Bill Text: NJ A1258 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires projects with State or Local financing to be built to high performance green building standards and provides for performance review and annual report.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A1258 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A1258-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LINDA STENDER
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires projects with State or local financing to be built to high performance green building standards and provides for performance review and annual report.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning energy efficiency in certain buildings and amending and supplementing P.L.2007, c.269.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.3) is amended to read as follows:
1. As used in this act:
"High performance green building" means a building that is designed and constructed in a manner that achieves certification of at least:
a. a silver rating according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System as adopted by the United States Green Building Council;
b. a two globe rating according to the Green Globes Program as adopted by the Green Building Initiative; or
c. a comparable numeric rating according to a nationally recognized, accepted, and appropriate numeric sustainable development rating system, guideline, or standard as the Commissioner of Community Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Director of Energy Savings established pursuant to Executive Order No.11 of 2006, and the Board of Public Utilities, may designate by regulation.
A "high performance green building" shall not mean any free-standing parking facility, multiple use maintenance facility or storage facility.
"Major renovation project" means any change to an existing structure, building, or space, when the cost of the alteration is greater than 50 percent of the equalized assessed value of improvements on the property.
"Public funds" means moneys received from the State or from a political subdivision, authority or instrumentality thereof.
["State governmental entity" means the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the State government, any agency or instrumentality of the State, including any board, bureau, commission, corporation, department, or division, any independent State authority, and any State institution of higher education. A county, municipality, or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall not be deemed a State governmental entity.]
(cf: P.L.2007, c.269, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.4) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Any new building [having at least 15,000 square feet in total floor area that is to be constructed for the sole use of a State governmental entity] or major renovation project constructed using public funds, after the effective date of [this act] P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be designed and managed to meet standards for a high performance green building. The Director of the Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the Treasury, in cooperation with the New Jersey Building Authority where appropriate, shall enforce the provisions of this act. All plans, specifications and bid proposal documents for any building to which the provisions of this section apply shall identify all the requirements for meeting the appropriate certification level standard as provided in subsection a., b. or c. of section 1 of this act, as appropriate. The requirements of this act shall not apply to any building for which a request for proposal for entering into a contract to design the building has been issued prior to the effective date of this act.
b. The Department of the Treasury may waive the requirements of subsection a. of this section for a construction or major renovation project if the Director of the Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the New Jersey Building Authority and the Commissioner of Community Affairs, determines that the requirements for a high performance green building are impractical or not economically feasible for the project. An application for a waiver shall be submitted in writing to the Director of the Division of Property Management and Construction in the Department of the Treasury.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.269, s.2)
3. (New section) The State Treasurer, in consultation with the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Director of Energy Savings established pursuant to Executive Order No.11 of 2006, and the Board of Public Utilities, shall promulgate, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq. the forms, rules, and regulations necessary to administer P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.3 et seq.).
4. (New section) The Department of the Treasury shall, at least annually, review the performance, in terms of utility use and energy consumption, of any project completed subject to the requirements of section 2 of P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.4) that has received a certificate of occupancy. In consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, the Department of the Treasury shall develop standard measurements for reviewing the performance of a completed project pursuant to this section.
5. (New section) Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, housing financed as part of the program for conservation of energy in new home construction pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.106 (C.52:27F-11) is exempt from the provisions of section 2 of P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.4).
6. (New section) The State Treasurer shall prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor and, in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature. The report shall be made by March 1 of each year, beginning with the next year following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The report shall include:
a. the number and types of the buildings designed, constructed, or renovated;
b. the type and level of certification for each building designed, constructed, or renovated;
c. information about any waiver granted pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2007, c.269 (C.52:32-5.4), including the total number of waivers granted and the reasons for granting any waivers;
d. information collected, pursuant to section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), about the performance of buildings constructed and major renovations completed pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including estimated savings in energy costs; and
e. any other information the State Treasurer deems pertinent, including recommendations for legislative action concerning high performance green building standards.
7. Section 3 of this act shall take effect immediately and the remainder of this act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would require all projects receiving State and local government financing to be built green. This legislation is intended to promote energy-efficient buildings for their cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness.
This legislation expands the high performance green building requirements of P.L.2007, c.269 to require that new construction and all major alterations to buildings, including rehabilitation and renovation, that are financed by the State or by a political subdivision thereof to be designed and managed to meet one of three alternative standards for a "high performance green building." Pursuant to this bill, the new requirements would be managed and enforced by the Director of the Division of Property Management in the Department of the Treasury.
This bill also authorizes the Director of the Division of Property Management to grant a waiver from the green building requirements to certain projects for which it would be infeasible to comply with the standards for a "high performance green building." In addition, this legislation requires the Department of the Treasury to review the performance of projects completed subject to the requirements of this bill.
This legislation would require the Director to submit an annual report detailing activities pursuant to this legislation to the Governor and the Legislature.
