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Bill directs department to set building carbon intensity limits and performance standards for large buildings
Summary
The proposed law would require the department named in the bill to promulgate regulations establishing annual carbon intensity limits or building energy performance standards for large buildings, allow alternative compliance methods and set decreasing emissions limits aligned with Chapter 21N.
A bill introduced in the Massachusetts House on Jan. 15, 2025, directs the department identified in the text to promulgate regulations establishing annual carbon intensity limits on building emissions or a building energy performance standard — or both — for large buildings. The regulations must align with emissions limits and sublimits established in Chapter 21N and may vary by building use, including commercial, industrial and residential typologies.
The bill requires that building performance limits be set for periods of not more than five years and that emissions limits decline over time to align with Chapter 21N. It authorizes the department to adopt regulations for alternative compliance, including on-site renewable energy adjustments, accommodations for buildings housing low- and moderate-income occupants, and alternative compliance payments. The text directs that alternative compliance payments should be scaled so that low- and moderate-income households and small businesses are charged reduced amounts proportional to ability to pay, and that fines for noncompliance be higher than alternative compliance payments. Revenue from alternative compliance payments and fines is to be deposited into the Building Energy Retrofit Program Trust Fund established by the bill.
The bill also clarifies that once a building is classified as a "large building," it must not exceed the annual building performance limits as determined by the department, except as otherwise provided by statute or regulation. The department is authorized to allow differences for electric vehicle charging and to exclude specialized typologies as appropriate. The bill further allows municipalities to adopt their own reporting requirements and building emissions or performance standards that exceed state requirements and directs the department to accept approved municipal program data rather than requiring separate owner reporting when municipalities meet the statutory standards.
The bill text uses the generic term "the department" when assigning regulatory duties; it does not name a specific executive agency in every section. If enacted, the department will be responsible for establishing numeric limits, alternative compliance mechanisms and penalties through subsequent regulation, and for directing revenue from penalties or alternative compliance payments into the state trust fund created elsewhere in the bill.
