High-Performance Federal Buildings Act of 2011 - Requires federal agency heads involved in the construction of new federal buildings for which estimated construction costs exceed $1 million and are comprised by federal funding of greater than 50% to ensure that the life-cycle cost (i.e., the sum of investment, capital, installation, energy, operating, maintenance, and replacement costs) of such building is considered during its design.
Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to issue regulations establishing federal building commissioning standards modeled on existing private sector standards and guidelines for: (1) the commissioning process generally, (2) the commissioning of individual building systems, and (3) the use of building automation systems. Defines "commissioning" as a process for examining and evaluating a building or building system to verify and deliver a building or system that meets the building owner's requirements for use.
Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to study and report on the use of integrated design processes and building information modeling for the design and construction of federal buildings.
Establishes the position of the Director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings to assist federal agencies with respect to the utilization of building information modeling, commissioning, and integrated design processes.
Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to require reporting on commissioning and energy and water savings measures.
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish and update energy and water efficiency standards for federal buildings.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3371 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3371
To produce high-performance Federal buildings through an improved
approach to building utilization, design, construction, and operations
and maintenance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 4, 2011
Mr. Carnahan (for himself, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Welch, Mr. Quigley,
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Perlmutter, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Polis, Mr.
Garamendi, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Honda, Mr. Grijalva, Ms.
Schakowsky, and Ms. Tsongas) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in
addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To produce high-performance Federal buildings through an improved
approach to building utilization, design, construction, and operations
and maintenance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``High-Performance
Federal Buildings Act of 2011''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Consideration of life-cycle cost required.
Sec. 3. Long-term savings through life-cycle cost analysis.
Sec. 4. Building commissioning.
Sec. 5. Integrated design processes and building information modeling.
Sec. 6. Reporting of Federal building performance data.
Sec. 7. Verification of compliance with requirements.
Sec. 8. Availability of funds for design updates to meet standards.
Sec. 9. Updating Federal building energy efficiency performance
standards.
Sec. 10. Establishing and updating Federal building water efficiency
performance standards.
SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST REQUIRED.
(a) Requirement.--The head of a Federal department or agency
involved in the construction of a building described in subsection (b)
shall ensure that the life-cycle cost of the building is considered
during the design of the building.
(b) Federal Buildings Subject to Requirement.--A building is
subject to the requirement under subsection (a) if--
(1) construction of the building begins after the date of
enactment of this Act;
(2) the estimated construction costs of the building exceed
$1,000,000; and
(3) Federal funding comprises more than 50 percent of the
funding for the estimated construction costs of the building.
(c) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Life-cycle cost.--The term ``life-cycle cost'' means
the sum of the following costs, as estimated for the lifetime
of a building:
(A) Investment costs.
(B) Capital costs.
(C) Installation costs.
(D) Energy costs.
(E) Operating costs.
(F) Maintenance costs.
(G) Replacement costs.
(2) Lifetime of a building.--The term ``lifetime of a
building'' means, with respect to a building, the greater of--
(A) the period of time during which the building is
projected to be utilized; or
(B) 50 years.
SEC. 3. LONG-TERM SAVINGS THROUGH LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSIS.
Section 3307(b) of title 40, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (7) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) with respect to any prospectus for the construction,
alteration, or acquisition of any building or space to be
leased, a statement by the Administrator describing the use of
life-cycle cost analysis and any increased design,
construction, or acquisition costs identified by such analysis
that are offset by lower long-term costs.''.
SEC. 4. BUILDING COMMISSIONING.
(a) Federal Building Commissioning Standards.--Not later than one
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of
General Services shall issue regulations establishing Federal building
commissioning standards, modeled on existing private sector standards
and guidelines, for--
(1) the commissioning process generally;
(2) the commissioning of individual building systems,
including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, building
envelope, and fire protection and life safety systems; and
(3) the use of building automation systems to perform
ongoing commissioning of connected building systems.
(b) Requirement.--With respect to each building constructed or
altered by the Administrator or the head of any other Federal
department or agency after the date on which regulations are issued
under paragraph (1), the Administrator or the head of such department
or agency shall require commissioning with respect to such building
that meets or exceeds the standards established under such regulations.
(c) Commissioning Defined.--In this section, the term
``commissioning'' means a process for examining and evaluating a
building or individual building system for the purpose of verifying and
delivering a building or system that meets the building owner's
requirements for use.
SEC. 5. INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESSES AND BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING.
