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2008 SESSION

087320304
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 32
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Rules
on February 8, 2008)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Puller)
Directing the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change to study options for energy-efficient office buildings and public buildings. Report.

WHEREAS, office building energy bills are the highest of any commercial building type; and

WHEREAS, to reduce energy use and costs in the workplace, office building designers, owners, and operators look to energy-efficient building design and technologies; and

WHEREAS, state and local governments spend more than $11 billion annually on fixed-site energy costs; and

WHEREAS, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandates a 35 percent reduction in energy use by 2010 for all federal buildings; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program, using energy-efficient design and technologies in constructing new office buildings can cut energy costs by as much as 50 percent; and

WHEREAS, energy-smart office buildings incorporate efficient lighting systems and advanced windows, roofing, insulation, and mechanical and ventilation systems; and

WHEREAS, reducing energy usage in private and state-owned buildings in the Commonwealth can assist Virginia's stated goal, set forth in the third enactment of Chapters 888 and 933 of the 2007 Session of the General Assembly, of reducing the consumption of electric energy by 10 percent by 2022, compared to electric energy consumption in 2006; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change be directed to study options for energy-efficient office buildings and public buildings.

In conducting its study, the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change shall propose amendments to the Statewide Building Code and to public building procurement requirements that will make office buildings and public buildings more energy efficient, at costs that are recoverable through savings in energy usage.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the Senate. Legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be provided by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change for this study, upon request.

The Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2008, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2009 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Virginia Commission on Energy and Climate Change intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.