2023 -- H 5425

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LC001327

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

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

     Introduced By: Representatives Kislak, Edwards, Carson, Donovan, Speakman, McGaw,
Tanzi, Boylan, Potter, and Cortvriend

     Date Introduced: February 08, 2023

     Referred To: House Environment and Natural Resources

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 37-24-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 37-24 entitled "The Green

Buildings Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     37-24-3. Definitions.

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

     (1) "Commercial building" means a building or multiple buildings on a parcel of which not

less than fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area, including hallways or other common space,

but excluding parking, is used for commercial, retail, office, professional, educational or other

nonresidential purposes, or any grouping of commercial buildings designated by the department or

office as an appropriate reporting unit for the purposes of this section; provided, however, that

"commercial building " shall not include a building owned or leased by a municipal or state agency.

     (1)(2) “Construction” means the process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or

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

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

public real property.

     (2)(3) “Department” means the department of administration.

     (4) "Energy " means electricity, natural gas, steam, hot or chilled water, heating oil,

propane or other products designated by the office used for heating, cooling, lighting, or water

heating, or for powering or fueling other end uses.

     (5) "Energy performance rating or assessment score" means a score assigned to a building

based on how efficiently it uses energy relative to other buildings of the same type. The office shall

promulgate regulations to establish the scoring system.

     (6) "Energy use benchmarking tool " means the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, an

online energy use benchmarking tool used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency

for reporting and managing the energy performance, water efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions

of building, or a tool capable of:

     (i) Performing all the functions relevant to compliance with this section;

     (ii) Allowing for reporting by third parties, including, but not limited to, gas distribution

and electric distribution companies; and

     (iii) Exchanging information and data with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

     (3)(7) “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 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.

     (8) "kBTU" means one thousand (1,000) British thermal units.

     (9) "Large building " means a building that meets any of the following criteria:

     (i) Buildings owned or leased by a municipality, state agency, or other government or

quasi-government entity consisting of not less than ten thousand square feet (10,000 sq. ft.) of gross

floor area;

     (ii) As of January 1, 2023, residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than

twenty five thousand square feet (25,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area;

     (iii) As of January 1, 2026, residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than

twenty thousand square feet (20,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area; or

     (4) As of January 1, 2029, residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than

fifteen thousand square feet (15,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area.

     (4)(10) “LEED” also, “LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified

standard” means the current version of the 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 Initiative.

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     (11) "Office " means the office of energy resources.

     (12) "Owner " means the owner of record of a building, or a designated agent thereof,

including, but not limited to, the association or organization of unit owners responsible for

management in the case of a condominium, the board of directors in the case of a cooperative

apartment corporation, and the net lessee in the case of a building subject to a net lease with a term

of not less than forty-nine (49) years, inclusive of all renewal options.

     (5)(13) “Public agency” means every state or municipal office, board, commission,

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

thereof.

     (6)(14) “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, a public agency, a municipality or a political subdivision, that is for public or

government use.

     (7)(15) “Public major facility project” means:

     (i) A public facility building construction project larger than ten thousand (10,000) 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.

     (16) "Residential building " means a building or multiple buildings on a parcel of which

not less than fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area, including hallways and other common

space serving residents, but excluding parking, is used for dwelling purposes, or any grouping of

residential buildings designated by the office or a municipality as an appropriate reporting unit for

the purposes of this chapter; provided, however, that "residential building " shall not include a

building owned or leased by a municipal or state agency.

     (17) "Tenant" means any tenant, tenant-stockholder of a cooperative apartment

corporation, or condominium unit owner.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 37-24 of the General Laws entitled "The Green Buildings Act" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     37-24-7. Building performance standards act.

     (a) For large buildings, the office shall undertake energy use benchmarking to determine

whether each building utilizes more or less energy, and emits more or less greenhouse gases, than

buildings of comparable size, occupancies and uses, and to inform a statewide analysis of energy

use trends and opportunities to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To conduct the benchmarking, the office shall create, procure, or designate an energy use

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benchmarking tool and shall provide technical support and assistance on the use of the

benchmarking tool to the owners of buildings subject to this section.

