Energy Savings and Building Efficiency Act of 2014
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Energy and Power.
Energy Savings and Building Efficiency Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to revise provisions regarding the technical assistance that the Department of Energy (DOE) provides to states, Indian tribes, local governments, or model organizations with respect to model energy codes for residential and commercial building codes. Requires DOE to provide technical assistance to implement technically feasible and cost-effective building energy codes.
Requires states and Indian tribes to measure their compliance with applicable building energy codes or with the associated model building energy code. Sets standards for compliance.
Prohibits DOE from advocating, promoting or discouraging the adoption of a particular building energy code, code provision, or energy savings target to a state or Indian tribe. Deems information provided by DOE to be "influential information" subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines.
Requires DOE to establish energy saving targets for updating model building energy codes. Requires DOE to consider the economic feasibility of achieving the proposed targets and the potential costs and savings for consumers and building owners by conducting a return on investment analysis using a simple payback methodology over a 3-, 5-, and 7-year period. (Simple payback is the time in years that is required for energy savings to exceed the incremental first cost of a new requirement or code.) Prohibits DOE from proposing or providing assistance for any code or target that has a payback greater than 10 years.
Directs DOE to provide grants to establish building training and assessment centers at institutions of higher education.
Requires any DOE program that may enable the owner of a building to obtain a rating, score, or label regarding energy usage or performance of a building to be made available on a voluntary basis.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 8, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 11, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced it on July 8, 2014, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 8, 2014, 4447 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4444 days ago, on July 11, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers