Vermont H. 718: An act relating to creation of the Restorative Justice Study Committee

Bill Text

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H.718
Introduced by Representative Campbell of St. Johnsbury
Referred to Committee on
Date:
Subject: Public service; building energy; contractors; contractor registry;
building energy standards; Residential Building Energy Standards;
Commercial Building Energy Standards
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to direct the
Division of Fire Safety to adopt a residential building code, establish a task
force on improving the contractor registry, require contractors to disclose their
criminal record, update the energy education requirements for regulated
professionals, and grant municipalities the authority to administer and enforce
the Residential Building Energy Standards and the Commercial Building
Energy Standards.
An act relating to building energy efficiency
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
* * * Findings * * *
Sec. 1. FINDINGS
The General Assembly finds that:
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(1) Recommendations by stakeholders and building efficiency experts in
the 2023 Building Energy Code Study Committee and the 2024 and 2025
Building Energy Code Working Group consistently find that Vermont’s
mandatory energy codes, the Residential Building Energy Standards (RBES)
and the Commercial Building Energy Standards (CBES), are a subset of
building construction codes and should eventually be administered by the
Division of Fire Safety, which administers all other building codes.
(2) Vermont has not adopted a residential building construction code,
which means there is no administrative infrastructure or enforcement
mechanism for implementing energy codes consistently and effectively. Lack
of a residential building code also means Vermont lacks a standard-of-care
reference for the public, builders, designers, insurance companies, or the
courts, and such lack also may limit the State’s ability to access certain federal
funding.
(3) Lack of consistent and effective implementation and enforcement of
the RBES in particular has resulted in low compliance rates, according to
studies by the Department of Public Service.
(4) Recommendations of the 2024 and 2025 Working Group include
leveraging the Office of Professional Regulation’s (OPR’s) residential
contractor registry to provide market incentives to contractors to register and
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obtain voluntary certifications, including in energy codes. However, the
registry has not so far proved effective for the public, contractors, or OPR.
(5) OPR does not have adequate resources to make substantial
improvements to the registry. The 2025 Working Group recommended
convening a Task Force and appropriating funding to assist OPR.
(6) While the RBESs do apply to single-family residences, the
Department of Public Service has advised the General Assembly that enabling
legislation does not provide clear authority for municipalities to administer and
enforce the RBES at the local level. Some municipalities do wish to have that
authority.
* * * Residential Building Code * * *
Sec. 2. ADOPTION OF RESIDENTIALBUILDING CODE;
APPROPRIATION; POSITION
(a) The Division of Fire Safety shall adopt a residential building code to
take effect on January 1, 2028. The residential building code shall be based on
the International Residential Code.
(b) The establishment of one permanent, exempt full-time residential
building code administrator in the Division of Fire Safety is authorized for
fiscal year 2027.
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Sec. 3. GRANT FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL
BUILDING CODE
The Commissioner of Public Safety shall seek grant funding to facilitate the
development and adoption of a residential building code pursuant to Sec. 2 of
this act. The Commissioner shall seek funding from both federal and private
grant programs.
* * * Task Force * * *
Sec. 4. RESIDENTIALCONTRACTOR REGULATION TASK FORCE;
REPORTS
(a) Creation. There is created the Residential Contractor Regulation Task
Force to improve the existing residential contractor registry and expedite the
creation of certain voluntary certifications. The Task Force shall act in an
advisory capacity to Office of Professional Regulation.
(b) Membership. The Task Force shall be composed of the following
members:
(1) one member appointed by the Secretary of State;
(2) one member appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety;
(3) one member appointed by the Vermont Builders and Remodelers
Association;
(4) one member appointed by the American Institute of Architects
Vermont;
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(5) one member appointed by the Secretary of Education;
(6) one member appointed by the Chancellor of the Vermont S