SENATE, No. 1901

SECTION 1. Chapter 21A of the General Laws as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition is hereby amended by adding the following section 21:

Section 21.  SUSTAINABLE BUILDING IN STATE FUNDED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

(a)   Definitions.  For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-

“LEED” the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system, created and updated by the U.S. Green Building Council. 

“Base LEED certification” a building project that has at least 26 out of a possible 69 LEED points in the areas of site selection and development, water and energy efficiency, sustainable materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in sustainable design and construction, according to the U.S. Green Business Council.

“Major renovation” any capital project or extraordinary maintenance project that includes complete overhaul of a significant portion of the original structure and the construction work affects at least 50 percent of the building’s floor area. 

”Massachusetts LEED Plus” base LEED certification and the attainment of the following LEED credits:

1.         Energy performance exceeding the Massachusetts Energy Code requirements by at least 20 percent.

2.         Verification by a third party building commissioner that the building’s energy related systems are installed, calibrated and perform according to the owner’s project requirement, basis of design and construction documents.  Third party building commissioners shall be approved by energy and environmental affairs.

3.         At least one of the following smart growth criteria (unless that criteria conflicts with another critical public policy objective, as determined by energy and environmental affairs)

A.        Construct or renovate on a previously developed site:

(i)         In a community with a minimum density of 60,000 square feet per acre, or

(ii)        Within one-half mile of ten basic services, including but not limited to bank, place of worship, convenience grocery, day care, cleaners, fire station, beauty, hardware, laundry, library, medical/dental, senior care facility, park, pharmacy, post office, restaurant, school, supermarket, theater, community center, fitness center or museum, and a residential zone or neighborhood with an average of ten units per acre, and with pedestrian access between buildings and services.

B.         Construct or renovate on a contaminated or brownfield site as determined by a local, state or federal government agency.

C.        Construct or renovate on a site with public transportation within one-half mile.

D.        Maintain 75 percent of existing building structure or envelope.

4.         Reduce potable water consumption for irrigation by 50 percent from a mid-summer baseline.  Reductions shall be attributed to any combination of the following:  Plant species factor, irrigation efficiency, use of captured rainwater, use of recycled rainwater, use of water treated and conveyed by a public agency for a non-potable use or a reduction approved by energy and environmental affairs.

5.         Incorporate strategies that will conserve 20 percent of building water use calculated for the building (not including irrigation) after meeting the Energy Policy Act of 1992 fixture performance requirements.

”Massachusetts Energy Code” 780 CMR chapter 13, as amended.

”New Buildings Institute’s Advanced Buildings Benchmark Tool” a flexible system of specific criteria for technologies and practices that provide unique paths to achieving energy-efficient buildings, published by New Building Institute.

”Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performance Schools or Mass CHPS” a Planning guide and Criteria document published by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in 2005, as amended.

“State entity” any state agency, state authority, state university, any trial court department, appeals court and the supreme judicial court or the general court.

(b)        Green Building Standards. 

1.         Large Projects.  All state entity projects, private projects on state land and projects that receive state funding, except schools covered under section 3 shall adhere to the “Massachusetts LEED Plus” standard for new buildings and major renovation projects that are 20,000 square feet or larger and designed for use by a public entity. 

2.         Small Projects.  For projects smaller than 20,000 square feet, all state entity projects, private projects on state land and projects that receive state funding, except schools covered under section 3 shall design and construct new buildings and major renovation projects to meet at least one of the following:

A.        Adhere to the “Massachusetts LEED Plus” standard; or

B.         Surpass the Massachusetts Energy Code requirements by at least 20 percent

(c)        School Buildings.  The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) shall adopt at least the minimum building standards contained in the Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performance Schools (Mass CHPS) for new K-12 schools that receive state funding and major renovations of K-12 schools that receive state funding and encourage school districts to attain higher levels of compliance beyond the minimum standards.

SECTION 2.   Funding.  Chapter 139 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by inserting at the end of section 2000-0100 the following:-

“provided that no less than $250,000 shall be expended for promoting sustainable building in state funded construction projects consistent with section 21 of chapter 21A of the General Laws;”