VACo opposes two procurement bills offered by Delegate Dan Helmer that will be heard by the House General Laws Committee on Thursday, January 21.
HB 2001 (Helmer) would require localities to design certain buildings and renovations with Virginia Energy Conservation and Environmental Standards to include charging stations and tracking of energy efficiency and carbon emissions. The bill applies to new buildings in excess of 5,000 square feet or any building renovated that would increase the value of the building by 50%. There is an opt-out provision that requires a locality by resolution to complete a cost comparison of energy costs over 20 years versus construction without these requirements.
The bill passed a House General Laws Subcommittee on January 19 and will likely come before the full General Laws Committee on Thursday, January 21 at 1 pm. Please contact committee members to oppose HB 2001.
KEY POINTS
- The bill is a mandate on localities, it subverts the DHCD building code process and instead puts building standards in the Code of Virginia. Building Code rules and regulations should go through the building code amendment process.
- This is a state mandate with a local cost and some localities may not have the expertise to conduct the cost comparison.
- The state can exempt themselves by written report and analysis while localities must do so by resolution.
HB 1811 (Helmer), another state unfunded mandate, requires localities to select only Energy Star certified bids while procuring goods in certain circumstances. VACo opposes this bill, which passed a House General Laws Subcommittee on January 19, and will be heard by the full General Laws Committee on Thursday, January 21. HB 1811 provides that if a public body receives at least two bids that are Energy Star, it must select one of those bids. The public body cannot consider other preferences or cost, and as drafted, may be forced to accept a bid that greatly exceeds anticipated costs.
Please contact members of the House General Laws Committee to oppose HB1811.
KEY CONTACT
House General Laws Committee – email entire committee with one click
House General Laws Committee: Bulova (Chair), Carr (Vice Chair), Torian, Simon, Murphy, Price, Krizek, Aird, Hurst, Adams, D.M., VanValkenburg, Tran, Convirs-Fowler, Wright, Cole, M.L., Knight, Morefield, Leftwich, Fowler, Miyares, Brewer, Wampler
VACo Contact: Phyllis Errico, Esq., CAE