Building Code Developments

Here are some of the code developments being reported by the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP)

Georgia

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) State Codes Advisory Committee (SCAC) 2009 IECC Task Force meeting minutes from November 16 have been posted, as well as a presentation on the 2009 IECC. The amendments submitted through November 24 are also available. The Task Force will meet again on Wednesday, December 9 at 10 a.m. (ET) in Board Room 302 of the Department of Community Affairs, located at 60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.

The task force will review the 2009 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2007 (the Georgia State Minimum Energy Code currently references the 2006 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2004), with a potential adoption expected in the spring of 2010.

Georgia

The Georgia Residential Green Building Code Task Force continues to meet next month. Work group meeting minutes and next scheduled meeting dates have been released. All work group meetings are open to the public:
· Administration – Next meeting: Dec. 8, 1:30pm (ET)
· Water and Energy Efficiency – Next meeting: Dec. 16, 9:30am (ET)
· Materials and Resources – Next meeting: Dec. 8, 1:30pm (ET)

The minutes from the Task Force's Nov. 3 meeting are now available. The Task Force will hold its third meeting on Tuesday, December 8 in the DCA Board Room located on the Third Floor of 60 Executive Park South, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.

Hawaii

After the Hawaii Building Code Council approved the 2006 IECC with state-specific amendments on October 13, work has begun on the development of a statewide code to be based on the 2009 IECC. Minutes from the November 4 meeting of the 2009 IECC subcommittee of the Dept. of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are available. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 8 at 2:00pm HT (7:00 p.m. ET). A call-in number will be provided. The agenda will include:

1. Resolve the SHGC issue once and for all
2. Clear up language re allowing sealed attics with fiberglass and foam insulation in residences 3. Examine possible error regarding "maximum" vs. "minimum" emissivity and reflectivity in residential cool roof language
4. Settling on skylight SHGC
5. Assigning R-equivalent values to reflective roof and wall coatings
6. Amending the fenestration projection factor language to include a sliding scale for partially-shaded windows (see #1)
7. Incorporating exterior screen SHGC factors into #1, above
8. Examining the possibility of sub-zoning areas based on insulation levels or elevation.

Illinois

Legislation approved in August has directed the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) to adopt statewide the 2009 IECC for residential buildings and privately funded commercial buildings and ASHRAE 90.1-2007 for publicly funded commercial buildings. The legislation removed local home rule jurisdiction over energy codes and now includes residential and commercial buildings under the purview of the state code (currently, there is not a mandatory residential statewide energy code based on the IECC). A proposal is scheduled to go before the CDB at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 8.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board has scheduled the completion of its work leftover from its November 13 meeting for an all-day meeting on Friday, December 11 to finish the adoption of potential amendments to the new state code to be based on the 2009 IECC (the current state code is based on the 2006 IECC). The effective date for the new code is now expected in April 2010.

Ohio

A number of upcoming meetings of the Ohio energy code development community are scheduled for December:
Fri. December 4: The Codes Committee of the Ohio Board of Building Standards (BBS) will meet, but will not be reviewing a residential code proposal until January at the earliest.
Fri. December 11: The full BBS conference committee will meet (this is not a public hearing).

Pennsylvania

As required by the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act of 1999 (and its amendments), the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) is required to update the state’s Uniform Construction Code (UCC) by December 31 of the year of the issuance of the new ICC family of codes (I-codes), including the IECC (the 2009 I-Codes were published in January 2009). The Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council (Council) reviewed the 2009 IECC (the current UCC incorporates the 2006 IECC) this April and informed DLI that no provisions of the 2009 IECC are to be excluded.

Virginia

In July, the Virginia Board of Housing and Community Development voted in favor adopting a recommendation to update the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) to reference the 2009 IECC (it currently references the 2006 IECC). A comment period on the proposed USBC will be open from September 28, 2009 to January 25, 2010. The Board will review the comments received at its meeting in March 2010, with final adoption tentatively planned for late summer 2010. The next meeting of the Board’s Codes and Standards Committee will be Monday, December 14 at 10:00am ET.

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