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Energy Efficiency & Green Building Codes & Standards
Green Building Code Requirement in State Statute
A short history of the CT statute that became Public Act 09-192.
The state building code statute that references green building construction practices (sec. 29-256a of the General Statutes) needed serious overhaul since its original passage in 2007.
Background: The green building code statute, adopted as PA 07-242, sec. 78, was confusing at best and caused much disruption in the construction industry and among building code officials. While we support green building practices and urge the adoption of incentives to move the marketplace toward purchasing green buildings, the HBA of CT opposed this unworkable code statute in 2007.
The effective date of the statute was Jan. 1, 2009. So, we again tried to fix this statute in the 2008 session. The Public Safety & Security Committee did, in fact, adopt a corrective amendment during the 2008 regular session, but the fix was on the Environment Committee's global warming bill and a floor amendment reversed the fix. With a looming Jan. 1, 2009, deadline for all construction to comply, we and a coalition of industry and code officials tried to fix it again in the November 2008 special session, but could not impress upon legislative leaders the urgency of the cause. An "informal" letter to the Commissioner of the Dept. of Public Safety from the Attorney General's Office sent about the time of the special session stated that the Jan. 1, 2009, deadline was not effective. However, this letter does not carry the weight of a judicial ruling and the industry and code officials remain perplexed and concerned about the statute's impact.
Also, given the informal attorney general's letter and lack of success in the November 2008 special session, the Dept. of Public Safety on Nov. 26, 2008, decided to redraft the proposed code amendments by deleting the green building provisions, offering to work on a new, separate code amendment to try to interepret the confusing language. While this is welcome news, i.e., that the agency understands the issues the industry faces with this statute (see DPS' web page regarding this most recent change), the uncertainty of the statute still hung over investment capital decisions. Therefore, the HBA of CT, industry coalition and code officials tried again in the 2009 regular legislative session to fix this statute. This time successfully. A meeting held on Jan 13, 2009, with the co-chairs and ranking members of the Public Safety Committee was positive and encouraging, as was the public hearing on RB 6284 on 2-3-09:
See our general State Building Code page.
Build Green Connecticut ©
HBA of CT's Build Green Connecticut © program - also contains information on the NAHB National Green Building Standard, critiques of and comparisons to the LEED green building rating system, and other links to energy efficiency resources.
The 30% Solution
At the September 2008 International Code Council (ICC) hearings, a coalition of environmental groups and insulation manufacturers tried, but failed, to once again mandate new energy efficiency requirements that simply don't work for consumers, home builders and remodelers. The "30% solution" will not be included in the 2009 IRC (International Residential Code).
Straight Talk on the "30% solution" - Article from NAHB on a Sound Energy Efficiency Policy 
Why the so-called "30% solution" is no solution at all - see NAHB's Talking Points, FAQs, and Policy Statement
NAHB's PowerPoint slides on the "30% solution"
Energy Efficiency & Climate Change
Federal Stimulus Package Includes Grant Program to Enhance Building Code Enforcement - grants are tied to enforcement of energy code requirements; from International Code Council (ICC) (3-31-2009)
Expiring Energy Tax Incentive Extended - from NAHB (10-6-2008)
CT Clean Energy Fund - Information on incentives & rebates for installing clean energy technologies.
CT Energy Efficiency Fund - Information on incentives & rebates for installing energy-efficient technologies.
See NAHB's July 17, 2008, Testimony in Congress
Global Warming Primer (from National Center for Policy Analysis)
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