Voluntary Certification Program Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rely on voluntary programs for certifying manufacturer compliance with energy conservation performance standards for air conditioning, furnace, boiler, heat pump, and water heater products.
Sets forth required characteristics of such certification programs.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4219 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4219
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide for the
recognition of voluntary certification programs for air conditioning,
furnace, boiler, heat pump, and water heater products.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 12, 2014
Mr. Latta (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. Matheson) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide for the
recognition of voluntary certification programs for air conditioning,
furnace, boiler, heat pump, and water heater products.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Certification Program Act
of 2014''.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS FOR AIR CONDITIONING, FURNACE,
BOILER, HEAT PUMP, AND WATER HEATER PRODUCTS.
Section 326(b) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C.
6296(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Voluntary certification programs for air
conditioning, furnace, boiler, heat pump, and water heater
products.--
``(A) Definition of basic model group.--In this
paragraph, the term `basic model group' means a set of
models--
``(i) that share characteristics that allow
the performance of 1 model to be generally
representative of the performance of other
models within the group; and
``(ii) in which the group of products does
not necessarily have to share discrete
performance.
``(B) Reliance on voluntary certification
programs.--For the purpose of testing to verify the
performance rating of, or receiving test reports from
manufacturers certifying compliance with energy
conservation standards and Energy Star specifications
established under sections 324A, 325, and 342, the
covered products described in paragraphs (3), (4), (5),
(9), and (11) of section 322(a) and covered equipment
described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (F), (I),
(J), and (K) of section 340(1), the Secretary and
Administrator shall rely on voluntary certification
programs that--
``(i) are nationally recognized;
``(ii) maintain a publicly available list
of all certified products and equipment;
``(iii) as determined by the Secretary,
annually test not less than 10 percent and not
more than 30 percent of the basic model group
of a program participant;
``(iv) require the changing of the
performance rating or removal of the product or
equipment from the program, if verification
testing determines that the performance rating
does not meet the levels the manufacturer has
certified to the Secretary;
``(v) require the qualification of new
participants in the program through testing and
production of test reports;
``(vi) allow for challenge testing of
products and equipment within the scope of the
program;
``(vii) require program participants to
certify the performance rating of all covered
products and equipment within the scope of the
program;
``(viii) are conducted by a certification
body that is accredited under International
Organization for Standardization/International
Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Standard
17065;
``(ix) provide to the Secretary--
``(I) an annual report of all test
results;
``(II) prompt notification when
program testing results in--
``(aa) the rerating of the
performance rating of a product
or equipment; or
``(bb) the delisting of a
product or equipment; and
``(III) test reports, on the
request of the Secretary or the
Administrator, for Energy Star
compliant products, which shall be
treated as confidential business
information as provided for under
section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United
States Code (commonly known as the
`Freedom of Information Act');
``(x) use verification testing that--
``(I) is conducted by an
independent test laboratory that is
accredited under International
Organization for Standardization/
International Electrotechnical
Commission (ISO/IEC) Standard 17025
with a scope covering the tested
products or equipment;
``(II) follows the test procedures
established under this title; and
``(III) notes in each test report
any instructions specified by the
manufacturer or the representative of
the manufacturer for the purpose of
conducting the verification testing;
and
``(xi) satisfy such other requirements as
the Secretary has determined--
``(I) are essential to ensure
standards compliance; or
``(II) have consensus support
achieved through a negotiated
rulemaking process.
``(C) Administration.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall not
require--
``(I) manufacturers to participate
in a voluntary certification program
described in subparagraph (B); or
``(II) participating manufacturers
to provide information that can be
obtained through a voluntary
certification program described in
subparagraph (B).
``(ii) List of covered products.--The
Secretary or the Administrator may maintain a
publicly available list of covered products and
equipment certified under a program described
in subparagraph (B) that distinguishes
between--
``(I) covered products and
equipment verified by the program; and
``(II) products not verified by the
program.
``(iii) Reduction of requirements.--Any
rules promulgated by the Secretary that require
testing of products or equipment for
certification of performance ratings shall on
average reduce requirements and burdens for
manufacturers participating in a voluntary
certification program described in subparagraph
(B) for the products or equipment relative to
other manufacturers.
``(iv) Periodic testing by program
nonparticipants.--In addition to certification
requirements, the Secretary shall require a
manufacturer that does not participate in a
voluntary certification program described in
subparagraph (B)--
``(I) to verify the accuracy of the
performance rating of the product or
equipment through periodic testing
using the testing methods described in
clause (iii) or (x) of subparagraph
(B); and
``(II) to provide to the Secretary
test results and, on request, test
reports verifying the certified
performance for each basic model group
of the manufacturer.
``(v) Restrictions on test laboratories.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to
subclause (II), with respect to covered
products and equipment, a voluntary
certification program described in
subparagraph (B) shall not be a test
laboratory that conducts the testing on
products or equipment within the scope
of the program.
``(II) Limitation.--Subclause (I)
shall not apply to Energy Star
specifications established under
section 324A.
``(vi) Effect on other authority.--Nothing
in this paragraph limits the authority of the
Secretary or the Administrator to test products
or equipment or to enforce compliance with any
law (including regulations).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
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