§ 37-8-19 - Energy use in public buildings.
SECTION 37-8-19
§ 37-8-19 Energy use in public buildings.– (a) The director of the department of administration shall publish and maintainstandards and guidelines for energy conservation and energy cost savings innew, renovated, and newly leased public buildings. The standards shall be, at aminimum, in compliance with the Rhode Island State Building Code, chapter 27.3of title 23 and will exceed and supplement that code where it is determined tobe cost effective to do so.
(b) The standards shall address, at a minimum, lighting,heating, ventilation and air conditioning, building envelope, site orientation,use of passive solar energy, use of energy management systems, use of dual fuelburning capabilities, and use of any available financial subsidies or grantsfor energy conservation. The objective of the standards and guidelines will beto implement cost effective building design, to achieve energy efficiency, andto minimize the overall cost of constructing, renovating, operating, andmaintaining public buildings.
(c) All new, renovated, and newly leased public buildingsshall be designed in compliance with the standards and guidelines which may bechanged and updated periodically by the director.
(d) Architects and engineers hired by the state will berequired to comply with these standards and will also be required to meet withthe statewide energy conservation officer and state building code commissioner,or their designees, commencing with the design phase to review the standardsand guidelines and to determine how to incorporate them into the projectdesign. A written authorization must be obtained from the statewide energyconservation officer before plans and specifications can be approved for abuilding permit by the building code commissioner.
(e) The official in charge of supervising the design andconstruction of public buildings at each of the following state agencies shallhave the opportunity to comment on all standards, guidelines, and any periodicchanges to them before they become finalized by the director:
(1) The university of Rhode Island, Rhode Island college, thedepartment of MHRH, the community college of Rhode Island, the division ofcentral services, the governor's energy office, and the state building codecommission.
(f) "Public building" for the purpose of this section shallmean any building owned by the state of Rhode Island or any building leased bythe state of Rhode Island with a term of two (2) years or longer.