SACRAMENTO – This weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the signing of Senate Bill 416 authored by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), which will require new and renovated state buildings to be more energy efficient. It does this by requiring LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold or higher certification on all new state buildings or major renovation projects larger than 10,000 square feet unless certain circumstances are met that require LEED Silver.
“I thank Governor Newsom for signing this important legislation that ensures the State’s leadership in the fight against climate change,” said Senator Laird.
“This bill ensures State buildings continue to meet the highest standards of sustainability to tackle this major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and that the State does its part to meet our ambitious climate goals.”
LEED certification is an industry recognized certification for healthy, efficient, cost-saving buildings created by the U.S. Green Building Alliance. To achieve LEED certification, a project earns points by adhering to prerequisites and credits that promote best practices in carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health, and indoor environmental quality. These points correspond to a level of LEED certification: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points). The LEED certification system encourages the construction of new buildings that promote sustainability by reducing impact to the natural environment and reducing contribution to climate change. The state currently has 273 LEED certified buildings, 32% of which are already certified LEED Gold or higher.
California has some of the most ambitious climate goals in the nation. SB 32 (Pavley, Chapter 249, Statutes of 2016) codified statewide GHG reduction goals to achieve 40% reductions below 1990 levels by 2030. The state recently updated these goals under AB 1279 (Muratsuchi, Chapter 337, Statutes of 2022) to require 85% GHG reduction below 1990 levels by 2045, and to require carbon neutrality by 2045. Energy used in buildings is the second largest contributor to California’s GHG emissions. For California to meet its ambitious targets, the state has a role and obligation to build more sustainably. Recognizing the importance of State leadership in building greener, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-18-12 in 2012, requiring new or major renovated state buildings and build-to-suit leases larger than 10,000 square feet to obtain LEED Silver certification or higher. This bill goes one step further and requires new buildings and major renovations undertaken by state agencies to obtain LEED Gold or higher unless the project conflicts with critical operational or security requirements, can be demonstrated to be cost ineffective, or conflicts with requirements in the California Building Code, in which case it must continue to obtain LEED Silver certification.
###
Senator John Laird represents the 17th State Senate District, which includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, the majority of Monterey County, as well as parts of Santa Clara County. More information on Senator Laird can be found here.