Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Building Energy Codes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rep. Kennedy proposes to extend energy-code working group and lower builder-registration threshold to $2,000
Summary
Representative Kennedy presented a bill to extend a working group on energy-code compliance, designate an authority having jurisdiction (recommended: Division of Fire Safety), and lower the builder-registration contract threshold from $10,000 to $2,000 while promoting voluntary certifications and greenhouse-gas accounting for efficiency programs.
Representative [first name not stated] Kennedy presented legislation to extend a state working group on residential and commercial energy-code administration and to create a clear authority having jurisdiction for energy-code enforcement.
Kennedy said the bill would "extend the life of this working group until we finally name what's called an authority having jurisdiction," and described persistent gaps in enforcement: "we have no offices in charge of administering energy codes." She told the committee that energy codes have long been published by the Department of Public Service but that no state office currently has capacity and authority to inspect or enforce them at the residential scale.
The bill links several near-term changes: it would lower the contract threshold that triggers mandatory builder registration from $10,000 to $2,000, extend the working group through this summer, and encourage development of voluntary certifications vetted by the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). Kennedy reviewed the recent history: OPR studied licensing options, an earlier builder-registration bill was vetoed by the governor over a threshold issue but later included in a housing package with the $10,000 threshold; registration went into effect in 2023 with a grace period and is now in operation.
Kennedy and witnesses said compliance is higher on the commercial side, where licensed professionals (architects and engineers) are involved, and lower on the residential side because many builders are unlicensed. The working-group materials and a required status report, Kennedy said, found the $10,000 threshold missed many smaller projects that still draw complaints; the bill would lower that trigger to $2,000 to capture more residential work while exempting minor household repairs.
Other provisions aim to align energy-efficiency programs (energy efficiency utilities, weatherization programs) with greenhouse-gas accounting by establishing an accepted methodology to measure both energy savings and GHG reductions. Kennedy described the goal as shifting evaluation beyond kilowatt-hour savings to emissions reductions in the thermal sector.
The Division of Fire Safety was identified in the working group's work as the most appropriate place to locate an authority having jurisdiction, because building codes (including energy codes) are a subset of building regulation. Kennedy said the bill is intended to create an endpoint for the working group and a practical administrative path rather than leave code administration unfunded and diffuse.
Committee members asked about consumer-protection elements and costs to homeowners of higher-code requirements; presenters acknowledged an upfront cost for measures such as mechanical ventilation systems but emphasized lifecycle benefits including durability, indoor air quality and energy savings. Kennedy said the proposed changes are not necessarily time-critical for crossover this session but urged stakeholders to review the bill as related measures move through the Senate. No committee vote was taken at the hearing.
