82R7530 JTS-F
By: Carona S.B. No. 1031
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to design, construction, renovation, and energy
efficiency standards for buildings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 55, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 55.115 to read as follows:
Sec. 55.115. HIGH-PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION, AND RENOVATION STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES. (a)
This section applies to the construction of an institution of
higher education building, structure, or other facility, or the
renovation of a building, structure, or other facility the cost of
which is more than 50 percent of the value of the building,
structure, or other facility, any part of the construction or
renovation of which is financed by revenue bonds issued under this
subchapter.
(b) A building, structure, or other facility to which this
section applies must be designed and constructed or renovated so
that the building, structure, or other facility complies with
high-performance building standards, approved by the board of
regents of the institution, that provide minimum requirements for
energy use, natural resources use, and indoor air quality. In
approving high-performance building standards, a board of regents
shall consider the standards approved by the Texas Facilities
Commission under Section 2166.409, Government Code, and may solicit
and consider recommendations from the advisory committee appointed
under that section.
(c) In addition to meeting the requirements of Subsection
(b), a building, structure, or other facility to which this section
applies must be designed and constructed or renovated to comply
with the applicable energy and water conservation design standards
established by the State Energy Conservation Office under Section
447.004, Government Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 2166, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2166.409 to read as follows:
Sec. 2166.409. HIGH-PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN,
CONSTRUCTION, AND RENOVATION STANDARDS FOR STATE BUILDINGS. (a)
This section applies to the construction of a state building, or the
renovation of a state building the cost of which is more than 50
percent of the value of the building, including a building for
education, assembly, or office occupancy under the charge and
control of the Texas Department of Transportation, the Parks and
Wildlife Department, the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs, the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation, or the
Veterans' Land Board that is otherwise exempt from this chapter
under Section 2166.003. This section does not apply to a facility
under the charge and control of the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice or the Texas Youth Commission.
(b) A building to which this section applies must be
designed and constructed or renovated so that the building achieves
certification under a high-performance building standard approved
by the commission that:
(1) is developed and revised through a nationally
recognized consensus-based process or by a municipally owned
utility in this state;
(2) provides minimum requirements for energy use,
natural resources use, and indoor air quality;
(3) requires substantiating documentation for
certification;
(4) requires on-site, third-party, post-construction
review and verification for certification, or a third-party,
post-construction, rigorous review of documentation and
verification for certification; and
(5) encourages the use of materials or products
manufactured or produced in this state.
(c) The commission shall appoint an advisory committee to
advise the commission in determining which high-performance
building standards to approve for use under Subsection (b). At
least once each year, the advisory committee shall review available
high-performance building standards and make recommendations to
the commission. The advisory committee consists of:
(1) the director of facilities construction and space
management appointed under Section 2152.104, who serves as the
presiding officer of the committee;
(2) six individuals with experience and expertise in
high-performance buildings or related products, including
experience and expertise in energy efficiency, water efficiency, or
low-impact site development, with one individual selected from each
of the following lists of nominees:
(A) a list submitted by the president of the
Texas Society of Architects;
(B) a list submitted by the presidents of the
Texas Council of Engineering Companies and Texas Society of
Professional Engineers;
(C) a list submitted by the president of the
Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas and the presiding
officer of the executive committee of the Associated General
Contractors, Texas Building Branch;
(D) a list submitted by the president of the
Texas chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects;
(E) a list submitted by the president of the
Texas Chemical Council; and
(F) a list submitted by the president of the
Texas chapter of the Urban Land Institute;
(3) one individual appointed by the comptroller who
represents the State Energy Conservation Office;
(4) one individual representing a state agency that
has a substantial ongoing construction program; and
(5) one individual representing the interests of
historically underutilized businesses.
(d) In addition to meeting the requirements of Subsection
(b), a building to which this section applies must be designed and
constructed or renovated so that the building:
(1) meets the American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers energy standards in
effect on September 1, 2011, or the International Energy
Conservation Code in effect on September 1, 2011, or an updated
version of those standards or that code adopted by the State Energy
Conservation Office under Subsection (e), if applicable; and
(2) achieves a 15 percent reduction in water use when
compared to water use based on plumbing fixtures selected in
accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Pub. L. No. 102-486).
