2025 -- S 0091
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LC000179
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING DECARBONIZATION ACT OF 2024
Introduced By: Senators Kallman, Sosnowski, DiMario, Euer, Lawson, Britto, Gu, Gallo,
McKenney, and Valverde
Date Introduced: January 31, 2025
Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. 1
The purpose of this chapter is to understand and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of 2
buildings in Rhode Island, consistent with an Act on Climate, chapter 6.2-9 of title 42. Of the 3
building stock in 2050, approximately seventy percent (70%) has already been built, and addressing 4
these existing buildings is critical to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. While significant 5
retrofits to existing buildings will eventually be needed, this chapter establishes a program for the 6
energy benchmarking of large buildings in Rhode Island and a standard for their energy 7
performance and requires that the construction or alteration of new buildings be electric-ready. 8
Further, the intent of the legislature is to ensure that the Executive Climate Change Coordinating 9
Council (EC4) has dedicated resources sufficient to administer its responsibilities under this chapter 10
to enable swift and steady progress towards Rhode Island's net-zero mandate. 11
SECTION 2. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby 12
amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 13
CHAPTER 27.5 14
BUILDING DECARBONIZATION ACT OF 2025 15
23-27.5-1. Definitions. 16
As used in this chapter: 17
(1) "Anonymized and aggregated usage data" means, for a specified time period, an 18
aggregation of utility usage data for a covered property whereby data from tenant meters and from 19
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owner meters are combined into one collective data point for each utility type, and where any 1
unique identifiers or other personal information related to tenants are removed. Data for a covered 2
property may be anonymized and aggregated where there are three (3) or more unique non-3
residential accounts or five (5) or more unique residential accounts. 4
(2) "BPS fund" means the building performance standard fund established in § 23-27.5-5
7(g). 6
(3) "Building improvement tool" means an online tool to help building owners and 7
operators improve building energy and water efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 8
through identifying, tracking, and verifying improvements and their performance, including the 9
capability to integrate with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 10
(4) "Building performance standard" means an objectively verifiable numeric value of a 11
defined building performance metric that covered properties are required to achieve by specified 12
dates. 13
(5) "Commercial building" means a building or multiple buildings on a property of which 14
not less than fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area, including hallways or other common space, 15
but excluding parking, is used for commercial, retail, office, professional, educational or other 16
nonresidential purposes, or any grouping of commercial buildings designated by the EC4 as an 17
appropriate reporting unit for the purposes of this section; provided however, that "commercial 18
building" shall not include a public facility or a building owned or leased by the federal government, 19
and shall not include a facility in which the majority of energy is consumed for manufacturing, for 20
the generation of electric power or district thermal energy to be consumed off site, for 21
communications infrastructure, or for other process loads as determined by the EC4. 22
(6) "Community impacted by poverty and environmental injustice" means census tracts 23
that are highlighted as overburdened and underserved in the geospatial Climate and Economic 24
Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). 25
(7) "Condominium" means a property that combines separate ownership of individual 26
units with common ownership of other elements such as common areas. 27
(8) "Covered property" means any of the following with at least twenty-five thousand 28
square feet (25,000 sq. ft.) of gross floor area: 29
(i) A single building; 30
(ii) One or more buildings held in the condominium form of ownership, and governed by 31
a single board of managers; or 32
(iii) Two (2) or more buildings that are served by the same electric or gas meter or are 33
served by the same heating or cooling system(s), which is not a district energy system. Provided 34
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that buildings, spaces, or groups of buildings and spaces, that are sub-metered or otherwise subject 1
to easy determination of the resource consumption attributable to each individual building, space, 2
or group of buildings or spaces, shall be treated as separate "covered properties" as determined by 3
the EC4. 4
