Substitute House Bill No. 6284
AN ACT CONCERNING GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29-256a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) [On and after January 1, 2008, the] The State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards Committee shall revise the State Building Code to require that commercial and residential buildings and building elements [, including residential,] be designed to provide optimum cost-effective energy efficiency over the useful life of the building [. Such revision shall meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers Standard 90. 1 for new construction] and to incorporate the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code, not later than eighteen months after the publication of said code. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to impose any new requirement for any renovation or construction of a state building that is subject to the requirements of section 16a-38k, regardless of whether such building has been granted an exemption under said section.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, on and after July 1, 2010, the State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards Committee, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Safety, shall revise the State Building Code to [require that any (1) building, except a residential building with no more than four units, constructed after January 1, 2009, that is projected to cost not less than five million dollars, and (2) renovation to any building, except a residential building with no more than four units, started after January 1, 2010, that is projected to cost not less than two million dollars shall be built or renovated using] include provisions requiring certain buildings of or over a specified minimum size, that qualify as a new construction or a major alteration of a residential or nonresidential building, to meet or exceed optimum cost-effective building construction standards [consistent with or exceeding] concerning the thermal envelope or mechanical systems, including, but not limited to, indoor air quality and water conservation, and the lighting and electrical systems of the building. Such provisions shall reference nationally accepted green building rating systems, including, but not limited to, the [silver building rating of the] Leadership in Energy and Environmental [Design's] Design rating system, [for new commercial construction and major renovation projects, as established by the United States Green Building Council, or an equivalent standard, including, but not limited to, a two-globe rating in] the Green Globes USA design program, as established by the Green Building Initiative, the National Green Building Standard, as established by the National Association of Home Builders, or an equivalent rating system approved by the State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards Committee. [The inspector and the committee shall provide for an exemption for any building if the Institute for Sustainable Energy finds, in a written analysis, that the cost of such compliance significantly outweighs the benefits. ] Such requirements shall include a method for demonstrating compliance at the time of application for a certificate of occupancy, including, but not limited to, private third-party certification or verification of compliance with the relevant portions of such rating systems, including, but not limited to, the energy and environmental portions.
Sec. 2. Section 29-251 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
There shall be within the Department of Public Safety a Codes and Standards Committee whose duty it shall be to work with the State Building Inspector in the enforcement of part Ia and the State Fire Marshal in the enforcement of part II of this chapter as set forth herein. The committee shall be composed of [seventeen] eighteen members, residents of the state, appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety as follows: (1) Two members shall be architects licensed in the state of Connecticut; (2) three shall be professional engineers licensed in the state of Connecticut, two of whom shall practice either structural, mechanical or electrical engineering but in no event shall both of such members represent the same specialty and one of whom shall be a practicing fire protection engineer or mechanical engineer with extensive experience in fire protection; (3) two shall be builders or superintendents of construction, one of whom shall have expertise in residential construction and one of whom shall have expertise in nonresidential construction; (4) one shall be a public health official; (5) two shall be building officials; (6) two shall be local fire marshals; (7) one shall be a Connecticut member of a national building trades labor organization; (8) one shall have expertise in matters relating to energy efficiency; and (9) four shall be public members, one of whom shall have expertise in matters relating to accessibility and use of facilities by the physically disabled and who shall be selected from a list of names submitted by the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities. Each member, other than the public members, shall have had not less than ten years' practical experience in [his] such member's profession or business. The committee shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 governing the procedure of the committee. Members who fail to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty per cent of all meetings during a calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned. [It shall have power] The committee may, within the limits of appropriations provided therefor, [to] employ such assistants as may be necessary to conduct its business.
Approved July 8, 2009