Section 1: Chapter 13 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 97 the following section:

Section 97A.   The board of registration of home inspectors, in consultation with the state board of building regulations and standards, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs and the energy efficiency advisory council, shall develop requirements and adopt regulations to require home inspectors to be certified in home energy audits and labeling, and such audits and labeling will be included as part of standard home inspections as requested by home buyers.  This energy audit and label information shall be made available to both the buyer and seller prior to the closing date on any home sale transaction. This audit and label shall also be made available to the department of energy resources and for listing on the MLS.  MassSave or related utility programs conducting home energy audits shall include the same audit and labeling standards.  This procedure shall be in effect within one year of enactment of this legislation.

Within thirty days of enactment, the office of consumer affairs and business regulation, the board of registration for home inspectors and the department of energy resources will convene a stakeholder group including home inspectors, realtors, home builders and energy efficiency advocates to determine the criteria for certification of home inspectors on energy efficiency audits and labels.  this stakeholder group will also be responsible for developing the elements of a home energy audit and a universal labeling protocol.