Energy and Building Codes Legislative Updates

Governor Jared Polis recently signed several bills that will impact energy and building codes in Colorado. These bills further clarify code adoption requirements across the state:

  • HB25-1269 – Exempts local governments that adopt the wildfire resilience code developed by the state’s Wildfire Resiliency Code Board from having to update their energy code at the same time.
  • SB25-142 – Extends the date by which local governments must adopt the wildfire resiliency code developed by the state’s Wildfire Resiliency Code Board from 3 months after state adoption to 9 months after state adoption.
  • HB25-1273 – Requires jurisdictions over 100,000 people to update their building codes to allow multifamily buildings that are 5 stories or fewer to be served by a single stairway/exit.

We also wanted to share several updates and reminders related to previously passed legislation:

  • HB22-1362 (passed in 2022) – The state Energy Code Board has completed final voting on the Model Low Energy and Carbon Code and the final code will be published no later than September 1, 2025. Updates on this process will be provided on the Colorado Energy Office’s Building Energy Codes & Toolkit webpage.
  • HB23-1161 (passed in 2023) – The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will conduct a rulemaking hearing beginning on June 20, 2025 to set a minimum efficiency standard for residential windows. The rulemaking will consider both the Energy Star v7 standard for residential windows as well as CEO’s recommendations to align with the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code.
  • HB23-1233 (passed in 2023) – 
    • Requires all new multifamily developments permitted on or after March 1, 2024 to meet the EV ready requirements of the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code in order to receive electrical permits in accordance with the Colorado Electrical Board rules (section 2 of the bill).
    • Allows any local government that adopts an updated version of the National Electrical Code, the Colorado Plumbing Code, or the Colorado Elevator and Escalator Code in order to align with those statewide codes to have more time to adopt the state minimum energy code (sections 10 and 11 of the bill).

If you have questions on how these bills may affect energy code adoption and enforcement, please reach out to Adam Berry at adam.berry@state.co.us.