text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Green Affordable Housing Act of 
  2009''.
  
  SEC. 2. GREEN RETROFIT GRANT AND LOAN PROGRAM.
  
      (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
  shall carry out a program to make grants and loans under this section 
  to owners of eligible federally assisted housing projects for making 
  eligible green retrofit improvements to such projects.
      (b) Eligible Federally Assisted Housing Projects.--Grants and loans 
  under this section may be provided only for eligible green retrofit 
  improvements under subsection (c) for--
              (1) housing for which project-based assistance is provided 
          under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
          U.S.C. 1437f);
              (2) housing that is assisted under section 202 of the 
          Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
              (3) housing that is assisted under section 202 of the 
          Housing Act of 1959, as such section existed before the 
          enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
          Act (Public Law 101-625);
              (4) housing that is assisted under section 811 of the 
          Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
          8013);
              (5) housing financed by a loan or mortgage insured under 
          section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
          1715l(d)(3)) that bears interest at a rate determined under the 
          proviso of section 221(d)(5) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 
          1715l(d)(5));
              (6) housing insured, assisted, or held by the Secretary or 
          a State or State agency under section 236 of the National 
          Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1);
              (7) housing constructed or substantially rehabilitated 
          pursuant to assistance provided under section 8(b)(2) of the 
          United States Housing Act of 1937, as in effect before October 
          1, 1983, that is assisted under a contract for assistance under 
          such section;
              (8) housing assisted or formerly assisted under section 101 
          of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 
          1701s);
              (9) multifamily housing projects assisted with amounts made 
          available under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act (42 U.S.C. 
          12721 et seq.);
              (10) housing for which a loan is made or insured under 
          section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485); and
              (11) housing for which a low-income housing tax credit is 
          provided pursuant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
          1986 (26 U.S.C. 42).
      (c) Eligible Green Retrofit Improvements.--
              (1) In general.--For purposes of this section, eligible 
          green retrofit improvements are improvements to an eligible 
          federally assisted housing project that are approved by the 
          Secretary as having one or more of the following attributes, as 
          compared with the comparable component that would normally be 
          used by owners of similar properties in the same market area:
                      (A) Materially lower electric, heating fuel, or 
                  water consumption.
                      (B) Materially lower emissions of chemicals thought 
                  to be harmful to humans.
                      (C) Materially longer useful life.
                      (D) Materially more biodegradable.
                      (E) Materially more easily recycled.
                      (F) Materially lower use of raw materials or use of 
                  materially more recycled content.
                      (G) Materially lower transportation costs of 
                  products delivered to the project.
          For purposes of this paragraph, determinations of materiality 
          shall be made by the Secretary in the sole discretion of the 
          Secretary.
              (2) Related improvements.--For purposes of this section, 
          eligible green retrofit improvements shall include improvements 
          approved by the Secretary as related or collateral to the 
          undertaking or provision of eligible green retrofit 
          improvements approved pursuant to paragraph (1) for an eligible 
          federally assisted housing project.
              (3) Verification.--For purposes of verifying improvements 
          as eligible green retrofit improvements under this subsection, 
          the Secretary shall, by regulation, provide for the following:
                      (A) Certification of building energy and 
                  environment auditors, inspectors, and raters by the 
                  Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET), or an 
                  equivalent certification system as determined by the 
                  Secretary.
                      (B) Certification or licensing of building energy 
                  and environmental retrofit contractors by the Building 
                  Performance Institute (BPI), or an equivalent 
                  certification or licensing system as determined by the 
                  Secretary.
                      (C) Use of equipment and procedures of the Building 
                  Performance Institute, Residential Energy Services 
                  Network, or other appropriate equipment and procedures 
                  (such as infrared photography and pressurized testing, 
                  and tests for water use and indoor air quality), as 
                  determined by the Secretary, to test the energy and 
                  environmental efficiency of buildings effectively.
                      (D) Determination of energy savings by comparison 
                  of scores on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index 
                  before and after retrofit, with the final score 
                  produced by an objective third party.
      (d) Extension of Affordability Restrictions.--
              (1) Grants.--
                      (A) In general.--The Secretary may provide a grant 
                  under this section for an eligible federally assisted 
                  housing project only if the owner of the project enters 
                  into such binding commitments as the Secretary shall 
                  require, which shall be applicable to any subsequent 
                  owner, to ensure that the project will be operated, 
                  until the expiration of the period specified in 
                  subparagraph (B), in accordance with all affordability 
                  restrictions that are applicable to the project under 
                  the federal assistance program referred to in 
                  subsection (b) under which assistance is provided for 
                  the project.
                      (B) Period.--The period specified in this paragraph 
                  for an eligible federally assisted housing project is 
                  the period that--
                              (i) begins upon the date of the expiration 
                          of applicability, to the project, of the 
                          affordability restrictions under the federal 
                          assistance program referred to in subsection 
                          (b) under which assistance is provided for the 
                          project;
                              (ii) has such duration, as determined by 
                          the Secretary, as commensurate with the amount 
                          of the loan or grant assistance provided under 
                          this section for the project; and
                              (iii) in no case exceeds 30 years.
                  The Secretary may make such adjustments to such period 
                  as may be necessary to take into consideration any more 
                  significant restrictions accompanying other subsidies 
                  for the project.
              (2) Loans.--In providing loans under this section for 
          eligible federally assisted housing projects, the Secretary may 
          require the project to comply with affordability restrictions 
          as the Secretary may establish, the terms of which shall be 
          commensurate with the term and amount of the loan.
      (e) Limitation on Amount.--The amount of a grant or loan under this 
  section for an eligible federally assisted housing project may not 
  exceed--
              (1) a percentage, as determined by the Secretary, of the 
          cost of the eligible green retrofit improvements for the 
