2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 16a - Planning and Energy Policy
Chapter 298 - Energy Utilization and Conservation
Section 16a-39 - Lighting standards for public buildings. Regulations. Inspections. Lighting grants to municipalities.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Public building” means any building or portion thereof, other than an “exempted building”, which is open to the public during normal business hours, including (A) any building which provides facilities or shelter for public assembly, (B) any inn, hotel, motel, sports arena, supermarket, transportation terminal, retail store, restaurant, or other commercial establishment which provides services or retails merchandise, and (C) any building owned or leased by the state of Connecticut or any political subdivision thereof, or by another state or political subdivision thereof and located in Connecticut, including libraries, museums, schools, hospitals, auditoriums, sports arenas and university buildings;

(2) “Exempted building” means (A) any building whose peak design rate of energy usage for all purposes is less than one watt per square foot of floor area for all purposes, (B) any building with neither a heating nor cooling system, and (C) any building owned or leased in whole or in part by the United States;

(3) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Construction Services or his designee; and

(4) “Eligible building” means a building owned by a municipality, located within the state and not used for public education purposes.

(b) The commissioner, after consultation with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and with such advisory board as the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may appoint, shall adopt, in accordance with chapter 54, regulations establishing lighting standards for all public buildings. The members of any such advisory board shall receive neither compensation nor expenses for the performance of their duties.

(c) The lighting standards adopted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall provide for the maximum feasible energy efficiency of lighting equipment commensurate with other factors relevant to lighting levels and equipment, including, but not limited to, the purposes of the lighting, reasonable economic considerations in terms both of initial capital costs and of operating costs including nonenergy operating costs, reasonable budgetary considerations in terms of the feasibility of implementing changes which require a significant capital expenditure in a given time period, any constraints imposed on lighting equipment by the nature of the activities being carried out in the facility involved, considerations involving historic preservation or unusual architectural features, the amount of remaining useful lifetime which a particular structure would be expected to enjoy and the size of the building or portion of the building involved.

(d) The commissioner shall, upon the adoption of the regulations required by subsection (b) of this section, make random inspections of public buildings to monitor compliance with the standards established by such regulations. The commissioner may also inspect any public buildings against which complaints alleging violation of such standards have been received. The operator of a public building or portion thereof shall provide access to such inspectors at any reasonable time, including all times during which the facility is open to the public. If an inspector is denied access to a public building for the purposes of making an inspection in accordance with the provisions of this section, the commissioner may apply to the superior court for the judicial district wherein such building is located for injunctive or other equitable relief. If upon inspection it is determined that the lighting levels in a public building do not conform to such standards, the inspector shall make available to the owner or operator of such building, information regarding such standards and the economic and energy savings expected to result from compliance therewith. The owner or operator of a public building may, after having taken appropriate measures to render such building in compliance with such standards, request a reinspection of such building by the commissioner. The commissioner may, upon such request or at his own discretion, conduct such reinspection and determine whether or not such building has been brought into compliance with such standards.

(e) The commissioner shall maintain a listing of all public buildings found to be in compliance with the lighting standards adopted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

(f) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may award lighting grants to municipalities for the purpose of improving the energy efficiency of lighting equipment in eligible buildings. All lighting grants shall be awarded based on an application, submitted by a municipality, which sets forth the lighting conservation measures to be implemented. Such measures shall meet the standards established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and be consistent with the state energy policy, as set forth in section 16a-35k. When evaluating the applications submitted pursuant to this section and determining the amount of a lighting grant, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection shall consider the energy savings and the payback period for the measures to be implemented and any other information which the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection deems relevant. The funds for lighting grants shall be provided from proceeds of bonds issued for such purpose. The amount of each grant shall be not less than five thousand dollars but not more than fifty thousand dollars, provided the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may award grants of less than five thousand dollars or more than fifty thousand dollars if the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection finds good cause to do so. All public service company incentive payments contributed to any energy conservation project at an eligible building shall be applied to pay the principal cost of such project.

(P.A. 78-269, S. 1–6; P.A. 87-496, S. 80, 110; P.A. 88-220, S. 5, 11; P.A. 93-378, S. 3, 4; P.A. 11-51, S. 90; 11-80, S. 47.)

History: P.A. 87-496 substituted public works commissioner for administrative services commissioner in Subsec. (a); P.A. 88-220 deleted obsolete provisions re 1979 reporting requirement in Subsec. (e); P.A. 93-378 added Subsec. (a)(5) defining “eligible building” and added new Subsec. (f) regarding lighting grants to municipalities, effective July 1, 1993; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Works” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Construction Services” in Subsec. (a)(3), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-80 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting former Subdiv. (4) defining “secretary” and redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) as Subdiv. (4) and amended Subsecs. (b) and (f) by replacing “secretary” with “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection”, effective July 1, 2011.