(9) "District energy system" means a system serving multiple covered properties and 5
consisting of non-combusting thermal energy generation, transfer, and distribution equipment 6
providing thermal energy in the form of heat and/or heat rejection. 7
(10) "Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council" or "Council" or "EC4" means the 8
council established by § 42-6.2-1. 9
(11) "Gross floor area" means the total area of a covered property, measured between the 10
outside surface of the exterior walls of the covered property building(s). The EC4 shall promulgate 11
rules and procedures governing the calculation of gross floor area, including areas that shall be 12
excluded from the calculation. 13
(12) "Owner" means any of the following: 14
(i) An individual or entity possessing title to a covered property; 15
(ii) The board of the owners' association, in the case of a condominium; 16
(iii) The master association, in the case of a condominium, where the powers of an owners' 17
association are exercised by or delegated to a master association; 18
(iv) The board of directors, in the case of a cooperative apartment corporation; or 19
(v) An agent authorized to act on behalf of any of the above. 20
(13) "Performance metrics" means each of the objectively verifiable numeric measures of 21
building performance as established by § 23-27.5-4(d). 22
(14) "Property type(s)" means a category of covered properties subject to the same interim 23
and final building performance standards, as defined by the EC4. Covered properties within each 24
property type shall have shared characteristics that facilitate the implementation and enforcement 25
of this law. The EC4 may define one or more property types to be identical to ENERGY STAR 26
property types. 27
(15) "Public facility" means any public institution, public facility, or any physical asset 28
owned, including its public real-property site, leased or controlled in whole or in part by this state, 29
a public agency, a municipality or a political subdivision, that is for public or government use and 30
that consumes energy. 31
(16) "Residential building" means a building or multiple buildings on a property of which 32
not less than fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area, including hallways and other common 33
space serving residents, but excluding parking, is used for dwelling purposes, or any grouping of 34
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residential buildings designated by the EC4 as an appropriate reporting unit for the purposes of this 1
chapter; provided, however, that "residential building" shall not include a public facility or a 2
building owned or leased by the federal government. 3
(17) "Tenant" means any tenant, tenant-stockholder of a cooperative apartment 4
corporation, or condominium unit owner. 5
(18) "Utility" means a company, cooperative, association, or government entity that 6
distributes and sells electricity, natural gas, or district energy for use in buildings. 7
23-27.5-2. Authority. 8
The EC4 is hereby granted authority to administer this chapter, which shall include the 9
authority to issue forms and guidance, promulgate rules and regulations, apply for and receive 10
federal funds, assess and receive fees, and contract with third parties to effectuate the powers 11
granted herein. 12
23-27.5-3. Advisory Boards. 13
(a) For purposes of this chapter, the green building advisory committee (GBAC) 14
established by § 37-24-5(g) shall act as an advisory board to the EC4 concerning the 15
implementation of this chapter including, but not limited to, the establishment of the benchmarking 16
requirements, technical assistance, owner needs, outreach and education, opportunities for funding 17
related to the chapter, the implementation of state policies, programs, and statutes related to the 18
chapter and recommendations for building performance standards. 19
(b) No later than one hundred and twenty (120) days following the enactment of this 20
chapter the EC4 shall establish the environmental justice advisory board (EJAB) to advise the EC4 21
on climate change efforts with respect to potential impacts on, benefits to, and special 22
considerations for individuals and communities impacted by poverty and environmental injustice. 23
(1) The EJAB shall be comprised of no fewer than nine (9) and no more than fifteen (15) 24
individuals who are representatives of communities impacted by poverty and environmental 25
injustice, representatives of nonprofit and public agencies who work with such individuals or 26
communities, including providers of affordable housing, small business owners or organizations, 27
and experts in areas related to racial and social equity, as well as one representative from the Rhode 28
Island AFL-CIO. The EC4 shall select individuals in consultation with the EC4 advisory board, to 29
serve on the EJAB following an opportunity for the public to apply in consultation with the EC4 30
