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A BILL 1
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25-119 3
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 6
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To amend the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 to create the Breathe Easy Program 11
within the Department of Energy and the Environment to provide residential 12
electrification retrofits for low-income and moderate-income households; to amend the 13
Green Building Act of 2006 to exempt the value of improvements made through the 14
Breathe Easy Program from the definition of “substantial improvement” for the purposes 15
of the Green Building Act of 2006, and to provide that the Green Building Advisory 16
Council shall advise the Mayor on implementation of the Breathe Easy Program; to 17
amend the Retail Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999 to exempt 18
subscribers of projects created through the Solar For All Program from limits on offsets 19
to costs of electricity consumption; and to amend section 47-1803.02 of the District of 20
Columbia Official Code to provide that the value of benefits received through the Breathe 21
Easy Program shall not be subject to District income tax. 22
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 24
act may be cited as the “Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act of 25
2024”. 26
Sec. 2. The Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008, effective October 22, 2008 (D.C. 27
Law 17-250; D.C. Official Code § 8-1773.01 et seq.), is amended by adding a new section 217 to 28
read as follows: 29
“Sec. 217. Breathe Easy Program established. 30
“(a)(1) There is established the Breathe Easy Program (“Program”) within DOEE that: 31 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(A) Shall provide residential electrification retrofits to low-income 32
District households, including households in multi-unit residential buildings where at least 50% 33
of the occupied housing units are occupied by low-income households at the time of income 34
verification; 35
“(B) May provide residential electrification retrofits to moderate-income 36
District households; and 37
“(C) Shall provide training and education to contractors that provide 38
residential electrification retrofits through the Program. 39
“(2) The Program shall provide residential electrification retrofits at no cost to 40
low-income households, including households in multi-unit residential buildings where at least 41
50% of the units are occupied by low-income households in accordance with the following 42
timeline: 43
“(A) 2,500 shall be completed by December 31, 2027; 44
“(B) 10,000 shall be completed by December 31, 2032; 45
“(C) 20,000 shall be completed by December 31, 2037; and 46
“(D) 30,000 shall be completed by December 31, 2040. 47
“(3) The Program may provide residential electrification retrofits to moderate- 48
income households, subsidized in accordance with the sliding scale published pursuant to 49
subsection (b)(6) of this section; provided, that residential electrification retrofits made pursuant 50 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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to this paragraph shall not be counted towards the requirements of paragraph (2) of this 51
subsection. 52
“(4) DOEE shall partner with nonprofit organizations to provide training and 53
education related to the provision of residential electrification retrofits for businesses and 54
individuals in accordance with the recommendations published pursuant to subsection (b)(7) of 55
this section. 56
“(b) By September 30, 2024, DOEE shall publish on its website and submit to the 57
Council a plan to administer the Program, which shall include: 58
“(1) A description of how residential electrification retrofits will be completed; 59
“(2) If DOEE proposes to partner with private contractors to make residential 60
electrification retrofits, a description of how DOEE will maximize participation of District 61
residents and businesses that are eligible to be certified as equity impact enterprises; 62
“(3) Eligibility criteria for: 63
“(A) Low-income and moderate-income households to receive a 64
residential 65
electrification retrofit through the Program, including a process for income verification; 66
“(B) Multi-unit residential buildings to receive a residential retrofit 67
through the Program, including a process for certifying that at least 50% of units are occupied by 68
low-income households; and 69 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(C) Private contractors to provide residential electrification retrofits 70
through the Program; 71
“(4) A description of allowable appliances, methods, materials, and technology to 72
be used in residential electrification retrofits; 73
“(5) Strategies for: 74
“(A) Prioritizing residential electrification retrofits for households with the 75
lowest household incomes; and 76
“(B) Identifying and prioritizing low-income households that can receive 77
residential electrification retrofits most cost-effectively, including by combining electrification 78
retrofits with other services provided or subsidized by DOEE or other District agencies; 79
“(6) A sliding scale to be used when subsidizing the cost of providing residential 80
electrification retrofits to moderate-income households; 81
“(7) Recommendations to eliminate or reduce the cost to businesses and 82
individuals of providing training pursuant to subsection (a)(4) of this section in order to 83
maximize: 84
“(A) Participation in the Program of businesses that are eligible 85
to be certified as equity impact enterprises; and 86
“(B) Employment of District residents by businesses participating in the 87
Program; 88 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(8) The estimated number of low-income and moderate-income households that 89
will receive residential electrification retrofits in each year of the Program; and 90
“(9) A description of how DOEE will coordinate with the Green Building 91
Advisory Council. 92
“(c) Beginning on January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, DOEE shall publish on its 93
website and submit to the Council a report on progress toward meeting the requirements of 94
subsection (a)(1) and (2) of this section, including the number of residential electrification 95
