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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- THE GREEN BUILDINGS ACT

     Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Euer, Coyne, Kallman, and DiMario

     Date Introduced: March 17, 2022

     Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 37-24-2, 37-24-3, 37-24-4, 37-24-5 and 37-24-6 of the General

Laws in Chapter 37-24 entitled "The Green Buildings Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     37-24-2. Legislative findings.

     It is hereby found and declared as follows:

     (1) Energy costs for public buildings and public projects are skyrocketing and will likely

continue to increase.

     (2) Energy use by public buildings and public projects contributes substantially to the

problems of pollution and global warming.

     (3) Public buildings, public structures, public real property and public projects can be built,

and renovated and located using high-performance methods that save and generate energy; reduce

and conserve water consumption; improve indoor air and environmental quality; and improve water

quality; reduce transportation demand and emissions; preserve the environment; and make workers

and students more productive; and improve the quality of our individual and shared human

experience and environmental justice for all citizens of the state.

     (4) The green buildings act is a strategic tool to achieve the greenhouse gas emission

reduction targets and other objectives of chapter 6.2 of title 42 the ("2021 act on climate) and the

work of the executive climate change coordinating council established in § 42-6.2-1.

     (4)(5) This law is necessary to more efficiently spend public funds.

     37-24-3. Definitions.

     For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

     (1) "Construction" means the process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or

demolishing forty percent (40%) or more of any public structures, or public buildings, public real

property or other public improvements of any kind to any public structures, public buildings or

public real property.

     (2) "Department" means the department of administration.

     (3) "Equivalent standard" means a high-performance green building standard, other than

LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES, that provides an independent, third-

party verification and certification of a rating system or measurement tool, that, when used, leads

to outcomes, similar or equivalent to, LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES

outcomes, in terms of green building, green infrastructure, and green site performance; current

accepted equivalent standards include green globes, Northeast collaborative high-performance

schools protocol; or other equivalent high-performance green building, green infrastructure, and

green site standards accepted by the department.

     (4) "LEED" also, "LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified standard"

means the current version of the United States U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy

and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating standard referred to as LEED, LEED for

Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified. SITES means the U.S. Green Building Council's

SITES -- The Sustainable Sites SITES Initiative.

     (5) "Major Public major facility project" means:

     (i) A public facility building construction project larger than five thousand (5,000) gross

square feet of occupied or conditioned space, and its public real-property site; or

     (ii) A public facility building renovation project larger than ten thousand (10,000) gross

square feet of occupied or conditioned space, and its public real-property site.

     (6) "Public agency" means every state or municipal office, board, commission,

committee, bureau, department, or public institution of higher education, or any political

subdivision thereof.

     (7) "Public facility" means any public institution, public facility, public equipment, or any

physical asset owned, including its public real-property site, leased or controlled in whole or in part

by this state, or any agency a public agency, a municipality or a political subdivision, thereof which

is for public or government use.

     37-24-4. Green building standards.

     (a) All public major facility projects of the state, public agencies, municipalities and

political subdivisions shall be designed and constructed to at least the LEED, LEED for

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Neighborhood Development, and SITES, as provided herein, certified or an equivalent high-

performance green building standard. This provision applies to public major facility projects or

other public improvements of any kind to any public real property facility that have not entered the

design phase prior to January 1, 2010 2023, for LEED, and July 1, 2017, for LEED for

Neighborhood Development and for SITES through December 31, 2020, or for up to four (4)

projects, whichever comes first, unless otherwise continued or expanded by the general assembly.

     (b) All public major facility projects of a public school district facility, where the project

receives any funding from the state, shall be designed and constructed to at least the LEED, LEED

for Neighborhood Development, and SITES, as provided herein, certified standard, or the Northeast

Collaborative for High-Performance Schools Protocol, Version 1.1 or above. This provision applies

to public major facility projects or other public improvements of any kind to any public real

property by the state or a public school district to any public school facility that have not entered

the design phase prior to January 1, 2010, for LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and

for SITES through December 31, 2020 or for up to four (4) projects, whichever comes first, unless

otherwise continued or expanded by the general assembly.

     (c) A public major facility project does not have to meet the LEED, LEED for

Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified standard or an equivalent high-performance

green building standard if:

     (1) There is no appropriate LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES

standard or other high-performance green building standard for that type of building or renovation

project or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property facility. In such case,

the department will set lesser green building standards that are appropriate to the project.

     (2) There is no practical way to apply the LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development,

and SITES standard or other high-performance green building standard to a particular building or

renovation project or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property facility. In

such case, the department will set lesser green building standards that are appropriate to the project.

     (d) The provisions related to LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES shall

continue through December 31, 2020, for up to four (4) projects selected by the department, subject

to evaluation and continuation by the general assembly thereafter.

     37-24-5. Administration and reports.

     (a) The department shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to enforce this

section by December 31, 2022. Those regulations shall include how the department will determine

whether a project qualifies for an exception from the LEED, LEED for Neighborhood

Development, and SITES certified or equivalent high-performance green building standard, and

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the lesser green building standards that may be imposed on projects that are granted exceptions.

Regulations for LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES shall be promulgated after

December 2020 based on the assessment by the department of up to four (4) eligible state projects

selected by the department, and upon continuation of the use of LEED for Neighborhood

Development, and SITES by the general assembly.

     (b) The department shall monitor and document ongoing operating savings that result from

major facility projects designed, constructed and certified as meeting the LEED, LEED for

Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified standard annually publish a public report of

findings and recommended changes in policy. The report shall also include a description of projects

that were granted exceptions from the LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES

certified standard, the reasons for exception, and the lesser green building standards imposed.

