Changes to the Code Development Process

The Code Council is always looking for ways to improve our code development process. We are extending consideration for the proposed changes to provide more time for review.

There are three significant changes to the process:

• Adding an additional Committee Action Hearing (CAH) for each of the Code Groups so that the committee considers the original proposals, submitted responses to committee action and testimony a second time. This allows more in-depth vetting of code change proposals. Participants can respond and submit comments on the proposed code changes and the same committee considers the comments and determines their action based on both their previous action and the new information provided. By being able to consider comments submitted in response to their initial action, the process allows for additional testimony on the new information provided and the committee can evaluate and discuss these comments before  taking action on the code change that will be subjected to the public comment process at the Public Comment Hearing.
• There will be a single Public Comment Hearing (PCH) in the third year for both Group A and B codes.
• The PCH will be followed by a single Online Governmental Consensus Vote (OGCV) for both code groups.

Check out this infographic which illustrates the new process compared to the current process.

No. The current groups will be reworked. With the energy provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code and Chapter 11 of the International Residential Code now moved to the Code Council's Standards Development Process, the reduced volume of code changes will be distributed between Groups A and B.

In response to the action taken by the respective committee at the first Committee Action Hearing (CAH), “comments” will be submitted and will be heard by the same committee at the second CAH.

“Public comments”  is the current term for those comments submitted that are then considered and acted on by the eligible voting members at the PCH and the OGCV.

In both instances, comments will be submitted the same way through cdpACCESS. You will be directed to submit comments to CAH #1 committee actions via cdpACCESS for consideration by the same committee at CAH #2. “Public Comments” resulting from CAH #2 via cdpACCESS will go to the Public Comment Hearings in year 3.

In order to make it perfectly clear how the comment process is to proceed, “comment” terminology will be revised when the process is finalized in order to clarify and distinguish between comments to be considered at CAH #2 and those to be considered at the PCH.

No. It is a second CAH so it will be conducted relatively the same way as the first. However items under consideration will be comments received from CAH #1.

We'll share more detailed communications in the coming months and as well as an update to Council Policy 28 Code Development.

Yes. These reports will maintain the same format to include results from the CAH, namely: Committee Action including the vote count, Committee Modifications (if any) and Committee Reason.

The timeline was determined based on the volume of code change history over the past cycles.

Yes. You can find the updated version of CP 28-05 here.