(a) Integrated Design Processes and Building Information
Modeling.--
(1) Study.--The Comptroller General, in consultation with
representatives of relevant professional societies and industry
associations, shall conduct a study on the use of integrated
design processes and building information modeling with respect
to the design and construction of Federal buildings.
(2) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to
Congress a report on the results of the study conducted under
paragraph (1), including a description of--
(A) the legal, institutional, and other constraints
on the use of integrated design processes and building
information modeling by the Federal Government;
(B) the likely impact of the use of integrated
design processes and building information modeling on
the procurement and budgeting process over the life of
a facility;
(C) the potential impact of the use of integrated
design processes and building information modeling on
private sector firms and an analysis of measures to
mitigate any negative impacts on small businesses;
(D) an analysis of the amount of product
information that has building information modeling
profiles and what level of product profiles must be
available in order for building information modeling to
be effectively used throughout the life of a facility;
(E) an analysis of the benefits of the use of
integrated design processes and building information
modeling during the life cycle of a facility; and
(F) recommendations for the development of a
streamlined process for the design and construction of
Federal buildings using integrated design processes and
building information modeling.
(b) Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings.--Not later
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the duties of the
Director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings
shall include--
(1) providing technical assistance and guidance to Federal
departments and agencies with respect to the utilization of
building information modeling, commissioning, and integrated
design processes;
(2) identification of best practices with respect to the
utilization of building information modeling, commissioning,
and integrated design processes, including identifying
appropriate case studies from the Federal Government and the
private sector;
(3) disseminating to Federal departments and agencies,
State and local governments, and the private sector, through a
publically available Web-based system or other means,
information on best practices identified under paragraph (2);
and
(4) identifying the research and technologies necessary to
understand the interactions of building systems and effectively
predict the outcomes of such interactions.
(c) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Building information modeling.--The term ``building
information modeling'' means the development and use of a
computer-based model to document a building design and simulate
the construction and operation of a building with respect to
which various users can extract and add information to generate
feedback on and improve the building's design, construction,
operation, and maintenance.
(2) Commissioning.--The term ``commissioning'' has the
meaning given that term in section 4(c) of this Act.
(3) Integrated design process.--The term ``integrated
design process'' means a process for the design and
construction of a building or space that involves the
collaboration of architects, engineers, contractors, building
owners, commissioning agents, occupants, management staff, and
other appropriate personnel during all phases of the design and
construction of such building or space with the goal of
reducing waste and duplication and achieving high-performance
building characteristics identified at the beginning of the
project.
SEC. 6. REPORTING OF FEDERAL BUILDING PERFORMANCE DATA.
Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42
U.S.C. 8253) is amended--
(1) by redesignating the second subsection (f), as added by
section 434(a) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 (Public Law 110-140), as subsection (g); and
(2) in subsection (f) by adding at the end the following:
``(12) Reporting on commissioning and energy and water
savings measures.--
``(A) In general.--Each energy manager shall submit
the evaluations, commissioning reports, plans,
measurements, and verifications under paragraphs (3)
and (5) to the Web-based system established under
paragraph (7) or to another publicly available Web-
based system identified by the Secretary.
``(B) Standardizing reporting formats.--Not later
than one year after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Administrator of General Services and representatives
of relevant professional societies and industry
associations, shall recognize or develop a standardized
format for obtaining and submitting the information
specified in subparagraph (A).
``(13) Annual report on federal building energy and water
characteristics.--Not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress and other Federal
departments and agencies, and make available to the public, a
report summarizing the energy use, water use, and high-
performance attributes of Federal buildings, which shall
include--
``(A) energy use, water use, and greenhouse gas
emissions data by Department of Energy climate zone,
building type, primary building use, department or
agency, and building vintage;
``(B) data on total energy usage and energy usage
by heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, water
heating, lighting, plug-loads, and other subsystems;
``(C) data on the energy, water, greenhouse gas
emissions, and cost savings attributable to compliance
with relevant Federal law and the baseline used for a
determination of such savings;
``(D) a description of the requirements and
programs relating to energy use, water use, or
greenhouse gas emissions applicable to the design and
operation of Federal buildings and the outcomes,
including energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions, and
cost savings, of such requirements and programs (such
requirements and programs include green building and
energy rating systems and energy codes and standards);
``(E) a description of the use of design or
technological features that contribute to reductions in
energy and water use, including features relating to
building controls, heating and cooling, ventilation,
efficient lighting, lighting controls, daylighting,
plumbing fixtures, water heating systems, food
preparation equipment, building envelopes, orientation,
site selection, integrated design, building information
modeling, commissioning, and other features determined
appropriate for inclusion by the Secretary;
``(F) a description of any lessons learned from and
case studies included in the information submitted
under paragraph (12);
``(G) a description of the characteristics of high-
performance buildings and high-performance green
buildings, as such terms are defined under section 401
of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42
U.S.C. 17061), including with respect to--
``(i) indoor environmental quality;
``(ii) air and water pollution;
``(iii) waste generation;
``(iv) impacts on transportation due to
building location and site design;
``(v) safety, security, and resiliency
attributes;
``(vi) historic preservation; and
``(vii) operation and functionality
characteristics; and
``(H) additional information determined appropriate
for inclusion by the Secretary.''.