     (c) In order to understand the capacity and cost, the department shall test the application of

LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES for up to four (4) state projects. The department,

with the assistance from the department of environmental management, shall assess the costs and

benefits in accordance with subsection (d) of this section and report to the general assembly on or

before December 31, 2020.

     (c) A green buildings advisory committee shall be created composed of nineteen (19)

members. The advisory committee shall have eleven (11) public members and eight (8) public

agency members. Five (5) of the public members shall be appointed by the governor; three (3) of

the public members shall be appointed by the president of the senate; and, three (3) of the public

members shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

     (1) The eleven (11) public members of the advisory board shall be composed of nine (9)

representatives one from each of the following fields: architecture, engineering, landscape

architecture, energy, labor through the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, general construction contracting,

building product and building materials industries who are involved in, and have recognized

knowledge and accomplishment in their respective professions, of high-performance green

building standards, relating to the standards set forth in § 37-24-4; in addition to two (2) public

members, one representing an urban municipality from Providence, Cranston, Warwick,

Pawtucket, Woonsocket, or Newport, and one public member representing the other thirty-two (32)

municipalities in the state in order to ensure geographic diversity.

     (2) The advisory committee shall have eight (8) public agency members representing

personnel from affected public agencies, and cities and towns, that oversee public works projects

and workforce development, who shall be appointed by the directors or chief executive officers of

the respective public agencies which shall include the department of administration; the department

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of environmental management; the department of education; the department of transportation; the

department of labor and training; the office of the state building code commissioner; the Rhode

Island infrastructure bank, and the Rhode Island league of cities and towns.

     (3) The chairperson of the green buildings advisory committee shall be a public member

chosen by the green buildings advisory committee.

     (4) Of the initial eleven (11) public members, six (6) shall serve three (3) year terms and

five (5) shall have two (2) year terms. Each appointing authority shall appoint two (2) public

members to three (3) year terms with the remainder of the public member appointments serving

two year terms. Thereafter, all public members shall be appointed to three (3) year terms.

     (d) The annual LEED reports for 2017 through 2020 required under subsection (b) of this

section shall include any assessment of costs and benefits of the LEED for Neighborhood

Development and SITES standards. The purpose of the assessment is to determine whether the

department shall require LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES standards for major-

facility projects beyond December 31, 2020, along with determining any exceptions from the

standards that may be required.

     (d) The green buildings advisory committee shall:

     (1) Make recommendations regarding an ongoing evaluation process of the green buildings

act to help the department and the executive climate change coordinating council implement this

chapter;

     (2) Identify the needs, actions, and funding required to implement the requirements set

forth in this chapter, in achieving high-performance green building projects for our public

buildings, public structures, and our public real properties; and

     (3) Establish clear, measurable targets for implementing the standards, defined in this

chapter, for all public major facility projects including timeline, workforce needs, anticipated costs

and other measures identified by the green buildings advisory committee and required by chapter

6.2 of title 42 ("2021 act on climate").

     (4) The advisory council shall identify ways to monitor and document ongoing operating

savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions that result from public major facility projects

designed, constructed and certified as meeting the LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development,

SITES certified standard, Green Globes, Northeast Collaborative for High-Performance Schools

Protocol, Version 1.1 or above and annually publish a report to the general assembly and the

executive climate change coordinating council of findings and recommended changes in policy.

     (e) The department shall create a green buildings advisory committee composed of

representatives from the design, construction, lumber, and building materials industries involved

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in public works contracting; personnel from affected public agencies and school boards that oversee

public works projects; and others at the department's discretion to provide advice on implementing

this section. The advisory committee shall make recommendations regarding an education and

training process and an ongoing evaluation or feedback process to help the department implement

this section.

     (f) The provisions related to LEED for Neighborhood Development and SITES shall

continue through December 31, 2020, for up to four (4) projects selected by the department, subject

to evaluation and continuation by the general assembly thereafter.

     (e) All requests for proposals, requests for information, requests for bids, requests for

design/build, requests for construction managers, and any requests relating to obtaining the

professional services, pricing, and construction for major facility projects by a public agency for a

public facility, shall include the notice of the statutory requirements of chapter 24 of title 37 ("the

green buildings act").

     (f) The green buildings advisory committee shall have no responsibility for, and shall not

develop requests for proposals, requests for information, requests for bids, requests for

design/build, requests for construction managers, and any requests relating to obtaining the

professional services, pricing, and construction for major facility projects by a public agency for a

public facility; and the green buildings advisory committee shall have no responsibility for, and

shall not select any vendors for any requests for proposals, requests for information, requests for

bids, requests for design/build, requests for construction managers, and any requests relating to

obtaining the professional services, pricing, and construction for major facility projects by a public

agency for a public facility. Nothing shall prohibit public members of the green buildings advisory

committee from responding to, and being involved with, any submittals of requests for proposals,

requests for information, requests for bids, requests for design/build, requests for construction

managers, and any requests relating to obtaining the professional services, pricing, and construction

for major facility projects by a public agency for a public facility.

     37-24-6. Protection from liability.

     No person, corporation or entity shall be held liable for the failure of a public major facility

project to meet the LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified standard or

other standards established for the project as long as a good faith attempt was made to achieve the

standard set for the project.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- THE GREEN BUILDINGS ACT

***

     This act would expand the definition of public buildings under the green buildings act and

would include those buildings in any subdivision of the state; would include private major facility

projects, if those projects received any economic benefit from the state; would mandate public

reports for all such projects; and would authorize the establishment of a green buildings advisory

committee.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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