You heard from us earlier this spring about the impact and importance of municipal involvement in the international building code cycles. There is a big deadline this month for municipalities to play their part in influencing the next cycle of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Coming up on September 23, 2019, is the deadline for municipalities, who completed registration in March as members of the International Code Council (ICC), to validate their voting rosters online.
In some municipalities, another registered department may have available space on their voting roster. Even if you are unable to participate in the IECC vote directly, you can follow code proposals throughout the voting process in November 2019, and support energy efficient code proposals locally at the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS).
On August 20, 2019, MAPC hosted a webinar for municipalities to learn how to validate their voter rosters with the ICC (watch the recording here). MAPC is working with the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC), the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN), Sierra Club, and Northeast Energy Efficient Partnerships (NEEP) to prepare communities to be involved in the next cycle of the IECC, which will create the 2020 ICC codes and standards largely adopted by Massachusetts and much of the rest of the nation. A more efficient energy code nationally translates into a more efficient building energy code in Massachusetts because the BBRS is mandated to update our state building code with each new cycle of the IECC. In turn, a more efficient building energy code in Massachusetts translates into reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and costs. The building code can – and should be – an effective climate mitigation tool in every municipality!
There will be an additional opportunity for municipalities to learn more about the 2021 IECC code proposals on an upcoming webinar on September 19th hosted by the New Buildings Institute (NBI). During this webinar, experts will outline the best opportunities for achieving substantial energy savings that will have decades-long impacts on the energy performance of residential and commercial buildings. You can register for the webinar here.
Save the Date!
September 23, 2019
To be eligible to vote, departments must have both
- Registered in March 2019 and
- Validated their voter list by September 23, 2019
If your department would like to participate, but missed the March deadline to register, please get in touch with us!
September 19, 2019
2021 IECC code proposal Webinar: Register here.
Need some
extra help?
- Watch Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley lead a tutorial with MCAN on the voter validation process
- Contact Nicole Sanches, Clean Energy Coordinator at MAPC, during our designated building code office hours for the month of September here.
Learn More!
Check out our Building Codes for Climate webpage for more resources and recordings of past webinars.
Everything You Need to Know About Your IECC Voter Roster
According to the International Code Council’s by-laws, the following individuals are eligible to register as ICC members and vote on the IECC: “Voting Representatives must be employees or officials of that Governmental Member and are actively engaged full or part-time in the administration, formulation or enforcement of laws, regulations or ordinances relating to public health, safety and welfare.”
The number of voters your community is allowed to validate is based on population size. Make sure to fill all of your allowable spots with eligible voters!
Download our fact sheet and frequently asked questions guide for more information on the IECC voting process.
Step-By-Step Guide to Validate Your IECC Voter Roster
In order to vote on the IECC, a primary representative for your municipality must have met the membership registration deadline of March 29, 2019. Municipalities that successfully registered in time will be able to validate their voting rosters for each governmental member (i.e. department) through September 23, 2019.