advisory board. 31
(2) All appointments to the EJAB shall be for a term of three (3) years. Members whose 32
appointed terms have expired shall be permitted to continue to serve for up to one year until 33
reappointed or replaced by a new appointee. 34
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(3) The EC4 shall fairly compensate EJAB members and provide stipends to cover the cost 1
of childcare and information technology needs as determined by the EJAB and EC4. 2
(4) The EJAB shall advise the EC4 on the implementation of this chapter with respect to 3
potential impacts on, benefits to, and special considerations for individuals and communities 4
impacted by poverty and environmental injustice, and small business owners from such 5
communities. 6
(5) The EJAB may develop a plan to allocate funds available in the BPS fund, established 7
under § 23-27.5-7(g), to improve the performance of covered buildings and ensure that those 8
investments benefit such communities. 9
(6) The EJAB may host, in partnership with the GBAC and the EC4, public meetings to 10
gather input regarding the benchmarking program as well as the design and implementation of the 11
building performance standards and complementary programs. Equitable engagement shall be a 12
priority. 13
23-27.5-4. Building Benchmarking. 14
(a) There is hereby established an energy use benchmarking program to collect and analyze 15
such information in support of the statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate provided 16
in chapter 6.2 of title 42 ("act on climate"). 17
(b) The program shall be conducted to determine whether each building subject to the 18
program utilizes more or less energy, and emits more or less greenhouse gases, than buildings of 19
comparable size, occupancies and uses, and to inform a statewide analysis of energy use trends and 20
opportunities to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 21
(c) Information to be collected in the benchmarking program and generally referred to as 22
"energy use information" shall include at a minimum: 23
(1) The name, mailing address, email, and telephone number of the owner, and the operator 24
if different from the owner; 25
(2) The address of the building and the municipality in which the building is located; 26
(3) The primary use, any additional uses, and gross floor area of the building; 27
(4) The building's total energy use in kBTU and total greenhouse gas emissions in pounds 28
of carbon dioxide equivalent; 29
(5) The breakdown of the building's energy use by electricity, gas, and other sources, and 30
any electricity generated by on-site renewable sources; and 31
(6) An energy performance rating or assessment score. 32
(d) The EC4 shall issue forms, guidance, or regulations as needed, to implement this section 33
including provisions related to compliance. The EC4 shall issue provisional guidance for public 34
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facilities greater than twenty-five thousand square feet (25,000 sq. ft.) by July 1, 2027. The EC4 1
shall propose forms, guidance, or regulations as needed, for all covered properties by April 1, 2028, 2
and shall make all efforts to issue final forms, guidance, or regulations as needed, for all covered 3
properties by July 1, 2026. 4
(1) The EC4 may designate one or more alternative energy use benchmarking tools. 5
(2) The EC4 shall define one or more energy performance ratings or scores to aid building 6
owners, operators, the general public, and the EC4 in understanding the energy of greenhouse gas 7
emissions performance of the building relative to similar buildings. 8
(3) The EC4 shall identify the required information which shall include at a minimum, the 9
energy use information listed in subsection (c) of this section, and at least one of the energy 10
performance ratings or scores defined by the EC4, as well as necessary administrative information 11
such as the owner and operator of the building, contact information, and similar items. 12
(4) The EC4 shall promulgate regulations and procedures governing the calculation of 13
gross floor area, including areas that shall be excluded from the calculation. 14
(5) The EC4 shall promulgate regulations and procedures for the submission of required 15
information and may provide multiple alternatives for the form of submission, such as a paper form 16
and submission electronically via an online portal, and shall endeavor to streamline the submission 17
processes as appropriate. 18
(6) The EC4 shall promulgate regulations and procedures on data verification options for 19
required information. 20
(7) The EC4 may consider modeling property types, use details and other definitions 21
provided in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager glossary. 22
(e) The EC4 shall provide technical support and guidance to owners and operators of 23
buildings subject to this section. 24
(1) The EC4 shall identify one or more building improvement tools as voluntary 25
