Title 37
Public Property and Works

Chapter 24
The Green Buildings Act

R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-24-4

§ 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 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 facility that have not entered the design phase prior to July 1, 2023, for LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development and for SITES.

(b) All public major facility projects of a public school 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 by the state or a public school district to any public school facility that have not entered the design phase prior to July 1, 2023, for LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and for SITES.

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

(d)  [Deleted by P.L. 2022, ch. 204, § 1 and P.L. 2022, ch. 205, § 1.]

History of Section.
P.L. 2009, ch. 212, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 394, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 418, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 204, § 1, effective June 27, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 205, § 1, effective June 27, 2022.