At the state level, at least, it's now official. LEED-certified buildings should get a real estate tax break. The question for local governments now is whether to give them one.

The exemption would apply to green building improvements beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2013.Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law that authorizes municipal governments to provide a property tax exemption for certified green building projects and improvements, starting in January. The legislation was sponsored by Ken LaValle in the Senate and Fred Thiele in the Assembly.

Local governments must now decide whether to adopt a tax exemption for buildings certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or other green initiative standards.

The tax exemption would be available only to the extent that the improvement increases the assessed value of the real property. To qualify, the real property improvement must be documented by a building report, and the value of the improvement project must exceed $10,000. Ordinary maintenance and repair projects will not qualify as eligible improvement projects.

Check out the Home Channel News for an overview of this new law.