Call to Action

A sweeping energy and climate change bill is currently working its way through the House of Representatives that includes an onerous building codes section (Title 2 of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009).  Comparable legislation is also being marked up in the Senate. 

NMHC/NAA are asking members to contact their Representative in the House and both of their Senators to oppose the entire building codes section as it is currently crafted.  A sample letter and more information are available below.

This legislation is moving quickly through Congress.  Floor debate on the House bill may begin this month, and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources marked up its bill on June 4.  Please take a moment and send your letter today (and copy NMHC/NAA). 

Background

On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed sweeping energy and climate change legislation (the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, H.R. 2454) that includes an onerous building codes section (Title 2) that would affect all apartment firms.   A draft measure is also being marked up in the Senate that contains comparable language. 

The House bill requires the Secretary of Energy to establish a new National Energy Efficiency Building Code that is 30 percent more efficient than existing codes by 2010 and 50 percent more efficient by 2014.    If states do not enforce the strict federal standards, the House bill creates a new federal building code enforcement program.  

The Senate measure requires comparable building code goals but does not include the federal enforcement provisions.   The codes would apply to all buildings built or substantially rehabilitated after the enactment of the legislation.

Under this approach, owners could be severely penalized if they sold a building built or substantially rehabilitated after the legislation went into effect that was, for example, only 20 percent or 25 percent more efficient than a model building code rather than the required 30 percent. 

More information on the bills, including an NMHC/NAA side-by-side comparison of the two measures, is available at www.nmhc.org/goto/5144.

NMHC/NAA are vigorously opposing these measures on several grounds.  First, the measures unravel the existing process for developing and adopting building energy codes and undermine the regional flexibility of the current code system.

More importantly, according to NMHC/NAA-commissioned research, the targeted energy savings are unachievable in some climate zones with current technology and so expensive in others that they are fiscally unsustainable.

Moreover, using building codes to achieve conservation goals is a flawed policy in the residential sector because most energy used in apartments falls outside the scope of these codes.   Building codes primarily cover the building envelope and HVAC systems, meaning energy performance improvements achieved through lighting, hot water heating and other appliances are not counted toward the 30 percent and 50 percent savings. 

By excluding these items, the code targets put extreme pressure on building owners to invest in expensive upgrades that will not significantly improve overall building energy performance.

Finally, the federal enforcement measures in the House bill are a drastic departure from existing law and construction practice and would have a chilling effect on the development and transfer of properties across the real estate spectrum.

Action Steps

1.  Write to Your Elected Officials

• You may write your own letter, or simply use this sample letter. 
  
  
• It is important to let your Congressional representatives know about your firm’s specific connection to their district and/or state, so please personalize your letters by putting them on company letterhead.
  
  
• Send your personalized letter to your Representative in the House and to both of your Senators via e-mail or fax.   A complete list of Congressional e-mail addresses and fax numbers is available at: www.nmhc.org/goto/CongDir.

2.  Copy NMHC/NAA on Your Letter

• Please send a copy of your letter to NMHC/NAA’s Michele Cherry by fax (202/775-0112) or e-mail (mcherry@nmhc.org).

If you have questions, please contact Eileen Lee, NMHC/NAA’s Vice President of Energy and Environmental Policy, at 202/974-2326 or elee@nmhc.org