Congress Asks: Why Is ICC Disenfranchising Governmental Members?

Panelists explore why Congress is getting involved in ICC’s plan to limit IECC development to an ever-shrinking number of stakeholders. Panelists are Amy Boyce, Associate Director of Codes and Technical Strategy at the Insitute for Market Transformation; Jennifer Taylor, Deputy Director, Intergovernmental Relations for the State of Nevada; and Bill Fay of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition.

The IECC is a sensational success story. Written for more than two decades by the same officials that administer, enforce, and adopt it, the IECC is the basis for energy codes in nearly all 50 states. The IECC is documented to benefit housing affordability and America’s energy, economic, and environmental policies.  


In December 2019, ICC Governmental Members voted in droves, boosting the residential and commercial building efficiency of the 2021 IECC by 8-14 percent and 11 percent, respectively. They also increased cumulative residential and commercial building efficiency since the 2006 IECC by 43-47 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively.

Because local, state, and federal governmental voting on America’s Model Energy Code has been so successful, it’s perplexing that ICC leadership is seriously thinking of getting rid of it. 

(Read “ICC In Hot Seat With House Energy and Commerce Committee” for the detailed and back story.) 

Clearly, the vast majority of local and state government officials, efficiency advocates, architects, and even Congress want to know why ICC leadership is considering a proposal to develop future IECCs by a small committee instead of thousands of governmental members.  

ICC has received a tsunami of concerns. 73 percent of respondents—including a governor, a mayor, state energy officials, sustainability directors, and a joint US Conference of Mayors-National League of Cities—have weighed in on behalf of the 19,000 local jurisdictions they represent.

This insider-info webinar delves into the current influence of governmental leaders on the IECC, the potential impacts of the proposed changes to IECC development, and the public campaign both for and against the change to date.

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About our presenters:

Amy Boyce is IMT’s Associate Director of Codes and Technical Strategy. As such, she develops and deploys local, state, and national level strategies to achieve broad-scale transformation through codes and building technology.

Amy’s extensive experience in the DC market has spanned the areas of building design and construction, sustainability, and energy efficiency. Her work includes the role of Director of Engineering at Green Generation Solutions, where she led a team in performing energy audits and designing solutions for energy and cost savings for a variety of commercial buildings. Prior to that, Amy worked as a mechanical engineer and served as the Technical Specialist for all energy-related credits in the LEED department at the U.S. Green Building Council.

Amy earned her MBA from Georgetown University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. She is a licensed engineer, Certified Energy Manager, and a LEED AP.

Jennifer L. Taylor, Esq. is the eputy Director, Intergovernmental Relations for the State of Nevada.

Ms. Taylor was appointed in January 2019 to support Governor Sisolak’s vision for Nevada’s clean energy leadership and innovation. She served in 2016 as Vice Chair for the Clean Energy Sources Technical Advisory Committee of the New Energy Industry Task Force, providing recommendations to revise Nevada’s Integrated Resource Planning to reduce customer exposure to fossil fuel price volatility and potential costs of carbon.  She was appointed to the Governor’s Committee on Energy Choice, and as Chair of the working group on Innovation and Technology in Renewable Energy Development.  She served on the Las Vegas City Manager’s Energy Advisory Committee and as executive director for the Clean Energy Project.  She holds law licenses in Nevada, Washington, California and Texas, and admitted before the District Court of Nevada, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. She represented homeowners’ in one of Nevada’s largest perchloroethylene ground water contamination cases.

Over four decades in Washington DC, Bill Fay has led seven broad-based national issue campaigns that coordinate lobbying, media, communications, and grassroots advocacy, both independently and as Sr. Vice President for America’s largest public relations firm. He has recognized energy expertise, having worked complex energy issues on Capitol Hill relating to fossil fuels, nuclear, hydropower, and electricity generation and transmission. A coalition builder, he organized and led the nation’s premier coalitions on 1990 Clean Air Act reauthorization, product liability reform, multi-year highway legislation, and President Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative. He was recently one of GreenBuilder ® Media’s “2018 Eco-Leaders.”

Since 2007, he has led the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC), which has united a unique support base – from government, environmental groups, businesses, low-income housing and consumer groups, manufacturers, utilities, and labor – to advance the development and adoption of building energy codes that put America on a glide-path of dynamic building efficiency gains. EECC has helped boost the residential and commercial building efficiency of the America’s Model Energy Code (the International Energy Conservation Code) by 38% and 35%, respectively, and has worked with local and state jurisdictions to support its adoption.

From 1978-85, Fay and served as legislative director in the U.S. House and Senate, specializing in energy, environment, tax, transportation, & natural resource policy/regulation. He has testified before 11 congressional committees, worked for the Idaho Legislature, has degrees in accounting and political science, and successfully completed the Uniform CPA examination.

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