On Thursday, May 6th, the House passed the Home Star Bill with a 246-161 vote! Passing the bill authorized $5.7 billion in funding over a 2-year period for energy-efficient home renovations. Many supporters estimate the bill will encourage 3 million homeowners to take part in the program and will save them over $9.2 billion in energy expenses over the next 10 years. For more details on the bill’s past progression, check out our First HomeStar Bill blog post as well as our Second HomeStar Bill blog post.
Some key changes were made before the final house bill passed which include:
1) The bill will be terminated if no way to pay for it is presented.
2) Rebates will now go directly to the homeowner. In a previous version of the bill, rebates would be instant and deducted from the purchase with contractors applying to the government for the rebates.
3) A sample of all projects will be inspected to help prevent fraud.
Next Steps:
The House and Senate now need to combine their two versions in the bill and reach a compromise. To get the latest information on the HomeStar Program, be sure to subscribe to the Moonworks Blog by Email in the top right hand corner or click here to subscribe by RSS Feed.