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S. 598: Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009

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S. 598: Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-03-16 · Energy · Latest: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-24.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2009-03-16 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 111-24. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009

Plain summary

Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize any person to petition the Secretary of Energy to prescribe or amend test procedures that are used to measure energy use by: (1) covered products under the Department of Energy's (DOE's) energy conservation program for consumer products; and (2) certain industrial equipment. Requires DOE to respond to petitions within 180 days and publish a rule on the standard within three years if a petition is granted. Revises the Energy Star Program by: (1) requiring the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update agreements that delineate DOE and EPA responsibilities; (2) expanding the duties of the Secretary and the Administrator, to include reviewing product categories at least once every three years or when market share for a category reaches 35%, updating product criteria for categories, requiring qualified products to demonstrate compliance with criteria, and developing standardized building energy audit methods; and (3) authorizing appropriations for the Program. Requires test procedures for LED fixtures and LED light engines to be based on Illuminating Engineering Society of North America test procedure LM-79, Approved Method for Electrical and Photometric Testing of Solid-State Lighting Devices. Establishes minimum energy efficiency standards for portable light fixtures manufactured on or after January 1, 2012. Phases out the use of incandescent light bulbs in portable light fixtures. Excludes a GU-24 base lamp from the definition of an incandescent lamp. Prohibits GU-24 adaptors from adapting a GU-24 socket to any other line voltage socket. Requires the Secretary to conduct studies on: (1) compliance with appliance energy standards; and (2) the costs and benefits of requiring high-quality, direct-current electricity supply in certain buildings. Requires the Secretary to assess the use of electric motors and the electric motor market in the United States and establish a program to increase awareness of higher efficiency electric motors.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Appliance Standards Improvement Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-s598 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111