complementary software or platforms that in the EC4's judgment can assist building owners and 26
operators in improving building performance and which may be public or private sector tools. 27
(2) The EC4 shall provide technical support and assistance on the use of the energy use 28
benchmarking tool and the building improvement tool, as well as building energy assessment, 29
improvement, and financial tools. 30
(3) Technical support and assistance may be provided directly and through contract and the 31
EC4 may consider a technical assistance hub. 32
(4) The EC4 may coordinate with the department of environmental management (DEM) 33
for enforcement of the building performance standards, and the standards and requirements set forth 34
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herein. 1
(5) The EC4 may apply for relevant federal funding opportunities in support of this chapter 2
and may partner with nonprofit organizations and associations to make such an application if 3
beneficial. 4
(f) In administering this section, the EC4 may: 5
(1) Designate subcategories of buildings based on common characteristics such as building 6
use, and may establish different reporting requirements for subcategories; and 7
(2) Consider whether tenant-occupied units or spaces are separately metered and may 8
address such conditions in any forms, instructions, or responses to questions. 9
(g) The EC4 shall provide to owners instructions regarding tenant energy consumption 10
data, including best practices for lease provisions and for estimates where obtaining metered data 11
is not practicable. 12
(h) Not later than the deadlines provided in subsections (k)(1) through (k)(3) of this section, 13
beginning in the year indicated, the owner of each covered property shall submit to the EC4 energy 14
use information for each covered property. Such submission shall include additional required 15
information, if any, identified by the EC4 and shall be in the form and manner, if any, prescribed 16
by the EC4. The failure of the EC4 to issue guidance shall not excuse owners of this obligation. 17
(i) When an owner submits required information accompanied by evidence of data 18
verification by a third party per regulations issued pursuant to this section, the owner shall have an 19
additional three (3) months beyond the dates indicated in subsection (k)(2) of this section to report. 20
(j) Within one hundred eighty (180) days of enactment of this chapter, the EC4 shall host 21
a workshop to explain the benchmarking requirements contained within this chapter. The EC4 shall 22
invite representatives from the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, the Rhode Island AFL-23
CIO, municipal building code officials, municipal planning officials, and other interested parties 24
identified by the commissioner of the EC4. 25
(k)(1) For public facilities with gross floor area greater than twenty-five thousand square 26
feet (25,000 sq ft), the first compliance date is April 1, 2028, for calendar year 2026 energy use 27
information, and thereafter the annual compliance date is April 1 for the prior calendar year. 28
(2) For covered properties with gross floor area greater than fifty thousand square feet 29
(50,000 sq ft), the first compliance date is March 31, 2028, for calendar year 2027 energy use 30
information, and thereafter the annual compliance date is March 31 for the prior calendar year. 31
(3) For covered properties with gross floor area greater than twenty-five thousand square 32
feet (25,000 sq ft), the first compliance date is March 31, 2029, for calendar year 2028 energy use 33
information, and thereafter the annual compliance date is March 31 for the prior calendar year. 34
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(l) To the extent permitted by law, an electric distribution company as defined in § 39-1-1
2(a)(12) or gas distribution company included as a public utility in § 39-1-2(a)(20) that has greater 2
than one hundred thousand (100,000) customers shall make available to owners of covered 3
properties anonymized and aggregated usage data for owner's covered property for the purpose of 4
compliance with this chapter. By nature of being aggregated, the intent is to anonymize individual 5
tenant energy use information, and not disclose this or any other personal information related to 6
tenant customers or their accounts. 7
(m) To the extent that gas and electric companies incur new or additional expenses to 8
collect, aggregate, organize, or provide energy use information under this chapter, prior to filing 9
for cost recovery, shall first demonstrate good faith efforts to secure federal, state, or other relevant 10
funding options. Thereafter, such additional expenses shall be eligible for cost recovery through 11
rates charged to customers under the appropriate cost recovery mechanisms as determined by the 12
public utilities commission. 13
(n) Electric and gas distribution utilities shall collaborate with the EC4 to identify best 14
