1. (a) The state energy conservation office shall establish and publish mandatory energy and water conservation design standards for each new state building or major renovation project, including a new building or major renovation project of a state-supported institution of higher education. The office shall define "major renovation project" for purposes of this section and shall review and update the standards biennially.

2. (b) The standards established under Subsection (a) must:

   1. (1) include performance and procedural standards for the maximum energy and water conservation allowed by the latest and most cost-effective technology that is consistent with the requirements of public health, safety, and economic resources;
   2. (2) be stated in terms of energy and water consumption levels;
   3. (3) consider the various types of building uses; and
   4. (4) allow for design flexibility.

3. (c) Any procedural standard established under this section must be directed toward specific design and building practices that produce good thermal resistance and low infiltration and toward requiring practices in the design of mechanical and electrical systems that maximize energy and water efficiency. The procedural standards must address, as applicable:

   1. (1) insulation;
   2. (2) lighting;
   3. (3) ventilation;
   4. (4) climate control;
   5. (5) water-conserving fixtures, appliances, and equipment or the substitution of non-water-using fixtures, appliances, and equipment;
   6. (6) water-conserving landscape irrigation equipment;

   7. (7) landscaping measures that reduce watering demands and capture and hold applied water and rainfall, including:

      1. (A) landscape contouring, including the use of berms, swales, and terraces; and
      2. (B) the use of soil amendments that increase the water-holding capacity of the soil, including compost;
   8. (8) rainwater harvesting equipment and equipment to make use of water collected as part of a storm-water system installed for water quality control;
   9. (9) equipment for recycling or reusing water originating on the premises or from other sources, including treated municipal effluent;
   10. (10) equipment needed to capture water from nonconventional, alternate sources, including air conditioning condensate or graywater, for nonpotable uses;
   11. (11) metering equipment needed to segregate water use in order to identify water conservation opportunities or verify water savings;
   12. (12) special energy requirements of health-related facilities of higher education and state agencies; and
   13. (13) any other item that the state energy conservation office considers appropriate.

4. (c-1) The procedural standards adopted under this section must require that on-site reclaimed system technologies, including rainwater harvesting, condensate collection, or cooling tower blow down, or a combination of those system technologies, for nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design and construction of:

   1. (1) each new state building with a roof measuring at least 10,000 square feet; and
   2. (2) any other new state building for which the incorporation of such systems is feasible.

5. (c-2) The procedural standards required by Subsection (c-1) do not apply to a building if the state agency or institution of higher education constructing the building:

   1. (1) determines that compliance with those standards is impractical; and
   2. (2) notifies the state energy conservation office of the determination and provides to the office documentation supporting the determination.
6. (d) A state agency or an institution of higher education shall submit a copy of its design and construction manuals to the state energy conservation office as the office considers necessary to demonstrate compliance by the agency or institution with the standards established under this section.

7. (e) A state agency may not begin construction of a new state building or a major renovation project before the design architect or engineer for the construction or renovation has:

   1. (1) certified to the appropriate authority having jurisdiction that the construction or renovation complies with:

      1. (A) the standards established under this section; and
      2. (B) the alternative energy and energy-efficient architectural and engineering design evaluation requirements under Sections 2166.401, 2166.403, and 2166.408; and

   2. (2) provided to the appropriate authority having jurisdiction and the state energy conservation office copies of:

      1. (A) each certification under Subdivision (1); and
      2. (B) any written evaluation or detailed economic feasibility study prepared in accordance with Section 2166.401, 2166.403, or 2166.408.

8. (f) An institution of higher education may not begin construction of a new state building or a major renovation project before the design architect or engineer for the construction or renovation has:

   1. (1) certified to the institution of higher education that the construction or renovation complies with the standards established under this section; and
   2. (2) provided to the state energy conservation office a copy of that certification.

Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 52, art. 2, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.

Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 612, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989;

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.95(50), eff. Aug. 28, 1995;

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 526, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 698, Sec. 5, eff. Aug. 28, 1995;

Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 573, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 2001;

Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1158, Sec. 28, eff. June 15, 2001;

Acts, 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1398, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Reenacted and amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1310, Sec. 29, eff. June 20, 2003.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 856 (S.B. 982), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1352 (H.B. 4), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2009.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1430 (S.B. 3), Sec. 2.27, eff. September 1, 2009.