08 LC
35 0924S
The House Committee on State Institutions and Property offers the following
substitute to HB 1125:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 8 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to the Department of
Community Affairs, so as to provide for energy efficient construction of a major
state-funded facility project; to provide for duties and responsibilities for
the enforcement of certain energy efficient provisions; to provide a short
title; to provide legislative findings; to provide a definition; to provide for
related matters; to provide an effective date and applicability; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 8 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to general provisions relative to the Department of Community Affairs, is
amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"50-8-18.
(a)
This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Energy Efficiency and
Sustainable Construction Act of 2008.'
(b)
The General Assembly finds that the welfare of this state is enhanced by the
promotion of effective energy and environmental standards for construction,
rehabilitation, and maintenance of state-funded facilities and that such
standards in turn improve this state´s capacity to design, build, and
operate high-performance buildings, contributing to economic growth, promoting
job development, and increasing energy conservation.
(c)
For purposes of this Code section, 'major facility project' means a
state-funded:
(1)
New construction building project of a building exceeding 10,000 square
feet;
(2)
A renovation project that is more than 50 percent of the replacement value, as
determined by the Department of Administrative Services Risk Management
Division, of the facility, a change in occupancy, or any roof replacement
project exceeding 10,000 square feet; or
(3)
A commercial interior tenant fit-out project exceeding 10,000 square feet of
leaseable area where the state is intended to be the lessor of such
property.
A
major facility project shall not include a building, regardless of size, that
does not have conditioned space as defined by the American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and shall not include a
state owned building that is on the historical registry or any local, county, or
municipal building.
(d)
Consistent with the intent of this Code section, the department, in consultation
with the Georgia State Finance and Investment Commission, shall adopt policies
and procedures as standards for all buildings owned or managed by this state
that:
(1)
Optimize the energy performance;
(2)
Increase the demand for construction materials and furnishings produced in
Georgia;
(3)
Improve the environmental quality in this state by decreasing the discharge of
pollutants from such state buildings;
(4)
Conserve energy and utilize local and renewable energy sources;
(5)
Protect and restore this state´s natural resources by avoiding the
development of inappropriate building sites;
(6)
Reduce the burden on municipal water supply and treatment by reducing potable
water consumption;
(7)
Establish life cycle assessments as the appropriate and most efficient analysis
to determine a building project´s environmental performance level;
and
(8)
Encourage obtaining Energy Star designation from the United States Environmental
Protection Agency to further demonstrate a building project´s energy
independence.
(e)
All major facility projects shall be designed, constructed, and commissioned or
modeled to exceed the standards set forth in ASHRAE 90.1.2004 by 30 percent
where it is determined by the department that such 30 percent efficiency is cost
effective based on a life cycle cost analysis with a payback at no more than ten
years. Commissioning or modeling must be performed by a professional engineer,
design professional, or commissioning agent using software methodology approved
by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Energy, current ASHRAE
standards, or other similar methodology. For all major renovation projects,
such requirements shall apply to the specific building assemblies, envelope
components, and equipment involved in the project.
(f)
All major facility projects shall be designed, constructed, and commissioned or
modeled to achieve a 15 percent reduction in water use when compared to water
use based on plumbing fixture selection in accordance with the Energy Policy Act
of 1992.
(g)
To achieve sustainable building standards, construction projects may utilize a
nationally recognized high performance energy modeling and environmental
building rating system; provided, however, that any such rating system that uses
a material or product based credit system that operates to the detriment of
materials or products manufactured or produced in Georgia shall not be utilized.
The department shall designate rating systems that meet these criteria and is
authorized to establish its own alternative rating system. All major facility
projects shall include Georgia products such that not less than 10 percent of
all building materials used in a project are harvested, extracted, or
manufactured in the State of Georgia where such products are commercially
available in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Code
section.
(h)
A professional engineer, design professional, or commissioning agent shall
certify that the building project´s systems for heating, ventilating, air
conditioning, energy conservation, and water conservation are installed and
working properly to ensure that each building project performs according to the
building´s overall environmental design intent and operational
objectives."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2010, and shall apply to design agreements
for major facilities projects entered into on or after such date.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.