Starting on June 1, 2017 and continuing for serveral weeks, two "icehouses" were on display in Harrisburg: one is built to the specifications of the state's energy code (2009 IECC) while the other is built to a more modern standard of construction. USGBC Central Pennsylvania used these icehouses to foster discussion about "unfreezing" the state's energy code during their Demonstration Day on Tuesday, June 6.

House Bill 568, which passed the Senate on July 11, 2016, will direct Pennsylvania to immediately reopen its Uniform Construction Code (UCC) update process and consider changes made in the 2015 IECC as well as selected sections of the 2012 IECC. This bill follows an unsuccessful attempt to meaningfully update the state code in 2015, after which the Clean Air Council challenged the decision of the UCC Review and Advisory Council not to adopt the 2015 IECC. UPDATE: This suit was denied, and CAC is considering an appeal to the court's decision.

As for code compliance, HB 1543 would provide some additional funding for training code officials. Also, the Pennsylvania Energy Codes Toolkit offers monthly webinars, forms, instructional videos, and other resources to help improve compliance with the state's residential energy code. Also offered are free code consultations for builders and a new free iPad code inspection app. These services are being offered as part of a three year state code compliance study.

On March 21, 2017, the Department of State filed a Notice of Proposed Rule Making for rules which, if adopted by the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council, would make additional amendments to the Uniform Code and Energy Code. A public hearing will be held May 22, 2017 at 10am in Albany, and the public comment period ends June 5, 2017. Comments should be sent to Gerard Hathaway of NYS DOS.

STRETCH CODE: New York is developing a voluntary stretch code which will, upon its completion by the end of 2016, provide local governments that wish to demonstrate leadership on climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a clear and high-impact opportunity to do so. "NYStretch" aims to provide a straightforward, flexible approach to achieving an approximately 10 percent energy boost in energy savings beyond code for residential, commercial and multi-family buildings. An October 13 webinar provided an overview of the development and potential applications of the NYStretch Energy Codee. UPDATE: NYSERDA has posted a draft of NYStretch. Public comments were due March 24, 2017.  

NEW: Assembly Bill 6676, which was introduced on March 15, 2017, would require New York to update its residential energy code within 18 months of the release of new versions of the IECC, require all new homes receive energy ratings demonstrating they achieve certain minimum efficiency levels, lifts the 10 year cost-effectiveness stipulation, and clarifies the intent of achieving 90 percent compliance with the code for both new construction and renovations. Similarly, Assembly Bill 6824, introduced March 21, would require the state to update its energy code within 12 months of the release of a new verison.

LOCAL FOCUS: In July 2016, the City and Town of Ithaca, NY began a project to determine what policy tools can be used to incentivize or mandate green building standards for new commercial and residential construction. UPDATE: A consultant team has been selected for this Green Building Policy Project, which will kick off in April 2017. 

House Bill 92 would revise the definition of the New Hampshire state building code to include the 2015 edition of the IECC as well as several other I-codes. It would also ratify weakening amendments to the state building code adopted by the state building code review board in 2016 (including thermal envelope depiction, wall insulation, air leakage testing, duct leakage testing, and mechanical ventilation).

UPDATE: This bill was heard by a NH House subcommittee on January 18, 2017 then retained in Committee after an Executive session on February 22, 2017.

H. 1738, introduced in January 2017, would require that a rating, such as U.S. DOE's Home Energy Score, be assigned to each home receiving an energy audit through the Mass Save program. This rating would be adjusted upon completion of any major efficiency improvement measures, and homeowners would have the option to include this score in the home's listing information at time of proposed sale.