The Senate voted 22-10 to approve SCR25 (Uecker), which urges use of green building standards compliant with the American National Standards Institute (ASNI) process, in response to concern about recent changes in the latest USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards from v3 to v4.
Sen. Joe Uecker (R-Loveland), the sponsor, said new LEED rules that urge avoidance of certain chemicals could affect such common construction materials as foam insulation and vinyl.
Sen. Lou Gentile (D-Steubenville) said the resolution might send the wrong message that Ohio is “going backward” on green building projects, and noted that Ohio leads the nation in the number of LEED-certified school projects.
Sen. Chris Widener, FAIA (R-Springfield) said the resolution does not outright block the new LEED standards, but simply says they need to comply with ASNI standards first or be subject to public comment and review through the normal rule-making process.