Title 23
Health and Safety

Chapter 27.3
State Building Code

Article 1
Administration and Enforcement

R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-100.1.5.4

§ 23-27.3-100.1.5.4. State energy conservation code.

(a) The state building code standards committee (“committee”) shall adopt an energy conservation code that shall be based on appropriate nationally and internationally recognized models, and shall promulgate and administer the energy conservation code. The energy conservation code shall contain provisions pertaining to, but not limited to, the construction of buildings, the use of renewable energy resources in buildings, the efficient use of energy within buildings, and the orientation of buildings on their sites. The state energy conservation code shall at a minimum:

(1) For residential or commercial buildings, meet or exceed the most recently published International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), or achieve equivalent or greater energy savings. The state building code standards committee shall revise the state energy conservation code to comply with this requirement within one year of any update to the International Energy Conservation Code; provided, however, that the 2021 IECC published by the International Code Council shall not be adopted and the 2024 IECC published by the International Code Council shall be adopted within (3) three months of its release.

(2)

Within one year of the release of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, the state building code standards committee shall revise the state energy conservation code to meet or exceed the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code’s electric readiness provisions.

(b) No later than six (6) months after the adoption of the building code(s) described in subsection (a) of this section, the state building code standards committee shall develop a plan to achieve compliance with the building code(s) described in subsection (a) of this section in at least ninety percent (90%) of new and renovated residential and commercial building space in the state. Such plan shall include active training and enforcement programs and measurement of the rate of compliance each year.

History of Section.
P.L. 2001, ch. 142, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 10, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 11, § 1; P.L. 2023, ch. 285, § 1, effective June 22, 2023.