practices for collecting and managing aggregated whole building data. 15
(o) The EC4 shall endeavor to ensure that electric and gas distribution companies or other 16
energy efficiency program administrator provide owners of buildings subject to this section with 17
up-to-date information about energy efficiency opportunities or actions available to increase energy 18
efficiency, including incentives in utility-administered or other energy efficiency programs and 19
changes in energy assessment technology. 20
23-27.5-5. Municipal implementation of building energy benchmarking 21
requirements. 22
(a) The EC4 shall establish procedures, including a process and conditions, for a 23
municipality to apply to the EC4 for the right to implement, in place of the EC4, the building energy 24
benchmarking requirements. Such conditions shall include, at a minimum, acceptance of 25
responsibility to collect the information specified by the EC4 from the covered property owners on 26
the schedule specified by the EC4, and the provision of benchmarking data to the EC4 annually. 27
(b) The EC4 shall review any application from a municipality to implement the building 28
energy benchmarking requirements and the EC4 may deny a request if it is not satisfied that the 29
conditions in subsection (a) of this section are met. A denial shall include a finding of facts and 30
final determination that the municipal plan does not meet the requirements of this section. 31
(c) A municipality that is approved to implement the building energy benchmarking 32
requirements shall be authorized to assess any fines related to the program as provided in the 33
approval by the EC4. Funds collected by a municipality shall be retained by the municipality. 34
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(d) The EC4 shall evaluate any municipal programs established under this subsection at 1
least once every five (5) years and may withdraw its approval if municipal programs fail to comply 2
with those conditions. 3
(e) In the case of a municipality that has initiated a building energy benchmarking 4
requirement prior to the enactment of this law, the municipality may continue such program in lieu 5
of the benchmarking requirements to be established by the EC4. In such case, the municipality must 6
notify the EC4 of such intent within one hundred eighty (180) days of the enactment of this chapter 7
and must provide benchmarking data to the EC4 annually thereafter. 8
23-27.5-6. Building performance improvement. 9
(a) On a regular basis, the EC4 shall evaluate data relevant to understanding the energy use 10
and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings in Rhode Island, including, but not limited, to the 11
benchmarking data collected under this chapter. The EC4 shall publish reports summarizing the 12
data and the status of building emissions in Rhode Island biennially. Beginning no later than August 13
31, 2029, and annually thereafter, the EC4 shall post benchmarking data for the prior calendar year. 14
Such posted benchmarking data shall include, at a minimum, for each covered property required to 15
submit energy use information for the given calendar year, the address of the covered property and 16
its energy performance rating or assessment score. 17
(b) No later than August 31, 2029, the EC4 shall publish a report including a summary of 18
its activities and progress under this chapter and detailing recommended measures, policies and 19
programs to achieve building emission reductions aligned with Rhode Island's net zero goal. The 20
EC4 shall issue supplemental reports biennially for a period of twenty (20) years. 21
(c) Performance metrics shall include site energy use intensity and may also include 22
greenhouse gas emissions or other metrics relevant to the purpose of this chapter. 23
(d) No later than June 30, 2030, the EC4 shall select performance metrics and set a building 24
performance standard for each property type or subcategory. 25
(e) The EC4 shall set final building performance standards that shall collectively cause the 26
aggregate greenhouse gas emissions attributable to all covered properties to be reduced in line with 27
reaching net zero by 2050. 28
(f) The EC4 shall set interim building performance standards for covered properties that 29
are applicable at the end of each five (5) year period between adoption and 2050. In doing so the 30
EC4 may use a straight-line trajectory, from the covered property's baseline performance for each 31
performance metric to the final building performance standard for that performance metric such 32
that each calculated performance metric shall improve in equal increments during each five (5) year 33
period. The EC4 may use other means to calculate interim building performance standards if it 34
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deems the straight-line trajectory approach ill-suited for a covered property type. 1
