§ 143-135.39. Guidelines for administering the Sustainable Energy-Efficient Buildings Program.
§ 143‑135.39. Guidelines for administering the Sustainable Energy‑Efficient BuildingsProgram.
(a) Policies andTechnical Guidelines. The Department, in consultation with public agencies,shall develop and issue policies and technical guidelines to implement thisArticle for public agencies. The purpose of these policies and guidelines is toestablish procedures and methods for complying with the energy‑efficiencystandard or the water use standard for major facility construction andrenovation projects under G.S. 143‑135.37.
(b) PreproposalConference. As provided in the request for proposals for constructionservices, the public agency may hold a preproposal conference for prospectivebidders to discuss compliance with, and achievement of, the energy‑efficiencystandard or the water use standard required under G.S. 143‑135.37 forprospective respondents.
(c) Advisory Committee. The Department shall create a sustainable, energy‑efficient buildingsadvisory committee comprised of representatives from the design andconstruction industry involved in public works contracting, personnel from thepublic agencies responsible for overseeing public works projects, and others atthe Department's discretion to provide advice on implementing this Article.Among other duties, the advisory committee shall make recommendations regardingthe education and training requirements under subsection (d) of this section,make recommendations regarding specific education and training criteria thatare appropriate for the various roles with respect to, and levels ofinvolvement in, a major facility construction or renovation project subject tothis Article or the roles regarding the operation and maintenance of thefacility, and make recommendations regarding developing a process whereby theDepartment receives ongoing evaluations and feedback to assist the Departmentin implementing this Article so as to effectuate the purpose of this Article.Further, the advisory committee may make recommendations to the Departmentregarding whether it is advisable to strengthen standards for energy efficiencyor water use under this Article, whether it is advisable and feasible to addadditional criteria to achieve greater sustainability in the construction andrenovation of public buildings, or whether it is advisable and feasible toexpand the scope of this Article to apply to additional types of publiclyfinanced buildings or to smaller facility projects.
(d) Education andTraining Requirements. The Department shall review the advisory committee'srecommendations under subsection (c) of this section regarding education andtraining. For each of the following, the Department shall develop education andtraining requirements that are consistent with the purpose of this Article andthat are appropriate for the various roles with respect to, and level ofinvolvement in, a major facility construction or renovation project or theroles regarding the operation and maintenance of the facility:
(1) The chief financialofficers of public agencies.
(2) For each publicagency that is responsible for the payment of the agency's utilities, thefacility managers of these public agencies.
(3) The capital projectcoordinators of public agencies.
(4) Architects.
(5) Mechanical designengineers.
(e) Performance Review. Annually the Department shall conduct a performance review of the SustainableEnergy‑Efficient Buildings Program. The performance review shall includeat least all of the following:
(1) Identification ofthe costs of implementing energy‑efficiency and water use standards inthe design and construction of major facility construction and renovationprojects subject to this Article.
(2) Identification ofoperating savings attributable to the implementation of energy‑efficiencyand water use standards, including, but not limited to, savings in utility andmaintenance costs.
(3) Identification ofany impacts on employee productivity from using energy‑efficiency andwater use standards.
(4) Evaluation of theeffectiveness of the energy‑efficiency and water use standardsestablished by this Article.
(5) Whether stricterstandards or additional criteria for sustainable buildings should be used otherthan the standards under G.S. 143‑135.37.
(6) Whether theSustainable Energy‑Efficient Buildings Program should be expanded toinclude additional public agencies, to include additional types of projects, orto include smaller major facility construction or renovation projects.
(7) Any recommendationsfor any other changes regarding sustainable, energy‑efficient buildingstandards that may be supported by the Department's findings.
(f) Report onPerformance Review. Each year, the Department shall include in itsconsolidated report under subsection (g) of this section a report of itsfindings under the performance review under subsection (e) of this section.
(g) Consolidated ReportRequired. The Department shall consolidate the report required undersubsection (f) of this section, the report under G.S. 143‑135.37(e), thereport, if any, from the State Building Commission under G.S. 143‑135.38,and the report under G.S. 143‑135.40 into one report. No later thanOctober 1 of each year, this consolidated report shall be transmitted to theChairs of the General Government Appropriations Subcommittees of both the Senateand the House of Representatives, the Environmental Review Commission, and theJoint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. The Department shallinclude any recommendations for administrative or legislative proposals thatwould better fulfill the legislative intent of this Article.
(h) Authority to AdoptRules or Architectural or Engineering Standards. The Department may adoptrules to implement this Article. The Department may adopt architectural orengineering standards as needed to implement this Article. (2008‑203, s. 1.)