Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Section
20: Certification Regarding Lobbying
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Assurances
(1) use the
funds available under this title to-
(A)
conduct outreach activities and provide assistance to low income households in
meeting their home energy costs, particularly those with the lowest incomes
that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, consistent with
paragraph (5);
(B) intervene in
energy crisis situations;
(C)
provide low-cost residential weatherization and other cost-effective
energy-related home repair;and
(D)
plan, develop, and administer the State's program under this title including
( leveraging programs, and the State agrees not to use
such funds for any purposes other than those specified in this title;
i
(2) make payments under this title only with
respect to-
(A) households in which one or
more individuals are receiving-
(i) assistance
under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act;
(ii) supplemental security
income payments under title XVI of the Social Security Act;
(iii) food stamps under the Food Stamp Act of
1977; or
(iv) payments under
section 415, 521, 541, or 542 of title 38, United States Code, or under section
306 of the Veterans' and Survivors' Pension Improvement Act of 1978;
or
(B) households with
incomes which do not exceed the greater of -
(i) an amount equal to 150 percent of the
poverty level for such State; or
(ii) an amount equal to 60 percent of the
State median income;
(except that a State may not exclude a household from
eligibility in a fiscal year solely on the basis of household income if such
income is less than 110 percent of the poverty level for such State, but the
State may give priority to those households with the highest home energy costs
or needs in relation to household income.
(3) conduct outreach activities
designed to assure that eligible households, especially households with elderly
individuals or disabled individuals, or both, and households with high home
energy burdens, are made aware of the assistance available under this title,
and any similar energy-related assistance available under subtitle B of title
VI (relating to community services block grant program) or under any other
provision of law which carries out programs which were administered under the
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 before the date of the enactment of this
Act;
(4) coordinate its activities
under this title with similar and related programs administered by the Federal
Government and such State, particularly low-income energy-related programs
under subtitle B of title VI (relating to community services block grant
program), under the supplemental security income program, under part A of title
IV of the Social Security Act, under title XX of the Social Security Act, under
the low-income weatherization assistance program under title IV of the Energy
Conservation and Production Act, or under any other provision of law which
carries out programs which were administered under the Economic Opportunity Act
of 1964 before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(5) provide, in a timely manner, that the
highest level of assistance will be furnished to those households which have
the lowest incomes and the highest energy costs or needs in relation to income,
taking into account family size, except that the State may not differentiate in
implementing this section between the households described in clauses 2(A) and
2(B) of this subsection;
(6) to the
extent it is necessary to designate local administrative agencies in order to
carry out the purposes of this title, to give special consideration, in the
designation of such agencies, to any local public or private nonprofit agency
which was receiving Federal funds under any low-income energy assistance
program or weatherization program under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 or
any other provision of law on the day before the date of the enactment of this
Act, except that -
(A) the State shall, before
giving such special consideration, determine that the agency involved meets
program and fiscal requirements established by the State; and
(B) if there is no such agency because of any
change in the assistance furnished to programs for economically disadvantaged
persons, then the State shall give special consideration in the designation of
local administrative agencies to any successor agency which is operated in
substantialiy the same manner as the predecessor agency which did receive funds
for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the determination is
made;
(7) if the State
chooses to pay home energy suppliers directly, establish procedures to -
(A) notify each participating household of
the amount of assistance paid on its behalf;
(B) assure that the home energy supplier will
charge the eligible household, in the normal billing process, the difference
between the actual cost of the home energy and the amount of the payment made
by the State under this title;
(C)
assure that the home energy supplier will provide assurances that any agreement
entered into with a home energy supplier under this paragraph will contain
provisions to assure that no household receiving assistance under this title
will be treated adversely because of such assistance under applicable
provisions of State law or public regulatory requirements; and
(D) ensure that the provision of vendor
payments remains at the option of the State in consultation with local grantees
and may be contingent on unregulated vendors taking appropriate measures to
alleviate the energy burdens of eligible households, including providing for
agreements between suppliers and individuals eligible for benefits under this
Act that seek to reduce home energy costs, minimize the risks of home energy
crisis, and encourage regular payments i by individuals receiving financial
assistance for home energy costs;
(8) provide assurances that,
(A) the State will not exclude households
described in clause (2}{B) of this subsection from receiving home energy
assistance benefits under clause (2), and
(B) the State will treat owners and renters
equitably under the program assisted under this title;
(9) provide that-
(A) the State may use for planning and
administering the use of funds under this title an amount not to exceed 10
percent of the funds payable to such State under this title for a fiscal year;
and
(B) the State will pay from
non-Federal sources the remaining costs of planning and administering the
program assisted under this title and will not use Federal funds for such
remaining cost (except for the costs of the activities described in paragraph
(16));
(10) provide that
such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures will be established as may
be necessary to assure the proper disbursal of and accounting for Federal funds
paid to the State under this title, including procedures for monitoring the
assistance provided under this title, and provide that the State will comply
with the provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code (commonly
known as the "Single Audit Act");
(11) permit and cooperate with Federal
investigations undertaken in accordance with section 2608;
!
(12) provide for timely and meaningful public
participation in the development of the plan described in subsection
(c);
(13) provide an opportunity
for a fair administrative hearing to individuals whose claims for assistance
under the plan described in subsection (c) are denied or are not acted upon
with reasonable promptness; and
(14) cooperate with the Secretary with
respect to data collecting and reporting under section 2610.
(15) * beginning in fiscal year 1992,
provide, in addition to such services as may be offered by State Departments of
Public Welfare at the local level, outreach and intake functions for crisis
situations and heating and cooling assistance that is administered by
additional State and local governmental entities or community-based
organizations (such as community action agencies, area agencies on aging and
not-for-profit neighborhood-based organizations), and in States where such
organizations do not administer functions as of September 30, 1991, preference
in awarding grants or contracts for intake services shall be provided to those
agencies that administer the low-income weatherization or energy crisis
intervention programs.
* This assurance is applicable only to States, and to
territories whose annual regular LIHEAP allotments exceed $200,000. Neither
territories with annual ,
allotments of $200,000 or less nor Indian tribes/tribal
organizations are subject to Assurance 15.
(16) use up to 5 percent of such funds, at
its option, to provide services that encourage and enable households to reduce
their home energy needs and thereby the need for energy assistance, including
needs assessments, counseling, and assistance with energy vendors, and report
to the Secretary concerning the impact of such activities on the number of
households served, the level of direct benefits provided to those households,
and the number of households that remain unserved.
Plan Attachments
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PLAN ATTACHMENTS |
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The following documents must be attached to (his
application |
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* Delegation Letter is required If someone alter
than the Governor or Chairman Certified this Report. |
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* Heating component benefit matrix, if
applicable |
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* Cooling component benefit matrix. If
applicable |
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Minutes, notes, or transcripts of public
hearing(s). |
