HF 309 (LSB 2407YH (2) 86)

HOUSE FILE 309

BY  KELLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the attainment of high-performance certification applicable to elementary and secondary public school buildings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  297.7A  High-performance certification.
   1.  A school district commencing the design or construction of, or commencing the substantial renovation of, an elementary or secondary public school building on or after July 1, 2015, shall apply for certification of the construction or renovation project pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design program. The application shall be submitted under either the rating system applicable for schools or for new construction, as determined most appropriate by the school district. The school district shall undertake a good-faith effort to meet the minimum standards applicable for achievement of the program’s silver certification level and is encouraged to seek certification qualifying for the gold or platinum certification levels. A school district may apply for certification under an alternative high-performance energy certification program, instead of applying for certification pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design program, provided the alternative program incorporates comparable certification standards applicable to new building construction or substantial renovation.
   2.  In addition to the requirement in subsection 1, a school district shall register all existing elementary or secondary public school buildings for certification pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design existing buildings operation and maintenance program, and pursue certification for each school building to the extent practicable. A school district may apply for certification under an alternative high-performance energy certification program, instead of applying for certification pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design program, provided the alternative program incorporates comparable certification standards applicable to existing building operation and maintenance.
   3.  Each school district shall notify the department of education by September 15 annually regarding the number of projects or buildings for which certification was sought, if any, and the results and level of certification achieved. The department shall submit a report to the general assembly summarizing the information provided by January 1 annually.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires a school district commencing the design or construction of, or commencing the substantial renovation of, an elementary or secondary public school building on or after July 1, 2015, to apply for certification of the building or project pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design program. The school district may submit the application under either the program’s rating system applicable for schools or for new construction, as determined most appropriate by the school district. The bill provides that the school district shall undertake a good-faith effort to meet the minimum standards applicable for achievement of the program’s silver certification level and is encouraged to seek certification qualifying for the gold or platinum certification levels. The bill also requires a school district to register all existing elementary or secondary public school buildings for certification pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design existing buildings operation and maintenance program, and pursue certification for each school building to the extent practicable.
   The bill provides that a school district may apply for certification under an alternative high-performance energy certification program, instead of applying for certification pursuant to the United States green building council’s leadership in energy and environmental design program, provided the alternative program incorporates comparable certification standards applicable to new building construction or substantial renovation and existing building operation and maintenance.
   The bill requires each school district to notify the department of education by September 15 annually regarding the number of projects or buildings for which certification was sought, if any, and the results and level of certification achieved. The department shall submit a report to the general assembly summarizing the information provided by January 1 annually.