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PRINTER'S NO. 155
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
183
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY QUINN, FREEMAN, A. DAVIS, HILL-EVANS AND CONKLIN,
JANUARY 28, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 28, 2019
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 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 a 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.
"High-performance building standards." The high-performance
building standards adopted under section 6.
"Major facility project." As follows:
(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.
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"Renovation project." A building project involving the
modification or adaptive reuse of an existing facility that is
owned or leased by a Commonwealth agency.
Section 4. Standards.
(a) Minimum criteria.--The high-performance building
standards shall meet the following minimum criteria:
(1) Include performance-based categories or credits that
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 an
equivalent procedure to substantiate and support any 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 high-performance building standards shall be at or above the
minimum level required by the selected standards.
(c) Achieve Energy Star ratings.--
(1) In addition to meeting the performance requirements
of the high-performance building standards, all major
facility projects shall 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 that commence after the effective date of this act
and involve building types for which the Environmental
Protection Agency provides Energy Star ratings.
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(d) Cost recovery.--The difference between any 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 standards.
Section 6. Regulations.
The department shall promulgate regulations:
(1) Adopting high-performance building standards
selected by the department from among accepted industry
standards meeting the criteria prescribed in section 4(a).
(2) Defining 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.
(3) Specifying the level of achievement to be met under
section 5.
Section 7. Report.
The department shall prepare and submit annually a report to
the chairperson and the minority chairperson of the
Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate, the
chairperson and the minority chairperson of the Environmental
Resources and Energy Committee of the House of Representatives,
the chairperson and minority chairperson of the State Government
Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and minority
chairperson of the State Government Committee of the House of
Representatives. The report shall at a minimum include:
(1) The number and type of buildings designed and
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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, but not limited to, 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.
(a) Monitoring and evaluation process.--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.
(b) Monitoring and evaluation requirements.--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 after
the effective date of this section.
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Section 10. Enforcement.
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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