Resolved, that, notwithstanding any general or special laws to the contrary, there shall be established a commission called the energy neutral building standards commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission, for the purpose of identifying best practices for the implementation of energy neutral building designs and standards. For the purposes of this act an energy neutral design is a design of any type that has the environment and low energy consumption practices in mind during all stages of planning and production and a zero-energy building is a building with zero net energy consumption such that the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site.

The commission shall consist of 13 members: 3 members of the senate, 2 of whom shall be selected by the senate president and 1 of whom shall be selected by the minority leader; 3 members of the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall be selected by the speaker of the house of representatives and 1 of whom shall be selected by the minority leader; the secretary of housing and economic development or a designee; the secretary of energy and environmental affairs or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO or a designee; the president of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts, Inc., or a designee; the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc., or a designee, the executive director of the Conservation Law Foundation, Inc., or a designee; and the executive director of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, Inc., or a designee.  One senator selected by the senate president shall serve as a co-chair. One member of the house of representatives chosen by the speaker of the house shall serve as a co-chair.

The commission shall: (i) recommend revision of the Massachusetts building code for residential buildings and class A office space constructed on or after January 1, 2022 such that said structures will be required to be energy neutral by their design; provided however, that, while the ultimate goal would be to create zero energy buildings, the regulatory changes recommended by the  commission shall be calculated not to increase the cost of new construction more than 10 per cent over and above the cost  of  building a structure utilizing the Massachusetts building code extant  for the year 2018; (ii) develop a program to inform and prepare architects, construction companies, municipal building inspectors, and the public of the new requirements; and (iii) submit a report with recommended building code changes and statutory changes to the: governor; secretary of housing and economic development; secretary of energy and environmental affairs; speaker of the house; and senate president on or before January 1, 2021.