Title
Supporting House Bill 34 which requires the design, construction and renovation of certain State-owned or State-leased buildings to comply with specified energy and environmental building standards; and providing for the powers and duties of the Department of General Services.
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WHEREAS, On January 8, 2013, State Representative Kate Harper of Montgomery County Pennsylvania introduced House Bill 34, with twenty co-sponsors, which would require the design, construction, and renovation of State-owned or leased buildings to comply with specified and high-performance building standards; and
WHEREAS, This legislation would require the application of high performance building construction standards to be applied in instances where a state-owned new building project is larger than 20,000 gross square feet and in which a Commonwealth Agency has agreed to lease no fewer than 90% of gross square feet; and
WHEREAS, Under this legislation renovations to state owned buildings that are larger than 20,000 gross square feet and at least 90% of the total square footage of the building would be subjected to high performance building constructions standards; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 34 seeks to streamline language regarding Federal EPA Energy Star certification to keep it consistent with Federal language and reduces the Energy Star rating requirement to 75 instead of 85; and
WHEREAS, In January 2008, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced Bill #080025 which was signed into law in December of 2009, which providing that any contract for the construction, extension or major renovation of City-owned buildings, contain a provision requiring the contractor to certify that a certain level in energy and design efficiency will be achieved, in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 34 will help to reduce the Commonwealth's energy costs, and allow Pennsylvania to serve as a leader in t...
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