Budget Amendment ID: FY2019-S4-959
ENV 959
Residential Energy Information
Mr. Boncore moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new sections:-
SECTION XX. Paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of said section 22 of said chapter 21A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition is hereby amended by adding the following 2 clauses:-
(vi) to reimburse municipal lighting plants that participate in the energy scorecard program established by said section 17 of said chapter 25A, for incremental startup costs associated with providing energy scorecards; and
(vii) to provide grants to municipalities and municipal lighting plants that participate in the energy scorecard program, established by said section 17 of said chapter 25A, for energy assessments, as defined in said section 3 of said chapter 25A, renewable energy investments, and electric energy efficiency improvements, with a particular focus on serving renters and residents below 80% of area median income.
SECTION XX. Subsection (a) of section 19 of chapter 25 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 15, the number “80” and inserting in place thereof the following number :- “20”.
SECTION XX. Section 3 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “End-user” the following 2 definitions:-
“Energy assessment”, an on-site evaluation of the energy performance of a residential dwelling unit by an energy assessor, based on the physical characteristics, including renewable energy infrastructure, of the residential dwelling unit, including but not limited to: (i) an energy audit delivered under the Massachusetts residential conservation service pursuant to chapter 465 of the acts of 1980; (ii) a home energy rating conducted by a Home Energy Rating System rater certified by the Residential Energy Services Network; or (iii) other energy assessments specifically designated by the department.
“Energy assessor”, a person or group of persons who conduct energy assessments and who have met the minimum qualifications and quality assurance protocols established by the department, pursuant to subsection (a) of section 17 of chapter 25A.
SECTION XX. Said section 3 of said chapter 25A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Energy management services” the following definition:-
“Energy performance rating”, a standardized numerical score or scores, calculated in a manner determined by the department, resulting from an energy assessment performed by an energy assessor and incorporated into an energy scorecard for a residential dwelling unit.
SECTION XX. Said section 3 of said chapter 25A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Energy savings” the following definition:-
“Energy scorecard”, standard information, as determined by the department, to illustrate the results of an energy assessment performed by an energy assessor; provided that such information shall contain, at a minimum, the address of the residential dwelling unit along with the associated energy performance rating and, where appropriate, recommendations for energy related improvements. Such information shall not contain any other personal data as defined in section 1 of chapter 66A.
SECTION XX. Said section 3 of said chapter 25A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Reseller” the following definition:-
“Residential dwelling unit”, a stand-alone residential unit, or a residential unit within a building of up to 4 residential units.
SECTION XX. Section 11G of said chapter 25A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “programs,” in line 9, the following words:- , including, but not limited to, the use of energy scorecards,.
SECTION 8. Chapter 25A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 17. (a) The department shall develop and implement an energy scorecard program to promote the disclosure of energy scorecards for residential dwelling units in the commonwealth following an energy assessment by, at a minimum: (1) developing a standard format and methodology for energy scorecards and energy performance ratings; (2) identifying minimum qualifications for energy assessors to produce energy scorecards which may include but not be limited to standardizing qualifications for energy assessors throughout the commonwealth, and protocols for quality assurance of assessments; (3) providing training to energy assessors regarding the production of energy scorecards; (4) developing requirements for the method by which an energy scorecard is provided to the department following an energy assessment; and (5) developing appropriate requirements and guidelines for providing an updated scorecard to the owner or lessee of a residential dwelling unit following any subsequent modifications to a residential dwelling unit that change its energy performance.
(b) The energy scorecard program shall require:
(1) An energy assessor to provide an energy scorecard to the department and to the owner, lessee, or both, where applicable, of a residential dwelling unit following an energy assessment. Nothing in this section shall preclude an energy assessor from voluntarily providing an energy scorecard to the owner or lessee of a residential dwelling unit following an energy assessment.
(2) An energy performance rating to be disclosed to a buyer or potential buyer of a residential dwelling unit when the property is publicly listed for sale, and regardless of whether the property is so listed, an energy scorecard to be disclosed to such buyer or potential buyer at or before the execution of a purchase and sale agreement; provided, however, that the department may specify the manner in which the energy performance rating or energy scorecard is disclosed in accordance with this paragraph and may require the energy scorecard to be disclosed together with the energy performance rating at time of public listing, where technologically feasible.
(c) The department shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to implement this section, including but not limited to regulations to determine, at a minimum, the following: (1) the manner of disclosure of an energy scorecard to a buyer or potential buyer of a residential dwelling unit, including whether an energy scorecard shall be disclosed to a buyer or potential buyer: (i) by a seller of a residential dwelling unit; (ii) by a real estate broker or real estate salesman, as defined by section 87PP of chapter 112, acting on behalf of the seller; or (iii) by some other means; (2) the implementation schedule of the energy scorecard disclosure requirements for residential dwelling units, which may include voluntary early adoption pilot programs for municipalities or municipal lighting plants; and (3) any reasonable exemptions to the requirements of this section for emergency transactions or if the dwelling was constructed within the last 3 years and can demonstrate compliance with the most recent energy provisions of the state building code for residential buildings; (4) any requirements for producing scorecards from historical energy assessment data, where feasible.
(d) The department shall make available voluntary training for real estate brokers, appraisers, lenders, home inspectors, and other interested professionals involved in residential real estate transactions on the use of energy scorecards and requirements and best practices associated with providing energy scorecards to prospective buyers.
(e) The department may maintain energy scorecards received from an energy assessor or authorize a third party to maintain this information; provided, however, that individual energy scorecards shall not be disclosed by the department or any such third party without the consent of the owner of the residential dwelling unit, unless otherwise prescribed in this section or permitted by law. Energy scorecards received by the department pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to be a public record, as defined in clause 26 of section 7 of chapter 4, and shall not be subject to a request for public records under section 10 of chapter 66; provided however, that the department may release any aggregation of energy scorecard information.
SECTION XX. Section 94 of chapter 143 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by chapter 6 of the acts of 2017, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-
(s) In consultation with the department of energy resources, to promulgate rules or regulations as part of the state building code for the submission of an energy scorecard, as defined in section 3 of chapter 25A, to the department of energy resources in accordance with the requirements of section 17 of said chapter 25A, following any energy assessment conducted for compliance with the state building code.
SECTION XX. Subsection (a) of section 3 of chapter 465 of the acts of 1980, as most recently amended by chapter 730 of the acts of 1989, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
(10) requiring all utilities, including municipal corporations, to provide customers and the department of energy resources with energy scorecards, as defined in section 3 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, following: (i) an energy audit, and (ii) any subsequent modifications to a residential dwelling unit, as defined in said section 3 of said chapter 25A, that change the energy performance of such residential dwelling unit; provided, however, that the utilities shall use historical energy audit data to provide energy scorecards, as determined to be feasible by the department pursuant to section 17 of said chapter 25A.
SECTION XX. Subsection (g) of section 7 of said chapter 465, as most recently amended by chapter 209 of the acts of 2012, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- All utilities, including municipal corporations, shall provide energy scorecards as defined in section 3 of chapter 25A of the General Laws to the department of energy resources, pursuant to section 17 of said chapter 25A.
SECTION XX. The department of energy resources shall promulgate regulations pursuant to section 9 of this Act before January 1, 2020.
SECTION XX. The department of energy resources shall not require an energy assessor to provide energy scorecards, as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 17 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, before January 1, 2020.
SECTION XX. The department of energy resources shall not require the disclosure of energy performance ratings or energy scorecards, as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of section 17 of chapter 25A, before January 1, 2021.
SECTION XX. Sections 10 through 12, inclusive, of this Act shall take effect on January 1, 2020.