H.R. 2126 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2126 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 23, 2013 Mr. McKinley (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To facilitate better alignment, cooperation, and best practices between commercial real estate landlords and tenants regarding energy efficiency in buildings, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better Buildings Act of 2013. 2. Energy efficiency in Federal and other buildings (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of General Services. (2) Cost-effective energy efficiency measure The terms cost-effective energy efficiency measure and measure mean any building product, material, equipment, or service and the installing, implementing, or operating thereof, that provides energy savings in an amount that is not less than the cost of such installing, implementing, or operating. (b) Model provisions, policies, and best practices (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and after providing the public with an opportunity for notice and comment, shall develop model leasing provisions and best practices in accordance with this subsection. (2) Commercial leasing (A) In general The model commercial leasing provisions developed under this subsection shall, at a minimum, align the interests of building owners and tenants with regard to investments in cost-effective energy efficiency measures to encourage building owners and tenants to collaborate to invest in such measures. (B) Use of model provisions The Administrator may use the model provisions developed under this subsection in any standard leasing document that designates a Federal agency (or other client of the Administrator) as a landlord or tenant. (C) Publication The Administrator shall periodically publish the model leasing provisions developed under this subsection, along with explanatory materials, to encourage building owners and tenants in the private sector to use such provisions and materials. (3) Realty services The Administrator shall develop policies and practices to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures for the realty services provided by the Administrator to Federal agencies (or other clients of the Administrator), including periodic training of appropriate Federal employees and contractors on how to identify and evaluate those measures. (4) State and local assistance The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall make available model leasing provisions and best practices developed under this subsection to State, county, and municipal governments to manage owned and leased building space in accordance with the goal of encouraging investment in all cost-effective energy efficiency measures. 3. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 424. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures (a) Definitions In this section: (1) High-performance energy efficiency measure The term high-performance energy efficiency measure means a technology, product, or practice that will result in substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy consumption and utility costs. (2) Separate spaces The term separate spaces means areas within a commercial building that are leased or otherwise occupied by a tenant or other occupant for a period of time pursuant to the terms of a written agreement. (b) Study (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, shall complete a study on the feasibility of— (A) significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction, by owners and tenants, of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and (B) encouraging owners and tenants to implement high-performance energy efficiency measures in separate spaces. (2) Scope The study shall, at a minimum, include— (A) descriptions of— (i) high-performance energy efficiency measures that should be considered as part of the initial design and construction of separate spaces; (ii) processes that owners, tenants, architects, and engineers may replicate when designing and constructing separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; (iii) standards and best practices to achieve appropriate energy intensities for lighting, plug loads, pipe loads, heating, cooling, cooking, laundry, and other systems to satisfy the needs of the commercial building tenant; (iv) return on investment and payback analyses of the incremental cost and projected energy savings of the proposed set of high-performance energy efficiency measures, including consideration of tax and other available incentives; (v) models and simulation methods that predict the quantity of energy used by separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures and that compare that predicted quantity to the quantity of energy used by separate spaces without high-performance energy efficiency measures but that otherwise comply with applicable building code requirements; (vi) measurement and verification platforms demonstrating actual energy use of high-performance energy efficiency measures installed in separate spaces, and whether such measures generate the savings intended in the initial design and construction of the separate spaces; (vii) best practices that encourage an integrated approach to designing and constructing separate spaces to perform at optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with the central systems of a commercial building; and (viii) any impact on employment resulting from the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and (B) case studies reporting economic and energy saving returns in the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. (3) Public participation Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding effective methods, measures, and practices for the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. (4) Publication The Secretary shall publish the study on the website of the Department of Energy. . 4. Tenant star program Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) (as amended by section 3) is amended by adding at the end the following: 425. Tenant star program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) High-performance energy efficiency measure The term high-performance energy efficiency measure has the meaning given the term in section 424. (2) Separate spaces The term separate spaces has the meaning given the term in section 424. (b) Tenant Star The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall develop a voluntary program within the Energy Star program established by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a), which may be known as Tenant Star, to promote energy efficiency in separate spaces leased by tenants or otherwise occupied within commercial buildings. (c) Expanding survey data The Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall— (1) collect, through each Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey of the Energy Information Administration that is conducted after the date of enactment of this section, data on— (A) categories of building occupancy that are known to consume significant quantities of energy, such as occupancy by law firms, data centers, trading floors, restaurants, retail outlets, and financial services firms; and (B) other aspects of the property, building operation, or building occupancy determined by the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be relevant in lowering energy consumption; and (2) make data collected under paragraph (1) available to the public in aggregated form and provide such data, and any associated results, to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for use in accordance with subsection (d). (d) Recognition of owners and tenants (1) Occupancy-based recognition Not later than 1 year after the date on which the data described in subsection (c) is received, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, following an opportunity for public notice and comment— (A) in a manner similar to the Energy Star rating system, develop policies and procedures to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces; (B) establish building occupancy categories eligible for Tenant Star recognition based on the data collected under subsection (c)(1) and any associated results; and (C) consider other forms of recognition for commercial building tenants or other occupants that lower energy consumption in separate spaces. (2) Design- and construction-based recognition After the study required by section 424(b) is completed, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary and following an opportunity for public notice and comment, may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of separate spaces. (e) Effect on Climate Change For purposes of this section, the impact on climate change shall not be a factor in determining energy efficiency of commercial building tenants. .