PRINTER'S NO. 442
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
415
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY RAFFERTY, YUDICHAK, SCHWANK, HUGHES AND BROWNE,
FEBRUARY 28, 2017
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,
FEBRUARY 28, 2017
AN ACT
Requiring the design, construction and renovation of certain
State-owned or State-leased buildings to comply with
specified energy and environmental building standards; and
providing for the powers and duties of the Department of
General Services.
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 Building 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 Commonwealth
buildings.
(3) To increase the demand for environmentally
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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 this Commonwealth's 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 the Commonwealth's 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 physical structure and its associated project building
site.
"Commonwealth agency." An executive agency, an independent
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agency, a State-affiliated entity or State-related institution
as defined by 62 Pa.C.S. ยง 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."
(1) Any of the following:
(i) A State-owned building project in which the
building to be constructed is larger than 20,000 gross
square feet.
(ii) A new building project in which the building to
be constructed is more than 20,000 gross square feet and
in which building a Commonwealth agency has agreed to
lease no fewer than 90% of the gross square feet.
(iii) A renovation project that is larger than
20,000 gross square feet and at least 90% of the total
square footage of the building.
(2) The term does not include a building, regardless of
size or ownership interest, 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.
"Renovation project." A building project involving the
modification or adaptive reuse of an existing facility that is
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owned or leased by a Commonwealth agency.
Section 4. Standards.
(a) Minimum criteria.--The high-performance building
standards applicable to this act shall meet the following
minimum criteria:
(1) 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).
(2) Require documentation, verifiable calculations or
the equivalent procedure to substantiate and support a claim
made relating to paragraph (1).
(3) Employ third-party, postconstruction review and
verification for achievement of certification by an
organization that has a track record of certified green
buildings in the United States and uses a consensus-based
rating system.
(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) Achieve Energy Star ratings.--
(1) In addition to meeting the performance requirements
of the adopted high-performance building standards, all major
facility projects are required to be designed to earn Energy
Star certification to achieve an Environmental Protection
Agency Energy Star rating of 75 or above.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply only to major facility
projects which commence after the effective date of this act
and involve building types for which the Environmental
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Protection Agency provides Energy Star ratings.
(d) Cost recovery.--The difference between additional cost
incurred in a major facility project and the lowest cost
alternative shall have an estimated recovery period of not more
than 10 years.
Section 5. Scope.
All major facility projects shall meet or exceed the
prescribed level of achievement under the high-performance
building standard adopted under section 6.
Section 6. Regulations.
The department 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 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 under sections 4
and 5, in the design and construction of major facility
projects subject to this act.
(3) Specify the level of achievement to be met under
section 5.
Section 7. Report.
The department shall prepare and submit annually a report to
the chair and the minority chair of the Environmental Resources
and Energy Committee of the Senate, the chair and the minority
chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the
House of Representatives, the chair and minority chair of the
State Government Committee of the Senate and the chair and
minority chair of the State Government Committee of the House of
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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) A description of all potential environmental
benefits, including water resources savings and the reduction
of waste generation.
(4) Any conflicts or barriers identified which hinder
the effective implementation of this act.
Section 8. Monitoring and evaluation.
The department shall develop and implement a process to
monitor and evaluate the energy and environmental benefits
associated with each major facility project designed,
constructed or renovated under this act. The Commonwealth agency
occupying the building shall commence monitoring and evaluation
in accordance with the department-established process one year
after the completion and occupancy of the major facility project
and continue for five years thereafter.
Section 9. Applicability.
This act shall apply as follows:
(1) The provisions of this act shall apply to all major
facility projects where design commences at least 60 days
after the final regulations are promulgated by the department
under section 6.
(2) The provisions of this act shall apply to all
project construction contracts initiated after one year
following the effective date of this section.
Section 10. Enforcement.
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The department may not implement or enforce the provisions of
this act as they apply to major facility projects owned or
leased by a Commonwealth agency until the Secretary of General
Services and the Secretary of the Budget determine there is
adequate funding available to cover additional costs resulting
from compliance with the requirements of this act.
Section 11. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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