SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) The Energy Action Plan adopted by the energy agencies of the state places conservation and energy efficiency first in the loading order of energy resources because they are the least expensive and most environmentally protective resources.
(b) Commercial buildings use 36 percent of the state’s electricity and account for a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, raw materials use, and waste.
(c) The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the nation’s leading green building rating system,
promotes “high performance” building practices; energy, water, and materials conservation; environmentally preferred products and practices; improvements in employee health, comfort, and productivity; and reductions in facility operation costs and environmental impacts.
(d) Electricity costs for the commercial and institutional buildings in California exceed $12 billion per year, and cost-effective efficiency practices can save more than $2 billion per year.
(e) The state’s own buildings consume over five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) of electricity per year, and energy efficiency measures can save California taxpayers one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) per year.
(f) High performance schools also reduce energy and resource consumption, while creating safer and healthier learning environments.
(g) Investments in energy efficiency measures provide high returns on investment and boost California’s economy, creating more jobs, local spending, and tax revenue.
(h) Through incorporating energy efficiency technologies, operating costs for energy and water can be reduced by 20 percent to 40 percent, allowing more money to be used to used for educating our children.