HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 136        FILED ON: 1/10/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3151

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Simon Cataldo

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a pathway to net zero buildings.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 136        FILED ON: 1/10/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3151

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act establishing a pathway to net zero buildings.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Clause (14) of section 6 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, inserted by section 31 of chapter 8 of the acts of 2021, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

The definition of net-zero building shall: (i) apply to both residential and commercial new construction and major renovation; (ii) be designed to ensure that the building is highly energy efficient with all remaining electrical and thermal energy needed for the building supplied by renewable sources generated onsite or through approved, offsite locations or a combination of onsite and offsite; and (iii) disallow combustion for primary heating and fossil fuel for all applications, with the exceptions of, if the department deems necessary, energy required to heat water in multi-unit dwellings and energy required for back-up generators. The definition of net-zero building shall include the requirement for electric vehicle-ready wiring for all building types. The department shall review and update the definition and exemptions every 3 years; and.

SECTION 2. Said section 6 of said chapter 25A, as amended by said section 31 of said chapter 8, is hereby further amended by adding the following clause:-

(15) The department shall review and update regulations adopted pursuant to this section in increments of not less than 3 years and in alignment with the same cycle as the base building energy code and International Energy Conservation Code. The department, in consultation with the board of building regulations and standards, shall hold annual hearings to review such updates including not less than 3 hearings held in environmental justice communities for each review or update cycle with appropriate and reasonable advance notice to said communities.

SECTION 3. Paragraph (o) of section 94 of chapter 143 of the General Laws, as amended by section 72 of chapter 8 of the acts of 2021, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

If the energy provisions of the state building code are not updated within 1 year of any revision to the International Energy Conservation Code, the board shall report on the status of approval of the integration of the latest International Energy Conservation Code into the commonwealth’s base building energy code and steps being taken to move towards expedient adoption. The board shall file the reports with the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy, the joint committee on consumer protection and professional licensure and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than 30 days beyond the 1-year deadline described in this clause and again every 3 months until the International Energy Conservation Code provisions and any more stringent amendments are adopted.

SECTION 4. Said chapter 143 is hereby further amended by striking out section 95 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 95. The powers and duties of the board set forth in section 94 shall be exercised to effect the following general objectives:

(a) Uniform standards and requirements for construction and construction materials compatible with accepted standards of engineering and fire prevention practices, energy conservation, climate change mitigation and resilience, and public health and safety.

In the formulation of such standards and requirements, performance for the use intended shall be the test of acceptability in accordance with accredited testing standards. Such standards and requirements shall be exercised to meet statewide greenhouse gas emission limits and sub-limits established pursuant to chapter 21N.

(b) Adoption, without affecting the health, safety and security of the occupants or users of buildings, of modern technical methods, devices and improvements, which may reduce the cost of construction and maintenance over the life of the building, and avoid and mitigate the impacts of and damage from climate change.

(c) Elimination, without affecting the health, safety and security of the occupants or users of the buildings, of restrictive, obsolete, conflicting and unnecessary building regulations and requirements, which may over the life of the building: (i) increase the cost of construction and maintenance; (ii) increase the impacts of and damage from climate change; (iii) impede unnecessarily the use of new materials; or (iv) provide unwarranted preferential treatment of types of classes of materials, products or methods of construction.

SECTION 5. (a) The department of energy resources, in consultation with the board of building regulations and standards, shall submit a written report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy not later than 1 year following the adoption of this act. The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, an analysis of the feasibility and timing for adopting the following: (i) taller mass timber buildings than current allowances; (ii) reduction of embodied carbon; (iii) carbon storage in building materials; (iv) low-carbon modular building systems; (v) smart grid technology; and (vi) healthy, non-toxic building materials.

(b) The report shall include recommendations for any legislation that may be required to adopt these or other innovations in the commonwealth.

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any special or general law, rule or regulation to the contrary, not later than January 1, 2025, the department of energy resources shall incorporate the municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code into the stretch energy code, supplanting it in appendix 115AA of the Massachusetts building energy code. Upon such incorporation, municipalities that previously adopted the opt-in specialized stretch energy code or the stretch energy code in appendix 115AA shall be part of the stretch energy code in appendix 115AA of the Massachusetts building energy code with no action required.

SECTION 7. Notwithstanding any special or general law, rule or regulation to the contrary, not later than January 1, 2028, the state board of building regulations and standards shall incorporate the provisions of the stretch energy code in appendix 115AA of the Massachusetts building energy code into the base energy provisions of the state building code adopted under section 93 of chapter 143 of the General Laws.