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Committee adopts amendment to exempt common commercial roof materials from new energy-code reflective requirement
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Summary
Senate Bill 11-94, with an amendment, was moved out of the Commerce and Labor Committee after the sponsor and a roofing-industry witness said the amendment removes a product mandate created by the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code that would have restricted common roofing materials in Tennessee.
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted to move Senate Bill 11-94 as amended after adopting an amendment that the sponsor said preserves the status quo for commonly used commercial roofing products.
Senator Jackson explained the bill and amendment were intended to address what he described as an unintended consequence of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). He said a change in climate zone mapping combined with a specific IECC provision (C402.3) would have imposed restrictions that "eliminate two of Tennessee's four most common commercial roof covers" by mandating highly reflective materials designed for very hot, arid climates.
Ellen Thorpe of the Coalition for Sustainable Roofing testified in support of the amendment and told the committee the change was a "three-part perfect storm" that applied a product restriction unsuited for Tennessee's climate. "This simply removes that from the energy conservation code...It is not requiring the highly reflective product to be used on roofs. It is taking away the requirement," Thorpe said during her remarks.
The committee adopted amendment 004191 and then voted the bill as amended out of committee. The clerk recorded the vote as ayes on the amendment and subsequent passage; the committee recorded the bill as moving to the calendar.