(g) As of June 30, 2035, and at the end of every five (5) year period thereafter, the owner 2
of a covered property shall demonstrate progress toward each applicable final building performance 3
standard by achieving the interim building performance standard(s) set by the EC4 for the covered 4
property. 5
(h) If the owner of a covered property believes that the owner cannot reasonably meet one 6
or more of the applicable interim or final building performance standards, then the owner may 7
propose an alternative building performance action plan to the EC4. If the EC4 approves an 8
alternative building performance action plan for a covered property, then the owner shall be 9
responsible only to comply with the provisions of the alternative building performance action plan 10
until the next compliance date. 11
(i) The EC4 shall issue forms, guidance and promulgate regulations necessary to implement 12
this section including requirements for building performance action plans. 13
(j) In consultation with the EJAB, the EC4 shall provide technical assistance for owners 14
lacking the financial, operational, or technical capacity to meet interim or final building 15
performance standards. To the extent possible, such assistance shall include information on 16
potential loan, grant, and other financing options for owners. 17
(k) The EC4 shall coordinate with utility companies, energy efficiency program 18
administrators, the public utilities commission, state agencies, and local governments, as 19
appropriate, to support the implementation of its recommendations pursuant to this section. 20
(l) In the case of a municipality that has initiated a building energy performance 21
requirement prior to the enactment of this law, the municipality may continue such program in lieu 22
of the requirements to be established by the EC4 under this section. In such case, the municipality 23
must notify the EC4 of such intent within one hundred eighty (180) days of the enactment of this 24
chapter and must provide program and performance information to the EC4 annually thereafter. 25
23-27.5-7. Compliance assurance. 26
(a) The EC4 shall establish a program to maximize owner compliance with this chapter. 27
The EC4 shall issue forms, guidance and promulgate regulations as necessary to implement the 28
compliance program, and shall revise such forms, guidance and regulations from time to time as 29
needed. 30
(b) The EC4 may grant an extension, adjustment or exemption to an interim or final 31
building performance standards for a covered property whose owner submits a request, together 32
with documentation, in a form and date prescribed by the EC4, if the covered property meets any 33
of the following criteria: 34
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(1) A demolition permit was issued, or demolition is planned, that will prevent achievement 1
of the next interim building performance standard; 2
(2) The covered building did not have a certificate of occupancy or temporary certificate 3
of occupancy for all twelve (12) months of the baseline year prior to the interim building 4
performance standard compliance schedule; 5
(3) The covered property is in financial hardship, as defined guidance or regulations issued 6
by the EC4; or 7
(4) The EC4 determines that strict compliance with the provisions of this law would cause 8
financial hardship or would not be in the public interest. 9
Any approved alternative, extension, adjustment or exemption shall apply only to the 10
specific interim or final building performance standard and shall expire no later than the end of the 11
relevant five (5) year period. 12
(c) The EC4 shall establish penalties for violations of this chapter through promulgation of 13
regulations issued pursuant to this chapter. In doing so, the EC4 shall endeavor to minimize 14
disproportionate impacts on communities impacted by poverty and environmental injustice. The 15
EC4 may coordinate with the department of environmental management (DEM) for enforcement 16
of the building performance standards, and the standards and requirements herein. 17
(d) Pursuant to each of the benchmarking requirements and the building performance 18
standards established under this chapter, the EC4 shall establish in regulations the process and 19
criteria for a building owner to apply for, and for the EC4 to grant or deny: 20
(1) A deadline extension; and/or 21
(2) A hardship waiver. 22
(e) The EC4 shall establish penalties for covered properties for violation of benchmarking 23
requirements and for violation of building performance standards. Such payment amounts or 24
formula shall reflect: 25
(1) The total number of annual benchmarking submissions which a covered property has 26
failed to achieve; 27
(2) The total number of interim and final building performance standards which a covered 28
property has failed to achieve; 29
(3) The assessed value of the covered property; and 30
(4) The magnitude of non-compliance under each performance metric. 31
