[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 873 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 873

         To promote energy efficiency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2015

Mr. McKinley (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To promote energy efficiency, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

                       TITLE I--BETTER BUILDINGS

SECTION 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Better Buildings Act of 2015''.

SEC. 102. ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN FEDERAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (2) Cost-effective energy efficiency measure.--The term 
        ``cost-effective energy efficiency measure'' means any building 
        product, material, equipment, or service, and the installing, 
        implementing, or operating thereof, that provides energy 
        savings in an amount that is not less than the cost of such 
        installing, implementing, or operating.
            (3) Cost-effective water efficiency measure.--The term 
        ``cost-effective water efficiency measure'' means any building 
        product, material, equipment, or service, and the installing, 
        implementing, or operating thereof, that provides water savings 
        in an amount that is not less than the cost of such installing, 
        implementing, or operating.
    (b) Model Provisions, Policies, and Best Practices.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with 
        the Secretary of Energy and after providing the public with an 
        opportunity for notice and comment, shall develop model 
        commercial leasing provisions and best practices in accordance 
        with this subsection.
            (2) Commercial leasing.--
                    (A) In general.--The model commercial leasing 
                provisions developed under this subsection shall, at a 
                minimum, align the interests of building owners and 
                tenants with regard to investments in cost-effective 
                energy efficiency measures and cost-effective water 
                efficiency measures to encourage building owners and 
                tenants to collaborate to invest in such measures.
                    (B) Use of model provisions.--The Administrator may 
                use the model commercial leasing provisions developed 
                under this subsection in any standard leasing document 
                that designates a Federal agency (or other client of 
                the Administrator) as a landlord or tenant.
                    (C) Publication.--The Administrator shall 
                periodically publish the model commercial leasing 
                provisions developed under this subsection, along with 
                explanatory materials, to encourage building owners and 
                tenants in the private sector to use such provisions 
                and materials.
            (3) Realty services.--The Administrator shall develop 
        policies and practices to implement cost-effective energy 
        efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency 
        measures for the realty services provided by the Administrator 
        to Federal agencies (or other clients of the Administrator), 
        including periodic training of appropriate Federal employees 
        and contractors on how to identify and evaluate those measures.
            (4) State and local assistance.--The Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall make available 
        model commercial leasing provisions and best practices 
        developed under this subsection to State, county, and municipal 
        governments for use in managing owned and leased building space 
        in accordance with the goal of encouraging investment in all 
        cost-effective energy efficiency measures and cost-effective 
        water efficiency measures.

SEC. 103. SEPARATE SPACES WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENERGY EFFICIENCY 
              MEASURES.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 424. SEPARATE SPACES WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENERGY EFFICIENCY 
              MEASURES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High-performance energy efficiency measure.--The term 
        `high-performance energy efficiency measure' means a 
        technology, product, or practice that will result in 
        substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy 
        consumption and utility costs.
            ``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' means 
        areas within a commercial building that are leased or otherwise 
        occupied by a tenant or other occupant for a period of time 
        pursuant to the terms of a written agreement.
    ``(b) Study.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
        shall complete a study on the feasibility of--
                    ``(A) significantly improving energy efficiency in 
                commercial buildings through the design and 
                construction, by owners and tenants, of separate spaces 
                with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and
                    ``(B) encouraging owners and tenants to implement 
                high-performance energy efficiency measures in separate 
                spaces.
            ``(2) Scope.--The study shall, at a minimum, include--
                    ``(A) descriptions of--
                            ``(i) high-performance energy efficiency 
                        measures that should be considered as part of 
                        the initial design and construction of separate 
                        spaces;
                            ``(ii) processes that owners, tenants, 
                        architects, and engineers may replicate when 
                        designing and constructing separate spaces with 
                        high-performance energy efficiency measures;
                            ``(iii) policies and best practices to 
                        achieve reductions in energy intensities for 
                        lighting, plug loads, heating, cooling, 
                        cooking, laundry, and other systems to satisfy 
                        the needs of the commercial building tenant;
                            ``(iv) return on investment and payback 
                        analyses of the incremental cost and projected 
                        energy savings of the proposed set of high-
                        performance energy efficiency measures, 
                        including consideration of available 
                        incentives;
                            ``(v) models and simulation methods that 
                        predict the quantity of energy used by separate 
                        spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
                        measures and that compare that predicted 
                        quantity to the quantity of energy used by 
                        separate spaces without high-performance energy 
                        efficiency measures but that otherwise comply 
                        with applicable building code requirements;
                            ``(vi) measurement and verification 
                        platforms demonstrating actual energy use of 
                        high-performance energy efficiency measures 
                        installed in separate spaces, and whether such 
                        measures generate the savings intended in the 
                        initial design and construction of the separate 
                        spaces;
                            ``(vii) best practices that encourage an 
                        integrated approach to designing and 
                        constructing separate spaces to perform at 
                        optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with 
                        the central systems of a commercial building; 
                        and
                            ``(viii) any impact on employment resulting 
                        from the design and construction of separate 
                        spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
                        measures; and
                    ``(B) case studies reporting economic and energy 
                savings returns in the design and construction of 
                separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
                measures.
            ``(3) Public participation.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
        publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public 
        comments regarding effective methods, measures, and practices 
        for the design and construction of separate spaces with high-
        performance energy efficiency measures.
            ``(4) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the study 
        on the website of the Department of Energy.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 423 the following new 
item:

