Colorado House Bill 07-1146

As a home rule state, Colorado adopts and enforces building energy codes at the local level. The electrical code is the only true statewide mandatory code, though local building departments often enforce it within their own jurisdictions. This practice reflects the general attitude of local code and elected officials across the state, who believe that they are capable of making intelligent decisions regarding building code adoption and implementation for their own communities. Cities in Colorado have greater fiscal autonomy and are responsible for a larger percentage of their revenues than cities in most other states, providing them with the resources to manage every step of the code process with little need for state assistance.

HB 07-1146, passed in 2007, is an interesting piece of legislation as it sets the 2003 IECC as the minimum energy code requirement, albeit with an important caveat: it applies only to jurisdictions that a) have adopted any type of building code, or b) will do so in the future. Since a large percentage of jurisdictions in Colorado fall under the former, HB 1146 is a de facto mandatory minimum code. However, some of these jurisdictions have been proactive about adopting and updating their energy codes on a three-year cycle. A number of them had already adopted or were in the process of adopting the 2003 IECC prior to the passage of the bill; others were working on adoption of the 2006 IECC or above-code measures. Having set the bar sufficiently low, HB 1146 functioned more as a catalyst for slower jurisdictions to catch up. For the mostly small and rural jurisdictions in the latter category without building codes of any kind, it does serve as a mandatory minimum, should they decide to adopt a building code in the future. The bill also allows jurisdictions who adopt only the IRC to replace the energy provisions (Chapter 11) with the 2003 IECC. 

Jurisdictions: (Information last updated March 29, 2010. See ICC Online for up-to-date jurisdictional adoption information).

• 2009 IECC: Aspen, Federal Heights, Golden, Greeley, Jefferson County, Littleton, Longmont, Louisville, Parker, Pitkin County, Snowmass Village, Telluride,
• 2006 IECC: Adams County, Alamosa, Arapahoe County, Arvada, Ault, Aurora, Basalt, Bennett, Boulder, Boulder County, Breckenridge, Broomfield City, Broomfield County, Castle Pines North, Castle Rock, Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Collbran, Colorado State Buildings Program, Cortez, Craig, DeBeque, Denver, Durango, Edgewater, Elizabeth, Englewood, Erie, Firestone, Fort Collins, Fort Lupton, Frisco, Fruita, Gilcrest, Granby, Grand Junction, Grand Lake,  Greenwood Village, Hayden, Hotchkiss, Hudson, Huerfano County, Johnstown, Keenesburg, Lakewood, Lamar, Larimer County, Loveland, Lyons, Mead, Mesa County Regional, Morrison, Nederland, Northglenn, Nunn, Palisade, Pierce, Platteville, Salida, Severance, Sterling, Thornton, Timnath,Wellington, Westminster, Windsor
• 2004 IECC Supplement: Trinidad
• 2003 IECC: Brush, Carbondale, Central City, Colorado Division of Housing, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Delta, Eagle, Eagle County, El Paso County, Estes Park, Fort Morgan, Fountain, Gunnison, Gunnison County, Ignacio, Jamestown, Kersey, La Plata County, Lafayette, Moffat County, Montrose, Mountain Village, Orchard City, Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, Pueblo County, San Miguel County, Sheridan, Snowmass Village, Superior, Teller County, Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Rescue, Vail, Wheat Ridge
• 2000 IECC: none
• Other local codes: Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, Mancos, Pueblo
• NO CODE ADOPTED: Alamosa County, Archuleta, Archuleta County, Arvada Fire District, Avon, Avondale, Bayfield, Blue RIver, Boulder Rural Fire Protection District, Brighton, Buena Vista, Canon City, Chafee County, Clear Creek County, Clifton FPD, Coal Creek Canyan FPD, Colorado Div. of Fire Safety, Colorado Div of Oil and Public Safety, Colorado Examing BOard of Plumbing, Columbine Valley, Columbing Valley, Copper Mountain FPD, Crested Butte, Cunningham FPD, Dacono, Del Norte, Delta, Dillion, Dillon, Douglas, East Grand Fire Protection District, Eaton, Elk Creek FPD, Evans FPD, Evergreen, Fairmont FPD, Fairplay, Florence, Foothills Fire and Rescue, Fraser, Frederick, Fremont, Fruita Fire District, Garfield, Genesee FPD, Gilpin County, Glendale, Glenwood Springs, Glenwood Springs Fire District, Golden Gate Fire, Grand County, Grand Jct Rural FPD, Grand Junction Fire Department, Grandby, Gypsum, Hot Sulphur Springs, Idaho Springs, Indian Hills FPD, Inter-Canyon Fire Rescue, Kremmling, Lake County, Lake Dillon FPD, Littleton FPD, Lochbuie, Logan County, Lone Tree, Lower Valley Fire District, Meeker, Milliken, Minturn, Monte Vista, Montezuma, Morgan County, Mountain View Fire Protection District, Mt. Crested Butte, New Castle, North Ford FPD, North Metro FPD, Oak Creek, Pagosa Springs, Parachute, Park County, Parker FPD, Pleasant View Fire Department, Poncha Springs, Rangeley, Red Cliff, Red White & Blue Fire Rescue, Rifle, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Routt County, Routt County Regional, Silt, Silverthorne, Snake River FPD, South Fork, South Metro Fire District, South West Adams County Fire & Rescue, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, Weld County, West Metro Fire Rescue, Wheat Ridge Fire Protection District, Wiggins, Windsor Severance FPD, Winter Park, Yampa

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