Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Lampitt and Vainieri Huttle
SYNOPSIS
Creates Office of Sustainability.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning environmental sustainability and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury the Office of Sustainability. The office shall be under the immediate supervision of a director, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall report to the State Treasurer. The director of the office and all employees necessary to implement the provisions of this act, as determined by the State Treasurer, may be members of the unclassified service of the State.
b. The office, in coordination with the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury, shall be responsible for developing and implementing environmental sustainability measures for all State buildings, and shall coordinate with all owners of real property in which State agencies are located in an effort to implement environmental sustainability practices in those buildings. These environmental sustainability measures and practices shall include, but need not be limited to, using resources efficiently and minimizing raw material resource consumption, maximizing resource reuse, creating healthy working environments, and protecting and restoring the natural environment.
c. (1) The office shall develop and implement initiatives to:
(a) improve energy efficiency, reduce energy usage, and improve the procurement of energy in State buildings;
(b) increase water conservation in State buildings;
(c) reduce the carbon footprint of State buildings; and
(d) implement any applicable principles set forth in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System established by the United States Green Building Council, the Green Globes Program as adopted by the Green Building Initiative, or any other comparable system that sets forth environmentally sustainable principles, in State buildings.
(2) The office shall oversee standardized energy audits to be conducted, at least every three years, at all State buildings and the subsequent implementation of recommendations contained in the audits in the most cost-effective manner practicable.
(3) The office shall coordinate with the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury for the procurement, by every State agency, of energy, energy efficient products and equipment, renewable energy products, recycled products, low toxicity products and alternatives to products that contain mercury, lead, or other persistent bioaccumulative toxics, and other products manufactured through environmentally sustainable methods. The office, in conjunction with the Division of Purchase and Property, shall assist State agencies to transition to these products as soon as possible, but in a manner that avoids wasting of existing inventories and allows the phase-out of products that do not promote environmental sustainability.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would create the Office of Sustainability in the Department of the Treasury.
The office would be responsible for developing and implementing environmental sustainability measures in all State buildings and coordinating with all owners of real property in which State agencies are located in an effort to implement environmental sustainability practices in those buildings. These measures and practices would include using resources efficiently and minimizing raw material resource consumption, maximizing resource reuse, creating healthy working environments, and protecting and restoring the natural environment.
Specifically, the office would: (1) develop and implement initiatives to improve energy efficiency, increase water conservation, reduce carbon footprints, and implement applicable principles set forth in various green building rating systems, in State buildings; (2) oversee standardized energy audits at least once every three years at all State buildings, and oversee the implementation of the recommendations contained in those audits; and (3) coordinate with the Division of Purchase and Property for the procurement by every State agency of various energy efficient and environmentally sustainable products.