FUNCTIONS.

SEC. 706. FUNCTIONS. (a) In General.— (1) Programs, projects; contracts and other agreements.—The Alliance— (A) shall develop programs and projects and enter into contracts or other agreements with other persons and entities for implementing this title, including programs— (i) to enhance consumer and employee safety and training; 114 STAT. 2048 (ii) to provide for research, development, and demonstration of clean and efficient oilheat utilization equipment; and (iii) for consumer education; and (B) may provide for the payment of the costs of carrying out subparagraph (A) with assessments collected under section 707. (2) Coordination.—The Alliance shall coordinate its activities with industry trade associations and other persons as appropriate to provide efficient delivery of services and to avoid unnecessary duplication of activities. (3) Activities.— (A) Exclusions.—Activities under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) shall not include advertising, promotions, or consumer surveys in support of advertising or promotions. (B) Research, development, and demonstration activities.— (i) In general.—Research, development, and demonstration activities under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall include— (I) all activities incidental to research, development, and demonstration of clean and efficient oilheat utilization equipment; and (II) the obtaining of patents, including payment of attorney’s fees for making and perfecting a patent application. (ii) Excluded activities.—Research, development, and demonstration activities under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall not include research, development, and demonstration of oilheat utilization equipment with respect to which technically feasible and commercially feasible operations have been verified, except that funds may be provided for improvements to existing equipment until the technical feasibility and commercial feasibility of the operation of those improvements have been verified. (b) Priorities.—In the development of programs and projects, the Alliance shall give priority to issues relating to— (1) research, development, and demonstration; (2) safety; (3) consumer education; and (4) training. (c) Administration.— (1) Officers; committees; bylaws.—The Alliance— (A) shall select from among its members a chairperson and other officers as necessary; (B) may establish and authorize committees and subcommittees of the Alliance to take specific actions that the Alliance is authorized to take; and (C) shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of business and the implementation of this title. (2) Solicitation of oilheat industry comment and recommendations.—The Alliance shall establish procedures for the solicitation of oilheat industry comment and recommendations on any significant contracts and other agreements, programs, and projects to be funded by the Alliance. 114 STAT. 2049 (3) Advisory committees.—The Alliance may establish advisory committees consisting of persons other than Alliance members. (4) Voting.—Each member of the Alliance shall have one vote in matters before the Alliance. (d) Administrative Expenses.— (1) In general.—The administrative expenses of operating the Alliance (not including costs incurred in the collection of assessments under section 707) plus amounts paid under paragraph (2) shall not exceed 7 percent of the amount of assessments collected in any calendar year, except that during the first year of operation of the Alliance such expenses and amounts shall not exceed 10 percent of the amount of assessments. (2) Reimbursement of the secretary.— (A) In general.—The Alliance shall annually reimburse the Secretary for costs incurred by the Federal Government relating to the Alliance. (B) Limitation.—Reimbursement under subparagraph(A) for any calendar year shall not exceed the amount that the Secretary determines is twice the average annual salary of one employee of the Department of Energy. (e) Budget.— (1) Publication of proposed budget.—Before August 1of each year, the Alliance shall publish for public review and comment a proposed budget for the next calendar year, including the probable costs of all programs, projects, and con-tracts and other agreements. (2) Submission to the secretary and congress.—After review and comment under paragraph (1), the Alliance shall submit the proposed budget to the Secretary and Congress. (3) Recommendations by the secretary.—The Secretary may recommend for inclusion in the budget programs and activities that the Secretary considers appropriate. (4) Implementation.—The Alliance shall not implement a proposed budget until the expiration of 60 days after submitting the proposed budget to the Secretary. (f) Records; Audits.— (1) Records.—The Alliance shall— (A) keep records that clearly reflect all of the acts and transactions of the Alliance; and (B) make the records available to the public. (2) Audits.— (A) In general.—The records of the Alliance (including fee assessment reports and applications for refunds under section 707(b)(4)) shall be audited by a certified public accountant at least once each year and at such other times as the Alliance may designate. (B) Availability of audit reports.—Copies of each audit report shall be provided to the Secretary, the members of the Alliance, and the qualified industry organization, and, on request, to other members of the oilheat industry. (C) Policies and procedures.— (i) In general.—The Alliance shall establish policies and procedures for auditing compliance with this title. 114 STAT. 2050 (ii) Conformity with gaap.—The policies and procedures established under clause (i) shall conform with generally accepted accounting principles. (g) Public Access to Alliance Proceedings.— (1) Public notice.—The Alliance shall give at least 30 days’ public notice of each meeting of the Alliance. (2) Meetings open to the public.—Each meeting of the Alliance shall be open to the public. (3) Minutes.—The minutes of each meeting of the Alliance shall be made available to and readily accessible by the public. (h) Annual Report.—Each year the Alliance shall prepare and make publicly available a report that— (1) includes a description of all programs, projects, and contracts and other agreements undertaken by the Alliance during the previous year and those planned for the current year; and (2) details the allocation of Alliance resources for each such program and project.