SMACNA Supports Two Bills Meant to Improve IAQ

Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) have introduced HR 9131, the Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act. The legislation seeks to improve the indoor air of public schools throughout the United States by enabling the Environmental Protection Agency to engage this issue more proactively. According to data provided by the EPA, poor indoor air is one of the nation's top public health challenges.

Specifically, HR 9131 seeks to accomplish the following:

• Update, expand, and codify the work of EPA's Indoor Environments Division;
• Require the EPA to establish and regularly update a list of significant indoor contaminants and develop health-based, voluntary guidelines to reduce exposure risks to these contaminants;
• Direct the EPA to develop or recognize one or more voluntary certifications for buildings designed, built, operated, and maintained to prevent or minimize indoor air health risks and 
• Establish a regularly updated national assessment of IAQ in schools and childcare facilities and support the development of technical assistance, guidelines, and best practices to improve the IAQ conditions of these facilities. 

SMACNA joined several organizations, including ASHRAE, the American Federation of Teachers, and the U.S. Green Building Council, to support this legislation. Stan Kolbe, SMACNA's Executive Director for Government and Political Affairs, said the following in support of the bill: "We are proud to endorse the innovative Tonko - Fitzpatrick bipartisan school indoor Air Quality and Healthy Schools Act. Our firms are leaders in implementing these IAQ mechanical systems in existing buildings and facilities and new construction projects. Our firms know that countless schools nationwide will benefit from such a valuable federal effort protecting the health and well-being of America's school children, teachers, and educational employees."

The introduction of H.R. 9131 is just the latest effort in a growing push to improve Indoor Air Quality. Earlier in July, Congressman Don Beyer introduced the AIRBORNE Act (H.R. 9000), legislation that would incentivize non-residential building owners to conduct indoor air quality assessments (IAQ) and upgrade their ventilation and air filtration systems. SMACNA and SMART have endorsed this legislation.

The AIRBORNE Act would:

• Incentivize commercial building owners to conduct IAQ assessments of their properties by providing them with a $1 per square foot tax credit, not to exceed the cost of conducting the assessment.
• Incentivize commercial building owners to upgrade their HVAC/air filter systems to reach the ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2022 and a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating of 13 or better for their properties. The tax credit for upgrades is equal to $5 per square foot of property affected for air filters, and $50 per square foot for HVAC systems and is limited to 50% of the total project cost.
• Create a Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Agency voluntary certification program for property owners to certify that their properties follow the IAQ standards outlined above.

Take a moment to read a fact sheet on H.R. 9131 and a release on H.R. 9000.