Community Energy Efficiency Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Community Energy Efficiency Act of 1979 - Provides grants to cities and counties for basic planning, advanced planning, and capital investment related to energy conservation, renewable resource utilization, and other energy-related community programs. Requires that an application for a basic community energy action planning grant include plans for implementing the following programs: (1) a conservation and alternative energy information program; (2) a program designed to reach locally-established targets for energy conservation and renewable resource development; (3) a neighborhood energy conservation and production activity program; (4) a program to assist low-income residents in taking energy conservation and renewable resource measures; (5) a program to integrate such measures with those at the metropolitan or areawide level; (6) a program to amend local land use controls, transportation controls, and policies and ordinances so as to facilitate conservation and renewable resource development; and (7) a program to coordinate local energy activities with State and Federal programs and policies. States that a recipient of such grant may apply for grants for advanced planning for community energy action program development after making significant progress in implementing the programs described above. Requires that an application for such development grant include plans for implementing the following programs: (1) plans for adoption of a renewable resource ordinance providing access and facilitating the use of such energy sources; (2) adoption of residential and commercial property conservation standards; (3) a program to displace nonrenewable resource consumption; and (4) development of a capital energy plan utilizing Federal and State energy-efficiency projects. Requires recipients of such grants to make grants available to neighborhood organizations for special energy projects. Authorizes cities and counties reaching the advanced planning stage to apply for capital investment grants for investment in conservation and renewable resource technologies appropriate to individual communities. Establishes a Local Energy Reference Center as a data bank and clearinghouse for information on locally-based energy conservation and renewable energy resource development efforts. Directs the Center to establish regional Technical Assistance Panels to provide assistance for local energy program development. Provides documentation and distribution grants to local governments for the preparation and distribution of publications on energy conservation and renewable energy resources. Requires States to provide eligible grant recipients with a description of applicable State energy programs and policies, identifying areas of local responsibility. Directs the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and Energy to issue specified regulations and to monitor the progress of recipients of grants awarded under this Act. Directs them to convene an interagency task force to improve existing Federal policies and programs in order to promote the purposes of this Act and to report to Congress on the operation and the energy impact of the programs established under this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 27, 1979. 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 September 27, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
PAUL TSONGAS (D-MA) introduced it on September 27, 1979, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
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 September 27, 1979, 17197 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17197 days ago, on September 27, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers