The Good News: Building Energy - both the International Residential Code's (IRC's) Energy Chapter and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) - will dominate the six days ICC Final Action Hearings in Charlotte (the other three ICC codes under consideration have substantially fewer proposals on their dockets).

NEW! We now that final action is scheduled to begin on the IECC's Residential proposals at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, October 27 and is expected to run through Friday, October 29. It's safe to presume that votes on comprehensive proposals, such as EECC's EC-25 and DOE's EC-13, will occur on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

The vote on RE-4, the critical proposal to eliminate the IRC Energy Chapter will occur either late Friday (10/29) or early Saturday (10/30).

The ICC will begin action on the IECC's Commercial proposals immediately after IRC Energy - including EC-147, the comprehensive DOE/New Building Institute/American Institute of Architects proposal - probably early on Saturday, October 30.

Energy advocates should plan to be in Charlotte by 2:00 PM on October 27 and to stay as long as they can (the Final Action Hearings will end late on Sunday, October 31).

We'll post more updates on our site as they become available.

The First Round (completed October 2009):  The IECC and IRC Code Development Committees met in Baltimore to hear testimony and make recommendations on 144 residential and 86 commercial proposals submitted to amend the IECC and 100 proposals submitted to amend the Energy Chapter of the IRC.

NEW!  Filing Public Comments (deadline July 1, 2010):  Public comments provide an opportunity to improve a proposal that was recommended for disapproval by the Development Committee.  As an example, EECC has modified its comprehensive package - EC-25 - and resubmitted it and other elements of "The 30% Solution 2012" for reconsideration by the ICC.  The new and improved version of EC-25 starts with DOE's comprehensive proposal (EC-13), but modifies it to remove a potentially serious federal preemption issue that could subject it to legal delays or even.  It then adds the nine EECC proposals that were recommended for adoption by the Development Committee hearings in Baltimore last fall, together with: (i) improvements to those proposals, and (ii) other EECC proposals not recommended by the Committee, modified as necessary, to reflect comments and counsel from the Development Committee.

Under ICC rules, proposals which do not receive public comments - whether recommended for approval or disapproval by the Development Committee - will be bundled together and considered en masse in a single "Final Action Consent Agenda" vote in Charlotte.

Any proposal receiving public comments - whether recommended for approval or disapproval by the Development Committee - will be debated and resolved individually at the Final Action Hearings.  After listening to public testimony for and against a proposal, the governmental members of the ICC present at the hearing in Charlotte will vote on whether to include it in the 2012 IECC or 2012 IRC Energy Chapter.

NEW!  EECC has also submitted public comments on other proposals to amend the IECC and IRC Energy Chapter.  In many cases, our comments recommend modifications to the original proposals.  The specifics of each comment, including the proposal history and reasons for our position, can be downloaded from EECC's website - www.thirtypercentsolution.com.

EECC did not submit public comments on any of its own proposals that were recommended for approval by the IECC Development Committee (comments are unnecessary because the Committee recommended approval).  However, other parties may have filed comments on them, either in opposition or to propose modifications.  If so, these proposals will be individually debated at the Final Action Hearings.  Because the adoption of any modifications requires a two-thirds majority vote, EECC will generally support the proposal's adoption as originally recommended by the IECC Committee.

NEW!  In late August, ICC posted all public comments on the IECC and the IRC Energy Chapter on its website.  EECC is currently reviewing comments submitted by other interested stakeholders and beginning to develop our recommendations on each proposal that will be debated and voted on in Charlotte.  Our recommendations will then be listed on this website.

Final Action:  Proposals that were recommended for approval by the Development Committee - or by a successful Assembly Action - require only a simple majority vote for adoption.  An important example can be found in RE-4, which would replace the IRC Energy Chapter 11 with a requirement to meet the more stringent IECC.  Although the IRC Development Committee recommended RE-4 for disapproval, that recommendation was overturned by an assembly action supporting RE-4's approval.  The Assembly Action's recommendation will be the prevailing motion at the Final Action Hearing, meaning that it will require only a simple majority for adoption.

