A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to broaden the scope of the sustainable energy‑efficient buildings program to include public school buildings, to require the state energy office to develop and maintain sustainable school design protocol standards, to create and appropriate funds to the Green School COnstruction Loan Fund, and to make conforming changes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑135.35 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑135.35.  Findings; legislative intent.
The General Assembly finds that public buildings can be built and renovated using sustainable, energy‑efficient methods that save money, reduce negative environmental impacts, improve employee and student performance, and make employees and students more productive. The main objectives of sustainable, energy‑efficient design are to avoid resource depletion of energy, water, and raw materials; prevent environmental degradation caused by facilities and infrastructure throughout their life cycle; and create buildings that are livable, comfortable, safe, and productive. It is the intent of the General Assembly that State‑owned  buildings, buildings of The University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System, and public school buildings be improved by establishing specific performance standards for sustainable, energy‑efficient public buildings. These performance standards should be based upon recognized, consensus standards that are supported by science and have a demonstrated performance record. The General Assembly also intends, in order to ensure that the economic and environmental objectives of this Article are achieved, that State agencies, The University of North Carolina, the North Carolina Community College System, and local school administrative units determine whether the performance standards are met for major facility construction and renovation projects, measure utility and maintenance costs, and verify whether these standards result in savings. Also, it is the intent of the General Assembly to establish a priority to use North Carolina‑based resources, building materials, products, industries, manufacturers, and businesses to provide economic development to North Carolina and to meet the objectives of this Article."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143‑135.36 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑135.36.  Definitions.
As used in this section, the following definitions apply unless the context requires otherwise:
(1)	"ASHRAE" means the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air‑Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
(2)	"Commission" means to document and to verify throughout the construction process whether the performance of a building, a component of a building, a system of a building, or a component of a building system meets specified objectives, criteria, and agency project requirements.
(3)	"Department" means the Department of Administration.
(4)	"Institutions of higher education" means the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, the regional institutions as defined in G.S. 115D‑2, and the community colleges as defined in G.S. 115D‑2.
(4a)	"Local school administrative unit" has the same meaning as in G.S. 115C‑5.
(5)	"Major facility construction project" means a project to construct a building larger than 20,000 gross square feet of occupied or conditioned space, as defined in the North Carolina State Building Code adopted under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. "Major facility construction project" does not include a project to construct a transmitter building or a pumping station.
(6)	"Major facility renovation project" means a project to renovate a building when the cost of the project is greater than fifty percent (50%) of the insurance value of the building prior to the renovation and the renovated portion of the building is larger than 20,000 gross square feet of occupied or conditioned space, as defined in the North Carolina State Building Code. "Major facility renovation project" does not include a project to renovate a transmitter building or a pumping station. "Major facility renovation project" does not include a project to renovate a building having historic, architectural, or cultural significance under Part 4 of Article 2 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes.
(6a)	"North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards" means the school design protocol and related information developed by the Department of Public Instruction under G.S. 115C‑521.
(7)	"Public agency" means every State office, officer, board, department, commission, institution of higher education, and local school administrative unit."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143‑135.37 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(c1)	Alternate Standards for Public School Projects. – For every major facility construction or renovation project of a local school administrative unit receiving any funding in the State capital budget, the building and the water system may be designed and constructed in accordance with the North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards developed under G.S. 115C‑521, and in that event, those requirements for the construction or renovation project are in lieu of the requirements for energy efficiency and water use under subsection (b) and (c) of this section."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 143‑135.39(e)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(3)	Identification of any impacts on employee productivity and, where applicable, student performance, from using energy‑efficiency and water use standards."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 143‑135.39(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h)	Authority to Adopt Rules or Architectural or Engineering Standards. – The Department and the State Board of Education may adopt rules to implement this Article. The Department and the State Board of Education may adopt architectural or engineering standards as needed to implement this Article."
SECTION 6.  In recognition that the North Carolina Energy Guidelines for School Design and Construction that were developed and maintained by the Department of Public Instruction under G.S. 115C‑521 are no longer sufficient in regard to a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency in school design, school construction, and school operation and maintenance, the State Energy Office of the Department of Administration shall develop and maintain the North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards to be used for the construction of all new school buildings and the repairing of all old school buildings under the control and direction of, and by contract with, the board of education. The North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards shall be used in lieu of the North Carolina Energy Guidelines for School Design and Construction. The North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards shall be at least as stringent as the sustainable school design protocol standards developed in the State of Washington, as mandated by their legislature. The North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards shall include a voluntary pass or fail rating system to evaluate a school's progress toward sustainability. This rating system shall be comprised of a number of prerequisites and optional sustainability measures developed by the State Energy Office. Each local board of education participating in this protocol may choose from among the list of optional measures to chart a path toward sustainability specific to the site of the school and the goals of the board of education. 
