Dear Neighbors:
I hope you are enjoying our Fourth of July weekend, especially today’s expected escape from the recent “heat dome” that has made time outdoors less enjoyable. In this week’s letter I discuss the Governor’s veto of the Building Benchmarking and Reporting Act (BBRA).
A. What The BBRA Does
The Building Benchmarking and Reporting Act (BBRA) requires owners of large buildings (25,000 square feet and larger) to report their annual energy consumption each year. The purpose of the Act is to quantify the “carbon footprint” for Rhode Island’s larger buildings to provide a baseline for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
B. BBRA And The Act On Climate
At the end of last year, the Rhode Island Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) published a Climate Action Strategy intended to guide the implementation of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions mandated by the 2021 Act on Climate. As noted in this Excerpt from that strategy: (1) Buildings generate 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Rhode Island (p.58), (2) One strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this sector is to develop a Building Performance Standard that will establish emissions performance targets that will cause owners of large buildings to “reduce emissions gradually over time through improvements in energy efficiency” (p.105). To begin this program, it is necessary to develop a “carbon footprint” baseline for each large building. The City of Providence has implemented this type of benchmarking process through local ordinance, but other communities have not.
C. General Assembly Passage Of BBRA And The Governor’s Veto
BBRA passed in the Senate as S-2260 by a margin of 33-5 and in the House by a margin of 48-15. Notwithstanding this broad support, the Governor vetoed BBRA. In his Veto Message, the Governor stated that the bill conflicted with the building benchmarking program approved fo for state-occupied buildings in this year’s budget. This is not a valid conflict, because (1) the budget’s benchmarking program does not apply to privately owned buildings and therefore there is no conflict, and (2) to the extent that the BBRA’s benchmarking standards are inconsistent with the budget’s program for State-owned buildings, it will be possible to implement the two programs in parallel if they cannot be reconciled.
D. The Governor’s Approach To The Act On Climate
The Governor’s veto of BBRA fits within a pattern I identified in my January 25 letter and elsewhere, of impeding the greenhouse gas reduction policies contained within the Act on Climate, a bill he signed in 2021. Between his budget (which compromised the renewable energy standard timetable) and this veto, the Governor’s actions have amounted to a campaign to undermine the Act on Climate without offering a positive vision of either (1) how he proposes to modify the Act’s timetable, or (2) how to implement the Act successfully after having undermined its foundation. Fortunately, the General Assembly modified the Governor’s budget to keep the Act’s implementation within reach.
E. Next Steps
I joined a really organized last Monday by the Climate Action Rhode Island and Green Energy organization to urge the General Assembly leadership to convene a special session to override the Governor’s veto of BBRA. Should leadership call us into session, there appears to be sufficient support to pass the bills a second time by a margin equal to or greater than the three-fifths (60%) margin required under the Rhode Island Constitution, Article IX, Section 14.