North Carolina's Protect/Promote NC Lumber bill, which would stop the use of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program on public buildings, was left off of the Senate's Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources agenda last week, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.
LEED gives credit toward green certification for use of FSC-certified lumber. Because few forests in North Carolina are FSC-certified, its opponents say the program discourages the use of local timber. House Bill 628, which cleared the state's House of Representatives on May 13, aimed to discontinue the mandatory use of LEED on state buildings.
Supporters say the measure would have protected and created jobs in the state, however Rep. Ruth Samuelson and others opposed to the bill say steel producers, concrete makers and HVAC manufacturers would have lost jobs, as LEED currently favors those businesses.
A compromise bill may be in the works if stakeholders can come to an agreement by June 11, according to the Journal.