          project described in the retrofit plan under subsection (f)(2) 
          for the project; and
              (2) a dollar amount limitation, as the Secretary may 
          establish.
      (f) Applications.--
              (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for owners of 
          eligible federally assisted housing project to submit 
          applications to the Secretary for grants and loans under this 
          subsection. The Secretary shall require each such application 
          to include a retrofit plan under paragraph (2).
              (2) Retrofit plan.--
                      (A) Requirements.--The Secretary may not make any 
                  grant or loan under this section for any eligible green 
                  retrofit improvements for an eligible federally 
                  assisted housing project unless the owner of the 
                  project has submitted to the Secretary, and the 
                  Secretary has approved (pursuant to any amendments or 
                  changes as the Secretary may require), a detailed 
                  written plan regarding such improvements that complies 
                  with such requirements as the Secretary shall 
                  establish, which shall include the following:
                              (i) The plan shall set forth the current 
                          utility costs for the project, including costs 
                          for water, heat, and electricity.
                              (ii) The plan shall describe the eligible 
                          green retrofit improvements to be made for the 
                          project, setting forth--
                                      (I) a schedule for completing each 
                                  such improvement;
                                      (II) the cost of and sources of 
                                  funding for each such improvement;
                                      (III) the amount of anticipated 
                                  cost savings resulting from each such 
                                  improvement; and
                                      (IV) a schedule for such savings 
                                  for each such improvement based on the 
                                  current utility costs for the project 
                                  set forth pursuant to clause (i), 
                                  except that such cost-savings schedule 
                                  may not have a term exceeding 10 years.
                      (B) Cost-efficiency; cost savings.--The Secretary 
                  may approve a retrofit plan under this subsection only 
                  if the Secretary determines that--
                              (i) the total present value of the cost 
                          savings resulting from the eligible green 
                          retrofit improvements specified in the plan and 
                          to be recovered over the term of the cost-
                          savings schedule included in the plan will 
                          exceed the cost of making such improvements; 
                          and
                              (ii) the eligible green retrofit 
                          improvements specified in the plan will result 
                          in savings in utility or other operating costs 
                          for the eligible federally assisted housing 
                          project of not less than 20 percent, in 
                          comparison to utility and operating costs of 
                          such project absent the eligible green retrofit 
                          improvements to be undertaken under the plan.
              (3) Selection priorities.--In selecting applications for 
          loans and grants under this section the Secretary may--
                      (A) give priority to applications providing for 
                  eligible green retrofit improvements that are funded in 
                  part with amounts from sources other than grants and 
                  loans under this section, and the extent of such 
                  priority provided may be based on the ratio of such 
                  funding from other sources; and
                      (B) give priority to applications based on the net 
                  amount of energy efficiency savings resulting from the 
                  eligible green retrofit improvements to be funded by 
                  such loans and grants.
      (g) Loans.--In such circumstances as the Secretary may provide, the 
  Secretary may provide assistance under this section in the form of a 
  loan, which shall have such term to maturity, shall bear interest, and 
  shall have such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may 
  establish.
      (h) Treatment of Grant Amounts.--Notwithstanding any other 
  provision of law, assistance amounts under this section may be treated 
  as amounts not derived from a Federal grant.
      (i) Monitoring.--
              (1) Submission of information to secretary.--The Secretary 
          shall require each owner of an eligible federally assisted 
          housing project for which a grant or loan under this section is 
          made to submit to the Secretary such information, on a regular 
          basis during the term of the cost savings schedule included in 
          the retrofit plan for project for which such grant or loan is 
          made or during such other term, and in such form and manner, as 
          the Secretary considers appropriate to determine the cost 
          savings resulting from the eligible green retrofit improvements 
          funded with such grant or loan and to provide such other 
          information as the Secretary considers necessary.
              (2) Other monitoring.--With respect to eligible federally 
          assisted housing projects for which eligible green retrofit 
          improvements have been made with assistance under this section, 
          the Secretary shall--
                      (A) establish guidelines for obtaining 
                  certification of such projects, after retrofit, as 
                  Energy Star buildings, for assigning Home Energy Rating 
                  System (HERS) rating for such projects, and for 
                  completing applicable building performance labels; and
                      (B) establish processes for tracking the numbers 
                  and locations of such projects and obtaining 
                  information on projected and actual savings of energy 
                  and its value over time.
      (j) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
  definitions shall apply:
              (1) Affordability restrictions.--The term ``affordability 
          restrictions'' means, with respect to an eligible federally 
          assisted housing project, limits imposed by statute, 
          regulation, or regulatory agreement on tenant rents, rent 
          contributions, or income eligibility.
              (2) Cost-savings schedule.--The term ``cost-savings 
          schedule'' means, with respect to a retrofit plan for an 
          eligible federally assisted housing project, the schedule 
          included in such plan pursuant to subsection (f)(2)(A)(ii)(IV).
              (3) Eligible federally assisted housing project.--The term 
          ``eligible federally assisted housing project'' means a housing 
          project described in subsection (b).
              (4) Retrofit plan.--The term ``retrofit plan'' means a plan 
          required under subsection (f)(2).
              (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
          of Housing and Urban Development.
      (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated such sums for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, 
  which shall be available for--
              (1) grants under this section; and
              (2) costs (as such term in defined in section 502 of the 
          Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a) of loans 
          under this section.
      (l) Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue any regulations 
  necessary to carry out this section.
target: Green Affordable Housing Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a program of grants and loans to owners of specified eligible federally assisted housing projects for making eligible green retrofit improvements to such projects.
  
  Conditions such grants or loans on a HUD approved retrofit plan by the owners of such projects.
feat_title: To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants and loans to owners of federally assisted housing projects for costs of making green retrofit improvements to such projects.