2021 -- S 0873

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LC002029

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS - THE GREEN BUILDINGS ACT

     Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Euer, Quezada,
Miller, Pearson, Valverde, and Goldin

     Date Introduced: May 07, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 37-21-3, 37-24-4 and 37-24-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-

24 entitled "The Green Buildings Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     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 buildings, or other public

improvements of any kind to any 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 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 Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and

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

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

Sustainable Sites Initiative.

     (5) "Major facility project" means:

     (i) A 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 building renovation project larger than ten thousand (10,000) gross square feet of

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

     (6) "Private major facility project" means:

     (i) A building construction project larger than twenty-five thousand (25,000) gross square

feet of occupied or conditioned space; or

     (ii) A building renovation project larger than fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet of

occupied or conditioned space.

     (6)(7) "Public agency" means every state office, board, commission, committee, bureau,

department, or public institution of higher education.

     (7)(8) "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 or political subdivision thereof.

     37-24-4. Green building standards.

     (a) All major facility projects of public agencies shall be designed and constructed to at

least the LEED-, LEED for Neighborhood Development-, and SITES-, as provided herein, certified

or an equivalent high-performance green building standard. This provision applies to major facility

projects or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property that have not entered

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

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

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

     (b) All major facility projects of a public school district, 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 major facility projects or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property that

have not entered the design phase prior to January 1, 2010, for LEED for Neighborhood

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

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

     (c) A 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

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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. 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. 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. All private major facility projects

where the project receives any economic benefit from the state including, but not limited to tax

credits, incentives, rebates, tax deductions, exclusions from income for the purpose of calculating

taxable income, or preferential tax rates or valuations shall be designed and constructed to at least

the LEED-, LEED for neighborhood development-, and SITES-, as provided herein, certified or an

equivalent high-performance green building standard, and shall comply with the provisions set

forth in §§ 37-13-4, 37-13-7, 37-13-14 and 37-13-16.

     37-24-5. Administration and reports.

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

section. 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 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 by September

1, 2021. 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 and 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.

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     (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.

     (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.

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

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

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 and to establish clear, measurable targets for implementing the standards defined in this

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

other measures identified by the advisory committee. 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. in consultation with the department

of labor and training and the career and technical education board of trustees at the department of

education, identify apprentice and workforce education and training needs required to implement

the requirements set forth in this chapter.

     (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.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2022.

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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

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     This act would, effective December 31, 2020, terminate the requirement of utilizing green

building standards for new public buildings construction projects. It would also mandate that new

green standards be established with clear measurable targets for all future major facility projects.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2022.

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