``Sec. 424. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
                            measures.''.

SEC. 104. TENANT STAR PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence 
and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) (as amended by 
section 103) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 425. TENANT STAR PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) High-performance energy efficiency measure.--The term 
        `high-performance energy efficiency measure' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 424.
            ``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 424.
    ``(b) Tenant Star.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall 
develop a voluntary program within the Energy Star program established 
by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 
6294a), which may be known as Tenant Star, to promote energy efficiency 
in separate spaces leased by tenants or otherwise occupied within 
commercial buildings.
    ``(c) Expanding Survey Data.--The Secretary of Energy, acting 
through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, 
shall--
            ``(1) collect, through each Commercial Buildings Energy 
        Consumption Survey of the Energy Information Administration 
        that is conducted after the date of enactment of this section, 
        data on--
                    ``(A) categories of building occupancy that are 
                known to consume significant quantities of energy, such 
                as occupancy by data centers, trading floors, and 
                restaurants; and
                    ``(B) other aspects of the property, building 
                operation, or building occupancy determined by the 
                Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, 
                in consultation with the Administrator of the 
                Environmental Protection Agency, to be relevant in 
                lowering energy consumption;
            ``(2) with respect to the first Commercial Buildings Energy 
        Consumption Survey conducted after the date of enactment of 
        this section, to the extent full compliance with the 
        requirements of paragraph (1) is not feasible, conduct 
        activities to develop the capability to collect such data and 
        begin to collect such data; and
            ``(3) make data collected under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        available to the public in aggregated form and provide such 
        data, and any associated results, to the Administrator of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency for use in accordance with 
        subsection (d).
    ``(d) Recognition of Owners and Tenants.--
            ``(1) Occupancy-based recognition.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date on which sufficient data is received pursuant to 
        subsection (c), the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency shall, following an opportunity for public 
        notice and comment--
                    ``(A) in a manner similar to the Energy Star rating 
                system for commercial buildings, develop policies and 
                procedures to recognize tenants in commercial buildings 
                that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy 
                efficiency in separate spaces;
                    ``(B) establish building occupancy categories 
                eligible for Tenant Star recognition based on the data 
                collected under subsection (c) and any other 
                appropriate data sources; and
                    ``(C) consider other forms of recognition for 
                commercial building tenants or other occupants that 
                lower energy consumption in separate spaces.
            ``(2) Design- and construction-based recognition.--After 
        the study required by section 424(b) is completed, the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in 
        consultation with the Secretary and following an opportunity 
        for public notice and comment, may develop a voluntary program 
        to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use 
        high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and 
        construction of separate spaces.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 424 (as added by section 
103(b) of this Act) the following new item:

``Sec. 425. Tenant Star program.''.

            TITLE II--ENERGY EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Energy Efficient Government 
Technology Act''.

SEC. 202. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES.

