Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) announced today that Governor David Paterson signed an amended version of the State Green Building Construction Act (A.7246-B/S.5779), which she authored. The changes transfer the authority to develop green building standards for New York State government buildings from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to the Office of General Services (OGS), which is better suited to the task.

"The Office of General Services will now be charged with advancing Governor David A. Paterson's sustainability agenda,” said Office of General Services Commissioner John C. Egan. “We are pleased that this new law will enable the agency to continue to lead state agencies in constructing green buildings that lower energy costs, improve indoor air quality, provide water efficiency, reduce waste and curb production of greenhouse gases.”

Last year, Governor Paterson signed the original State Green Building Construction Act (Chapter 565 of 2008), which was also authored by Assemblywoman Lupardo. However, the governor expressed concerns that DEC, the agency initially delegated the authority to develop the green building standards, lacked the necessary resources to implement this bill.

Assemblywoman Lupardo worked with the governor’s office to draft the necessary changes, which were approved by the State Legislature earlier this year. The new law, which will go into effect on August 27, 2010, requires that any future construction of new state buildings, and any substantial renovation planned for existing buildings conform to the new "green building" principles.

“Green buildings use less energy, are environmentally friendly and will help New York’s economy by saving money for businesses and taxpayers,” said Assemblywoman Lupardo, a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee. “The Green Building Construction Act will significantly reduce New York State's use of energy, as our state buildings are among the biggest energy consumers. In addition, green building construction will help create new ‘green collar’ jobs and encourage the use and development of green technologies.”

The new green building standards would apply to local projects in the Southern Tier, such as the renovation of the Castle by SUNY Upstate Medical University, which is expanding their Clinical Campus to the historic landmark. In addition, any future construction or substantial renovation by Binghamton University would need to comply with the new law as well.

The bill was sponsored in the state Senate by Senator Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo), the Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee. The bill passed unanimously in the Assembly (139-0) on June 10th and overwhelmingly in the state Senate (55-2) on July 10th.