ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 2/27/2015
Posted by admin on Mar. 2, 2015 / Subscribe 0
Federal Activities
For additional information on federal issues, please contact Mark Ames, ASHRAE’s Senior Manager of Federal Government Affairs, at [email protected].
Senators Portman and Shaheen Reintroduce Energy Efficiency Improvement Act
U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have reintroduced the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act (S.535), which ASHRAE supports. This is the same bill that was offered as an amendment to the Keystone XL Pipeline bill, and adopted by a vote of 94 to 5. It is expected that this bill will be passed in the Senate, and then the House in the near future.
Last year, Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT) led Congress in introducing the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act. Representatives McKinley and Welch are the Co-Chairs of the High-Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus. ASHRAE is the founder and co-leader of the Coalition that supports the Caucus. For additional information, please visit www.hpbccc.org.
House Considers Federal Education Reform, Including STEM Amendments
The U.S. House of Representatives has been considering a bill that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as No Child Left Behind. The bill, the Student Success Act (H.R.5) is a comprehensive, nearly 600 page measure addressing a wide range of issues, including student testing, teacher and principle training, parental engagement, and homeless education, among others.
The Student Success Act is light on support for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and as a result, several amendments have been offered to improve the bill.
Of the 128 amendments offered, nine are related to STEM; of these, only three were made in order (allowed to be considered). Below are all nine:
Amendment No. 67 (Rep. Kennedy) (Made in Order): Authorizes the STEM Gateways grant program as an allowable use of flexible funding received by state educational agencies. States could award grants to LEAs and qualified partner organizations to support the success of women, minorities, and low-income students in rigorous STEM academics.
Amendment No. 98 (Rep. McKinley) (Made in Order): Would establish a state-led definition of “workforce critical subjects” that includes STEM, and requires states to provide an explanation of the subjects they identify as “workforce critical”.
Amendment No. 111 (Rep. Zeldin) (Made in Order): Allows a state to withdraw from the Common Core Standards or any other specific standards.
Amendment No. 4 (Rep. Langevin) (Not in Order): Changes “academic” standards to “college and career ready” standards. This would align academic standards with career readiness skills, ensuring that students are able to gain job skills in school.
Amendment No. 13 (Rep. Courtney) (Not in Order): Creates a comprehensive program for STEM education from preschool through grade 12. The amendment also helps districts invest in technology and digital resources to improve student learning.
Amendment No. 33 (Rep. Tonko) (Not in Order): Helps to expand engineering education in our nation’s elementary and secondary schools by highlighting the ability of states to incorporate engineering design skills and practices into the currently required state science standards.
Amendment No. 95 (Rep. Jackson Lee) (Not in Order): Supports a STEM mentoring program for female undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at institutions of higher education in programs of study that lead to a STEM degree to mentor female secondary school students who are enrolled in post-secondary-level courses in science, technology, engineering, or math as part of a dual enrollment program.
Amendment No. 105 (Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson) (Not in Order): Adds to the requirements listed in section 3204, the Local Competitive Grant Program in Title III, that programs must be designed to increase access to quality STEM education in high-need schools before distributing such finds to local education agencies.
Amendment No. 112 (Rep. Gibson) (Not in Order): Replaces current federal yearly testing requirements for math and language arts/reading with the exact same grade span testing requirements that are in current law for science.
The House is expected to conclude debate on and pass the Student Success Act this week. Full information is available at http://rules.house.gov/bill/114/hr-5
The Senate is developing its own bill to reform federal education, with additional action expected sometime this year.
ASHRAE is continuing to be engaged on workforce development issues at all levels of education, and is an active member of the STEM Education Coalition.
Representative Lipinski Introduces Resolution in Support of National Engineers Week
Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), along with 15 Republican and Democratic cosponsors, introduced a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Engineers Week. Engineers Week runs from February 22 to 28, and is organized by DiscoverE. ASHRAE is a member of the DiscoverE Steering Committee.
Please click here to view the resolution; Representative Lipinski’s press release is available here.
Representative Lipinski has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, and an M.S. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University. He is also a former teacher.
ASHRAE Submits Comments to DOE Information Requests on Quadrennial Energy Review, Proposed Definition of Zero Energy Buildings
ASHRAE recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Energy for their requests for information and public comment on Quadrennial Technology Review Framing Document, and proposed definition of Zero Energy Buildings.
ASHRAE’s comments are available here, under “Letters and Testimony”.
GSA Seeks Comments on LEED v4
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking public input on its analysis of LEED v4. GSA is also seeking public input on several questions related to the federal government's use of LEED v4 and future GSA reviews of green building certification systems.
Comments are due on or before March 23, 2015.