    Subtitle C of title V of the Energy Independence and Security Act 
of 2007 (Public Law 110-140; 121 Stat. 1661) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 530. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING INFORMATION 
              TECHNOLOGIES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the Office of Management and Budget.
            ``(2) Information technology.--The term `information 
        technology' has the meaning given that term in section 11101 of 
        title 40, United States Code.
    ``(b) Development of Implementation Strategy.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this section, each Federal agency 
shall coordinate with the Director, the Secretary, and the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop an 
implementation strategy (that includes best practices and measurement 
and verification techniques) for the maintenance, purchase, and use by 
the Federal agency of energy-efficient and energy-saving information 
technologies, taking into consideration the performance goals 
established under subsection (d).
    ``(c) Administration.--In developing an implementation strategy 
under subsection (b), each Federal agency shall consider--
            ``(1) advanced metering infrastructure;
            ``(2) energy-efficient data center strategies and methods 
        of increasing asset and infrastructure utilization;
            ``(3) advanced power management tools;
            ``(4) building information modeling, including building 
        energy management;
            ``(5) secure telework and travel substitution tools; and
            ``(6) mechanisms to ensure that the agency realizes the 
        energy cost savings brought about through increased efficiency 
        and utilization.
    ``(d) Performance Goals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Director, in consultation 
        with the Secretary, shall establish performance goals for 
        evaluating the efforts of Federal agencies in improving the 
        maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-
        saving information technology.
            ``(2) Best practices.--The Chief Information Officers 
        Council established under section 3603 of title 44, United 
        States Code, shall recommend best practices for the attainment 
        of the performance goals, which shall include Federal agency 
        consideration of the use of--
                    ``(A) energy savings performance contracting; and
                    ``(B) utility energy services contracting.
    ``(e) Reports.--
            ``(1) Agency reports.--Each Federal agency shall include in 
        the report of the agency under section 527 a description of the 
        efforts and results of the agency under this section.
            ``(2) OMB government efficiency reports and scorecards.--
        Effective beginning not later than October 1, 2016, the 
        Director shall include in the annual report and scorecard of 
        the Director required under section 528 a description of the 
        efforts and results of Federal agencies under this section.''.

SEC. 203. ENERGY EFFICIENT DATA CENTERS.

    Section 453 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 
U.S.C. 17112) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (b)(3); and
            (2) by striking subsections (c) through (g) and inserting 
        the following:
    ``(c) Stakeholder Involvement.--The Secretary and the Administrator 
shall carry out subsection (b) in collaboration with information 
technology industry and other key stakeholders, with the goal of 
producing results that accurately reflect the best knowledge in the 
most pertinent domains. In such collaboration, the Secretary and the 
Administrator shall pay particular attention to organizations that--
            ``(1) have members with expertise in energy efficiency and 
        in the development, operation, and functionality of data 
        centers, information technology equipment, and software, such 
        as representatives of hardware manufacturers, data center 
        operators, and facility managers;
            ``(2) obtain and address input from Department of Energy 
        National Laboratories or any college, university, research 
        institution, industry association, company, or public interest 
        group with applicable expertise;
            ``(3) follow--
                    ``(A) commonly accepted procedures for the 
                development of specifications; and
                    ``(B) accredited standards development processes; 
                and
            ``(4) have a mission to promote energy efficiency for data 
        centers and information technology.
    ``(d) Measurements and Specifications.--The Secretary and the 
Administrator shall consider and assess the adequacy of the 
specifications, measurements, and benchmarks described in subsection 
(b) for use by the Federal Energy Management Program, the Energy Star 
Program, and other efficiency programs of the Department of Energy or 
the Environmental Protection Agency.
    ``(e) Study.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the 
Administrator, shall, not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of the Energy Efficient Government Technology Act, make 
available to the public an update to the Report to Congress on Server 
and Data Center Energy Efficiency published on August 2, 2007, under 
section 1 of Public Law 109-431 (120 Stat. 2920), that provides--
            ``(1) a comparison and gap analysis of the estimates and 
        projections contained in the original report with new data 
        regarding the period from 2008 through 2015;
            ``(2) an analysis considering the impact of information 
        technologies, to include virtualization and cloud computing, in 
        the public and private sectors;
            ``(3) an evaluation of the impact of the combination of 
        cloud platforms, mobile devices, social media, and big data on 
        data center energy usage; and
            ``(4) updated projections and recommendations for best 
        practices through fiscal year 2020.
    ``(f) Data Center Energy Practitioner Program.--The Secretary, in 
collaboration with key stakeholders and the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, shall maintain a data center energy practitioner 
program that leads to the certification of energy practitioners 
qualified to evaluate the energy usage and efficiency opportunities in 
Federal data centers. Each Federal agency shall consider having the 
data centers of the agency evaluated every 4 years by energy 
practitioners certified pursuant to such program, whenever practicable 
using certified practitioners employed by the agency.
    ``(g) Open Data Initiative.--The Secretary, in collaboration with 
key stakeholders and the Office of Management and Budget, shall 
establish an open data initiative for Federal data center energy usage 
data, with the purpose of making such data available and accessible in 
a manner that encourages further data center innovation, optimization, 
and consolidation. In establishing the initiative, the Secretary shall 
consider the use of the online Data Center Maturity Model.
    ``(h) International Specifications and Metrics.--The Secretary, in 
collaboration with key stakeholders, shall actively participate in 
efforts to harmonize global specifications and metrics for data center 
energy efficiency.
    ``(i) Data Center Utilization Metric.--The Secretary, in 
collaboration with key stakeholders, shall facilitate in the 
development of an efficiency metric that measures the energy efficiency 
of a data center (including equipment and facilities).
    ``(j) Protection of Proprietary Information.--The Secretary and the 
Administrator shall not disclose any proprietary information or trade 
secrets provided by any individual or company for the purposes of 
carrying out this section or the programs and initiatives established 
under this section.''.

