THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY RAFFERTY, TARTAGLIONE, ERICKSON, FONTANA, BOSCOLA, WASHINGTON, ARGALL, PIPPY, WAUGH, LEACH, STACK, WILLIAMS, BLAKE, ALLOWAY, HUGHES, FERLO, YUDICHAK, McILHINNEY, KITCHEN, FARNESE, DINNIMAN AND SCHWANK, JUNE 29, 2011

REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JUNE 29, 2011  

AN ACT

Requiring the design, construction and renovation of certain

State buildings to comply with specified energy and

environmental building standards.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the High-

Performance State Government Buildings Standards Act.

Section 2.  Purpose.

The General Assembly declares the purposes of this act as

follows:

(1)  To promote effective energy and environmental

standards for construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of

buildings in this Commonwealth.

(2)  To optimize the energy performance of buildings

throughout this Commonwealth.

(3)  To increase the demand for environmentally

preferable building materials, finishes and furnishings.

(4)  To improve environmental quality in this

Commonwealth by decreasing the discharge of pollutants from

buildings and their manufacture.

(5)  To create public awareness of new technologies that

can improve the health and productivity of building occupants

by meeting advanced criteria for indoor air quality.

(6)  To improve working conditions and reduce building-

related health problems.

(7)  To reduce State and local government dependence upon

imported sources of energy through buildings that conserve

energy and utilize local and renewable energy sources.

(8)  To protect and restore this Commonwealth's natural

resources by avoiding development of inappropriate building

sites.

(9)  To reduce the burden on municipal water supply and

treatment by reducing potable water consumption.

(10)  To reduce waste generation and to manage waste

through recycling and diversion from landfill disposal.

(11)  To improve State and local government capacity to

design, build and operate high-performance buildings and, in

doing so, to create new jobs and contribute to economic

growth.

Section 3.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Building project."  The design, construction or renovation

of any inhabited physical structure and its associated project

building site.

"Commonwealth agency."  An executive agency, an independent

agency, a State-affiliated entity or State-related institution

as defined by 62 Pa.C.S. § 103 (relating to definitions). The

term also includes the General Assembly, its officers and

agencies and the unified judicial system and its officers and

agencies.

"Department."  The Department of General Services of the

Commonwealth.

"High-performance building."  A building designed to achieve

integrated systems design and construction so as to

significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of the

built environment.

"Major facility project."  Any of the following:

(1)  A State-owned construction project in which the

building to be constructed is larger than 5,000 gross square

feet.

(2)  A State-owned building renovation project where the

State funding exceeds either 50% of the construction cost or

$500,000 in State funds.

(3)  A new construction project in which the building to

be constructed is more than 10,000 gross square feet and in

which building a Commonwealth agency has agreed to lease 90%

of the gross square feet.

The term does not include a building, regardless of size, that

does not have conditioned space as defined by Standard 90.1 of

the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

Conditioning Engineers, referred to as ASHRAE 90.1.

"Rapidly-growing school district."  A school district where

the average daily membership increased 7.5% or more over the

immediately preceding three-year period.

"Renovation project."  A building project involving the

modification or adaptive reuse of an existing facility.

Section 4.  Standards.

(a)  Minimum criteria.--The high-performance building

standards applicable to this act shall meet the following

minimum criteria:

(1)  Be consensus-based, as defined by the Office of

Management and Budget, Circular No. A-119, dated February 10,

1998.

(2)  At a minimum, include performance-based categories

or credits that will foster achievement of the purposes set

forth under section 2(2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9) and

(10).

(3)  Require documentation, verifiable calculations or

the equivalent procedure to substantiate and support any

claim made relating to paragraph (2).

(4)  Employ third-party, postconstruction review and

verification for achievement of certification.

(5)  Have been applied to green buildings in the United

States, buildings which have been certified by an approved

building agency.

(b)  Level of performance.--The performance required under

the adopted high-performance building standards shall be at or

above the level beyond the minimum level required by the

selected standards.

(c)  Energy Star ratings.--In addition to meeting the

performance requirements of the adopted high performance

building standards, all projects are required to achieve an

Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star rating of 85 or

above.

Section 5.  Scope.

(a)  Facilities owned by the Commonwealth or State-affiliated

entities.--

(1)  All major facility projects shall meet or exceed the

standards as set forth under section 4 and the levels of

achievement as defined by the department.

(2)  All other building projects shall meet or exceed the

prescribed level of achievement under the adopted high-

performance building standard as set forth under section 4.

(3)  The level of achievement to be met under paragraph

(2) shall be set forth in the regulations adopted by the

department.

(b)  Major facility projects.--When the department issues

funding, it shall require the use of standards adopted under

section 6 during the design and construction phase of the

project. Each major facility project shall meet or exceed the

level of achievement as set forth under section 4.

(c)  Facilities owned or leased by rapidly growing school

districts.--

(1)  All major facility projects of a rapidly growing

school district shall meet or exceed the standards as set

forth under section 4 and the levels of achievement as

defined by the department.

(2)  All other buildings of a rapidly growing school

district shall meet or exceed the prescribed level of

achievement under the adopted high-performance building

standard as set forth under section 4.

(3)  The level of achievement to be met under paragraph

(2) shall be set forth in the regulations adopted by the

department.

Section 6.  Regulations.

(a)  General rule.--The department, in consultation with the

Department of Environmental Protection, shall develop and issue

regulations for complying with this act. The purposes of the

regulations shall be to:

(1)  Adopt high-performance building standards selected

by the department, in consultation with the Department of

Environmental Protection, from among accepted industry

standards meeting the criteria prescribed in section 4(a).

(2)  Define procedures and methods for verifying

compliance with the standards, as set forth in sections 4 and

5, in the design and construction of State-funded building

projects under this act.

(b)  Amendment.--The department, in consultation with the

Department of Environmental Protection, may amend the

regulations as necessitated by the emergence of new or modified

high-performance building standards as defined under section 4.

Section 7.  Report.

The department shall prepare and submit annually a report to

the chairman and the minority chairman of the Environmental

Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate, the chairman and

the minority chairman of the Community, Economic and

Recreational Development Committee of the Senate and the

chairman and the minority chairman of the Environmental

Resources and Energy Committee of the House of Representatives.

The report shall at a minimum include:

(1)  The number and type of buildings designed and

constructed utilizing each of the rating systems recognized

under this act.

(2)  The levels of certification of each building

designed, constructed or renovated.

(3)  Actual savings in energy costs.

(4)  A description of all potential environmental

benefits, including, but not limited to, water resources

savings and the reduction of waste generation.

(5)  Any conflicts or barriers identified which hinder

the effective implementation of this act.

Section 8.  Monitoring and evaluation.

The department, in consultation with the Department of

Environmental Protection, shall develop and implement a process

to monitor and evaluate the energy and environmental benefits

associated with each building project designed, constructed or

renovated under this act. The monitoring and evaluation of each

building project shall commence one year after the completion

and occupancy of the building project and continue for five

years.

Section 9.  Applicability.

This act shall apply as follows:

(1)  The provisions of this act shall apply to all

project design contracts initiated on or after the effective

date of this section.

(2)  The provisions of this act shall apply to all

project construction contracts initiated one year after the

effective date of this section.

Section 10.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect as follows:

(1)  Section 5 shall take effect in one year.

(2)  The remainder of this act shall take effect in 60

days.