Bill > SF1542

This bill, known as the Resilient Schools Act, establishes a statewide energy conservation goal for public schools in Minnesota, aiming for a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption by January 1, 2025, through cost-effective energy conservation measures. To achieve this, public schools must report their energy usage data to the Minnesota B3 benchmarking system, a state-managed platform for tracking building energy performance, with initial data collected between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016, and updated annually thereafter. The bill also requires schools to identify major energy-consuming building systems nearing the end of their useful life and enter this information into the B3 system by April 1, 2016. The Department of Commerce will then provide annual progress reports on its website regarding the state's energy conservation efforts for public schools, and an appropriation is made to the commissioner of commerce for technical assistance and outreach to support these initiatives.