Board completes final votes on Low Energy and Carbon Code; most amendments approved, several fail

The Low Energy and Carbon Code board met remotely May 20 to continue final voting on the draft code, approving the 2024 IECC as the base and advancing most of the commercial and residential amendments after sequential votes on more than 40 numbered voting blocks.

The board’s meeting facilitator (Staff member) opened the session by reviewing voting procedures and reminding members that each voting block would be taken in sequence. The facilitator instructed members to use a Google Form to submit “yes,” “no,” or “abstain,” and to wait to submit until all members who wished to speak had done so. “A vote yes in this case today means I, board member, approve this code section as written for inclusion in the low energy and carbon code,” the facilitator said while explaining options and process.

Why it matters: The session represented the second‑to‑last scheduled meeting to finalize the model low energy and carbon code. The board’s decisions will determine which energy‑saving, electrification and fuel‑neutrality measures enter the published model code and which remain optional or are removed. Several debated items touched on enforceability, impacts on affordable housing projects and alignment with other state codes.

Key outcomes and context

- The board voted to adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) as the base of the Low Energy and Carbon Code (Voting block 1). That vote passed unanimously as recorded in the meeting, with the facilitator announcing 19 yes votes.

- Board members and staff clarified the statutory approval threshold during the meeting. Legal and staff participants identified the controlling language as “two‑thirds of the members.” The board recorded that, with 21 possible seats, the practical threshold the board used during the session would require 14 yes votes for a provision to be approved when all members are present; the facilitator announced that 14 yes votes would be required for approval going forward.

- After stepwise consideration of more than 40 voting blocks, the board approved most commercial and residential language changes (see “Votes at a glance” below). Notable approvals included reorganized compliance credit tables in the commercial chapter, multiple energy efficiency credits and the renumbering and relocation of renewable energy language into an appendix for optional adoption.

- Several amendments failed after discussion. Examples recorded in the transcript include a protective piping‑insulation amendment (Voting block 14) that received 12 yes votes and failed; an indoor‑pool energy requirement (Voting block 15) that received 10 yes votes and failed; and a residential insulation installation amendment (Voting block 51) that failed (received 2 yes votes as recorded). Board members expressed concerns on failed items about enforceability, statutory scope and impacts on housing affordability.

Discussion highlights

- Statutory…