NAR Legislative Analysis
The American Clean Energy and Security Act
National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20001
Houses Passes Climate Bill with Energy Labeling Exemptions
The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act by Reps. Waxman(D-CA) and Markey (D-MA). The bill, re-numbered H.R. 2998, includes NAR-supported provisions, championed by Rep. Perlmutter (D-CO), that exempt existing homes and buildings from the bill's provisions to build upon an existing Energy Star energy labeling program.
After multiple consultations with the NAR Climate Presidential Advisory Group, the NAR Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Committee, and state associations who had dealt with energy audit legislation at the state level, the Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Committee directed NAR staff to concentrate on the real estate provisions in the bill. As a result, NAR issued calls for action and made this a talking point for Capitol Hill visits during its recent Midyear meeting.
Overall, Realtors succeeded in making a number of positive changes to the bill. Thanks to Realtors, the
House-approved bill:
• Does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real property;
• Exempts existing homes and building from any federal guidelines for new construction energy efficiency
information labels.
• Prohibits the implementation of any labeling during a sales transaction.
• Leaves the decision to states as to whether to require energy audits, disclosures, etc.
• Provides property owners with significant financial incentives, matching grants and tools to make property
improvements and reduce their energy bills;
• Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating residential and commercial buildings under the
Clean Air Act;
• Eliminated an early proposal to allow citizens to sue over minor climate risks under the Clean Air Act; and
• Establishes green building incentives for HUD housing, including a loan program for renewable energy, block
grants and credit for upgrades in mortgage underwriting.
While H.R. 2998 includes many positive changes, NAR will have additional opportunities to make further changes to
address unresolved issues, such as the bill's building energy code targets. The Senate must still pass its version of an
energy and climate bill. There would be a House-Senate conference committee to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills. The timing for a vote in the Senate is not clear as the Environment and Public Works Committee still must develop the climate provisions to "cap and trade" carbon emissions. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approved energy provisions that are more realistic and preserve state flexibility to develop and enforce building codes. While the bill as approved by the House represents a significant improvement over the bill that was introduced, NAR will continue to work to address these issues as the legislative process continues.
An NAR summary of climate issues, which summarizes NAR policy, may be accessed on Realtor.org. Here is the link: http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/c2c6e17e27e92119852572f8005cd953/4c238a3be8220682852573d4006f1dfc?O
penDocument
Legislative Contact:
Austin Perez, aperez@realtors.org, 202-383-1046
Helen Devlin, hdevelin@realtors.org, 202-383-7559
Regulatory Contact:
Russell Riggs, rriggs@realtors.org, 202-383-1259
NAR Myths and Facts
The American Clean Energy and Security Act
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National Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Division
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20001
At the direction of the NAR Board of Directors and Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Committee, NAR
concentrated on the real estate provisions in the bill. While there were many NAR-supported changes to the House
bill, NAR will continue working to address the remaining issues as the bill winds its way through the legislative
process.
Claim: “NAR should have read the bill.”
Fact: NAR reviewed the entire amendment and bill before taking a position.
NAR was directly involved in the development of the 308-page amendment. The energy labeling exemption for existing real property was included on page 45. The House bill is available to the public at the Library of Congress’ website: http://thomas.loc.gov/.
The real estate provisions are in Title 2 beginning on page 320.
Legislative Contact:
Austin Perez, aperez@realtors.org, 202-383-1046
Regulatory Contact:
Russell Riggs, rriggs@realtors.org, 202-383-1259
Legislative Contact:
Helen Devlin, hdevelin@realtors.org, 202-383-7559
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