NEW!  Why we need two-thirds majorities in favor of energy efficiency sitting in the room at the Charlotte Final Action Hearings.  During 2009 IECC deliberations, seven individual proposed code changes authored by EECC were recommended for disapproval.  When they reached Final Action, each of these proposals received majority support from the voting Government Member representatives, but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the Development Committee's disapproval recommendation.

NEW!  The EECC's plan in Charlotte will be to:

• Support the adoption of all pro-energy efficiency proposals favorably recommended by the Development Committee in Baltimore (whether authored by EECC or by others).  This includes support for DOE's comprehensive proposal, EC-13.
• Support the adoption of "The 30% Solution 2012" - our entire slate of proposals, which would result in a 2012 IECC that, taken together with 2009 IECC improvements, will be more than 30% more efficient than the 2006 model energy code (the baseline identified in legislation before Congress).
• Oppose proposals that would weaken energy efficiency for new home construction, including any proposals to roll back gains adopted in the 2009 IECC.  This includes opposition to NAHB's comprehensive proposal, EC-16.
  

All proposals that are approved by the eligible voters present at the hearing will be published as the 2012 IECC.

NEW!  Only ICC Government Member representatives in attendance at the Final Action Hearing are eligible to vote on International Codes (I-Codes), so long as:

1. The Government Member's new or renewed/updated membership application has been received by the ICC 10 days prior to the beginning of the Final Action Hearings (October 15, 2010), and
2. The representative in attendance is listed on the Government Member's new or renewed/updated membership application form.  A Government Member's voting delegation does not have to be the same as its voting delegation for the first round of Final Action Hearings in Dallas this May.
   

To be eligible for Government Membership, you must be "a governmental unit, department or agency engaged in the administration, formulation or enforcement of laws, ordinances, rules or regulations relating to the public health, safety and welfare."  International Code Council membership applications can be downloaded by clicking here.

Both the Government Member annual dues and the maximum number of eligible voting representatives for each Member at the Final Action Hearings are based on the population served by the government jurisdiction, as follows:

The ICC Code Development Policy (CP#28-05) (www.iccsafe.org/news/about/pdf/CP28-05.pdf) governs the conduct of the final action hearing and should be consulted for specific questions.  Only the ICC website has comprehensive answers to all questions related to this process.

NEW!  The Final Action Hearing in Charlotte will address only five different I-Codes, three of which have a relatively few proposals on their docket.  These three I-Codes are scheduled to be completed in a single afternoon session on Monday, October 25.  As a result, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the IRC Energy Chapter will consume the lion's share of the agenda . . . they're currently scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM on Thursday, October 27 and run through 8:00 PM on Sunday, October 31

NEW!  The ICC has decided to begin consideration of the IRC Energy Chapter after completing the Residential Section of the IECC.  After completing IRC Energy, the body will move on to final action of the IECC's Commercial Section

Only seven of the 100 proposals to amend the IRC Energy Chapter are exclusive to the IRC - the rest conform to residential energy proposals to amend the IECC and will be referenced as Part II to IECC's Part I proposals and debated and resolved together.  For example, EECC's comprehensive package EC-25 consists of two identical Part I and Part II proposals, the first amending the IECC and the other amending IRC Energy.

NEW!  Once final action begins on the IECC Residential Parts I & II, IRC Energy Chapter, IECC Commercial, the assembled Governmental Members of the ICC will hear and decide each of code proposals one by one.  They are handled in the order published in advance of the hearing, unless the order is changed at the hearing.  Subject to ICC rules, the proposals can be reordered under certain circumstances, so it is important to pay close attention to which proposal is being heard.  In addition, proposals may be withdrawn by the proponent and public comments may be withdrawn by the public commenter, subject to ICC rules.

