(a)    (1)    In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

(2)    “Environmentally preferable product or service” means a product or service that throughout the full life cycle of the product or service:

(i)    is energy efficient, water efficient, biobased, nonozone depleting, made with recycled content, or nontoxic; or

(ii)    has other attributes recognized as environmentally preferable by the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee.

(b)    (1)    To encourage the maximum purchase of environmentally preferable products and services, the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee established under § 14–410 of this subtitle shall establish environmentally preferable specifications to be adopted by State agencies.

(2)    The environmentally preferable specifications shall be published and maintained online by the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee for use by State agencies.

(c)    Each State unit shall review annually the procurement specifications currently used by the unit and, to the extent practicable:

(1)    adopt the environmentally preferable specifications published by the Maryland Green Purchasing Committee; and

(2)    revise the unit’s procurement specifications in accordance with § 14–410 of this subtitle.

(d)    On or before September 1 of each year, each State unit shall report to the Department of General Services on the unit’s procurement of environmentally preferable products and services as a percentage of the unit’s gross purchases during the preceding fiscal year, including the types and quantities of products and services procured.

(e)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, this section is broadly applicable to all procurements by the State if the quality of the product or service is consistent with the requirements of the bid specifications.

(2)    Only to the extent necessary to prevent the denial of federal money or eliminate the inconsistency with federal law, this section does not apply to a procurement by the State if the procurement officer determines that compliance with this section would:

(i)    cause denial of federal money; or

(ii)    be inconsistent with the requirements of federal law.