Local Control in Energy Efficiency Standards

Rep. Michele Reinhart (D – Missoula) is no novice when it comes to bringing environmentally friendly legislation to the Montana House of Representatives. Her latest bill would allow for more local control in developing energy efficient building codes. House Bill 420 will allow for counties, cities, or towns with building code enforcement programs to adopt energy conservation standards for new construction as long as the standards adopted exceed state energy building code standards.

There were many proponents of the bill including the League of Cities and Towns, the State Foundation, ASMSU and Lewis & Clark county commissioners. Alec Hansen from the League of Cities and Towns stated simply that “energy conservation makes an awful lot of sense” and due to his own energy conservation efforts at his house, his “energy costs per month are less than what they were 15 years ago.”

Recognizing that regulations imposed by local governments might differ from county to county or city to city and that the bill might cause confusion and complication for builders and architects throughout the state, Rep. Reinhart said that she is not opposed to amending the bill to push incentives rather than regulations. She said that it might be better if we “allow local governments to come up with incentives, with carrots instead of sticks that would reward builders” instead of punish them.

After the change of tone for regulations to incentives, many opponents were more inclined to supporting legislation. Reminding the committee members that energy efficiency improvements to homes save everyone money. Providing incentives for homeowners to improve their homes energy efficiency would be a way to sustain faltering the building industry in a slowing economy here in Montana.