On Monday, we discussed the possibility of a federal green building mandate being voted on this week on Capitol Hill and what that green building mandate might look like. Yesterday, GBLU received a great tip regarding previous federal green building legislation that passed in the House of Representatives but not in the Senate. In 2007, H.R. 3221 was passed in the House of Representatives and included green building mandates covering residential, commercial and federal building efficiency.
This federal legislation would have set energy efficiency standards for buildings throughout the country. Notably, H.R. 3221 incorporated ASHRAE 90.1-2004 as the energy efficiency benchmark. As we discussed on Monday, ASHRAE 90.1-2004 is the benchmark standard incorporated in the USGBC’s LEED rating system, though this legislation did not refer to the LEED standards explicitly. Furthermore, H.R. 3221 included a rulemaking process that allows for regional adjustments to the green building mandates. As a commenter pointed out on Monday, regional adjustments to federal green building mandates would be necessary to account for the differing climate zones found in the United States.
Legislation could be could be offered up today or tomorrow by House Democrats that is likely to include green building mandates similar to those included in H.R. 3221. GBLU will provide further analysis of this federal legislation that will affect owners, contractors, designers, sureties and insurers across the country.