Grassroots Government Advocacy (GGAC)

ASHRAE Oklahoma Govt Outreach Day

WE WANT TO BE YOUR EXPERTS ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

First and foremost, as ASHRAE members, we want to be your experts and sources of information and feedback on any issues that come up regarding construction, energy efficiency, healthy environments (think indoor air quality) in buildings, professional licensing requirements, etc.

Remember, ASHRAE is a non-profit and is made up of a wide array of industry professionals including licensed engineers, facility managers, academic professors, manufacturers, R&D groups, and construction professionals, providing the most objective view on building industry issues and avoiding a specific agenda from any one segment of the industry.  Please do not hesitate to call us and reach out for help. (Note to members: We have had several examples where legislators have contacted us as they heard about legislation in their committee meetings just to get an idea of what the HVAC industry perspective is).

CURRENT LEGISLATION IN SESSION

SB1285 – Authors: Sen. Bill Coleman

            As your constituent, I am FOR this bill.  This legislation would, if passed, require gas fired heating systems with a minimum annual fuel utilization efficiency of 90% of greater, consistent with energy star standards, to be used for all state buildings/state funded buildings except for public schools.  The bill also bans electric resistance heating as a primary heat source, sets coefficient performance levels for geothermal, and sets a minimum energy efficiency ratios for AC at 12.2/SEER 2 ratings of 15.2. There is also language about control systems, licensure,  and post-occupancy measurement/verification requirements.

Commentary:  This aligns with ASHRAE’s position of not favoring a fuel source, but rather promoting higher efficiencies in installed systems.  We would like to see ASHRAE’s standards of 90.1 referenced for minimum efficiency standards because part of the requirements for ASHRAE is they have to be financially confirmed to provide savings to the building owner.

Who We Are - The GGAC committee was created to allow Society and its local chapters to engage with elected and appointed officials at the State and Federal level to provide advocacy and support of sustainable practices, supportive legislation, and educational updates of tested and proven industry standards. Our goal is to inform decision-makers how their choices will ultimately impact sustainable built environments, our society, local industries, and forever shape the landscape of tomorrow through the policies, laws and regulations that are implemented today. We are not lobbyists, rather we are offering our remembers and our resources to serve as industry experts to provide information to the various government agencies when they have a defined need.

Our Government Outreach Day on March 12, the event was a huge success!  This was our sixth consecutive year to hold this event, formerly known as the Day on the Hill.  We had 11 people from the NEOK chapter attend this year. Four of those people were also first timers, which was great.

As a chapter, we met with 16 different legislators. During those meetings, we introduced them to who ASHRAE is as a society and how we could be a resource to them whenever relevant pieces of legislation cross their desk or came up for vote.  Overall, everyone was very receptive to us and appreciated now having ASHRAE as a resource.

One of the major topics we covered with each legislator was the current state of the Energy Code in Oklahoma.  As most of you know, Oklahoma has adopted six of the seven ICC codes for the 2015 year.  These six codes all move and update together as a group.  The seventh code that has not been adopted to move with the rest is the International Energy Conservation Code.  Currently Oklahoma is back at the 2006 IECC, because at one point it was not deemed a “building” code.  We spoke with each legislator about this and asked for their help in creating legislation that would move the IECC into the same group as the other six ICC code adoption cycles.  The vast majority of the legislators were not aware that our energy code was so outdated and seemed very eager to help us.  Several offered their assistance and knowledge in the process and offered to be a sponsor of the legislation and partner with their legal team and us to draft official language for next session.  That is a huge success!

To everyone who could not make it, but wanted to attend – we hope to have you along next year.It is a great time to visit the capitol and interact with your legislator.The whole governmental process seems smaller and more tangible knowing you can walk in a representative or senator’s office and sit down to chat with them.

Last updated: 03/22/2026