The full notice is available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=GSA-GSA-2014-0002-0015
DOE Proposes Test Procedures for Portable Air Conditioners
DOE is seeking public comment on its proposal to establish test procedures for portable air conditioners (ACs) in accordance with the guidance and requirements set forth by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish technologically feasible, economically justified energy conservation standards for products identified by specific criteria to provide national energy savings through improved energy efficiency. The proposed test procedures are based upon industry methods to determine energy consumption in active modes, off-cycle mode, standby modes, and off mode, with certain modifications to ensure the test procedures are repeatable and representative. The proposed test procedure would create a new appendix CC, which would be used to determine capacities and energy efficiency metrics that could be the basis for any future energy conservation standards for portable ACs. DOE also proposes adding a sampling plan and rounding requirements for portable ACs, necessary when certifying capacity and efficiency of a basic model.
ASHRAE Standards 16 Method of Testing for Rating Room Air Conditioners and Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners, 37 Methods of Testing for Rating Electrically Driven Unitary Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump Equipment, and 128 Method of Rating Unitary Spot Air Conditioners, are discussed in the proposal.
DOE will hold a public meeting and webinar on March 18, 2015. Comments are due on or before May 11, 2015. The full notice is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/02/25/2015-03589/energy-conservation-program-test-procedures-for-portable-air-conditioners
GSA Green Building Advisory Committee Announces Public Calls
GSA’s Green Building Advisory Committee (GBAC) has announced the following calls:
Meeting date: The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2015, starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, and ending no later than 4:00 p.m.
Task group conference call dates: The conference calls will be held according to the following schedule:
The Portfolio Prioritization task group will hold conference calls every Monday from March 9, 2015 to April 20, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. eastern daylight time.
The Energy Use Index task group will hold conference calls every Monday from March 9, 2015 to April 20, 2015 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. eastern daylight time.
ASHRAE past President Kent Peterson is a member of GBAC.
For additional information, please visit https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/02/18/2015-03400/office-of-federal-high-performance-green-buildings-green-building-advisory-committee-notification-of
GGAC Regional and Chapter Activities
For additional information on state, local, and international government affairs, please contact Jim Scarborough, ASHRAE’s Manager of Grassroots Government Affairs, at [email protected].
Anthracite Chapter Obtains Three Engineers Week Proclamations
The Anthracite Chapter of Scranton, PA received Engineer Week (EWeek) Proclamations from the mayors of the three largest cities within their area: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. All three mayors were pleased to participate in this annual recognition.
To view the proclamations, go to http://anthraciteashrae.weebly.com/.
Arizona Chapters Visit State Legislature for Engineers Week
Representatives of ASHRAE’s two Chapters in Arizona visited the Arizona State Legislature to highlight Engineers Week.ASHRAE Cover Letters, Sample Proclamations, EWeek Buttons and EWeek Tent cards were delivered to the Governor, all State Senators and State Representatives along with Mayors from the top dozen cities in AZ in this Day On The Hill. Promises of proclamations were received for proclamations for 2016 as well.
Georgia House Bill 255 Could Bar LEED for any Public/Capital Project
Legislation introduced in Georgiacould bar the use of LEED for any public/capital project, including anything from within the state university system. House Bill 255, State purchasing; equal credits be given to certain forestry certification systems when using green building standards in state construction operation, repair, and renovation projects, is currently before the House State Properties Committee.
To view the bill go to http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-us/display/20152016/hb/255.
Utah Code Legislation Advances
Utah House Bill 285 passed out of the House Business and Labor Committee this week on a 13-1 vote in favor. This bill, though it has undergone several revisions, will delay the adoption of the latest codes from three years to six years. The original language of this legislation would have changed the cycle to nine years. The bill also directs the Utah Building Code Commission to complete acost-benefits analysis on any recommended changes to the state's residential building code to ensure that modifications that deal with energy savings, for example, are thoroughly examined.
To see the bill, go to http://le.utah.gov/~2015/bills/static/HB0285.html.
City of Atlanta Moves Forward on Benchmarking Policy
The City of Atlanta continues to refine a proposal for its Commercial Building Performance Policy. When enacted this policy will seek to capture cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities, track city-wide energy performance, spur economic development, increase the attractiveness of Atlanta, improve public health, and reduce the city’s overall environmental footprint. The current draft language limits transparency reporting of Portfolio Manager scores and energy consumption values to buildings with energy use intensities that exceed the national average. Buildings below this threshold would not have an energy value associated with their listing. Additionally, retro-commissioning has been made a voluntary component of the proposal. Finally, energy audits can be completed by a qualified and certified member professional or, if conducted by a third party, can utilize the Georgia Power audit offerings. This ordinance is expected to be introduced on March 2.
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