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House committee hears working-group report urging centralized enforcement, registry upgrades and stronger training
Summary
Lawmakers heard the Building Energy Code Working Group report recommending the Division of Fire Safety become the authority for energy codes by 2030, improvements to the residential contractor registry (projects over $10,000), mandatory training improvements, and ventilation testing to ensure systems perform as installed.
Representative Scott Campbell, chair of the Building Energy Code Working Group, told the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure committee that residential compliance with Vermont’s energy codes has lagged for years and that the group’s report (filed Nov. 15) lays out steps to increase compliance and protect health and durability.
Campbell said the core problem is enforcement: "But there has never been any enforcement or penalty for not following them," he said, describing a persistent compliance gap between commercial and residential construction. He told members the commercial sector follows codes more consistently because licensed architects and engineers face professional consequences, while many residential contractors do not hold similar credentials.
The working group recommended several near-term and structural changes. The members voted narrowly to recommend that the Division of Fire Safety be designated the authority having jurisdiction for energy codes, with a transition timeline targeting 2030. Campbell said some stakeholders — including the Division of Fire Safety itself and several trade groups — oppose the timeline because of staffing and resource constraints.
To boost compliance without immediate mandates, the report proposes strengthening the Office of Professional Regulation’s residential contractor registry (the law requires registration for single-job projects exceeding $10,000) and adding a voluntary certification pathway tied to targeted training. Campbell described the registry as mandatory by statute but underused in practice and suggested a modest implementation budget (on the order of $400,000) for website improvements, outreach and credentialing support paid in part from RGGI funds.
The working group also urged improvements to statutorily required training — the so-called "energy module" — making it substantially more technical and useful for builders and tradespeople rather than a brief statutory summary. A technical recommendation highlighted by members was adding ventilation commissioning and testing requirements so whole-house ventilation systems are verified to operate as intended.
Members pressed on several practical questions: which residential building types fall under the Division of Fire Safety’s scope (rentals and many multiunit dwellings do), how compliance is measured (studies use a mix of inspections, software-based compliance checks and sample testing such as HERS ratings), and the trade-off between higher upfront costs for higher-performance construction and lower life-cycle costs.
The presentation used a 2002 building photo to illustrate moisture and rot failures caused by improper detailing, which the working group said reinforces why code compliance is also a health and durability issue, not only an energy one.
The committee did not take a formal vote. Members and witnesses agreed to continue the conversation at follow-up sessions later in the day and this afternoon, when additional working-group participants will present further details and answer technical questions.