(e) If the State Energy Conservation Office determines,
based on written recommendations from the Energy Systems Laboratory
at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station of The Texas A&M
University System, that the latest published edition of the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers energy standards or the International Energy
Conservation Code will result in energy efficiency and air quality
that is equivalent to or better than the energy efficiency and air
quality achievable under the editions described by Subsection
(d)(1), the office by rule shall adopt the equivalent or more
stringent editions and substitute them for the standards or code
described by Subsection (d)(1). The rule, if adopted, must
establish an effective date for the new standards or code but not
earlier than nine months after the date of adoption. The laboratory
shall make its recommendations not later than six months after the
date of publication of the new editions.
(f) A contract between the commission and a private design
professional relating to services in connection with the
construction or renovation of a building to which this section
applies must provide that, for billing purposes, any service
provided by the private design professional that is necessary to
satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b) or (d) is considered an
additional service rather than a basic service.
SECTION 3. Section 388.002(4), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(4) "Code-certified inspector" means an inspector who
is certified by the International Code Council, the Building
Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc., the
International Conference of Building Officials, or the Southern
Building Code Congress International to have met minimum standards
for interpretation and enforcement of requirements of the
International Energy Conservation Code [and the energy efficiency
chapter of the International Residential Code].
SECTION 4. Section 388.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b-2), (c), (d), (e), and (f)
and adding Subsections (a-1) and (c-1) to read as follows:
(a) To achieve energy conservation in the construction of,
renovations to, and additions to all [single-family] residential,
commercial, and industrial buildings in this state, the State
Energy Conservation Office, in consultation with the laboratory,
shall adopt the International Energy Conservation Code, as
published at the end of each three-year code development cycle, as
the minimum requirements for those buildings [construction, the
energy efficiency chapter of the International Residential Code, as
it existed on May 1, 2001, is adopted as the energy code in this
state for single-family residential construction].
(a-1) The State Energy Conservation Office shall set an
effective date for an energy code adopted under Subsection (a) that
is not later than nine months after publication of a new edition of
the code at the end of each three-year code development cycle of the
International Energy Conservation Code.
(b-2) The State Energy Conservation Office by rule shall
establish a procedure for persons who have an interest in the
adoption of energy codes [under Subsection (b-1)] to have an
opportunity to comment on the codes under consideration. The
office shall consider persons who have an interest in adoption of
energy [those] codes to include:
(1) commercial and residential builders, architects,
and engineers;
(2) municipal, county, and other local government
authorities; [and]
(3) environmental groups; and
(4) the laboratory.
(c) A municipality shall establish procedures:
(1) for the administration and enforcement of the code
[codes]; [and]
(2) to ensure that code-certified inspectors shall
perform inspections and enforce the code in the inspectors'
jurisdictions; and
(3) to track and report to the State Energy
Conservation Office on implementation of the code.
(c-1) A report under Subsection (c)(3) must include a
description of the measures taken to enforce the most recently
adopted version of the International Energy Conservation Code and
an assessment of the rate of compliance.
(d) A municipality or county may establish procedures to
adopt local amendments to the International Energy Conservation
Code [and the energy efficiency chapter of the International
Residential Code].
