Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 114-11.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.)
Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015
TITLE I--BETTER BUILDINGS
Better Buildings Act of 2015
(Sec. 102) This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to: (1) develop and publish model leasing provisions to encourage building owners and tenants to use greater cost-effective energy efficiency and water efficiency measures in commercial buildings, (2) develop policies and practices to implement the measures for the realty services provided by the GSA to agencies, and (3) make available the model provisions and best practices to state and local governments for use in managing owned and leased building spaces.
The GSA may use the model leasing provisions in any standard leasing document that designates a federal agency as a landlord or tenant.
(Sec. 103) The bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to study the feasibility of: (1) significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of spaces within the buildings with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and (2) encouraging owners and tenants to implement those measures. A high-performance energy efficiency measure is a technology, product, or practice that will result in substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy consumption and utility costs.
(Sec. 104) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the Energy Star program to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency. The EPA may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of leased spaces.
DOE's Energy Information Administration must collect in each of its Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Surveys data on: (1) categories of building occupancy that are known to consume significant quantities of energy; and (2) other aspects of the property, building operation, or building occupancy relevant to lowering energy consumption.
The summary continues for 10 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on April 30, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on April 30, 2015: Became Public Law No: 114-11.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced it on February 23, 2015, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenatePassed
- HousePassed
- PresidentSigned into law