Massachusetts Municipalities Pursue Building Code Revisions While Awaiting State's Next Steps

Highlights

• Chapter 8 of the Acts of 2021, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy, requires the development of a voluntary municipal specialized stretch energy code within 18 months of the Climate Act's passage; however, no plans have been announced by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources or the Board of Building Regulations and Standards.
• Meanwhile, Massachusetts municipalities are seeking to use the Massachusetts legislative process to develop their own climate-influenced building code regulations in the absence of state action.

Much of the recent news about climate-influenced building codes has come out of California, where the California Energy Commission announced adoption of revisions to its Building Energy Efficiency Standards, also known as the California Energy Code, potentially impacting new construction beginning in 2023 if adopted by the California Building Standards Commission. Despite the lack of