Unprecedented Amount of Pending Green Legislation

Source: globest.com       Author: Erika Morphy

There is an unprecedented amount of legislation pending in Congress that addresses energy efficiency or green building, according to Roger Platt, USGBC’s senior vice president of global policy and law. These bills, twenty or so all together in the House or Senate–including legislation that is pending introduction, would have been unthinkable ten years ago, Platt tells GlobeSt.com. “I can’t imagine having celebrated three or even five pieces of legislation much less ten,” he says.

In the span of a decade, however, there has been a sea-change in legislators’ attitude towards green building. “It has become very much a bi-partisan issue,” Platt says. “The last Administration was also committed to have the federal government lead by example in this area. This Administration has been very vocal about it too. The Energy Secretary, even the President, refers to green building as an important policy goal.”

The stimulus bill, passed a year ago, was the largest piece of legislation passed in this area, providing some $23 billion for energy efficiency or other green building expenditures, he notes.

The federal government’s push for green building comes as the private sector has noticeably backed away from a commitment to green, although Platt says that almost every day there is an announcement that a building has been retrofitted or will be developed with an eye to LEED. Many of these, he acknowledges, began before the financial crisis or are being financed out of expected energy savings. Once the capital and lending markets begin to flow again, he predicts, the private sector will return to earlier levels of such activity.

Following is USGBC’s list of green legislation, most of which are still pending in the House or Senate.

HOUSE

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Public Law;
• The American Clean Energy and Security Act – Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.);
• The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act – Ben Chandler (D-Ky.);
• The Expanding Building Efficiency Act – Dave Reichert (R-Wash.);
• The Property Assessed Clean Energy Tax Benefits Act — John Sarbanes (D-Md.);
• An Act to Enhance Private Financing for Clean Energy Technology Deployment – Steve Israel (D-N.Y.);
• The Energy Efficiency Modernization Act of 2009 – Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio);
• The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment (WATER) Act – Michael Coffman (R-Colo.);
• The Livable Communities Act of 2010 – Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) **pending introduction**;
• The Federal Personnel Training Act of 2010 – Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.). **pending introduction**

SENATE

• The Clean Energy and American Jobs Act – John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.);
• The American Clean Energy and Leadership Act – Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska);
• Energy Efficiency in Housing Act (EEHA) of 2009 – Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.);
• The Livable Communities Act of 2009 – Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.);
• The Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009 – Olympia Snowe (R-Maine);
• The School Building Fairness Act – Tom Harkin (D-Iowa);
• Clean Energy for Homes and Buildings Act of 2009 – Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.);
• The Energy Efficiency Modernization Act of 2009 – Michael Bennet (D-Colo.);
• The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment (WATER) Act of 2009 — Mark Udall (D-Colo.);
• The Federal Agency Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2009 – Susan Collins (R-Maine).