2017 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 37 - Public Property and Works
Chapter 37-24 - The Green Buildings Act
Section 37-24-3 - Definitions.

§ 37-24-3. Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) "Construction" means the process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing forty percent (40%) or more of any public structures or buildings, or other public improvements of any kind to any public real property.

(2) "Department" means the department of administration.

(3) "Equivalent standard" means a high-performance, green-building standard, other than LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES, that provides a rating system or measurement tool, that, when used, leads to outcomes, similar or equivalent to, LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES outcomes, in terms of green-building, green-infrastructure, and green-site performance; current accepted equivalent standards include green globes, Northeast collaborative high-performance schools protocol; or other equivalent high-performance, green-building, green-infrastructure, and green-site standards accepted by the department.

(4) "LEED-" also, "LEED for Neighborhood Development-, and SITES-certified standard" means the current version of the United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating standard referred to as LEED, LEED for Neighborhood Development, and SITES certified. SITES means the U.S. Green Building Council's Sustainable Sites Initiative.

(5) "Major facility project" means:

(i) A building construction project larger than five thousand (5,000) gross square feet of occupied or conditioned space, and its public real-property site; or

(ii) A building renovation project larger than ten thousand (10,000) gross square feet of occupied or conditioned space, and its public real-property site.

(6) "Public agency" means every state office, board, commission, committee, bureau, department, or public institution of higher education.

(7) "Public facility" means any public institution, public facility, public equipment, or any physical asset owned, including its public real-property site, leased or controlled in whole or in part by this state or any agency or political subdivision thereof.

History of Section.
(P.L. 2009, ch. 212, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 363, § 39; P.L. 2017, ch. 394, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 418, § 1.)