SENATE AMENDED

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY M. SMITH, BELFANTI, BOYD, BRENNAN, BRIGGS, CALTAGIRONE, DEASY, EACHUS, FABRIZIO, FREEMAN, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GRUCELA, JOSEPHS, KORTZ, MARKOSEK, McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PASHINSKI, PETRI, PYLE, READSHAW, SABATINA, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, STURLA, VULAKOVICH, WALKO, WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD, HOUGHTON, GERBER, CURRY, HARKINS, BRADFORD AND SHAPIRO, FEBRUARY 13, 2009

SENATOR M. WHITE, ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, IN SENATE, AS AMENDED, JUNE 22, 2010   

AN ACT

Requiring the design, construction and renovation of State-owned

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or State-leased buildings that receive a State appropriation 

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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-Funded State Buildings Standards Act.

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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 State

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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 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

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-funded new State-owned construction project

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in which the building to be constructed is larger than 20,000 

gross square feet.

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

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State funding exceeds $1,000,000 of the construction cost.

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

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

which building a Commonwealth agency has agreed to lease no

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fewer than 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.

"Renovation project."  A building project involving the

modification or adaptive reuse of an existing facility.

"State-funded."  In reference to a building project, the term

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refers to a receipt of funds from a State appropriation, in

whole or part, whether by means of direct payment,

reimbursement, grant or loan, other than an appropriation for

the renovation of leased facilities.

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 a track record of certified green buildings in

the United States.

(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.--

(1)  In addition to meeting the performance requirements

of the adopted high performance building standards, all

building projects involving buildings owned or leased by a

Commonwealth agency, including State-funded major facility

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projects, are required to achieve an Environmental Protection

Agency Energy Star rating of 85 or above.

(2)  Paragraph (1) shall apply only to construction

projects which commence after the effective date of this act

and involve building types in which the Environmental

Protection Agency provides Energy Star ratings.

Section 5.  Scope.

(a)  Facilities owned by a Commonwealth agency.--All building

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projects shall meet or exceed the prescribed level of

achievement under the high-performance building standard adopted

under section 6.

(b)  State-funded major facility projects.--When a

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Commonwealth agency approves a project to be State-funded, it

shall require the use of standards adopted under section 6

during the design and construction phase of the project.

Section 6.  Regulations.

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

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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 reporting requirements for State-funded

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building projects under this act.

(3)  Define procedures and methods for verifying

compliance with the standards, as set forth under sections 4

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

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owned or State-leased building projects under subject to this

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act.

(4) (3)  Specify the level of achievement to be met under

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section 5.

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

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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 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 or anticipated savings in energy consumption.

(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 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 building 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

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 after one year

following the effective date of this section.

Section 10.  Enforcement.

The department shall not enforce the provisions of this act

as they apply to building 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. as follows:

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

(2)  This section shall take effect immediately.

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

days.