PRINTER'S NO. 53
No. 45 Special Session No. 1 of 2007-2008
INTRODUCED BY RAFFERTY, MUSTO, O'PAKE, BOSCOLA, KITCHEN,
RHOADES, C. WILLIAMS, ERICKSON, WAUGH AND BROWNE,
JUNE 24, 2008
REFERRED TO ENERGY POLICIES, JUNE 24, 2008
AN ACT
1 Requiring the design, construction and renovation of certain
2 State and local government buildings to comply with specified
3 energy and environmental building standards.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the High-
8 Performance, State and Local Government Buildings Standards Act.
9 Section 2. Purpose.
10 The General Assembly declares the purposes of this act as
11 follows:
12 (1) To promote effective energy and environmental
13 standards for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of
14 buildings in this Commonwealth.
15 (2) To optimize the energy performance of buildings
16 throughout this Commonwealth.
17 (3) To increase the demand for environmentally
18 preferable building materials, finishes and furnishings.
1 (4) To improve environmental quality in this
2 Commonwealth by decreasing the discharge of pollutants from
3 buildings and their manufacture.
4 (5) To create public awareness of new technologies that
5 can improve the health and productivity of building occupants
6 by meeting advanced criteria for indoor air quality.
7 (6) To improve working conditions and reduce building-
8 related health problems.
9 (7) To reduce State and local government dependence upon
10 imported sources of energy through buildings that conserve
11 energy and utilize local and renewable energy sources.
12 (8) To protect and restore this Commonwealth's natural
13 resources by avoiding development of inappropriate building
14 sites.
15 (9) To reduce the burden on municipal water supply and
16 treatment by reducing potable water consumption.
17 (10) To reduce waste generation and to manage waste
18 through recycling and diversion from landfill disposal.
19 (11) To improve State and local government capacity to
20 design, build and operate high-performance buildings and, in
21 doing so, to create new jobs and contribute to economic
22 growth.
23 Section 3. Definitions.
24 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
25 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
26 context clearly indicates otherwise:
27 "Building project." The design, construction, renovation,
28 operation and maintenance of any inhabited physical structure
29 and its associated project building site.
30 "Commercial interior fit-out." Interior design and
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1 installation by owners or tenants of new or existing office
2 space, typically exclusive of structural components and core and
3 shell elements.
4 "Department." The Department of General Services of the
5 Commonwealth.
6 "High-performance building." A building designed to achieve
7 integrated systems design and construction so as to
8 significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of the
9 built environment.
10 "Major facility project." Any of the following:
11 (1) A State-funded new construction project in which the
12 building to be constructed is larger than 5,000 gross square
13 feet.
14 (2) A State-funded building renovation project where the
15 State funding exceeds either 50% of the construction cost or
16 $500,000 in State funds.
17 (3) A State-funded commercial interior tenant fit-out
18 project that is larger than 5,000 square feet of leasable
19 area.
20 The term does not include a building, regardless of size, that
21 does not have conditioned space as defined by Standard 90.1 of
22 the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-
23 Conditioning Engineers, referred to as ASHRAE 90.1.
24 "Renovation project." A building project involving the
25 modification or adaptive reuse of an existing facility.
26 "State department." A department, board, bureau, commission
27 or authority under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the
28 Commonwealth.
29 "State-funded." In reference to a building project, the term
30 refers to receipt of funds from a State appropriation.
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1 Section 4. Standards.
2 (a) Minimum criteria.--The high-performance building
3 standards applicable to this act shall meet the following
4 minimum criteria:
5 (1) Be consensus-based, as defined by the Office of
6 Management and Budget, Circular No. A-119, dated February 10,
7 1998.
8 (2) At a minimum, include performance-based categories
9 or credits that will foster achievement of the purposes set
10 forth under section 2(2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and
11 (10).
12 (3) Require documentation, verifiable calculations or
13 the equivalent procedure to substantiate and support any
14 claim made relating to paragraph (2).
15 (4) Employ third-party, postconstruction review and
16 verification for achievement of certification.
17 (5) Have been applied to green buildings in the United
18 States, buildings which have been certified by an approved
19 building agency.
20 (b) Level of performance.--The performance required under
21 the adopted high-performance building standards shall be at or
22 above the level beyond the minimum level required by the
23 selected standards.
