House committee reviews H.181 on Vermont building energy standards, enforcement and contractor registry changes

Representative Kathleen James opened the committee's April 15 hearing and said, "we are going to learn about energy code statutes and walk through H.181." The session centered on statutory background for Vermont's Residential Building Energy Standards (RBES) and Commercial Building Energy Standards (CBES), current compliance gaps, and proposed changes in H.181 to enforcement, accounting for energy savings, and the contractor registry.

The bill would amend Title 30, Chapter 2 (building energy) and related statutes and add targeted changes: clarifying the department rulemaking process for RBES and CBES, allowing energy-efficiency utilities to attribute savings to code compliance, requiring greenhouse-gas accounting methods tied to code actions, lowering the contractor-registration threshold from $10,000 to $2,000, and preserving the existing insurance threshold at $10,000. The bill also extends the Energy Code Compliance Working Group until the Legislature designates an authority to administer and enforce energy codes.

Legislative counsel Elle Jankowski, who provided the statutory walkthrough, explained the statutory structure and administrative roles. She said the RBES and CBES are based on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and that the Department of Public Service adopts rules to incorporate the IECC updates. "The RVs and the CDs ... are based on the international code that's adopted approximately every 3 years," Jankowski said, noting the department convenes an advisory group of builders, lenders, utilities and consumer advocates when it updates rules.

Jankowski described several enforcement and compliance gaps discussed in H.181. She said a 2018 survey showed roughly 54% compliance with the residential code and roughly 80'+% compliance in commercial projects. She also noted the statute requires the Department of Public Service to publish a compliance plan that targeted 90% compliance by a 2017 deadline; the department issued a plan but recent data indicate actual compliance remains well below 90%.

Committee members and staff discussed why enforcement is uneven. Jankowski said a major complication is that Vermont lacks a statewide residential building code and a designated authority to administer and enforce energy codes at scale. She described how certification of compliance is typically a designer, builder or accredited home-energy rater'affixing a certificate to the building and filing it with the Department of Public Service, but post-construction testing is not routinely required and municipalities vary in whether they require certificates of occupancy.

On administrative timing and contractor readiness, members raised concerns about how quickly the public information (software, handbooks and compliance packages) reaches builders after a rule update. Committee members recounted that a prior triennial IECC update went into effect July 1, 2024, while guidance materials had been delayed; builders urged earlier publication of the guidance so they can bid projects accurately. H.181 would extend the effective period between rule adoption and required public compliance materials in order to address that timing problem.

Section-specific items in H.181 discussed at the hearing included: - Energy-efficiency utilities: the bill would require Efficiency Vermont and other energy-efficiency utilities to attribute energy savings to code compliance and direct the Department of Public Service to establish a procedure for calculating those savings. Committee members said this change would allow utilities to claim and be reimbursed for savings achieved by bringing buildings up to code, which affects program funding and incentives. - Greenhouse-gas accounting: the bill would add reporting language directing the Department of Public Service, in consultation with efficiency utilities and the Home Weatherization Assistance Program, to develop a methodology for calculating and reporting greenhouse-gas reductions tied to code compliance. - Contractor registry and insurance: H.181 would lower the registration threshold for residential contractors from $10,000 to $2,000 (registration is with the Office of Professional Regulation) to capture more small-project fraud complaints. It would retain the requirement that contractors maintain minimum liability insurance of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate only for projects whose estimated value exceeds $10,000.

Members repeatedly returned to implementation: training for builders, the role of accredited home-energy rating organizations (HERS) in certifying compliance, and whether funds (including a U.S. Department of Energy contract supporting Energy Futures Group work) could support expanded compliance activities. Jankowski referenced the Building Energy Code Assistance Project (BCAP) and work by Energy Futures Group as ongoing supports and background resources.

No formal votes or final actions on H.181 occurred at the hearing. Committee members asked for follow-up materials and links to reports and the working-group documents; staff said they would post existing reports and circulate additional information.

The hearing closed after roughly an hour, with committee members signaling they will continue study and follow up with Department of Public Service and other agencies for technical testimony and implementation details.