         TITLE III--ENERGY INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

SEC. 301. ENERGY INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.

    (a) Requirement of Benchmarking and Disclosure for Leasing 
Buildings Without Energy Star Labels.--Section 435(b)(2) of the Energy 
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17091(b)(2)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
        (1)''; and
            (2) by striking ``signing the contract,'' and all that 
        follows through the period at the end and inserting the 
        following: ``signing the contract, the following requirements 
        are met:
                    ``(A) The space is renovated for all energy 
                efficiency and conservation improvements that would be 
                cost effective over the life of the lease, including 
                improvements in lighting, windows, and heating, 
                ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
                    ``(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the space is 
                benchmarked under a nationally recognized, online, free 
                benchmarking program, with public disclosure, unless 
                the space is a space for which owners cannot access 
                whole building utility consumption data, including 
                spaces--
                                    ``(I) that are located in States 
                                with privacy laws that provide that 
                                utilities shall not provide such 
                                aggregated information to multitenant 
                                building owners; and
                                    ``(II) for which tenants do not 
                                provide energy consumption information 
                                to the commercial building owner in 
                                response to a request from the building 
                                owner.
                            ``(ii) A Federal agency that is a tenant of 
                        the space shall provide to the building owner, 
                        or authorize the owner to obtain from the 
                        utility, the energy consumption information of 
                        the space for the benchmarking and disclosure 
                        required by this subparagraph.''.
    (b) Study.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in 
        collaboration with the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, shall complete a study--
                    (A) on the impact of--
                            (i) State and local performance 
                        benchmarking and disclosure policies, and any 
                        associated building efficiency policies, for 
                        commercial and multifamily buildings; and
                            (ii) programs and systems in which 
                        utilities provide aggregated information 
                        regarding whole building energy consumption and 
                        usage information to owners of multitenant 
                        commercial, residential, and mixed-use 
                        buildings;
                    (B) that identifies best practice policy approaches 
                studied under subparagraph (A) that have resulted in 
                the greatest improvements in building energy 
                efficiency; and
                    (C) that considers--
                            (i) compliance rates and the benefits and 
                        costs of the policies and programs on building 
                        owners, utilities, tenants, and other parties;
                            (ii) utility practices, programs, and 
                        systems that provide aggregated energy 
                        consumption information to multitenant building 
                        owners, and the impact of public utility 
                        commissions and State privacy laws on those 
                        practices, programs, and systems;
                            (iii) exceptions to compliance in existing 
                        laws where building owners are not able to 
                        gather or access whole building energy 
                        information from tenants or utilities;
                            (iv) the treatment of buildings with--
                                    (I) multiple uses;
                                    (II) uses for which baseline 
                                information is not available; and
                                    (III) uses that require high levels 
                                of energy intensities, such as data 
                                centers, trading floors, and 
                                televisions studios;
                            (v) implementation practices, including 
                        disclosure methods and phase-in of compliance;
                            (vi) the safety and security of 
                        benchmarking tools offered by government 
                        agencies, and the resiliency of those tools 
                        against cyber-attacks; and
                            (vii) international experiences with regard 
                        to building benchmarking and disclosure laws 
                        and data aggregation for multitenant buildings.
            (2) Submission to congress.--At the conclusion of the 
        study, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
        and Commerce of the House of Representatives and Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the 
        results of the study.
    (c) Creation and Maintenance of Database.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act and following opportunity for public 
        notice and comment, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination 
        with other relevant agencies, shall maintain, and if necessary 
        create, a database for the purpose of storing and making 
        available public energy-related information on commercial and 
        multifamily buildings, including--
                    (A) data provided under Federal, State, local, and 
                other laws or programs regarding building benchmarking 
                and energy information disclosure;
                    (B) information on buildings that have disclosed 
                energy ratings and certifications; and
                    (C) energy-related information on buildings 
                provided voluntarily by the owners of the buildings, 
                only in an anonymous form unless the owner provides 
                otherwise.
            (2) Complementary programs.--The database maintained 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) shall complement and not duplicate 
        the functions of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy 
        Star Portfolio Manager tool.
    (d) Input From Stakeholders.--The Secretary of Energy shall seek 
input from stakeholders to maximize the effectiveness of the actions 
taken under this section.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate a report on the progress made in complying with this section.
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