account for the following purposes:
     (a) To develop and deploy curricula and training programs in accordance with subsection (2) of this section;
     (b) For the expansion of existing high school, community and technical college, journey level skills improvement and apprenticeship training programs, and community-based training programs providing energy audit and energy efficiency services training;
     (c) For the implementation of new training programs developed under the terms of this chapter;
     (d) To supplement internship and apprenticeship programs using curricula developed under subsection (2) of this section; and
     (e) For other training activities identified by the director to supplement and expand the skills of the existing workforce.
     (4) The director shall direct the delivery of education and training resource moneys as necessary to meet demands for jobs, giving priority in distribution of training resource moneys to those educational programs that can provide convincing evidence that they are able to provide the requisite skills education and training expeditiously.
     (5) The board shall target a portion of any federal stimulus funding received to ensure commensurate capacity for high employer demand programs of study developed under this section. To that end, the director must coordinate with the workforce training and education coordinating board, the state board for community and technical colleges, or other appropriate state agency in the application for and receipt of such funding that may be made available through the federal youthbuild program, workforce investment act, job corps, or other relevant federal programs.
     (6) The Washington apprenticeship and training council shall evaluate the potential of existing apprenticeship and training programs that would produce workers with the skills needed to conduct energy audits and provide energy efficiency services and deliver their findings to the director and the appropriate committees of the legislature as soon as possible, but no later than January 18, 2010.
     (7) The director shall direct funding to programs that provide skills education and training services to underserved and disadvantaged communities in the state, in accordance with RCW 43.330.310. This may include, but is not limited to, at-risk youth seeking employment pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency. The director shall consult with the employment security department to create a strategy to ensure that the workers who receive training under these programs are provided with the type of employment opportunities contemplated by this chapter.
     (8) The board shall provide an interim report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2011, and a final report by December 1, 2013, detailing the effectiveness of, and any recommendations for improving, the worker training curricula and programs established in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 402   UNEMPLOYED WORKERS. Community and technical colleges that enroll unemployed workers into the relevant curricula and training programs indicated in this act shall receive funding as indicated in section 4, chapter . . ., Laws of 2009 (section 4 of Substitute Senate Bill No. 5809).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 403   DESIGNATION OF WORKFORCE TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF ENERGY AUDITS AND RETROFITS. (1) Existing curricula and training programs or programs provided by community and technical colleges in the state developed under section 401 of this act must be recognized as programs of study under RCW 28B.50.273.
     (2) Subject to available funding, the board may grant enrollment priority to persons who qualify for waiver under RCW 28B.15.522 and who enroll in curricula and training programs provided by community or technical colleges in the state that have been developed in accordance with section 401 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 501   A new section is added to chapter 43.185 RCW to read as follows:
     ENERGY AUDITS AND RETROFITS IN PUBLICLY FUNDED HOUSING. (1) The legislature finds that growing preservation and rehabilitation needs in the housing trust fund property portfolio provide opportunities to advance energy efficiency and weatherization efforts for low-income individuals in Washington state while protecting the state's six hundred million dollars in affordable housing investments. Preservation of existing affordable housing, when done in conjunction with weatherization activities, is a cost-effective, prudent, and environmentally friendly strategy to ensure that low-income housing remains durable, safe, and affordable. Therefore, the legislature intends that where federal funds are available for increasing and improving energy efficiency of low-income housing that these funds shall be utilized, subject to federal requirements, for energy audits and implementing energy efficiency measures in the state housing trust fund real estate portfolio.
     (2) The department shall review all housing properties in the housing trust fund real estate portfolio and identify those in need of major renovation or rehabilitation. In its review, the department shall survey property owners for information including, but not limited to, the age of the building and the type of heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems contained in the property. The department shall prioritize all renovation or rehabilitation projects identified in the review by the department's ability to:
     (a) Achieve the greatest possible expected monetary and energy savings by low-income households and other energy consumers over the greatest period of time;
     (b) Promote the greatest possible health and safety improvements for residents of low-income households; and
     (c) Leverage, to the extent feasible, technologically advanced and environmentally friendly sustainable technologies, practices, and designs.
     (3) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall use the prioritization of potential energy efficiency needs and opportunities in subsection (2) of this section to make offers of energy audit services to project owners and operators. The department shall use all practicable means to achieve the completion of energy audits in at least twenty-five percent of the properties in its portfolio that exceed twenty-five years in age, by June 30, 2011. Where the energy audits identify cost-effective weatherization and other energy efficiency measures, the department shall accord a priority within appropriated funding levels to include funding for energy efficiency improvements when the department allocates funding for renovation or rehabilitation of the property.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 601   Sections 101 through 110 and 401 through 403 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 602   Captions and part headings used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 603   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 604   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.