SECTION 7.  G.S. 115C‑521 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑521.  Erection of school buildings.
(a)	It shall be the duty of local boards of education to provide classroom facilities adequate to meet the requirements of G.S. 115C‑47(10) and 115C‑301. Local boards of education shall submit their long‑range plans for meeting school facility needs to the State Board of Education by January 1, 1988, and every five years thereafter. In developing these plans, local boards of education shall consider the costs and feasibility of renovating old school buildings instead of replacing them and, employing life‑cycle cost analysis as defined in G.S. 143‑64.11, shall consider the feasibility and costs of commissioning the old school buildings that are renovated for the purpose of reducing energy and water use.
(b)	It shall be the duty of the boards of education of the several local school administrative school units of the State to make provisions for the public school term by providing adequate school buildings equipped with suitable school furniture and apparatus. The needs and the cost of those buildings, equipment, and apparatus, shall be presented each year when the school budget is submitted to the respective tax‑levying authorities. The boards of commissioners shall be given a reasonable time to provide the funds which they, upon investigation, shall find to be necessary for providing their respective units with buildings suitably equipped, and it shall be the duty of the several boards of county commissioners to provide funds for the same.
Upon determination by a local board of education that the existing permanent school building does not have sufficient classrooms to house the pupil enrollment anticipated for the school, the local board of education may acquire and use as temporary classrooms for the operation of the school, relocatable or mobile classroom units, whether built on the lot or not, which units and method of use shall meet the approval of the School Planning Division of the State Board of Education, and which units shall comply with all applicable requirements of the North Carolina State Building Code and of the local building and electrical codes applicable to the area in which the school is located. These units shall also be anchored in a manner required to assure their structural safety in severe weather. The acquisition and installation of these units shall be subject in all respects to the provisions of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes, including the provisions of Part 1 of Article 3B of that Chapter, Energy Policy and Life‑Cycle Cost Analysis. The provisions of Chapter 87, Article 1, of the General Statutes, shall not apply to persons, firms or corporations engaged in the sale or furnishing to local boards of education and the delivery and installation upon school sites of classroom trailers as a single building unit or of relocatable or mobile classrooms delivered in less than four units or sections.
(c)	The building of all new school buildings and the repairing of all old school buildings shall be under the control and direction of, and by contract with, the board of education for which the building and repairing is done. If a board of education is considering building a new school building to replace an existing school building, the board shall not invest any construction money in the new building unless it submits to the State Superintendent and the State Superintendent submits to the North Carolina Historical Commission an analysis that compares the costs and feasibility of building the new building and of renovating the existing building and that clearly indicates the desirability of building the new building. No board of education shall invest any money in any new building until it has (i) developed plans based upon a consideration of the State Board's facilities guidelines and consideration of ways to minimize the new building's use of energy and water, (ii) submitted these plans to the State Board for its review and comments, and (iii) reviewed the plans based upon a consideration of the comments it receives from the State Board. No local board of education shall contract for more money than is made available for the erection of a new building; however, any money obtained as no‑interest loans under G.S. 115C‑521.1 shall be included as available money. However, this subsection shall not be construed so as to prevent boards of education from investing any money in buildings that are being constructed pursuant to a continuing contract of construction as provided for in G.S. 115C‑441(c). All contracts for buildings shall be in writing and all buildings shall be inspected, received, and approved by the local superintendent and the architect before full payment is made therefor. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit boards of education from repairing and altering buildings with the help of janitors and other regular employees of the board.
In the design and construction of new school buildings and in the renovation of existing school buildings that are required to be designed by an architect or engineer under G.S. 133‑1.1, the local board of education shall participate in the planning and review process of the North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards that are developed and maintained by the State Energy Office of the Department of Administration, for use by the Department of Public Instruction and shall adopt energy‑use goals for building design and operation that take into account local conditions in an effort to reduce the impact of operation costs on local and State budgets. In the design and construction of new school facilities and in the repair and renovation of existing school facilities, the local board of education shall consider the placement and design of windows and other building features to use the climate of North Carolina for both light and ventilation in case of energy shortages. A local board shall also consider the installation of solar energy systems or other alternative energy systems in the school facilities whenever practicable. A local board of education is encouraged to participate in the Sustainable Energy‑Efficient Buildings Program for major facility construction or renovation projects, as defined in G.S. 143‑135.36, involving school buildings under Article 8C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
In the case of any school buildings erected, repaired, or equipped with any money loaned or granted by the State to any local school administrative unit, no board of education shall invest any money until it has (i) developed plans based upon a consideration of the State Board's facilities guidelines, (ii) submitted these plans to the State Board for its review and comments, and (iii) reviewed the plans based upon a consideration of the comments it receives from the State Board.