     (b)(1) To administer this section, the office may designate subcategories within each

building type and occupancy, and may establish different reporting requirements and energy

performance standards for each subcategory. In establishing reporting requirements and energy

performance standards, the office may consider whether tenant-occupied units or spaces are

separately metered.

     (2) Not later than January 31 of each year, beginning in 2024, the owner of each large

building shall report their energy use for the prior calendar year to the office. The office shall

provide a paper form or online portal for the submission of this information. The office shall

determine what information is necessary to request, and will request, at a minimum, the information

listed in subsection (c) of this section. The owner of a building subject to this section may authorize

a gas or electric distribution company or other third party to report building-specific data to the

office, and the gas or electric distribution company shall report building-specific data to the office

upon such authorization; provided, however, that such authorization shall not relieve an owner from

compliance with this section.

     (3) Annually, an owner of a large building with separately-metered and tenant-occupied

units or spaces shall request from each tenant of the building all information necessary to comply

with the requirements of subsection (b)(2) of this section and each tenant shall report the required

information to the owner. The owner of a large building may bypass individual authorization and

request the electric and gas distribution companies to provide the aggregate energy consumption of

all meters in the building, including tenant-occupied units and separately-metered units, and the

electric and gas distribution companies shall provide the data to the building owner, separated by

month and consumption by source. Failure of an owner to report energy use information to the

office shall not impose liability on a tenant.

     (4) The office shall establish a deadline extension or hardship waiver process for owners

who, in the judgment of the office, demonstrate cause for a deadline extension or hardship waiver.

     (5) If an occupied building subject to the requirements of this section is transferred, the

buyer shall make reasonable efforts to report energy use information for the building for the entire

calendar year, if practicable.

     (c)(1) Annually, not later than March 31, the office shall make available on its executive

climate change website and dashboard required by § 42-6.2-3(13) energy use information and data

for the preceding calendar year for each large building, on a building-by-building basis. For each

building, the information made available shall include, but not be limited to:

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     (i) The address of the building and the municipality in which the building is located;

     (ii) The owner of the building;

     (iii) The building’s total energy use in kBTU, total greenhouse gas emissions in pounds of

carbon dioxide equivalent, total square footage, energy intensity in kBTU per square foot and

greenhouse gas emissions per square foot in pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per square foot;

     (iv) The breakdown of the building’s energy use by electricity, gas, steam and other

sources; and

     (v) An energy performance rating or assessment score.

     (2) The office shall utilize such practices as are necessary to prevent the public disclosure

of personal information regarding owners and tenants, and maintain a quality assurance process to

improve the accuracy and completeness of the available information. The office shall provide

owners with the opportunity to submit contextual information related to energy use in their

buildings and shall disclose such information on its website upon request by the owner.

     (d) The office shall make available to a regional planning agency, municipality or other

public agency requesting such information any data set forth in this section.

     (e) The office shall prepare an annual comprehensive report on the energy performance of

large buildings utilizing the information and data collected pursuant to this section. The report shall

include, but not be limited to, an analysis of energy performance, greenhouse gas emissions, and

energy sources by building size, occupancy, and use. The report shall also include, when available,

energy performance and greenhouse gas emissions over time. The report shall be posted on the

office’s website and sent to the house committee on environment and natural resources and the

senate committee on environment and agriculture not later than March 31.

     (f) On the basis of the comprehensive reports prepared by the office pursuant to subsection

(e) of this section and other information and data as deemed necessary by the commissioner of

energy resources, the commissioner shall conduct an annual review of trends in the energy

performance of large buildings and recommend changes to state laws, regulations, policies, and

programs to achieve further energy reductions.

     (g) The office shall ensure that electric distribution companies provide owners of buildings

subject to this section with up-to-date information about energy efficiency opportunities or actions

available to increase energy efficiency, including incentives in utility-administered or other energy

efficiency programs and changes in energy assessment technology. The office shall prioritize those

buildings that have not demonstrated year-to-year improvement in their energy performance rating

or assessment score.