(f) An owner whose covered property fails to comply with benchmarking requirements or 32
meet an interim or final building performance standard by the applicable compliance date shall be 33
required to make a penalty payment. Any owner who does not reside or conduct their business in 34
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the covered property, but leases the covered property to a tenant or multiple tenants, shall remain 1
the party responsible for ensuring compliance with this section. Any penalty payments rendered as 2
a result of non-compliance shall not be passed on to any tenant who may lease the covered property 3
in order to offset the cost to the owner. 4
(g) The BPS fund is hereby established as a permanent designated fund managed by the 5
EC4. The BPS fund shall be used to support the building benchmarking and performance 6
improvement program established in this law. 7
(1) All funds collected from payment of penalties assessed shall be deposited into the BPS 8
fund. 9
(2) All funds deposited into the BPS fund, and any interest earned on the funds, shall not 10
revert to the unrestricted fund balance of the general fund at the end of a fiscal year, or at any other 11
time, but shall be continually available for the uses and purposes set forth in this chapter without 12
regard to fiscal year limitation. 13
(3) Additional funds from other sources may also be deposited into the BPS fund. 14
23-27.5-8. Rules and regulations. 15
The EC4 shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement and enforce the provisions 16
of this chapter. 17
23-27.5-9. Appeals. 18
An owner aggrieved by this section or compliance orders resulting therefrom may appeal 19
pursuant to the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42 ("administrative procedures"). 20
SECTION 3. Chapter 23-27.3 of the General Laws entitled "State Building Code" is hereby 21
amended by adding thereto the following sections: 22
23-27.3-130. Electric-ready new buildings. 23
The purpose of this section is to require that all new buildings be electric-ready. 24
23-27.3-130.1. Definitions. 25
As used in this chapter: 26
(1) "Addition" means a significant extension or increase in the conditioned space floor area, 27
number of stories or height of a building or structure. 28
(2) "Alteration" means any construction, retrofit or renovation to an existing structure other 29
than repair or addition. "Alteration" includes a change in a building, or a building's electrical, gas, 30
mechanical or plumbing system that involves a significant extension, addition or change to the 31
arrangement, type or purpose of the original installation that requires a permit. 32
(3) "Building energy needs" means all space conditioning including heating and cooling, 33
water heating including pools and spas, cooking appliances and clothes drying appliances. 34
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(4) "Electric ready" means a building, project, or portion thereof that contains electrical 1
systems and designs that provide sufficient capacity for a future retrofit of a mixed-fuel building to 2
an all-electric building, including sufficient space, drainage, electrical conductors or raceways, bus 3
bar capacity, and overcurrent protective devices for such retrofit. 4
(5) "Initial application" means the first site or building permit application for the building 5
or project. 6
(6) "Local approval" means a provision has been incorporated by reference into the 7
municipal code of ordinances by the legislative body of the municipality. Provision may be 8
included as a general or zoning ordinance or bylaws. 9
(7) "Mixed-fuel building" means a building that uses a combination of electricity and fossil 10
fuels to meet building energy needs. "Mixed-fuel building" shall not include buildings that use 11
geothermal or solar energy to meet heating and/or cooling building energy needs; provided, 12
however, that they are otherwise all-electric buildings. 13
(8) "Mixed-use building" means a building used for both residential and commercial 14
purposes. 15
(9) "NACC and AGMT" means the North American Contractor Certification and 16
Architectural Glass and Metal Technicians Contractor Certification. 17
(10) "Repair" means the reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for 18
the purpose of its maintenance, or to upgrade or correct damage. 19
(11) "Renovation" means any major construction or retrofit to existing structure other than 20
a repair. Renovation includes a change in a building, or a building's electrical, gas, mechanical or 21
plumbing system that involves a significant extension, addition, or change to the arrangement, type 22
or purpose of the original installation that requires a permit. 23
23-27.3-130.2. Requirement for electric-ready construction of new buildings. 24
No city or town shall issue a permit for the new construction or alteration of any residential, 25
