Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB807 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0807
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 807
8	8	M5, M3 5lr3088
9	9
10	10	By: Senator Kramer
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 28, 2025
12	12	Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Environment – Local Building Energy Performance Standards – Authorization 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of authorizing counties to adopt local building energy performance 3
21	21	standards that are at least as stringent as certain standards adopted by the 4
22	22	Department of the Environment if the standards are approved by the Department; 5
23	23	authorizing a county to enforce local building energy performance standards; 6
24	24	exempting a covered building that is subject to certain local building energy 7
25	25	performance standards from complying with certain statewide standards; and 8
26	26	generally relating to building energy performance standards. 9
27	27
28	28	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
29	29	Article – Environment 11
30	30	Section 2–1602 12
31	31	Annotated Code of Maryland 13
32	32	(2013 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
33	33
34	34	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 15
35	35	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 16
36	36
37	37	Article – Environment 17
38	38
39	39	2–1602. 18
40	40
41	41	(a) The Department shall develop building energy performance standards for 19
42	42	covered buildings that achieve: 20
43	43
44	44	(1) A 20% reduction in net direct greenhouse gas emissions on or before 21
45	45	January 1, 2030, as compared with 2025 levels for average buildings of similar construction; 22
46	46	and 23
47	47
48	48	(2) Net–zero direct greenhouse gas emissions on or before January 1, 2040. 24 2 SENATE BILL 807
49	49
50	50
51	51
52	52	(b) To facilitate the development of building energy performance standards under 1
53	53	this section, the Department shall require the owners of covered buildings to measure and 2
54	54	report direct emissions data to the Department annually beginning in 2025. 3
55	55
56	56	(c) (1) On or before June 1, 2023, the Department shall adopt regulations to 4
57	57	implement this section. 5
58	58
59	59	(2) Regulations adopted under this section shall: 6
60	60
61	61	(i) Subject to items (ii) and (iii) of this paragraph, include energy 7
62	62	use intensity targets by building type; 8
63	63
64	64	(ii) As necessary, include special provisions or exceptions to account 9
65	65	for: 10
66	66
67	67	1. Building age; 11
68	68
69	69	2. Regional differences; 12
70	70
71	71	3. The unique needs of particular building or occupancy 13
72	72	types, including health care facilities, laboratories, assisted living and nursing facilities, 14
73	73	military buildings, critical infrastructure, and buildings used in life sciences as defined in 15
74	74	§ 3–201 of the Economic Development Article; and 16
75	75
76	76	4. The use of district energy systems and biofuels by covered 17
77	77	buildings; 18
78	78
79	79	(iii) Consider the needs of the owners of covered buildings who: 19
80	80
81	81	1. Are not responsible for the design, modification, fixtures, 20
82	82	or equipment of commercial tenants; 21
83	83
84	84	2. Do not have access to or control over building energy 22
85	85	systems that are used or controlled by commercial tenants; or 23
86	86
87	87	3. Own buildings occupied by commercial tenants who are 24
88	88	responsible for all maintenance of and repairs to the buildings; 25
89	89
90	90	(iv) Provide maximum flexibility to the owners of covered buildings 26
91	91	to comply with building energy performance standards; 27
92	92
93	93	(v) Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, include an alternative 28
94	94	compliance pathway allowing the owner of a covered building to pay a fee for greenhouse 29
95	95	gas emissions attributable to the building’s failure to meet direct greenhouse gas emissions 30
96	96	reduction targets; and 31
97	97	SENATE BILL 807 3
98	98
99	99
100	100	(vi) To the extent authorized by law, include financial incentives 1
101	101	recommended by the Building Energy Transition Implementation Task Force. 2
102	102
103	103	(3) The Department may not set an alternative compliance fee that is less 3
104	104	than the social cost of greenhouse gases adopted by the Department or the U.S. 4
105	105	Environmental Protection Agency. 5
106	106
107	107	(d) Electric companies and gas companies shall provide energy data, including 6
108	108	whole–building and aggregate data, to the owners of covered buildings for benchmarking 7
109	109	purposes. 8
110	110
111	111	(e) In calculating the statewide standards developed by the Department under 9
112	112	this section, an owner of a covered building may not consider greenhouse gas emissions or 10
113	113	energy use by a commercial tenant of the covered building that: 11
114	114
115	115	(1) Is a food service facility as defined in COMAR 10.15.03.02; and 12
116	116
117	117	(2) Engages in commercial cooking and water heating. 13
118	118
119	119	(F) (1) A COUNTY MAY DEVELOP AND ADOPT LOCAL BUILDING ENERGY 14
120	120	PERFORMANCE STANDARD S THAT ARE AT LEAST AS STRINGENT AS THE STA NDARDS 15
121	121	DEVELOPED AND ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER THIS SECTION IF THE 16
122	122	LOCAL BUILDING ENERG Y PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ARE APPROV ED BY THE 17
123	123	DEPARTMENT . 18
124	124
125	125	(2) THE DEPARTMENT MAY APPROV E LOCAL BUILDING ENERG Y 19
126	126	PERFORMANCE STANDARDS DEVELOPED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION IF THE 20
127	127	STANDARDS ARE: 21
128	128
129	129	(I) INCLUSIVE OF OR MORE STRINGENT TH AN THE STANDARDS 22
130	130	DEVELOPED AN D ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT ; OR 23
131	131
132	132	(II) DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE , BY 2040 AND THROUGH 24
133	133	IMPROVEMENTS TO COVE RED BUILDINGS IN THE AGGREGATE , GREATER ENERGY 25
134	134	AND GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION BENEFITS THAN THE STANDARDS DEVELOPED 26
135	135	AND ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT . 27
136	136
137	137	(3) A COUNTY ADMINISTERING LOCAL BUILDING ENERG Y 28
138	138	PERFORMANCE STANDARD S APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER THIS 29
139	139	SUBSECTION MAY TAKE APPROPRIATE ACT IONS TO ENFORCE TH E STANDARDS, 30
140	140	INCLUDING: 31
141	141
142	142	(I) ESTABLISHING ALTERNAT IVE COMPLIANCE PATHW AYS FOR 32
143	143	COMPLYING WITH ENERGY USE INTENSITY AND DIRECT GREENHOUS E GAS 33
144	144	EMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS ESTABLI SHED IN THE STANDARD S; AND 34 4 SENATE BILL 807
145	145
146	146
147	147
148	148	(II) IMPOSING AND COLLECT ING ALTERNATIVE COMPLIAN CE 1
149	149	FEES AND PENALTIES IN THE SAME AMOUNT A ND MANNER ALLOWED BY THE 2
150	150	DEPARTMENT . 3
151	151
152	152	(4) A COUNTY ADMI NISTERING LOCAL BUIL DING ENERGY 4
153	153	PERFORMANCE STANDARD S APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT UNDER THIS 5
154	154	SUBSECTION SHALL SUB MIT TO THE DEPARTMENT ANY EMISSI ONS DATA REPORTED 6
155	155	TO THE COUNTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH T HE STANDARDS . 7
156	156
157	157	(5) A COVERED BUILDING THA T IS SUBJECT TO L OCAL BUILDING 8
158	158	ENERGY PERFORMANCE S TANDARDS ADOPTED BY A COUNTY UNDER THIS 9
159	159	SUBSECTION IS NOT RE QUIRED TO COMPLY WIT H STATEWIDE BUILDING ENERGY 10
160	160	PERFORMANCE STANDARD S ESTABLISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT . 11
161	161
162	162	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 12
163	163	October 1, 2025. 13