retrofits completed in each calendar year of the Program’s operation and the number of 96
residential electrification retrofits planned to be completed in the following calendar year. 97
“(d) Participation in the Program shall not preclude a person from receiving other 98
improvements provided by DOEE or another District agency. 99
“(e)(1) The Mayor, pursuant to Title I of the District of Columbia Administrative 100
Procedure 101
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1204; D.C. Official Code § 2-501 et seq.), may issue 102
rules to implement the provisions of this section. The proposed rules shall be submitted to the 103
Council for a 45-day period of review, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and days of 104
Council recess. If the Council does not approve or disapprove the proposed rules, in whole or in 105
part, by resolution within the 45-day review period, the proposed rules shall be deemed 106
approved. 107 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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“(2) The rules issued pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may include 108
rules to preserve the affordability of homes that receive residential electrification retrofits under 109
this section. 110
“(f) For purposes of this section, the term: 111
“(1) “Equity impact enterprise” shall have the same meaning as provided in 112
section 2302(8A) of the Small, Local, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Development and 113
Assistance Act of 2005, effective October 20, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-33; D.C. Official Code § 2-114
218.02(8A)). 115
“(2) “Low-income household” means a household with a total income less than 116
80% of the median family income for the metropolitan area that includes the District, as 117
published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 118
“(3) “Moderate-income household” means a household with a total income 119
equal to or greater than 80% but less than 150% of the median family income for the 120
metropolitan area that includes the District, as published by the U.S. Department of Housing and 121
Urban Development. 122
“(4) “Residential electrification retrofit” means replacement of all appliances or 123
other systems, such as an oven, water heater, or heating system, that combust fossil fuels on site 124
with appliances or other systems that perform the same function and that are powered 125
exclusively by electricity.”. 126 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 3. The Green Building Act of 2006, effective March 8, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-234; 127
D.C. Official Code § 6-1451.01 et seq.), is amended as follows: 128
(a) Section 2(40) (D.C. Official Code § 6-1451.01(40)) is amended by striking the phrase 129
“improvement of a building or structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market 130
value of the structure” and inserting the phrase “improvement of a building or structure, 131
excluding repairs, alterations, additions, or improvements of a building structure made through 132
the Breathe Easy Program, established by section 217 of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 133
2008, as approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment on March 4, 2024 134
(Committee print of Bill 25-119), the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of 135
the structure” in its place. 136
(b) Section 10 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1451.09) is amended as follows: 137
(1) Subsection (c)(1) is amended as follows: 138
(A) The lead-in language is amended by striking the phrase “following 13 139
members” and inserting the phrase “following 15 members” in its place. 140
(B) Subparagraphs (G) is amended by striking the phrase “One member” 141
and inserting the phrase “Two members” in its place. 142
(C) Subparagraphs (H) is amended by striking the phrase “One member” 143
and inserting the phrase “Two members” in its place. 144
(2) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 145 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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(A) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting 146
a semicolon in its place. 147
(B) Paragraph (4) is amended by striking the period and inserting the 148
phrase “; and” in its place. 149
(C) A new paragraph (5) is added to read as follows: 150
“(5) Equitable implementation of the requirements of the Breathe Easy Program, 151
established by section 217 of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008, as approved by the 152
Committee on Transportation and the Environment on March 4, 2024 (Committee print of Bill 153
25-119).”. 154
Sec. 4. Section 118a(b) of the Retail Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999, 155
effective December 13, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-47; D.C. Official Code § 34–1518.01(b)), is 156
amended by striking the phrase “12 months.” and inserting the phrase “12 months; except, that 157
this subsection shall not apply to subscribers of a project constructed through the Solar for All 158
Program established by section 216 of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008, effective 159
October 8, 2016 (D.C. Law 21-154; D.C. Official Code § 8-1774.16).” in its place. 160
Sec. 5. Section 47-1803.02(a)(2) of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended by 161
adding a new subparagraph (AAA) to read as follows: 162
“(AAA) Benefits provided through the Breathe Easy Program, established 163
by section 217 of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008, as approved by the Committee 164
on Transportation and the Environment on March 4, 2024 (Committee print of Bill 25-119).”. 165 ENGROSSED ORIGINAL
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Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement. 166
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 167
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 168
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 169
Sec. 7. Effective date. 170
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 171
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 172
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 173
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 174