Public Buildings Cost Reduction Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-992
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2007-03-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Building construction
Congress
Congressional oversight
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost control
Cost effectiveness
Economics and Public Finance
Energy
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Federal installations
Federal office buildings
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Grants-in-aid
Infrastructure
Lighting
Standards

Summary:
action_date: 2007-03-27
text: 
Public Buildings Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of General Services to establish a program to accelerate the use of more cost-effective technologies and practices at General Services Administration (GSA) facilities. 

Requires the Administrator, as part of such program, to: (1) review the current use of cost-effective lighting technologies in GSA facilities and the availability of such technologies to facility managers; and (2) establish an acceleration program to achieve maximum feasible replacement of existing lighting technologies with more cost-effective technologies in each GSA facility using available appropriations.

Requires the Administrator to annually: (1) ensure that a manager responsible for accelerating the use of cost-effective technologies and practices is designated for each GSA facility; and (2) submit to Congress a plan concerning cost-effective technologies and practices.

Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a competitive grants program to assist local governments to deploy, and achieve operational cost savings through, cost-effective technologies and practices in their buildings. 

action_date: 2007-05-03
text: 
Public Buildings Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Requires the Administrator of General Services to establish a program to accelerate the use of more cost-effective technologies and practices at General Services Administration (GSA) facilities. Requires such program to: (1) ensure centralized responsibility for the coordination of cost reduction recommendations, practices, and activities of all relevant federal agencies; (2) provide technical assistance and operational guidance to tenants in order to achieve a 20% reduction in operational costs through the application of cost-effective technologies and practices from 2003 levels at GSA facilities by not later than five years after this Act's enactment; and (3) establish methods to track the success of departments and agencies with respect to the reduction goal. 

Requires the Administrator, as part of such program, to: (1) review the current use of cost-effective lighting technologies in GSA facilities and the availability to managers of GSA facilities of cost-effective lighting technologies; and (2) establish a cost-effective lighting technology acceleration program to achieve maximum feasible replacement of existing lighting technologies with more cost-effective lighting technologies in each GSA facility using available appropriations.

Requires the Administrator to annually ensure that a manager responsible for accelerating the use of cost-effective technologies and practices is designated for each GSA facility. Requires the Administrator to annually submit to Congress a plan that: (1) identifies the specific activities needed to achieve a 20% reduction in operational costs; (2) describes activities required and carried out to estimate the funds necessary to achieve such reduction; (3) describes the status of the implementation of cost-effective technologies and practices at GSA facilities; (4) identifies within the planning, budgeting, and construction process all types of GSA facility-related procedures that inhibit new and existing GSA facilities from implementing cost-effective technology and practices; (5) recommends language for uniform standards for use by federal agencies in implementing cost-effective technologies and practices; (6) reviews the budget process for capital programs with respect to alternatives for permitting federal agencies to retain all identified savings accrued as a result of the use of cost-effective technologies and practices and identifying cost savings that accrue from cost-effective technologies and practices; (7) achieves cost savings through the application of such technologies and practices sufficient to pay the incremental additional costs of installing them by not later than the five years after the date of installation; and (8) includes recommendations to address each of the matters and a plan for implementation of each recommendation.

(Sec. 3) Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a demonstration program under which the Administrator shall provide competitive grants program to assist local governments with respect to local government buildings to: (1) deploy cost-effective technologies and practices; and (2) achieve operational cost savings, through the application of such technologies and practices.

Provides that the federal share of the cost of an activity carried out using a grant shall be 40%. Requires the Administrator to waive up to 100% of the local share of the cost of any grant under this Act if the community is economically distressed, pursuant to objective economic criteria established by the Administrator.

Requires the Administrator to issue guidelines to implement the grant program.

Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.

Requires the Administrator to report to Congress on the cost savings achieved, action taken, recommendations made under this Act, and any recommendations for further action.

Terminates the program on September 30, 2012.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-05-03
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 131.
action_date: 2007-05-03
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with amendments. With written report No. 110-60.
action_date: 2007-05-03
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with amendments. With written report No. 110-60.
action_date: 2007-03-29
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.
action_date: 2007-03-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3840-3842)
action_date: 2007-03-27
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3840)
action_date: 2007-03-27
text: Introduced in Senate