Public Act 093-0936
 
HB4099 Enrolled LRB093 16165 BDD 44166 b

    AN ACT in relation to energy conservation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings.
    (a) The legislature finds that an effective energy
efficient commercial building code is essential to:
        (1) reduce the air pollutant emissions from energy
    consumption that are affecting the health of residents of
    this State;
        (2) moderate future peak electric power demand;
        (3) assure the reliability of the electrical grid and
    an adequate supply of heating oil and natural gas; and
        (4) control energy costs for residents and businesses
    in this State.
    (b) The legislature further finds that this State has a
number of different climate types, all of which require energy
for both cooling and heating, and that there are many
cost-effective measures that can reduce peak energy use and
reduce cooling, heating, lighting, and other energy costs in
commercial buildings.
 
    Section 10. Definitions.
    "Board" means the Capital Development Board.
    "Code" means the 2000 International Energy Conservation
Code, the ASHRAE 90.1-1999 Standard, which is included within
that Code, the 2001 supplement to that Code, and the
adaptations to the Code that are made by the Board.
    "Commercial building" means any building except a building
that is a residential building, as defined in this Section.
    "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity.
    "Municipality" means any city, village, or incorporated
town.
    "Residential building" means (i) a detached one-family or
2-family dwelling or (ii) any building that is 3 stories or
less in height above grade that contains multiple dwelling
units, in which the occupants reside on a primarily permanent
basis, such as a townhouse, a row house, an apartment house, a
convent, a monastery, a rectory, a fraternity or sorority
house, a dormitory, and a rooming house.
 
    Section 15. Energy Efficient Building Code. The Board, in
consultation with the Department, shall adopt the Code as
minimum requirements applying to the construction of,
renovations to, and additions to all commercial buildings in
the State. The Board may appropriately adapt the International
Energy Conservation Code to apply to the particular economy,
population distribution, geography, and climate of the State
and construction therein, consistent with the public policy
objectives of this Act.
 
    Section 20. Applicability.
    (a) The Code shall take effect one year after it is adopted
by the Board and shall apply to any commercial building or
structure in this State for which a building permit application
is received by a municipality or county, except as otherwise
provided by this Act. In the case of any addition, alteration,
renovation, or repair to an existing commercial structure, the
Code adopted under this Act applies only to the portions of
that structure that are being added, altered, renovated, or
repaired.
    (b) The following buildings shall be exempt from the Code:
        (1) Buildings otherwise exempt from the provisions of a
    locally adopted building code and buildings that do not
    contain a conditioned space.
        (2) Buildings that do not use either electricity or
    fossil fuel for comfort conditioning. For purposes of
    determining whether this exemption applies, a building
    will be presumed to be heated by electricity, even in the
    absence of equipment used for electric comfort heating,
    whenever the building is provided with electrical service
    in excess of 100 amps, unless the code enforcement official
    determines that this electrical service is necessary for
    purposes other than providing electric comfort heating.
        (3) Historic buildings. This exemption shall apply to
    those buildings that are listed on the National Register of
    Historic Places or the Illinois Register of Historic
    Places, and to those buildings that have been designated as
    historically significant by a local governing body that is
    authorized to make such designations.
        (4) Residential buildings.
        (5) Other buildings specified as exempt by the
    International Energy Conservation Code.
 
    Section 25. Technical assistance.
    (a) The Department shall make available to builders,
designers, engineers, and architects implementation materials
that explain the requirements of the Code and describe methods
of compliance acceptable to Code Enforcement Officials.
    (b) The materials shall include software tools, simplified
prescriptive options, and other materials as appropriate. The
simplified materials shall be designed for projects in which a
design professional may not be involved.
    (c) The Department shall provide local jurisdictions with
technical assistance concerning implementation and enforcement
of the Code.
 
    Section 30. Enforcement. The Board, in consultation with
the Department, shall determine procedures for compliance with
the Code. These procedures may include but need not be limited
to certification by a national, State, or local accredited
energy conservation program or inspections from private
Code-certified inspectors using the Code.
 
    Section 35. Rules. The Board may adopt any rules that are
necessary for the furtherance of this Act.
 
    Section 40. Input from interested parties. When developing
Code adaptations, rules, and procedures for compliance with the
Code, the Capital Development Board, or the Illinois Building
Commission as directed by the Board, shall seek input from
representatives from the building trades, design
professionals, construction professionals, code
administrators, and other interested entities affected.
 
    Section 45. Home rule. No unit of local government,
including any home rule unit, may regulate energy efficient
building standards in a manner that is less stringent than the
provisions contained in this Act. This Section is a denial and
limitation of home rule powers and functions under subsection
(i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on
the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and
functions exercised by the State. Nothing in this Section,
however, prevents a unit of local government from adopting an
energy efficiency code or standards that are more stringent
than the Code under this Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/13/2004