SEC. 7. VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Postconstruction Reporting.--Not later than one year after the
date of substantial completion of the construction or alteration of a
building, the construction or alteration of which was approved under
section 3307(a) of title 40, United States Code, and biennially
thereafter, the Administrator of General Services shall submit to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a
report with respect to such building demonstrating compliance with
requirements under part 3 of title V of the National Energy
Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8251 et seq.), subtitle II of title
40, United States Code, subtitle F of title I of the Energy Policy Act
of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262 et seq.), sections 305 and 306 of the Energy
Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834 and 6835), and other
laws and regulations relating to the design, construction, and
alteration of public buildings.
(b) Verification of Postconstruction Reporting.--Not later than one
year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with representatives
of relevant private sector organizations, shall recognize or develop
mechanisms for the measurement and verification of compliance with the
requirements specified under subsection (a).
(c) Inspector General Review.--
(1) In general.--Each Inspector General appointed under the
Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall conduct
reviews of the department or agency applicable to such
Inspector General with respect to the compliance, and cost
savings attributable to the compliance, of such department or
agency with requirements under part 3 of title V of the
National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8251 et
seq.), subtitle II of title 40, United States Code, and other
laws and regulations relating to the design, construction, and
alteration of public buildings, to the extent that such reviews
are not inconsistent with the performance of the required
duties of such Inspector General.
(2) Timing.--Reviews under paragraph (1) shall be conducted
at least biennially by each Inspector General, unless the
applicable department or agency has not engaged in the design,
construction, or alteration of a public building and has not
provided for the operation and maintenance of a public building
since the last such review of such department or agency.
(3) Transmission of reports.--Each Inspector General shall
submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget,
the Secretary of Energy, the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations
of the Senate a report on each review conducted under paragraph
(1) by that Inspector General. The Secretary of Energy shall
include reports submitted to the Secretary under this paragraph
in the annual report required under section 543(f)(13) of the
National Energy Conservation Policy Act (as added by section 6
of this Act).
SEC. 8. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR DESIGN UPDATES TO MEET STANDARDS.
With respect to a building or space receiving approval under
section 3307(a) of title 40, United States Code, the design of which
has been substantially completed but the construction of which has not
yet begun, the Administrator may use amounts from the Federal Building
Fund Capital Account to update the design of such building or space to
meet Federal building energy and water efficiency standards. With
respect to each such building or space, amounts used under this section
may not exceed 125 percent of the estimated energy, water, operations
and maintenance, and other cost savings determined to be associated
with the applicable design update by a life-cycle cost analysis.
SEC. 9. UPDATING FEDERAL BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PERFORMANCE
STANDARDS.
Subparagraph (B) of section 305(a)(3) of the Energy Conservation
and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(B) Not later than one year after the date of approval of each
subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy
Conservation Code, the ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy
Conservation Code specified in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall be treated
as updated to the revised version unless the Secretary has determined
that, based on cost effectiveness, the percentage identified in such
subparagraph should be adjusted.''.
SEC. 10. ESTABLISHING AND UPDATING FEDERAL BUILDING WATER EFFICIENCY
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with
appropriate Federal departments and agencies and relevant codes and
standards development organizations, shall issue regulations
establishing Federal building water efficiency standards that require
Federal buildings constructed after the date on which such regulations
are issued to incorporate water efficiency measures that are
technologically feasible and economically justified.
(b) Contents.--The standards established under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) include water efficiency measures that meet or exceed
the water efficiency measures of national consensus-based
minimum plumbing codes published as of the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(2) to the extent practicable, use the same format as such
codes.
(c) Updates.--At least once every 3 years, the Secretary shall
review the Federal building water efficiency standards established
under subsection (a) and, if significant water savings would result,
shall revise such standards to include additional water efficiency
measures that are technologically feasible and economically justified.
(d) Considerations.--In considering revisions under subsection (c),
the Secretary shall consider any water-related provisions of the most
recent versions of national consensus-based above-minimum plumbing
codes.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
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