24 (c) Energy Star ratings.--In addition to meeting the
25 performance requirements of the adopted high performance
26 building standards, all State-funded major facility projects are
27 required to achieve an Environmental Protection Agency Energy
28 Star rating of 85 or above.
29 Section 5. Scope.
30 (a) Facilities owned or leased by Commonwealth or State-
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1 affiliated entities.--
2 (1) All major facility projects shall meet or exceed the
3 standards as set forth under section 4, and the levels of
4 achievement as defined by the department.
5 (2) All other building projects shall meet or exceed the
6 prescribed level of achievement under the adopted high-
7 performance building standard as set forth under section 4.
8 (3) The level of achievement to be met under paragraph
9 (2) shall be set forth in the regulations adopted by the
10 department.
11 (b) State-funded major facility projects.--When the
12 department issues funding, it shall require the use of standards
13 adopted under section 6 during the design and construction phase
14 of the project. Each State-funded major facility project shall
15 meet or exceed the level of achievement as set forth under
16 section 4.
17 (c) Facilities owned or leased by municipalities and school
18 districts.--
19 (1) All major facility projects of a municipality or
20 school district shall meet or exceed the standards as set
21 forth under section 4, and the levels of achievement as
22 defined by the department.
23 (2) All other buildings of a municipality or school
24 district shall meet or exceed the prescribed level of
25 achievement under the adopted high-performance building
26 standard as set forth under section 4.
27 (3) The level of achievement to be met under paragraph
28 (2) shall be set forth in the regulations adopted by the
29 department.
30 Section 6. Regulations.
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1 (a) General rule.--The department, in consultation with the
2 Department of Environmental Protection, shall develop and issue
3 regulations for complying with this act. The purposes of the
4 regulations shall be to:
5 (1) Adopt high-performance building standards selected
6 by the department, in consultation with the Department of
7 Environmental Protection, from among accepted industry
8 standards meeting the criteria prescribed in section 4(a).
9 (2) Define reporting requirements for State-funded
10 building projects under this act.
11 (3) Define procedures and methods for verifying
12 compliance with the standards, as set forth in sections 4 and
13 5, in the design and construction of State-funded building
14 projects under this act.
15 (b) Amendment.--The department, in consultation with the
16 Department of Environmental Protection, may amend the
17 regulations as necessitated by the emergence of new or modified
18 high-performance building standards as defined under section 4.
19 Section 7. Report.
20 The department shall prepare and submit annually a report to
21 the chairman and the minority chairman of the Environmental
22 Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate, the chairman and
23 the minority chairman of the Community, Economic and
24 Recreational Development Committee of the Senate, the chairman
25 and the minority chairman of the Environmental Resources and
26 Energy Committee of the House of Representatives and the
27 chairman and the minority chairman of the Intergovernmental
28 Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. The report
29 shall at a minimum include:
30 (1) The number and type of buildings designed and
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1 constructed utilizing each of the rating systems recognized
2 under this act.
3 (2) The levels of certification of each building
4 designed, constructed or renovated.
5 (3) Actual savings in energy costs.
6 (4) A description of all potential environmental
7 benefits, including, but not limited to, water resources
8 savings and the reduction of waste generation.
9 (5) Any conflicts or barriers identified which hinder
10 the effective implementation of this act.
11 Section 8. Monitoring and evaluation.
12 The department, in consultation with the Department of
13 Environmental Protection, shall develop and implement a process
14 to monitor and evaluate the energy and environmental benefits
15 associated with each building project designed, constructed or
16 renovated under this act. The monitoring and evaluation of each
17 building project shall commence one year after the completion
18 and occupancy of the building project and continue for five
19 years thereafter.
20 Section 9. Applicability.
21 This act shall apply as follows:
22 (1) The provisions of this act shall apply to all
23 project design contracts initiated on or after the effective
24 date of this section.
25 (2) The provisions of this act shall apply to all
26 project construction contracts initiated one year after the
27 effective date of this section.
28 Section 10. Effective date.
29 This act shall take effect as follows:
30 (1) Section 5 shall take effect in one year.
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1 (2) The remainder of this act shall take effect in 60
2 days.
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