Will New "Green" Buildings Make A Difference?

A bill in Washington state that would require higher environmental standards of all new public buildings recently passed in the state legislature and is awaiting the signature of Governor Christine Gregoire. See the story here. The buildings would be required to be more energy efficient, and conserve more water. Would the benefits of such legislation out weigh the costs though? There is a division over that issue even though the bill has passed. The oppostion argues that there is not a compelling public interest for the bill and that it's just another misallocation of tax payer money. The proponents argue though with backing from the Green Builidng Council in Washington D.C. that such "green" buildings actually enhance worker performance and in the case of public schools produce higher test scores than other "non-green" schools. I haven't been able to find any real hard data on the subject but I think it's interesting.