Page 6 - Builder Brief November 2020 Issue

JEFF CZAR President
The Fight Against Bad Policies Continues
Last month I shared that the International Code Council (ICC) codes development process was exploited by some participants during the adoption of the 2021 International Building Codes. There were two major changes to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would have unnecessarily increased the cost of new homes.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) along with our local and state associations have been working diligently to appeal all changes. While we were successful in getting a few major changes appealed, twenty (20) proposals that were defeated at previous Code Committee Action Hearings made it to the online vote and achieved two-thirds of the votes to enact these changes.
Two proposals that were recently appealed (RE147) would have required gas appliances to be pre-wired for future electric conversion. The second proposal (CE217) required parking spaces to be wired with a 240V, 40A receptacle for charging of electric vehicles in all new homes. With these appeals, these two key changes will not appear in the 2021 IECC.
The ICC Board of Directors also agreed with NAHB’s appeal related to a proposed change to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that dealt with the efficiency of water heaters. NAHB and others argued, and ICC agreed, that the changes would have preempted federal law or would have
exposed adopting jurisdictions to potential litigation related to
the proposed requirements.
The ICC Board decided to reject RE126-19 (and RE107-19) on the basis that “potentially preempted provisions in the I-Codes is inconsistent with the spirit, intent and mission of the Code Council.” In addition to NAHB, the American Gas Association, American Public Gas Association and American Heating Refrigeration Institute filed similar appeals and joined with NAHB in their efforts to get the code changes appealed.
NAHB will be monitoring the 2021 Code adoptions closely and we will be advocating for change for future long-term code development. Our members will be advocating for changes to the ICC bylaws and it is our goal to have the ICC Board of Directors document the cost impact of proposed new building codes in the future.
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NAHB will be monitoring the 2021 Code adoptions closely and we will be advocating for change for future long-term code development.
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We will all need to be vigilant in the upcoming months as legislation is filed concerning the current energy codes (at the request of special interest groups) on the national level that would needlessly raise home construction costs while doing little to boost energy efficiency. NAHB, along with our members, recently opposed House energy bill H.R. 4447 due in part to problematic language regarding building codes that would harm housing affordability.
NAHB ran a strong grassroots campaign asking our members to reach out their congressional members and urge them to oppose the legislation. Your Association reached out to all our elected officials in D.C. to make our voices heard.
6 NOVEMBER 2020 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
FROM THE PRESIDENT