(d)	Local boards of education shall make no contract for the erection of any school building unless the site upon which it is located is owned in fee simple by the board: Provided, that the board of education of a local school administrative unit, with the approval of the board of county commissioners, may appropriate funds to aid in the establishment of a school facility and the operation thereof in an adjoining local school administrative unit when a written agreement between the boards of education of the administrative units involved has been reached and the same recorded in the minutes of the boards, whereby children from the administrative unit making the appropriations shall be entitled to attend the school so established.
In all cases where title to property has been vested in the trustees of a special charter district which has been abolished and has not been reorganized, title to the property shall be vested in the local board of education of the county embracing the former special charter district.
(e)	The State Board of Education shall establish within the Department of Public Instruction a central clearinghouse for access by local boards of education that may want to use a prototype design in the construction of school facilities. The State Board shall compile necessary publications and a computer database to distribute information on prototype designs to local school administrative units. A prototype design of a new school facility that is designed to at least the standards for energy efficiency and water use under G.S. 143‑135.37 shall be included in this computer database. All architects and engineers registered in North Carolina may submit plans for inclusion in the computer database and these plans may be accessed by any person. The original architect of record or engineer of record shall retain ownership and liability for a prototype design. The State Board may adopt rules it considers necessary to implement this subsection."
SECTION 8.  Article 37 of Chapter 115C is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑521.1. Green School Construction Loan Fund.
(a)	The Green School Construction Loan Fund is created under the control and direction of the Department of Public Instruction. This Loan Fund shall be a nonreverting revolving loan fund consisting of any moneys appropriated to it by the General Assembly, other moneys paid to it as gifts or grants, or any moneys repaid or recovered on behalf of the Loan Fund. The Loan Fund shall be credited with interest on the Loan Fund by the State Treasurer pursuant to G.S. 147‑69.2 and G.S. 147‑69.3.
(b)	The Loan Fund shall be used to provide no‑interest loans to local school administrative units for any of the following purposes, with priority given to projects that will have the greatest impact on reducing the use of energy and water: 
(1)	When the project is a major facility construction or renovation project, as defined in G.S. 143‑135.36, for all or part of the incremental cost of designing and constructing a new or renovated school building or its water system to at least the standards for energy efficiency and the standards for water use under G.S. 143‑135.37, to be calculated by comparing the total cost of the project to the cost of substantially the same project using conventional design and construction.
(2)	For all or part of the incremental cost of designing and constructing a new school facility or a major renovation of an existing school in accordance with the North Carolina sustainable school design protocol standards under G.S. 115C‑521, to be calculated by comparing the total cost of the project to the cost of substantially the same project using conventional design and construction.
(3)	For all or part of the cost of commissioning a school building for the purpose of reducing the building's use of energy or water, including installing an alternative energy system, when the commissioning under this subdivision is not suitable for a guaranteed energy savings contract under Part 2 of Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
(4)	For all or part of the cost of installing in a school building one or more energy conservation measures, as defined in G.S. 143‑64.17, when these energy conservation measures are not suitable for a guaranteed energy savings contract under Part 2 of Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
(5)	For all or part of the cost of installing in a school building an alternative energy system to replace a conventional energy system when the installation of the alternative energy system is not suitable for a guaranteed energy savings contract under Part 2 of Article 3B of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
(c)	After consulting with the State Energy Office of the Department of Administration, the Department of Public Instruction shall adopt rules to administer the Loan Fund and to establish prioritization for loans, maximum loans, application, and award criteria and schedules, and to otherwise implement this section."
SECTION 9.  Article 31 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑426.3.  Monitor and report utility consumption by local school administrative units.
Each local school administrative unit that participates in the Sustainable Energy‑Efficient Buildings Program under Article 8C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes shall monitor and report utility consumption for purposes of reporting to the Office of State Construction as provided in G.S. 143‑135.37."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 115C‑47 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(28b)	Sustainable energy‑efficient school buildings. – Local boards of education shall comply with the design and construction requirements under Article 8C of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes."
SECTION 11.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Green School Construction Loan Fund, as created in G.S. 115C‑521.1, as enacted by Section 8 of this act, the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year and the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year to be used for loans to local school administrative units in accordance with G.S. 115C‑521.1, as enacted by Section 8 of this act.
SECTION 12.  G.S. 115C‑521.1, as enacted by Section 8 of this act, and Section 11 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2009. The remainder of this act becomes effective January 1, 2010, and applies to contracts for major facility construction and renovation projects, as defined in G.S. 143‑135.36, as amended by Section 2 of this act, involving school buildings that have not received project approval from the Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to July 1, 2010.