The Moderator will call each proposal and start the testimony.  Two microphones face the ICC membership; the standing motion is in support of the Committee action.  In general, supporters and opponents of that action will line up to testify.

Individuals speaking in favor of the action of the Committee will speak first, and each person gets the same amount of time, generally up to 2 minutes to make their points (slides or other props are not allowed.)  The ICC moderator starts a 2 minute countdown timer for each speaker and will cut off testimony when time runs out. This process continues until all persons supporting the committee's recommended action have been heard.  Testifiers are strongly encouraged to submit new testimony and not repeat previous testimony. The process then repeats for testimony by those who oppose the action of the Committee.  Then, rebuttal testimony begins using the same format.  Committee supporters and opponents line up at the microphones again and each person now gets 1 minute to speak in rebuttal.  At the end of the testimony, voting by eligible voting representatives of ICC governmental members present will determine the outcome.

If the Committee or a successful assembly action recommended a proposal's disapproval, that decision would have to be voted down at the end of testimony before the original or a modified version of the proposal can be affirmatively adopted.   If it is voted down, then someone can move approval of the original or modified version of the proposal.  Once all votes on a proposal are taken, the Moderator then takes up the next proposal in order.

In the event there is a proposal to modify a recommendation by the Committee for approval as submitted or as modified, the motion for the modification will typically be made during testimony and then testimony shifts to the modification (in this case, those who seek approval of modification do not need to wait until the Committee's recommendation is voted down); once voting on the modification is complete, then the testimony returns to the main motion.

The hearings will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center located at 501 South College Street; Charlotte, NC 28202-1827.  The phone number is (704) 339-6000, and additional information can be found at www.charlotteconventionctr.com.

Parking is available at prevailing rates in parking lots and towers surrounding the Charlotte Convention Center:

• NASCAR Hall of Fame parking deck (located on Brevard Street) is adjacent and connected to the Charlotte Convention Center,
• Westin Charlotte Hotel (located on the corner of Stonewall and College Streets) is also adjacent to the Charlotte Convention Center and offers over 1,600 spaces.
• Additionally, metered parking is available along many of the main streets in Center City.  Some parking garages offer parking after 5:00 pm at reduced rates.

NEW!  The Final Action Hearings will run from October 25 through November 1, 2010, as follows:

Monday, October 25- 1:00 PM-4:00PM (ADM, IPMC, IZC)
Wednesday, October 27 - 2:00 PM-5:00 PM (IECC Residential)
Thursday, October 28 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM (IECC Residential)
Friday, October 29 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM (IECC Residential; IRC Energy?)
Saturday, October 30 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM (IRC Energy?; IECC Commercial)
Sunday, October 31 - 8:00 AM-8:00 PM IECC Commercial

It is difficult to predict the exact time when EECC and other proposals will come up for debate and final action.  As with the Development Committee hearings, once each code's consideration begins, the hearings will continue until all proposed changes have been resolved.

NEW!  Beginning October 27, the remaining 4½ days of Final Action Hearings will be devoted to the IECC and IRC Energy:

• Unlike previous Final Action Hearings, which have included action all on all 18 I-Codes, the Charlotte Final Action Hearing will only consider five I-Codes:  ICC Administrative Code Provisions (ADM), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), the Energy Chapter of the International Residential Code (IRC) and International Zoning Code (IZC).
• The lion's share of the proposals in Charlotte amend either the IECC or IRC Energy (there are 61 ADM proposals, only 27 IPMC proposals and only two International Zoning Code proposals).

Register for the Final Action Hearing.  Advance on-line registration is free and will save time at the registration desk https://www.eshow2000.com/iccbwi/registration.cfm.  Registration information and fees to attend the full conference and related events is also available at this site (including discounts available for registrations made prior to September 1, 2010).

Consider joining the ICC.  This is entirely optional and not needed to speak at the Final Action Hearing.  See: http://www.iccsafe.org/membership/join.html.  You can download a membership application at http://www.iccsafe.org/membership/pdf/ICCapplication.pdf.