     (h)(1) The office shall establish energy performance standards for each building type. The

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office shall establish these standards on the following schedule:

     (i) Buildings owned or leased by a municipality, state agency, or other government or

quasi-government entity consisting of not less than ten thousand square feet (10,000 sq. ft.) of gross

floor area, and residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than twenty-five thousand

square feet (25,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area: no later than December 31, 2024, and every five (5)

years thereafter;

     (ii) Residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than twenty thousand square

feet (20,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area: no later than December 31, 2027, and every five (5) years

thereafter; and

     (iii) Residential or commercial buildings consisting of not less than fifteen thousand square

feet (15,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area: no later than December 31, 2030, and every five (5) years

thereafter.

     (2) The office shall establish reporting and data verification requirements for each five (5)

year compliance cycle. These standards shall apply only to large buildings.

     (3) In developing energy performance standards, the office shall maximize opportunities

for the state to achieve the requirements of § 42-6.2-2, as well as other laws and policies related to

climate change, emissions reductions, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

     (4) The office may establish campus-wide energy performance standards for post-

secondary educational institutions and hospitals with multiple buildings in a single location that are

owned by a single entity; provided that, the development of any standard by the office shall be

based upon an analysis of the existing building efficiency of each campus and the compliance

pathways shall achieve savings comparable to those outlined in subsection (i) of this section.

     (5) The office shall set energy performance standards that are at least as strong as the

median energy performance rating or assessment score of large buildings of each building type.

     (i)(1) For the initial five (5) year compliance cycle, owners of large buildings with an

energy performance rating or assessment score lower than the energy performance standard

established by the office shall satisfy one of the following compliance pathways:

     (i) An energy performance pathway, which shall require a building to demonstrate a

decrease in normalized site energy use averaged over the last two (2) years of the five (5) year

compliance cycle, as compared to the normalized site energy use averaged over the last two (2)

years preceding the first year of the five (5) year compliance cycle; or

     (ii) An emissions performance pathway, which shall require a building to demonstrate a

decrease in normalized site greenhouse gas emissions over the last two (2) years of the five (5) year

compliance cycle, as compared to the normalized site greenhouse gas emissions averaged over the

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two (2) years preceding the first year of the five (5) year compliance cycle; provided that, switching

from oil or another fuel to natural gas for space heating or water heating shall not count toward a

building’s compliance with this pathway.

     (iii) The office shall require large buildings subject to the requirements of this subsection

to reduce normalized site energy use or greenhouse gas emissions by at least twenty percent (20%)

over the initial five (5) year compliance cycle, and may require greater reductions if the office finds

that it is feasible to do so and will help achieve the state’s enforceable greenhouse gas emissions

targets under § 42-6.2-2. The office shall hold at least one public hearing before setting the required

reduction in normalized site energy use or greenhouse gas emissions over the initial five (5) year

compliance cycle.

     (2) For subsequent five (5) year compliance cycles, the office shall establish energy

performance standards and compliance pathways designed to achieve emissions and energy

reduction targets; provided that, the compliance pathways shall maximize the potential to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions from large buildings by at least eighty percent (80%) by 2040, compared

to the baseline level of emissions in 2023, and to achieve the state greenhouse gas emissions limits

under the state’s enforceable greenhouse gas emissions targets under § 42-6.2-2.

     (j) The office shall establish exemption criteria for large buildings to delay compliance

with the energy performance standards for up to three (3) years if the owner demonstrates, to the

satisfaction of the office, financial distress, change of ownership, vacancy, major renovation,

pending demolition, or other acceptable circumstances determined by the office by regulation.

     (k) The office shall coordinate with utility companies and the public utilities commission

to establish incentive and financial assistance programs for owners to meet energy performance

standards.

