ESBD_471597_1763583884643_RFI 240i -High Performance Building Evaluation System - FINAL.docx

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RFI No. 240i

KELLY HANCOCK

ACTING TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

State Energy Conservation Office

Request for Information for a High-Performance Building Evaluation System and Energy Efficiency Performance Standard for State Agencies and Higher Education Facilities Design and Renovation Projects

RFI No. 240i

November 20, 2025

Responses Due: 2:00 pm CT, Monday, January 5, 2026

A.

Summary

1. Type of Document: Request for Information (“RFI”)

2. Issuing Office: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) LBJ Building 111 East 17th Street, 610D Austin, TX 78701

3. Responses Requested From: Higher education facility managers, state agency facility managers, industry stakeholder organizations with experience and expertise in high-performance buildings, design and/or construction, or related products and services, including experience and expertise in energy efficiency, water efficiency, or low-impact site development, and landscape sustainable design.

4. Type: State-funded building design, construction, and maintenance and operations.

5. Responses to RFI: Must be submitted to the SECO comment response portal in accordance with Section D of this RFI

6. Deadline for Submitting Questions: Questions regarding this RFI must be submitted through the SECO questions portal, no later than December 3, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. CT. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. CPA intends to post January 5, 2026; 2:00 p.m., Central Time (CT)

8. Respondent Presentations: In CPA’s sole discretion and to assist in additional information gathering, CPA may invite one or more Qualified Respondents to present and explain in further detail its response to this RFI for a high-performance building evaluation system. Oral presentations, if any, may be conducted via WebEx and presentation dates and times will be arranged by CPA.

B. Introduction

Request for Information (RFI) for a high-performance building evaluation system and energy efficiency performance standard for state agencies and higher education facilities design and renovation projects.

Background and Description:

Pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Government Code (TGC) section 447.004, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) through its State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) issues this Request for Information (RFI) to gather information regarding establishing a high-performance building evaluation system and an energy efficiency performance standard for state agencies and higher education facilities design and renovation projects.

The Texas Government Code §447.004 requires SECO to establish and publish mandatory energy and water conservation design standards for new state buildings and state-funded institutions of higher education. In addition, the design and construction or renovation of state funded buildings should achieve certification under any high-performance design evaluation system that is approved by the SECO.

SECO is considering adopting the International Green Construction Code (IgCC-2024) to fulfill the requirements of TGC 447.004, for a high-performance building evaluation system, and SECO is also considering concurrently adopting the ASHRAE 90.1-2022 energy code. The IgCC-2024 code document is coordinated with other model codes such as IECC (International Energy Conservation Code), the ASHRAE 90.1-2022 standard, and other referenced standards and they can be used to establish the minimum reference base standard for any state agency high-performance design evaluation system.

The IgCC provides a whole systems approach to the design, construction and operation of buildings and addresses site sustainability, water use efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.

Responses to this RFI will aid SECO’s in the following manner.

· Provides a general understanding of the IgCC-2024 and the impact on state agencies and higher education facilities design and renovation projects.

· Provides a general understanding of the ASHRAE 90.1-2022 and state agencies and higher education facilities design and renovation projects.

· Provides an understanding of how the IgCC-2024 complements the proposed SECO energy efficiency performance standard (ASHRAE 90.1-2022).

While this RFI is in the open response period, SECO shall appoint an advisory committee to advise the office in selecting a high-performance building design evaluation system and energy efficiency performance standard for state agencies and higher education facilities design and renovation projects.

C. Requirements for Responding to RFI SECO is seeking input from higher education facility managers, state agency facility managers, industry stakeholder organizations with experience in high-performance building design and construction, or related products and services, including expertise in energy efficiency, water conservation, or low-impact site development, and landscape sustainable design, to assist SECO in determining if the IgCC-2024 meets the requirements set forth in Section 447.004(b-1) of the Texas Government Code and if ASHRAE 90.1-2022 should be the new energy efficiency performance standard.

The TGC 447.004 (b-1) requirements are provided below.

“A building to which this section applies must be designed and constructed or renovated so that the building achieves certification under any high-performance design evaluation system approved by the state energy conservation office and,

(1) is developed and revised through a nationally recognized consensus-based process or by a municipally owned utility in this state;

(4) requires on-site, third-party, post-construction review and verification for certification, or a third-party, post-construction, rigorous review of documentation and verification for certification; and

(5) encourages the use of materials or products manufactured or produced in this state.”

Questions regarding this RFI must be submitted through the SECO questions portal, no later than December 3, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. CT. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. SECO intends to post answers to questions on the Electronic State Business Daily (“ESBD”) located at: http://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd on or about December 10, 2025.

SECO will accept comments, data, and information regarding this RFI until January 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. CT.

D. Required RFI Response Materials Responses (reference section A) must be submitted through the SECO comment response portal no later than 2:00 p.m. by the deadline set forth in the section A. Late comment responses will not be considered under any circumstances.

Respondents are solely responsible for verifying Comptroller’s receipt of all comment responses by the deadline specified above. Faxed and hard-copy applications are not acceptable and will not be considered.

Submittal Process A MS Word or PDF document must be completed, signed, and dated. The document filename shall adhere to the following naming protocol, “RFI 240i-2025 Name”. For example, “RFI 240i-2025_John Doe”, and the MS Word or PDF document shall be uploaded into the SECO comment response portal.

Within the portal, under “Comment” box, the respondent’s name must match the filename of the response, such as “RFI 240i-2025_John Doe”.

E. No Contract Results from this RFI

This RFI is issued solely for the purpose of obtaining information that may assist CPA in further development of a high-performance building evaluation system for state agencies and state funded institution of higher education. This RFI is not a Request for Proposals (“RFP”), purchase, solicitation, commitment to conduct procurement, or an offer of a contract or potential contract. CPA is under no obligation whatsoever to issue a solicitation. Respondent submission of a response or participation in a presentation is voluntary. Failure to respond to this RFI will not disqualify a vendor from receipt of award of any future contract.

F. No Compensation or Cost Recovery

CPA shall pay no costs, expenses, or any other amounts to any Respondent or any other entity incurred under or related to this RFI.

G. Ownership of Responses and Open Records

Responses to this RFI will be the property of CPA and responses will not be returned to Respondents.

Responses will be public information and available to any requestor; as a result, Respondent should not provide any information to CPA that Respondent believes to be confidential or proprietary information.

Copyrighted responses or responses marked “Confidential or Proprietary” are not acceptable and will be rejected as non-responsive.

Request for Information:

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