commercial, or mixed-use building that is not electric-ready if the initial application for such permit 26
was submitted after January 30, 2026, unless the circumstances set forth in § 23-27.3-130.5 apply. 27
23-27.3-130.3. Requirement for all-electric ready construction of public buildings. 28
(a) No permit shall be issued for new public building construction or alteration projects 29
that are not electric-ready if the initial application for such permit was submitted after December 30
31, 2025, unless the circumstance set forth in § 23-27.3-130.3 apply. 31
(b) This subsection is applicable to the new construction or alteration of all buildings 32
owned by the State of Rhode Island, its political subdivisions including municipalities, any quasi-33
public agencies, including buildings owned by the state and managed by other entities. 34
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(1) The awarding authority of any project under this chapter shall take all necessary actions 1
to ensure that each contractor and subcontractor involved in new public building construction 2
projects or alteration projects over five million dollars ($5,000,000) requires all contractors and 3
subcontractor on the project to have or be affiliated with a non-provisionally approved registered 4
apprenticeship program conforming to the standards set forth in 29 CFR § 29.5. and also require 5
that not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the total hours worked by the contractors' and 6
subcontractors' employees to be completed by apprentices registered in registered apprenticeship 7
programs as defined herein. The awarding agency may lower the fifteen percent (15%) requirement 8
only if it determines in writing that compliance is not feasible or that it would be unduly cost 9
prohibitive to the project. 10
(2) The awarding authority of any project under this chapter shall conduct an independent, 11
objective, reasoned study, using reviewable criteria, to determine whether adoption of a project 12
labor agreement on the proposed project or projects will help achieve the goals of the state 13
purchases act, for all new public building construction projects or alteration projects over twenty-14
five million dollars ($25,000,000). 15
23-27.3-130.4. Exemptions. 16
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, a permit for construction of a new 17
mixed-fuel building may be issued upon a finding by the permitting body that constructing an all-18
electric building or project is physically or technically infeasible and that a modification is 19
warranted. Financial considerations shall not be a sufficient basis to determine physical or technical 20
infeasibility. Modifications shall only be issued under this exception where the permitting body 21
finds that: 22
(1) Sufficient evidence was submitted to substantiate the infeasibility of an all-electric 23
building or project design. Such evidence shall show that the building either: 24
(i) Cannot satisfy necessary building code requirements without the usage of gas or oil 25
piping systems, fixtures and/or infrastructure; or 26
(ii) If the building is specifically designated for occupancy by commercial or industrial 27
uses which cannot feasibly operate using commercially available all-electric appliances; or 28
(iii) If mixed fuel is used to meet building energy needs and said building or group of 29
buildings are for the sole use as a hospital, medical facility, or laboratory for biological research. 30
(2) The installation of natural gas or oil piping systems, fixtures and/or infrastructure is 31
strictly limited to the system and area of the building for which an all-electric building or project 32
design is infeasible. 33
(3) The area or service within the project where gas or oil piping systems, fixtures and/or 34
LC000179 - Page 15 of 16
infrastructure are installed is all-electric ready. 1
(4) The project's modified design provides equivalent health, safety, and fire protection to 2
an all-electric building or project design. 3
23-27.3-130.5. Rules and regulations. 4
The state building code commission shall propose guidelines for electric-ready buildings 5
by September 1, 2025, and shall make all efforts to promulgate final rules by December 1, 2025. 6
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 7
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING DECARBONIZA TION ACT OF 2024
***
This act would establish the environmental justice advisory board (EJAB) which would 1
provide advice to the climate change coordinating council ("council") The act establishes an energy 2
use benchmarking program to determine whether each building subject to the program uses more 3
or less energy and emits more or less greenhouse gases than other comparable size building. The 4
council shall promulgate rules and regulation to implement the program. The act also phases in 5
building performance standards. 6
This act would take effect upon passage. 7
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