(e) Local amendments may not result in less stringent energy
efficiency requirements in nonattainment areas and in affected
counties than the requirements of the [energy efficiency chapter of
the International Residential Code or] International Energy
Conservation Code. Local amendments must comply with the National
Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. Sections
6291-6309), as amended. The laboratory, at the request of a
municipality or county, shall determine the relative impact of
proposed local amendments to an energy code, including whether
proposed amendments are substantially equal to or less stringent
than the unamended code. For the purpose of establishing uniform
requirements throughout a region, and on request of a council of
governments, a county, or a municipality, the laboratory may
recommend a climatically appropriate modification or a climate zone
designation for a county or group of counties that is different from
the climate zone designation in the unamended code. The laboratory
shall:
(1) provide to counties and municipalities
suggestions for modifications to the code to increase the county's
or municipality's energy efficiency by 15 percent above the
efficiency achieved under the unamended code;
(2) provide technical assistance to a local government
considering whether to adopt the suggested modifications described
by Subdivision (1);
(3) report its findings to the council, county, or
municipality, including an estimate based on suggested local
amendments of:
(A) any energy savings potential above the
unamended [base] code; and
(B) any resulting reduction in the emission of
air pollutants [from local amendments]; [and]
(4) [(2)] annually submit a report to the commission:
(A) identifying the municipalities and counties
whose codes are more stringent than the unamended code, and whose
codes are equally stringent or less stringent than the unamended
code; and
(B) quantifying energy savings and emissions
reductions from this program; and
(5) report the results under Subdivision (4)(B) to the
commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and to
the United States Environmental Protection Agency for inclusion in
the state implementation plan for pollution reduction.
(f) Each municipality, and each county that has established
procedures under Subsection (d), shall periodically review and
consider revisions made by the International Code Council to the
International Energy Conservation Code [and the energy efficiency
chapter of the International Residential Code adopted after May 1,
2001].
SECTION 5. Section 388.004(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) For construction outside of the local jurisdiction of a
municipality:
(1) a building certified by a national, state, or
local accredited energy efficiency program shall be considered in
compliance;
(2) a building with inspections from private
code-certified inspectors using the [energy efficiency chapter of
the International Residential Code or] International Energy
Conservation Code shall be considered in compliance; and
(3) a builder who does not have access to either of the
above methods for a building shall certify compliance using a form
provided by the laboratory, enumerating the code-compliance
features of the building.
SECTION 6. Sections 388.007(a) and (c), Health and Safety
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The laboratory shall make available to builders,
designers, engineers, and architects code implementation materials
that explain the requirements of the International Energy
Conservation Code [and the energy efficiency chapter of the
International Residential Code] and that describe methods of
compliance acceptable to code officials.
(c) The laboratory may provide local jurisdictions with
technical assistance concerning implementation and enforcement of
the International Energy Conservation Code [and the energy
efficiency chapter of the International Residential Code].
SECTION 7. Section 388.008(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The laboratory shall develop a standardized report
format to be used by providers of home energy ratings. The
laboratory may develop different report formats for rating newly
constructed residences from those for existing residences. The
form must be designed to give potential buyers information on a
structure's energy performance, including:
(1) insulation;
(2) types of windows;
(3) heating and cooling equipment;
(4) water heating equipment;
(5) additional energy conserving features, if any;
(6) results of performance measurements of building
tightness and forced air distribution; and
(7) an overall rating of probable energy efficiency
relative to the minimum requirements of the International Energy
Conservation Code [or the energy efficiency chapter of the
International Residential Code, as appropriate].
SECTION 8. The following sections of the Health and Safety
Code are repealed:
(1) Section 388.002(6);
(2) Sections 388.003(b) and (b-3); and
(3) Section 388.003(b-1), as added by Chapters 262
(S.B. 12) and 939 (H.B. 3693), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2007.
SECTION 9. (a) The State Energy Conservation Office shall
conduct a study on the feasibility of:
(1) newly constructed residential buildings being
designed to consume no more energy on a net annual basis than can be
produced on-site from renewable energy sources by January 1, 2030;
and
(2) all homes newly constructed in this state being
designed to be ready for the installation of solar electric
generation and to support electric vehicles by January 1, 2015.
(b) The State Energy Conservation Office shall, not later
than January 1, 2013, make recommendations to the legislature on
adopting standards to reach the goals described by Subsection (a)
of this section.
SECTION 10. Section 55.115, Education Code, and Section
2166.409, Government Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an
institution of higher education building, structure, or other
facility or a state building for which the contract for design
services is entered into on or after September 1, 2012.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.