Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on March 26 signed sweeping legislation that puts the state on the hook to slash carbon emissions to 50%—below 1990 levels—by 2030 on its way to “net zero” emissions by 2050. While praising the intent of the landmarkclimate change bill, groups representing state construction and development sectors had raised concerns about some bill provisions related to local energy and building codes, with changes made.

Under the newly passed law, state environment officials will hammer out plans for a more stringent series of building and energy codes than are currently on the books.

Once the new rules are complete, cities, towns and suburbs across the state will have the option of replacing their current energy codes, a subset of the overall building code, with the new, and tougher state-designed “stretch” energy code.

反过来,新的和改进的代码可能会raise the cost of building new labs, offices, homes and apartments, requiring more money to be spent on everything from insulation to the latest and most efficient HVAC systems.

Anastasia Nicolaou, vice president of policy and public affairs at NAIOP Massachusetts, said the final bill extended the deadline for the state to create a new stretch energy code to 18 months.

That was a significant concession, with the previous bill calling for the new code to be in place in a year, an insufficient amount of time for such a complex issue, Nicolaou contends.

新法律本身是复杂的，长达数月的立法讨价还价的主题，其中包括贝克早期版本的否决权。

“We are really grateful the Legislature took steps to address some of the concerns of the business community,” NAIOP’s Nicolaou said.

The bill also calls for at least five public hearings on the new stretch energy code, in which industry groups like NAIOP and the Greater Boston Plumbing Contractors Association say they plan to take part and provide feedback to state regulators.

In addition, Boston’s efforts to involve industry stakeholders in developing its own net zero carbon building regulations, by forming a technical advisory panel, could provide a model for state regulators as well, Nicolaou said.

州立法领导人还对最终的气候变化法案进行了其他调整，这有助于缓解行业团体的关注。

The plumbing contractors’ association was relieved to see that a requirement that the tougher new net zero energy stretch codes called for under the new climate change law will not become mandatory for all communities by 2028, as was the case in earlier drafts of the legislation, said Andrew DeAngelo director of public affairs for the Greater Boston Plumbing Contractors Association.

The state Board of Building Regulations and Standards, which oversees the current statewide building codes, will approve the new standards, something the plumbing contractors group also pushed for, DeAngelo noted.

The contractors’ group had been concerned the state Dept. of Energy Resources would have complete oversight, potentially leading to a new code “that was out of touch with reality” and that might even allow communities to ban natural gas hookups.

“我们没有得到一切我们would have liked changed but we will now have a seat at the table in developing this code to make sure it makes practical and economic sense,” DeAngelo said.

Overall, the adoption of new and tougher stretch energy codes is expected to add cost to construction.

A project that previously would have cost $400 to $500 a square foot to build, might cost $525 a square foot, Greg Vasil, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, has noted.

即便如此，行业领导人说，他们了解减少碳排放的必要性。

瓦西尔（Vasil）指出，他的组织支持该众议院在2019年通过的气候变化法案。“每个人都同意我们绝对需要在气候变化上做些事情，”他说。