Small business energy efficiency

In this section— Not later than 90 days after December 19, 2007, the Administrator shall promulgate final rules establishing the Government-wide program authorized under subsection (d) of section 6307 of title 42 that ensure compliance with that subsection by not later than 6 months after December 19, 2007. The Administrator shall develop and coordinate a Government-wide program, building on the Energy Star for Small Business program, to assist small business concerns in— The program required by paragraph (2) shall be developed and coordinated— The Administrator shall make available the information and materials developed under the program required by paragraph (2) to— The Administrator shall develop a strategy to educate, encourage, and assist small business concerns in adopting energy efficient building fixtures and equipment. Not later than December 31, 2008, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report containing a plan to implement the strategy developed under subparagraph (A). The Administrator shall establish a Small Business Energy Efficiency Program to provide energy efficiency assistance to small business concerns through small business development centers. In carrying out the Efficiency Program, the Administrator shall enter into agreements with small business development centers under which such centers shall— provide necessary support to small business concerns to— assist owners of small business concerns with the development and commercialization of clean technology products, goods, services, and processes that use renewable energy sources, dramatically reduce the use of natural resources, and cut or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions through— Each small business development center participating in the Efficiency Program shall submit to the Administrator and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency an annual report that includes— Not later than 60 days after the date on which all reports under subparagraph (B) relating to a year are submitted, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report summarizing the information regarding the Efficiency Program submitted by small business development centers participating in that program. A small business development center shall be eligible to participate in the Efficiency Program only if that center is certified under section 648(k)(2) of this title. From among small business development centers submitting applications to participate in the Efficiency Program, the Administrator— Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 648(a)(4) of this title shall apply to assistance made available under the Efficiency Program. Each small business development center selected to participate in the Efficiency Program under paragraph (4) shall be eligible to receive a grant in an amount equal to— The Comptroller General of the United States shall— not later than 6 months after the date of the initiation of the evaluation under subparagraph (A), submit to the Administrator, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, a report containing— To the extent not inconsistent with State law, the Administrator may guarantee the timely payment of a loan made to a small business concern through an on-bill financing agreement on such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall establish through a formal rulemaking, after providing notice and an opportunity for comment. Subject to amounts approved in advance in appropriations Acts and separate from amounts approved to carry out section 648(a)(1) of this title, the Administrator may make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to carry out this subsection. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to make grants and enter into cooperative agreements to carry out this subsection. The authority under this subsection shall terminate 4 years after the date of disbursement of the first grant under the Efficiency Program. The Administrator shall conduct, in not more than 5 of the regions of the Administration, a pilot program to provide information regarding telecommuting to employers that are small business concerns and to encourage such employers to offer telecommuting options to employees. In carrying out the Telecommuting Pilot Program, the Administrator shall make a concerted effort to provide information to— In carrying out the Telecommuting Pilot Program, the Administrator may— conduct outreach— In determining which regions will participate in the Telecommuting Pilot Program, the Administrator shall give priority consideration to regions in which Federal agencies and private-sector employers have demonstrated a strong regional commitment to telecommuting. Not later than 2 years after the date on which funds are first appropriated to carry out this subsection, the Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives a report containing the results of an evaluation of the Telecommuting Pilot Program and any recommendations regarding whether the pilot program, with or without modification, should be extended to include the participation of all regions of the Administration. The Telecommuting Pilot Program shall terminate 4 years after the date on which funds are first appropriated to carry out this subsection. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administration $5,000,000 to carry out this subsection.