     (l)(1) Municipalities may establish and enforce energy use benchmarking programs or

energy performance standards for buildings, in lieu of the programs and standards established by

the office; provided that, the following conditions are met:

     (i) The municipality uses an energy use benchmarking tool that collects information similar

to the energy use benchmarking tool used by the state;

     (ii) Annually, not later than July 1, the municipality collects and forwards to the office, on

a building-by-building basis, the required energy use information from the previous calendar year,

using standardized units of measure and formats established by the office; and

     (iii) Energy performance standards established by the municipality result in reductions in

energy use and greenhouse gas emissions that are comparable to or greater than the standards

established by the office. Municipalities may set lower gross floor area thresholds for buildings

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subject to their programs and standards.

     (2) The office shall review requests from municipalities to establish their own programs,

and the office may deny requests if it is not satisfied that the conditions in subsection (1) of this

section are met. The office shall evaluate any municipal programs established under this subsection

at least once every five (5) years, and may withdraw its approval if municipal programs fail to

comply with those conditions.

     (3) The office shall include data from all municipalities, including municipalities with their

own energy use benchmarking programs or energy performance standards, in the website

designated in subsection (c) of this section, in the report required under subsection (e) of this

section, and in the review required under subsection (f) of this section.

     (m)(1) Owners of large buildings may pay an alternative compliance payment if their

buildings fail to satisfy one of the compliance pathways established in subsection (i) of this section.

The amount of the alternative compliance payment shall be set by the office and shall be assessed

per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, by which the building falls short of meeting

the requirements of subsection (h) of this section. The alternative compliance payment shall be no

less than two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225) per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent

emissions, and shall be set at an amount ensuring that it is more cost-effective for the owners of the

vast majority of large buildings to make the improvements necessary to meet the compliance

pathways rather than pay the alternative compliance payment. The office shall revise the amount

of the alternative compliance payment at least once every five (5) years. The alternative compliance

payment shall be assessed in the final year of the five (5) year compliance period and in every

subsequent year that a building fails to satisfy one of the compliance pathways.

     (2) Owners of large buildings failing to comply with the energy use reporting and

benchmarking requirements of this section or knowingly providing false or incomplete information

to the office shall be subject to a fine. Owners of large buildings failing to satisfy one of the

compliance pathways established in subsection (i) of this section who do not pay an alternative

compliance payment to the office, as described in subsection (1) of this section, shall also be subject

to a fine. Fines shall be determined by the office and shall be assessed per day that a building owner

is not in compliance with the requirements of this section. Fines shall be no less than five hundred

dollars ($500) per day of noncompliance for buildings consisting of not less than twenty-five

thousand square feet (25,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area, three hundred fifty dollars( $350) per day

of noncompliance for buildings consisting of not less than twenty thousand square feet (20,000 sq.

ft.) and not greater than twenty-four thousand nine hundred ninety-nine square feet (24,999 sq. ft.)

of gross floor area, and two hundred dollars ($200) per day of noncompliance for buildings

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consisting of less than twenty thousand square feet (20,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area. The office

may set different levels of fines for different violations of this section.

     (3) Alternative compliance payments and fines collected by the office shall be deposited

into a separate account established by the office. Any funds collected shall be used first to pay for

the costs incurred by the office in administering this section, and any remaining funds shall be used

to further the objectives of this section, including deep energy retrofits of low-income and

moderate-income housing.

     (4) The office shall take all reasonable steps to inform the owners of large buildings of their

obligations under this section.

     (n) In municipalities that establish their own energy use benchmarking programs or energy

performance standards, the municipality and not the office shall assess any alternative compliance

payments or fines. Alternative compliance payments and fines assessed by municipalities shall be

no less than those described under subsection (m) of this section. Funds collected through

alternative compliance payments and fines assessed by a municipality shall be retained by the

municipality.

     SECTION 3. 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

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     This act would create building energy performance standards based on the size of

buildings, to achieve, by way of benchmarking and reporting, a statewide analysis of energy use

and strategies to increase energy efficiency.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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