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Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SR 882: Department of Community Affairs; to refrain from adopting the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code in order to protect housing affordability and maintain the current energy code framework of this state; urge

Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled

A Georgia Senate resolution urges the Department of Community Affairs not to adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code and instead keep using the state's current 2015 version for home construction.

Read the full resolution text

These buttons carry the resolution's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

This is a resolution, not a binding law: it expresses the Senate's opinion rather than changing any statute. It responds to the Department of Community Affairs considering whether to adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, a set of national model standards for energy efficiency in buildings, for residential construction in Georgia. The resolution states that Georgia currently uses the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code with Georgia amendments and argues that switching to the 2024 version would raise home construction costs by thousands of dollars per house, pricing more residents out of homeownership. It formally urges the department to keep using the 2015 code instead of adopting the newer 2024 code. It also directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies of the resolution to the commissioner of community affairs and the chairpersons of the State Codes Advisory Committee.

What the bill does

  • Formally urges the Department of Community Affairs to not adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code for residential construction.
  • Urges the department to continue using the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code with Georgia amendments instead.
  • Directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies of the resolution to the commissioner of community affairs and the chairpersons of the State Codes Advisory Committee.
  • States the Senate's position that adopting the newer code would raise home construction costs and reduce housing affordability, without itself changing any law.

Who it affects

The Department of Community Affairs and the State Codes Advisory Committee, which set energy construction standards; home builders and developers who must follow the energy code; and prospective homebuyers and renters affected by construction costs and housing affordability across Georgia.

Why it matters

Because this is a resolution rather than a law, it does not itself block the department from adopting the new code, but it signals the Senate's opposition and could influence the department's decision, which would in turn affect construction costs and home prices statewide.

Key provisions

  • The resolution recites housing affordability concerns and rising construction costs as background for its position.
  • It states that adopting the 2024 code would increase construction costs by thousands of dollars per home.
  • It resolves that the Senate urges the Department of Community Affairs to refrain from adopting the 2024 code and continue using the 2015 code.
  • It directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies to the commissioner of community affairs and State Codes Advisory Committee chairpersons.

From the bill

“the members of this body urge the Department of Community Affairs to refrain from adopting the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code for residential construction and continue to use the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code.”

This is the resolution's central request to the state housing agency.

“for every $1,000 increase in the price of a home more than 5,000 citizens of this state are priced out of the housing market”

The resolution's stated rationale linking construction cost increases to reduced homeownership access.

Discussed in meetings (5)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. Senate Rules Committee, March 23, 2026

    From 0:08:26 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The senator carrying SR 882 described it as an affordability measure dealing with building regulations. No further explanation or vote was shown.

  2. Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee, March 23, 2026

    From 0:35:20 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: With the sponsor absent at another committee meeting, the chair presented a substitute urging the Department of Community Affairs to pause adoption of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code for single-family homes and retain Georgia’s 2015 code with state amendments. The chair said adopting the newer code would add thousands of dollars to a new home’s cost and worsen affordability without a clear benefit. The chair also said Georgia’s current requirements met or exceeded neighboring states’ standards and that few states had adopted the newer version. A Home Builders Association representative was available for questions but did not testify. The committee voted to advance the substitute. No vote count was announced.

  3. Senate Rules Committee, March 30, 2026

    From 1:08:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: A member selected SR 882 for the floor calendar. No substantive explanation or debate followed. The committee unanimously approved the calendar containing it.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-23Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-23Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
  4. 2026-03-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  5. 2026-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

Sponsors

  • Randy Robertson (R, SD-29)Primary sponsor
  • Max Burns (R, SD-23)
  • Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
  • Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
  • Marty Harbin (R, SD-16)
  • Matt Brass (R, SD-6)
  • John Albers (R, SD-56)
  • Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
  • Lee Anderson (R, SD-24)
  • Drew Echols (R, SD-49)
  • Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
  • Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
  • Sam Watson (R, SD-11)
  • Russ Goodman (R, SD-8)
  • Steve Gooch (R, SD-51)
  • Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-31)
  • Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-21)
  • Mike Hodges (R, SD-3)
  • Steven McNeel (R, SD-18)
  • Timothy Bearden (R, SD-30)
  • Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-52)
  • Carden Summers (R, SD-13)

Votes

  1. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

    39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)

    MOTION TO TABLE REMAINING LEGISLATION ON THE RULES CALENDAR: Senate Vote #912

Topics

  • housing affordability
  • energy codes
  • home construction
  • Department of Community Affairs

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr882.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp

SR882: Department of Community Affairs; to refrain from adopting the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code in order to protect housing affordability and maintain the current energy code framework of this state; urge | Georgia Commons